Preserving Jewish Heritage in Texas Texas Jewish Est. 1980 Historical Society February, 2012 News Magazine Coming Soon: The TJHS 32nd Annual Gathering by Hollace Weiner Fort Worth will host the dinner—home-baked challah Society’s 32nd Annual Gather- and a Mexican buffet in a pri- ing from March 30 through vate Fort Worth home with an April 1. The weekend’s unbelievable art collection. highlight will be “Forgotten Saturday night will be a Gateway: Coming to America one-of-a-kind experience: Pu- through Galveston Island,” the litzer Prize winning journalist blockbuster museum exhibit Nick Kotz, a nephew of Fran- that originated at Austin’s Bob ces and Perry Kallison, will Bullock Museum in 2009. The speak about his forthcoming exhibit has been touring the book, The Harness Maker’s country for three years, and its Vision: Nathan Kallison and final stop is at the Fort Worth the Rise of South Texas. The Museum of Science and His- book is to be published by tory. Trinity University Press of San Antonio. This will be your last chance to view the exhibit. It has Pull out the registration form and join us in Fort received raves as it has traveled from Galveston’s Moody Worth! Gardens to New York’s Ellis Island Museum. The exhibit’s original curator, Austin anthropologist Dr. Suzanne Seriff, will take our group on a private tour on IN THIS ISSUE: Saturday morning, March 31. Afterward, she will partici- Message from the President 2 pate in a panel discussion, filling us in on the impact of the by Rusty Milstein exhibit—not only on Jewish research, but on the current discussion of immigration issues. Besides Seriff, the pan- Seligman Family History 3 el, titled “Still Forgotten?” will feature filmmaker Cynthia by Louise Landa Seligman Mondell, who will show clips from her 1983 docudrama “West of Hester Street.” Fort Worth residents who have Photos from the Winter Meeting 4-5 ties to the Galveston Movement will be our special guests. Growing Up in Downtown Houston 6 A registration flyer for the gathering is in this new by Vickie Vogel magazine. Jack Gerrick is chairman for the meeting. Hol- lace Weiner is program chair. Augustus Lewy of Temple and 9 For those who arrive early on Friday, March 30, Jack San Antonio, Texas has arranged an afternoon tour of the U.S. Bureau of by Patricia Benoit Engraving, where greenbacks of all denominations are printed. Richard Baratz, an engraver with the bureau (and Did You Have Fun at Summer Camp? 9 the artist who draws pictures of celebrities for the famous by Davie Lou Solka Sardi’s restaurant in New York), will lead the tour. Proposed Slate of Officers 11 On Friday evening, we guarantee a festive Shabbat Texas Jewish Historical Society - February, 2012 Page 1 Message from the President by Rusty Milstein In every Presi- In a “nutshell,” were also honored to have Joe Rosen- dent’s message, I when Dr. Stuart stein, the last member of the congrega- expound on what Rockoff went to tion, attend our weekend. This was a wonderful and Gainesville to in- probably the most moving and gratify- interesting organi- terview some of the ing meeting that I have ever attended. zation that I have descendants of the In essence, this is what TJHS is all had the honor of Jewish community about—people and scholars being able serving. And, with there, he learned to learn about their own history and our last meeting in that Lary Kuehn had Texas Jewish history. Gainesville, Texas found the minute Many thanks to Willie and Doug (a “thank you” to book of the United Braudaway for hosting a very interest- Hollace Weiner, Hebrew Congrega- ing weekend in Del Rio, Texas. This Vickie Vogel, and tion (1905-1922), is the first time that we have met in the descendants which is now in our that part of Texas. The weekend was of Gainesville’s archives in Austin. chock full of the Jewish history of Jewish Community), I am even more Next, a meeting was planned, and Del Rio and Val Verde County. We impressed. Even though I grew up the best thing about the meeting was had a very nice tour of downtown Del and live in that corner of Texas, I had that some of the descendents began to Rio, featuring Stool Family sites, and, to consult a map to find Gainesville. I search for the family members whom naturally, Max Stool’s ol’ stomping was amazed to find that there was even they have never met, and they graced grounds. We then had a very inter- a Jewish presence in that locale. our meeting with their presence. We esting tour of the Laughlin Heritage Foundation Museum, which featured Air Force history. Our morning con- The Texas Jewish Historical Society cluded with a lunch at Memo’s Mexi- can Restaurant. We had the remainder February 2012 of the afternoon to explore on our own Quarterly News Magazine or rest in the hospitality room. Sat- urday evening found us touring the The Texas Jewish Historical Society News Magazine is published Whitehead Memorial Museum, which four times annually. Stories about Texas Jewish history, oral histories, featured Val Verde County history. and requests for assistance with research are welcome, as are photographs After a Havdalah service, we dined at and historical documents. Please provide color photocopies or scans at the museum. Then, we went back to 300 dpi or greater, in .gif, .tif, or .jpg format, and send electronically to the real world—our quarterly business Assistant Editor Davie Lou Solka at [email protected] or by mail to 3808 meeting. Woodbrook Circle, Austin, TX 78759, 512-527-3799. Be sure to include continued on page 5 your name and contact information. Publisher-Editor Alexa Kirk The News Magazine of the Assistant Editor Davie Lou Solka Texas Jewish Historical Society Photographers Marvin Rich, Davie Lou Solka, and (USPS) is published four times Marc Wormser a year by the Texas Jewish His- torical Society, P. O. Box 10193, Note: The Texas Jewish Historical Society is Austin, Texas 78766-0193, Travis unable to guarantee the safe receipt and/or return County. Periodical postage paid at of documents or photographs. It is strongly recom- Houston, Texas. Postmaster: send mended that you provide color photocopies of both address changes to the Texas Jew- color and black & white documents. We welcome ish Historical Society, P. O. Box your comments and suggestions. 10193, Austin, Texas 78766-0193. Visit us on the web at www.txjhs.org. www.txjhs.org. Page 2 Texas Jewish Historical Society - February, 2012 Seligman Family History by Louise Landa Seligman The following history was found second sister, Ara Celine, passed away At our home in Hallettsville, we in a safe deposit box by Louise’s son, from peritonitis of the appendix. had fowl of all kinds, a cow that my David Seligman. My oldest stepsister, Katie (later father milked twice a day, and a horse I am Louise L. Seligman, born of married to Meyer Steinweis), helped in that we hitched to a buggy. Later, my Dora Cohn Landa and Dave Landa, in my father’s confectionary. My second father bought a surrey with lights on the year 1900, the month of September. stepsister, Sarah (later married to Louis the sides and a fringe around the top. My parents came to this country in Samusch), looked after the home and This was in grand style in those days. different years in the 1880s. My father children with a maid who took care of When we got older and my father came first. He left a wife and two the house and kitchen. began to have bad health, he sold the small girls. He went to Hallettsville, In the year 1912, my father bought grocery store. He passed away in Texas, and worked for the light com- a large home about three blocks from Galveston at John Sealy Hospital in pany, stringing wires for electric lights. town. It was on a lot that covered three September, 1915. He worked until he made enough quarters of the block going back to the I graduated from high school in money to bring his wife and two little next street. We were about ten blocks 1919. There were only four graduates girls from a small town in Austria- from the school, to which we walked. that year—three girls and one boy. I Hungary. My mother came with her When I was about twelve or fourteen, I have remained friends with one of the family from Breslau, Germany. There had a friend who lived out in the coun- girls from my class, Olga Heye, now were seven children—four boys and try. She rode in to school on a grey Olga Ellingboe, of Kerrville. She is two girls. One of the boys was born on horse and would come by and pick me a cousin of Lillie Appelt Johnson, the the boat coming over here. up on the way to school and let me ride philanthropist of Wharton. When my father brought his fam- with her. When I got in high school, I After graduation, I went to ily over, they lived in Hallettsville for became chummy with Sarah and Sue Houston and took a business course. one year when his wife passed away. Ragsdale, who had a horse and topless I stayed with my spinster aunt, who In 1897, he married my mother and little buggy. They also picked me up for lived and worked in Houston. A year opened a grocery store, carrying only school.