Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California California Jewish Community Series Robert J. Koshland VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY SERVICE IN HEALTH AND WELFARE With Introductions by Maurice B. Hexter Martin A. Paley An Interview Conducted by Elaine Dorfman in 1980, 1981. Copy No. Copyright @ 1983 by the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum This manuscript is made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley and the Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publica- tion without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Robert J. Koshland, "Volunteer Community Service in Health and Welfare," an oral history conducted 1980-1982 by Elaine Dorfman, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1983. THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA JEWISH BULLETIN November 24, 1989 Community leader Robert J. Koshland dies at age 96 Robert J. Koshland's feelings ident of the National Council of Jew- about Jews were rather straightfor- ish Federations and Welfare Funds ward. from 1946 to 1955; and on the board "As long as they insist on surviv- of the Jewish Home for the Aged ing, they are going to survive for from 19% to 1%3. generations to come. But it takes a He also served as president of the lot of activity, lots of organization Beresford County Club, which was and dedication," he said in 1981 dur- once a Jewish club and is now the ing an interview for Robert 1. Peninsula Golf and Country Club, Koshland: Volunteer Community Ser- from 1937 to 1939. dce in Health and Welfare, part of the For three decades, Koshland was Bancroft Library's oral history pro- active in the planning, development iects. and provision of medical facilities in Koshland, dexendant of a pioneer the Bay Area. As president of the Jewish family, who died Nov. 11 at Peninsula Hospital District, he was the age of %, himself was an exam- instrumental in the formation and ple of being a heavy contributor in construction of Peninsula Hospital. the Jewish community - and in the He also served as president of the community at large. Bay Area Health Facilities Planning Although he noted in his inter- Commission and the Association of - view that he may have "taken the California Hospital Districts, and unpopular course" by not affiliating was a member of the board of Pres- with a synagogue, he insisted "I am byterian Hospital and Medical Cen- proud to be a Jew." ter. He continued: "I'm not amlogetic He served as president of the Bav about that at all. I have p&cifited Area Welfare Pfanning ~ssociatioi, ' Robert J. Koshland ever since I got out of xhool in Jew- and was active with the Bay Area So- ish philanthropic activities!' Franh, he continued his activities cial Planning Council and Comrnu- Throughout his life, Koshland, with the Jewish community. He nity Chest of San Mateo County, and whose family helped run Levi, served, for example, as president of a member of the distribution com- Strauss & Co. for many years, was the Federation of Jewish Charities mittee of the Peninsula Community active in various Jewish organiza- from 1938 to 1940; as president of the Foundation. In recent years, he tions. His conhibutions date back to Western states region of the Council served on the advisory council of the 1922, when he was a member of the of Jewish Federations and Welfare California Commission on Aging board of the Associated Jewish Phi- Funds from 1939 to 1941; on the and the San Mateo Commission on lanthropies in Boston, where he was board of directors of the Jewish Wel- Aging. a partner with J. Koshland & Co., fare Fund from 1946 to 1955, a fop He set "a very fine example" for wool merchants. runner of today's S.F.-based Jewish his family, said his daughter, Susan After returning to his native San Community Federation; as vice pres- Thede. "He was a marvelous man and we all admired him." In addition to his daughter, Koshland is survived by his wife of 69 years, Delphine; his other daugh- ter, Peggy Arnold; his daughter-in- law, Mabel Koshland, who was rnar- ried to his late son, Robert M. Koshland; and nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildrrn. Funeral services werr private. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE November 14, 1989 Robert J. Koshland private services for Robert J. Koshland of San Mateo, for many years a Bay Area community leader and medical facilities planner, will. be held Thursday. Mr. Koshland, a member of a prominent San Francisco family that helped run Levi Strauss & Co. for many,years, died Saturday at a rest home in San Mateo. He was 96. Mr. Koshland was active for more than three decades in the planning and development of medi- cal facilities in the Bay Area. He was instrumental in the building of Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame when he was president cjf the Peninsula Hospital District. At other times, he was president of the Bay Area Health Facilities Plan- 'ning Coqmission and the Associa- tion of California Hospital Districts. Mr. Koshland also was a member of the board of trustees of the Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center. Over the years, Mr. Koshland also served numerous Bay Area wel- fare and social agencies. He was president of the Bay Area Welfare Planning Association and a member of the executive conimittees of the Bay Area Social Planning Council and the Community Chest of San Rlateo County. He was a head of the Jewish Welfare Fund, a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Home for the Aged and a member of the distribution committee of the Peninsula Community Foundation. hlr. Koshland, a native of San ' Francisco, was a graduate of Lowell High School and the University of California at Berkeley. He served in World War 1 as an Army captain and in World War I1 as an Army Air Forces colonel in China. He is survived by his wife, Del- phine, of San Mateo; two daughters, Peggy Arnold of Palo Alto and Su- san Thede of Menlo Park, and by nine grandchildren and 10 great- grandchildren. TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Robert Koshland PREFACE 1 INTRODUCTION by Maurice B. Hexter iii INTRODUCTION by Martin A. Paley vii INTERVIEW HISTORY ix PROFILE I FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, AND EARLY INFLUENCES Grandfather Simon Koshland' Parents' Activities and Influence Childhood Family Religious and Cultural Orientation Sunday School at Temple Emanu-El Attitude Toward Polish Jews An Important Change in The Federation The Issue of Intermarriage A Viewpoint on Jewish Nostalgia Gift of an Ark to Temple Emanu-El A Position on Temple Membership Reflections on Grandfather Simon Koshland Family Travel in the Early Years Childhood in the Family Home The House, Gardens, and Staff The 1906 Earthquake and Fire Early San Francisco San Francisco Jews of Distinction Mother's Expectations ~xclusionof Jews by Fraternities Lowell High School I1 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY A Student Apartment House Professors of Influence Swim Team Activity Alumni Association Permanent Secretary, Class of 1914 An Evaluation of Education 111 FOUNDING THE FAMILY WOOL BUSINESS, S. KOSHLAND AND COMPANY The Raw Wool Business A European Trip After College Graduation, 1914 Apprenticeship in Lawrence, Massachusetts Wool Buying West of the Mississippi in 1916 for J. Koshland and Company Sealed Bids Covering Montana Partnership in the Firm Dissolution of J. Koshland and Company: Another View The Limits of Social Participation for Jews in Boston Swim Club and Activity in Boston, Massachusetts IV WORLD WAR I AND MILITARY SERVICE, 1916 Infantry Second Lieutenant, 1917 Plattsburgh Barracks, New York Infantry Captain Commanding Offkcer of a Company Expectations of Men: Dedication and Discipline The Importance of the Military in Peacetime The Value of Logic and Attention to Detail A Disappoknting Stateside Assignment V RETURN TO THE FAMILY BUSINESS IN BOSTON Decision to Remain in Boston Meeting Delphine Rosenfeld VI MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Residence in Boston as a Married Man Birth of First Child, Robert, in Portland, Oregon, 1922 Family Life and Travel with the Children Transition from Boston to San Francisco Vacations and Travel with the Family VII BUSINESS ACTIVITIES FROM 1930 TO 1943; 1948 TO 1952 VIII WORLD WAR 11: FURTHER MILTTARY SERVICE From Infantry to Air Force Demotion in Exchange for a Return to Uniform Assignment to Air Depot Training Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico Command of the Twelfth Air Service Group Bombay and Calcutta, India, November, 1943: Over the Hump into Kunmlng, China, January, 1944 Problems in Kweilin, China General Claire Channault The Chinese Army General and Madame Chiang Kai-shek Mission to Italy VJ-Day, October 3, 1945 A Significant Introduction to Rabbi Alvin Fine Legion of Merit Award Recognition of Excellence in Kweilin, China Reunion of Fourteenth Air Force, Reno, Nevada, 1980 General Chiang Kai-shek's Fear of Miscegenation Current Concerns on National Defense Few Women in China More on General Chiang Kai-shek DECADES OF PLANNING LEADERSHIP IN HEALTH, HOSPITAL AND SOCIAL WELFARE Family Tradition and Expectation