Texas Jewish Preserving Jewish Heritage in Texas ... · 12:00 PM Docent-led tour of the Sherwin...

Texas Jewish Historical Society - October, 2009

Historical Society

Preserving Jewish Heritage in TexasEst. 1980

October, 2009

Texas Jewish

Join us for a meeting of theTexas Jewish Historical Society

in conjuction with the Tulsa Genealogical Societyand the Jewish Community of Tulsa

January 15-17, 2010in Tulsa, Oklahoma

We will stay at the Marriott across the streetfrom the Jewish Community Center in Tulsa.The room fee is $99 per person and they pro-

vide free shuttle service from the airport.

Tentative ScheduleFriday, January 15, 2010

6:00 PM Shabbat Dinner7:30 PM Shabbat Service

Saturday, January 16, 20109:00 AM - 12:30 PM Program Speakers12:30 - 6:30 PM Lunch and afternoon on your own to tour Tulsa6:30 PM Dinner at the Jewish Community Center

Sunday, January 17, 20109:30 AM Breakfast at the JCC, followed by a Board Meeting12:00 PM Docent-led tour of the Sherwin Miller Museum

The registration flyer will be out in December.Be sure to return it by the deadline to attend this

fun meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

IN THIS ISSUE:Memories of Harlingen 3

and the Valleyby Marilyn Cohn Schwartz

Rabbi Jimmy Kessler 4Installed as Master of Har-mony Lodge #6, Galveston

Charles & Bertha Bender 6by Vickie Vogel

Becoming American 12by Way of the HebrewInstituteby Hollace Ava Weiner

Life in Needville, Texas 17by H. P. Erlichman

Pictures from the 18-19September Meetingin Austin, Texas


The Texas Jewish Historical Society News Magazine is publishedfour times annually. Stories about Texas Jewish history, oral histories,and requests for assistance with research are welcome, as are photo-graphs and historical documents. Please provide color photocopies orscan at 300 dpi or greater, in .gif, .tif, or .jpg format and send electroni-cally to Assistant Editor Davie Lou Solka at [email protected] or mail to3808 Woodbrook Circle, Austin, TX 78759, 512-527-3799. Be sure toinclude your name and contact information.

Publisher-Editor Alexa KirkAssistant Editor Davie Lou Solka

Photographer Marvin Rich

Note: The Texas Jewish Historical Society isunable to guarantee the safe receipt and/or returnof documents or photographs. It is strongly rec-ommended that you provide color photocopies ofboth color and black & white documents. We wel-come your comments and suggestions.

Visit us on the web at www.txjhs.org.

The Texas Jewish Historical SocietyAugust 2009

Quarterly News Magazine

The newsletter of the Texas Jew-ish Historical Society (USPS) is pub-lished four times a year by the TexasJewish Historical Society, P. O. Box10193, Austin, Texas 78766-0193,Travis County. Periodical postage paidat Houston, Texas. Postmaster: sendaddress changes to the Texas Jew-ish Historical Society, P. O. Box10193, Austin, Texas 78766-0193.

www.txjhs.org

continued on page 10

Message from the Presidentby Sally Drayer

I would like to thankDavie Lou and JackSolka, Claire and DickBrooks, and SheilaRosenfield for hostingthe fall board meeting inAustin the weekend ofSeptember 12-13. Webegan our weekend witha tour of “ForgottenGateway: Coming toAmerica ThroughGalveston Island” at the Bob BullockState History Museum on Saturdayafternoon. On Saturday evening fol-lowing the Havdalah service and din-ner, we listened to our guest speaker,Jay Rubin, CEO of the Jewish Com-munity Association of Austin. Histopic was “Austin Jewish Limits? De-mographic Trends and Engagement

Strategies in a21st CenturyJewish Com-munity.” Ourweekend con-cluded withour boardmeeting Sun-day morning.We had over50 people at-tend. Thanks

again to the hosts and to everyonewho attended.

Under the guidance of MitziMilstein, we are in the process ofcompleting the compilation of ourmembership directory, which we hopeto have out to you in the next month. Iwould like to take this opportunity tothank Mitzi for undertaking chairing

this project again, Vickie Vogel, ImaJoy Gandler, Barbara Rosenberg,Marc Wormser, Alexa Kirk (Publisher-Editor), and Davie Lou Solka for allyour time editing and assisting in put-ting the directory together—it couldn’thave happened without your help.Thanks also to those of you who re-sponded to my email for advice and toJack Gerrick for his help.

I would like to extend an invitationto each of you to attend our winterboard meeting January 15-17, 2010, inTulsa, Oklahoma, in conjunction withthe Tulsa Genealogical Society and theJewish community of Tulsa. I, alongwith corresponding secretary SamyluRubin, met in Tulsa with four dynamicleaders of the Tulsa Jewish communityto finalize plans for the meeting:Arthur Feldman is the Executive Di-rector of the Sherwin Miller Museumof Jewish Art (which holds the largestcollection of Judaica in the AmericanSouthwest and has been cited by Jew-ish Living Magazine as one of thetop Jewish Museums in NorthAmerica, behind only the U.S. Holo-caust Museum in Washington, D.C.);Phil Goldfarb, retired business execu-tive, volunteer, and President of theTulsa Genealogical Society; BarryAbels, Executive Director of the Jew-ish Federation (formerly Executive Di-rector of Federations in Austin and


Memories of Harlingen and the Valleyby Marilyn Cohn Schwartz

I was born in Corpus Christi,Texas, on May 27, 1931. We actuallylived in San Diego, Texas. However,my mother (Yetta Adele, but known asDorothy Jacobs Cohn) wanted to haveher children in a hospital, and sincethere was no hospital in San Diego,both my brother, Maurice Daniel (re-membered as either M.D. or Sonny,born May 19, 1930) and I were bornat the old Spohn Hospital in CorpusChristi.

My father, Julius Samuel Cohn,and his brother-in-law, Albert Wolf,had a store in San Diego, which was ageneral store with everything fromclothing and piece goods to furniture.We moved from there to Harlingen in1936.

The Valley was a wonderful placeto live, but there weren’t too manyJewish families there. Brownsvillehad its own Temple and Jewish com-munity. Those of us who lived inHarlingen belonged to the Temple inMercedes. I don’t remember thename of it, but we were devoted mem-

bers of that congregation. My mother“ran” the religious school, whichmeant that my brother and I couldnever miss a Sunday attendance. Inthe late 1940s, the Harlingen Jewishfamilies decided to build a Temple inHarlingen. I don’t remember thenames of all the families, but theybound together to do this project, and asmall building was erected.

The congregation was truly a dedi-cated group of people and Friday nightservices were a must. My aunt,Pauline Cohn Wolf, played the pianoduring services every Friday night.We had a lot of covered dish dinners,and during football season, the time forservices was much earlier so that ev-eryone could go watch the HarlingenCardinals play football.

My husband, Babe Schwartz(Aaron R. Schwartz, born and raisedin Galveston), and Ihad the first wedding atthe Harlingen Templeon July 14, 1951. Suchexcitement! Babe and

his best man, Melvin Maltz of Hous-ton, and my dad set up folding chairsin the Temple so that there would beroom for the crowd we expected.Rabbi Sidney Wolf from CorpusChristi came to Harlingen to performthe ceremony. Since Rabbi Wolf wasa Reform Rabbi, Babe’s grandfather,Oscher Bulbe from Galveston stoodbehind us and in a very loud voice,married us in Hebrew, so everythingwould be kosher and legal.

This was such a special Temple—everyone met together, and since wedid not have a Rabbi, different men inthe congregation led the services. Themore traditional members (Conserva-tive and Orthodox) had much moreHebrew in the services than the Re-form members. My father could notspeak or read Hebrew, so he would

Mazel Tovto the followingto the following

Texas Jewish Historical Society MembersMembersBernard Rappaport, of Waco, Texas, was honored onJuly 22, 2009, with the Franklin D. RooseveltDistinguished Public Service Award in Washington, D.C.

Sylvia & Jerry Wolens, formerly of Fort Worth, and nowof South Palm Beach, Florida, were selected as one of the“Top 50 Jewish Community Builders of South Palm BeachCounty.” The award was presented to the Wolens twoyears ago by the Bloomingdale’s/Jewish Federation Jointcelebration of Israel’s 50th Jubilee. They were selectedbecause they have given their time, talent, and treasure tomake South Palm Beach County the most vibrant Jewishcommunity in America.

Please send information for this column to Davie LouSolka at [email protected].

ContributionsThe following donations have been received by theTexas Jewish Historical Society since July, 2009.

In Memory of Milton Harelik FromYetta & Marvin LeshinMarilee WeinerHelen & Larry Wilk

In Memory of Ruthe Weingarten’s 80thbirthday From Debbie Weingarten

A Gift Membership has been sent to thefollowing:Beverly & Malcom Gerber from Ruth andCharles NathanSharon & Sonny Gerber from Ruth and CharlesNathanWarren Kaman from Tracy RobinsonMimi & Martin Silverberg from Barbara & BenRosenbergSteffie & David Odle from Ruth NathanLois & Don Rosenfield from Ruth and CharlesNathan



We ne need Yeed Your Storiour Stories!We are currently looking for sto-

ries with ties to Texas Jewish his-tory! Any kind of story about yourfamily history or your Temple’s his-tory can fill the pages of our quar-terly newsletter. Write your story,and if you have questions or need

help, call our Assistant Editor.Everyone has a story to tell, long

or short. Your history is of interest tomembers across Texas and the nation!And you will be able to see yourfamily’s history in print. It is a won-derful keepsake and a valuable piece

of genealogy for future generations.So what are you waiting for?

Send in your article to our assistanteditor, Davie Lou Solka, [email protected], mail it to 3808Woodbrook Circle, Austin, TX 78759,or call her at 512-527-3799.

WANT THISWANT THISNEWSLETTER BYNEWSLETTER BY

EMAIL?

Would you like to save paper andinstead receive this newsletter by email?You would be able to read the latestTJHS news in your inbox days before itwould be scheduled to arrive in your mail

box. Please send an email [email protected] indicatingthat you would like to be on theemail list. (The usual size of thenewsletter is 2 MB.)

On July 13, 2009, Harmony Lodge#6, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-sons, of Galveston,Texas, installedRabbi JimmyKessler as theWorshipful Masterof the Lodge. Har-mony Lodge is thefirst MasonicLodge in the historyof Texas Free Ma-sonry to install a Rabbi as their presid-ing officer. An installation banquetpreceded the actual ceremony.

The Most Worshipful W. DavidCounts, Jr., Grand Master of Masonsof Texas, officiated at the installationceremony. He was assisted by theRight Worshipful Jerry L. Martin,Grand Orator of the Most WorshipfulGrand Lodge of Texas. In addition,Past Grand Masters Thomas F. Griffinand Donny W. Broughton were in at-tendance.

The table decorations for the in-stallation banquet were school suppliesfor the primary grades. These sup-plies will be donated to GISD for stu-dents who need help in acquiring such

materials. Since Texas Freemasonrywas responsible for establishing public

schools in Texas byoffering their lodgebuildings as the firstclassrooms, thesedecorations are veryappropriate.

Today, there aresome 122,000 Masonsin Texas located in914 Lodges through-

out the state. Ancient Free and Ac-cepted Masonry has been in Texas for171 years. Harmony Lodge was es-tablished in Galveston in 1839 and hasbeen a part of the very fabric of theGalveston Bay area since its creation.

Rabbi Kessler, who has servedTemple B’nai Israel since 1976, hasbeen a member of Harmony Lodgesince 1977. In addition, he is a KCCHof Scottish Rite Masons and a mem-ber of the Chapter and Council ofRoyal York Masons, as well as a fullmember of the Grand Lodge of TexasResearch.

Rabbi Kessler is a graduate of SanJacinto High School in Houston, holdsa BA from UT Austin and was or-

dained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincin-nati, Ohio. He holds an earned doc-torate in American History with a ma-jor in Texas Jewish History, and anhonorary doctorate from the HebrewUnion College. He is a UTMB Chap-lain, a reserve professor of Philosophyat Galveston Community College andthe Chaplain of the Galveston CountySheriff’s office.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral on22nd and Church has been the homeof Scottish Rite in Galveston since1902. The original building was theHarmony Hall building designed byNicholas Clayton and built for the Re-form Jewish community of Galveston.It was deemed to have been the mostbeautiful of his creations. Remodeledin 1914, that building was destroyed byfire on February 5, 1928. The currentbuilding, dedicated in 1929, was de-signed by Alfred C. Finn to withstandfire and storms, and has done so for80 years. The beautiful staircase inthe current building comes from theClayton building and was saved afterthe fire.

Rabbi Jimmy Kessler Installed as Masterof Harmony Lodge #6, Galveston


Max Stool Honored bythe State of Texas

On Tuesday, May 19, 2009, MaxStool of San Antonio and Del Rio,Texas, was honored by the State ofTexas with the introduction of HR2038, co-sponsored by RepresentativePete Gallego and Representative Dr.Mark Shelton. The resolution wasinitially proposed by Gallego, who hasknown Max for over twenty years andhas represented the Del Rio area for

that length of time. Two years ago,Max’s wife, Libbie, was honored witha similar resolution. Dr. Shelton rep-

First row: Representative Pete Gallego, Sydney Friedman,and Rachel Friedman. Second Row: Elizabeth and AsherFriedman. Third Row: Representative Dr. Mark Shelton,Max Stool, Samuel Friedman, and Speaker of the Texas

House of Representatives Joe Strauss.

TJHS Members Honoredresents a district in Fort Worth, andhas been friends with the Stool familyfor many years.

The photo was taken by a Housestaff photographer on the steps leadingto the Speaker’s platform.

Hollace Weiner winsWilliam E. Jary Jr. Award

The Tarrant County HistoricalCommission has awarded HollaceWeiner the prestigious William E. Jary

Jr. Award for “docu-menting and sharingthe rich heritage ofFort Worth andTexas.”

Weiner editedLone Stars of David:The Jews of Texas,the award-winningcoffee-table book thatthe TJHS publishedwith Brandeis Univer-sity Press. She alsowrote Jewish Stars inTexas: Rabbis andtheir Work, whichprofiles eleven rabbiswho became commu-nity leaders, and Jew-ish “JuniorLeague:” The Rise

and Demise of the Fort Worth Coun-cil of Jewish Women. In addition, sheauthored the centennial history of Fort

Worth’s Beth-El Congregation.In her role as volunteer archivist,

Hollace has built up the collectionshoused at the city’s two synagogues,Beth-El Congregation and AhavathSholom. Researchers, journalists, andstudents studying various aspects ofFort Worth’s history have utilizedthese archives.

The Jary Award, presented in aceremony last fall, also recognized theTarrant County writers and photogra-phers who contributed to Lone Starsof David. Weiner received a plaque,and certificates of merit were pre-sented to Laurie Barker James, RabbiRalph Mecklenburger, BarryShlachter, Jenny Solomon, and GaryWhitfield. Solomon and Whitfield, aswell as Weiner, are board members ofthe Texas Jewish Historical Society.

William Jary, for whom the awardis named, was an advertising and pub-lic relations executive who collectedFort Worth memorabilia. His scrap-books, photographs, maps, posters, andmagazine and newspaper clipping re-flect the history of Fort Worth, datingto frontier times. Featured topics in-clude aviation, business, Camp Bowie,architecture, cultural events, parks,and medical schools. Mr.Jary’s papers are at the University ofTexas at Arlington, Special Collectionsarchives. Mr. Jary died in 1989, andthe annual award in his honor wascreated the following year.

Barbara Cohen Golub and JuneCohen Bentch are looking for photosor mementoes of their late brothers,Herman and Leon Cohen. They grewup in Port Arthur and both died duringWorld War II.

Herman was born in 1919 andLeon in 1920 in Hemphill, Texas, but

Can You Help?the family moved to Port Arthur, Texaswhen the boys were young. They at-tended schools in Port Arthur and thesisters believe that their brothers par-ticipated in Young Judea activities inthe Beaumont/Orange area. Hermanattended Lamar University and wasinterested in the local community by

taking pictures. They were both inWorld War II with Leon being draftedafter high school. They were killed inthe war in 1943.

Please contact Barbara Golub [email protected] if you haveany photos or mementoes of theCohen brothers.


Charles & Bertha Benderby Vickie Vogel

From Our ArchivesFrom Our ArchivesThis is the third in a series of articles on materials and information that can be found in the TJHS archives at the

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas in Austin. If you would like to write anarticle on any of the items in the archives, please visit http://www.cah.utexas.edu/services/using.php.

by Vickie Vogel

While searching through the TJHSarchives at the Dolph Briscoe Centerfor American History for papers relat-ing to someone else, this sentencejumped out at me. “He did much tohelp create the State of Israel...”1

The news clippings can be fitted to-gether like a jigsaw puzzle of the livesof Charles and Bertha Bender ofBreckenridge, Texas.2 Charles M.Bender was born May 25, 1803, inRussia, and arrived in the UnitedStates from Odessa in the early1900s.4 He died on Saturday, July 23,1970 at the age of 90. He owned andoperated Bender’s Department Storein the Bender Building5 inBreckenridge, Texas in StephensCounty, 100 miles west of Fort Worth.

Bender married Bertha ClariceSegalin on August 25, 1912, in Ports-mouth, Virginia.6 The daughter ofMoishe and Ethel Segalin,7 Bertha wasborn in Novo Alexandrovsk(Lithuania), on August 25, 1888.8 Atthe age of 10, she went to Orel to con-tinue her studies for two years. BeingJewish, she could not attend publicschool, but instead had a special tutor.Her father, a small-town lawyer, de-cided that Russia was too dangerousand unstable at that time, so he and hiswife brought their four daughters toAmerica in 1903.9

Bertha studied English with hercousins’ childrens’ books when shearrived in New York City, and got ajob in a neckwear factory. The familymoved to Virginia in 1908. MoisheSegalin’s lack of English made adjust-

ment in New York difficult.Ethel’s brother bought agrocery store for them inPortsmouth, Virginia. Ber-tha joined them in 1905. In1908, the family moved toNorfolk, Virginia.10

Bertha met Charles ata Zionist meeting whereshe was secretary of theNorfolk Zionist Organiza-tion. They married andmoved to Dallas to openthe Gayola Bottling Com-pany,11 where Charlesfounded the Texas YoungZionists of Dallas. In1916-1918, they openedand operated the firstready-to-wear store inLubbock—Bender &Grollman—with Charles’sister and her husband.One day a week, Charleswould take ladies clothingto Floydada. In gratitude, the Cham-ber of Commerce built for him a hab-erdashery, and the Benders lived inFloydada for a short time.12 The oilboom in 1919 inspired them to move toBreckenridge. In addition to the de-partment store there, they had a storeand hotel in McCamey in UptonCounty, south of Midland.13 The hotelwas air conditioned, and all rooms hada private bath.14

Bender, a successful businessman,was also an ardent Zionist and activein civic affairs. Not long before hisdeath, he was honored for his years of

service by the YMCA Board. He be-longed to the Lions Club, theBreckenridge Masonic Lodge, theConsistory, and the Moslah TempleShrine of Fort Worth.15

A letter to the editor from MerlonMontgomery, Jr. of Fort Worth la-mented Bender’s passing, and praisedhim for his generosity, telling howBender had influenced him as a youngman after hiring him to help with oddjobs. For example, Bender had oftengiven free shoes to needy children.Montgomery was with him one day

continued on page 7

1929: Jerry (17 years old), CharlesBender, and Manny (15 years old). Ph

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when a grown man approached andtold Bender what those shoes meantto him as a child.

“Charlie was full of meaningfuladvice,” said Montgomery, on every-thing from trimming hedges to eco-nomics to the proper evaluation of op-portunities. Charlie liked to introducehim as his “Gentile grandson.” Onout-of-town trips, Charlie would startthe day running in place in his under-wear and cowboy boots and touchinghis toes, reminisced Montgomery, andwould ask, “Think you can do thatwhen you’re eighty years old?”

Montgomery remembered Bendercalling his wife Bertha “my Berta.”16

In the same issue of the paper withthe obituary was a letter to the editorfrom Bertha enclosing a $500 contri-bution towards the construction of themuseum in Breckenridge. Berthacommended the building of the mu-seum and wrote, “I regret that Mr.Bender is too ill to help along.”17

Montgomery praised Bender’s civicpride and said he was proud of being aTexan and being called “Tex” in Is-rael.18

Throughout his adult life, CharlieBender was active in Zionist circles.In 1929, he attended the Zionist Con-gress in Zurich, and he was also a del-egate to the 1931 Zionist Congress inBasil, Switzerland.19 A photocopy ofhis credentials badge shows that hewas a delegate to the 45th AnnualSouthwest Region Zionist Conventionin Houston, September 2-5, 1949.20

He was later named Honorary Presi-dent of Southwestern Region ZionistOrganization of America.21

As a writer identified only as “D.H. W.” described Bender, “A JewishCowboy—he had on high boots, pantleg tucked in the tops, a checkeredshirt open at the collar. CharlieBender, ardent Zionist, was recom-mending a course of action and thiscowboy from out on the plains ofTexas knew whereof he spoke... A

Zionist forforty-five years,he attendedmost nationalconventions andmany World Zi-onist gather-ings,” and con-ducted over-seas relief cam-paigns. Longpast fifty, “hestill can do aRussian‘kosotzky’ withthe best ofthem.”22 Oneach visit to Is-rael, Charlesand Bertha visited David Ben Gurionat his home in Sde Boker.23 BenGurion dubbed Charlie the “JewishCowboy from Texas.”24

A notice in the paper advised thatCharles M. Bender “left for New Yorktoday to attend the arrival of Dr.Chaim Weizmann,” first President ofIsrael for a $250/plate dinner at theWaldorf-Astoria to benefit refugees ofDP camps, with President Truman tobe the honored guest.25

A photo from the Jewish HeraldVoice (Houston) on July 7, l960 cap-tioned “Sheik and Texas Zionist Cow-boy Talk It Over” shows Bender withBeduin Sheik Audeh Abu Muamer inhis tent near Beersheba in connectionwith a Southern Regional Israel Bonddelegation.26

Bertha Bender was also interestedin Zionism, and enjoyed internationaltravel. She was active in civic andeducational organizations while raisingtheir growing family. A local paperdescribes the Study Club program atthe Bender home where Bertha, pro-gram chair, served tea from a silversamovar and discussed the Jewishfoods being served. “Bagle [sic]” thenewspaper reports, “a hard roll, isliked by many Jewish people.”27 She

also told of her trips abroad, includingIsrael and Russia.

A competent poet throughout herlife, Bertha read some of her poems tothe group, including one titled “MyHome.”28

Bertha Bender presented otherprograms, such as at the TwentiethCentury Club at the Woman’s Forum.She displayed items brought back fromIsrael, Cairo, Palestine, andCopenhagen. According to the localpaper, “Of special interest was amesusah [sic] which is hung on thedoor of homes to keep out the evilspirits.” She described Paris, Rome,and Milan as well as the history of Is-rael. A film was shown, “MagneticTide,” which told of life and freedomin Israel, and she read a poem abouther travels.29

On another occasion, the Wednes-day Study Club met at the Benderhome where she told of her childhoodin Russia.30

Charlie and Bertha worked jointlyon many projects, such as spearhead-ing the founding of Temple Beth Israelin Breckenridge in 192931 whereCharlie served as the first president.32

They also raised three sons and adaughter: Emanuel (Manny), Gerhard

Charles & Bertha Bender, continued from page 6


Family gathering in front of their home in Breckenridge, Texas,1929. Left to right: Manny, Charles, Bertha, Marvin, and Jerry. In

front is Sybil.


Lone Stars ofDavid: The Jewsof Texas has justreceived a fantasticreview in the cur-rent issue of“American JewishHistory”, the lead-ing academic jour-nal in the field.The reviewer, Dr.Dale Rosengarten,edited a similaraward-winningcoffee table anthol-ogy about theJews of SouthCarolina, called A Portion of thePeople.

Almost every contributor came infor a pat on the back. Rosengartenwrites, “Not only was the book de-signed to appeal to a broad public, itwas assembled democratically, brick bybrick, from the bottom up, from localsources nurtured by the Texas JewishHistorical Society. This marriage ofscholarly monographs, memoirs, andimages….transcends the parochialismimplicit in the term ‘popular history.’The anthology tackles major themes inAmerican and Southern Jewish his-tory…”

“In an enticing foreword, Robert S.Strauss…announces…the town/citydichotomy…recounting his upbringingas a member of the only Jewish familyin the small West Texas town of Stam-ford.”

The reviewer singles out BryanStone’s opening essay about Jews onthe frontier. “While Jews were presentin Texas…Stone explains, that ‘until the1850s there really was noJudaism.’…The task of building formalJewish institutions awaited a criticalmass…Solid citizens such as the Levys,

Another Great Review forLone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas

Dyers, Ostermans,Seeligsons, Landas, andKempners …were the‘real ancestors’ ofTexas Jewry, not theadventurers and pio-neers whose flamboy-ant contributions havedelighted researchersand readers in thepast.”

Dr. Rosengartenenjoyed the “localcolor” in chapters aboutthese “founding fami-lies,” in particular GaryWhitfield’s “story of

the Sanger brothers who caught seces-sionist fever and signed up to fight forthe Confederacy.” Also, PatrickDearen’s “Home on the Range” whichthe reviewer writes, “recounts the riseof Mayer Halff, a rancher and ‘gentle-man’ whose grazing lands onceamounted to a million acres.”

She applauds the chapters that“smash stereotypes.”

Among them is the “memoir ofGalveston’s Rabbi Henry Cohen, writ-ten by his grandson, Henry Cohen II(which) portrays the man behind themyth—a cigar-smoking, practicaljokester called Grandpa” who also is a“supermensch!”

She also applauds writer StuartRockoff for “defying conventional wis-dom about Southern Jews’ resistance toZionism.” His chapter “cites examples,beginning as early as 1897, of sustainedZionist sentiment in the Lone StarState.”

The reviewer enjoyed the “talltales” in Part II, “The EntrepreneurialEra” because of their nuanced focus on“Texas specialties: Jews who had beenhaberdashers in Latvia” (from the essayby Barry Shlachter), “shoe salesmen in

Cuba, or farm boys in New Jersey whobecame wildcatters.” Quoting JanStatman, the reviewer writes, “Every-one wanted to buy into a well thatwould make dreams come true.”

She singles out Doug Braudaway’snarrative about Max Stool, who “stopsin Del Rio…to finish a card game andstays fifty years.” She is agog atLauraine Miller’s history of the Zaleswho “open a jewelry store in WichitaFalls…selling diamonds on credit, mak-ing ‘luxury’ available not just to theelite, but to the masses” and in the pro-cess become a national name in jewelry.

The reviewer likes the unusual twistin Hollace Weiner’s chapter on thefabled Neiman-Marcus store. AbrahamLincoln Neiman “proceeds along acrooked path from rags to riches andback, putting an ironic twist on theHoratio Alger myth.”

Another favorite of this reviewer isJane Guzman’s story of Levy Brothers.“Far west of Dallas,…the Levy brotherssettled in Sweetwater and operated thebest little department store on the 600mile stretch of sagebrush, tumbleweed,oil wells, and feed lots between FortWorth and El Paso.”

In Part III, the reviewer singled outthe chapter co-written by HollaceWeiner and Laurine Miller about “LittleSynagogues” because it shows how re-cent events have “altered the Texaslandscape.”

The reviewer appreciated every il-lustration. Dr. Rosengarten is an archi-vist and curator herself, and she en-joyed the “photographs and ephemeraso painstakingly collected…and culledfrom archives and private collectionsacross the state (to) illustrate nearly ev-ery page.” She praises Ellen Appel’s“flashy dust jacket” and the “high-glosscolor plates” produced from the photos



Honor or Memorialize a Friend or a Loved OneWith a Donation to the TJHS Endowment Fund

When you honor or memorialize a friendor a loved one with a donation to the TexasJewish Historical Society’s EndowmentFund, you help support important programs.Send the honoree’s full name, type of honor(memorial, congratulations, and occasion—birthday, anniversary, award, new child orgrandchild, etc.) and your name, along with acheck in the amount of your choice to:

The Texas Jewish Historical SocietyP. O. Box 10193

Austin, TX 78766-0193

Your support of Texas Jewish HistoricalSociety’s programs is greatly appreciatedand will be recognized in an issue of thequarterly news magazine. Thank you.

The Texas Jewish Historical Society gratefully acknowledges yourgift to its Endowment Fund in the amount of

$____________

In honor/memory of: _____________________________________________________________________________________

Acknowledge To:Name: _____________________________Address: _____________________________

_____________________________Phone: _____________________________

Donor Information:Name: _____________________________Address: _____________________________

_____________________________Phone: _____________________________

Your gift will further the efforts to record, preserve, and disseminatehistoric information about Texas Jewish culture.

The National Yiddish BookCenter in Amherst, Maine hasbeen working for many years col-lecting Yiddish books in an at-tempt to save Yiddish culture. Inaddition, they have also collectedYiddish records, and the JudaicaSound Archives at Florida AtlanticUniversity Library in Boca Raton,Florida has become the repositoryfor these records.

Since 2002, the Sound Ar-chives has been collecting, clean-ing, and digitizing fragile vintage

Yiddish Books, Records Neededphonograph records—78s and LPS.They are creating a huge digital data-base of Jewish music, with the YiddishBook Center supporting their efforts.The Center has donated their accumu-lated collection of over 3,000 recordsand continually sends additionalrecords as they are received.

In addition, the Sound Archivesare looking for Sephardic recordings—78s, LPs and CDs—some that origi-nated in pre World War I Turkey orinterwar Europe, the U. S., and Israel.These records were produced in small

runs and would be a wonderful addi-tion to the archives.

If you have any Yiddish records,books, or other materials that youwould like to donate, contact theJudaica Sound Archives at their website, http://faujsa.fau.edu or the di-rector, Nathan Tinanoff, at 561-297-2207. You may also contact the Yid-dish Book Center; Harry &Jeanette Weinberg Building; 1021West Street; Amherst, MA 01002for additional information.

w w w. t x j h s . o r gV i s i t u s o n t h e wV i s i t u s o n t h e w e b ae b a t w w wt w w w. t x j h s . o r g. In Memoriam

A. I. Schepps, TJHS member, fromHouston, died September 11, 2009.He was 100 years old.

May his memory be a blessing.


Corpus Christi); and Jim Jakubitz, Ex-ecutive Director of the Tulsa JewishRetirement and Health Care Center.WOW—wait until you see the com-plex grounds! The grounds house theSherwin Miller Museum, the Federa-tion, the Charles Shusterman JCC,(note the Texas connection to theShusterman Center for Jewish Studieson the UT Austin campus) the Retire-ment Center, tennis courts, a swim-ming pool, and adjacent to the complexthe villas (retirement homes). We willbe staying directly across the street atthe Marriott hotel. Arrangementshave been made (if you arrive early onFriday afternoon) for TJHS membersto tour the Miller Museum—keep yoursticker ID which will enable you toreturn again on Sunday afternoon.Rabbi Charles Sherman has extendedan invitation for us to join Temple Is-rael on Friday evening for their inter-faith dinner and services with theirguest rabbi, Rabbi Capers C. Fennye,Jr. of the Beth Shalom B’nai ZakenEthiopian Hebrew Congregation ofChicago (if his name is familiar to you,his family’s guest for Passover Sederwas President Barak Obama and fam-ily). What a wonderful opportunity forus to meet not only other Jewish fami-lies, but other members of the Tulsacommunity.

On Saturday morning, we will

have speakers from TJHS and Tulsaspeaking about the history of Texasand Oklahoma Jewry, plus a sessionon Genealogy 101—a great way toresearch our family history. Saturdaylunch and afternoon will be on yourown to explore Tulsa, which boasts therenowned Gilcrease Museum, thePhilbrook Museum of Art, the TulsaAir and Space Museum, and muchmore (you will have visitor informationprovided by the Tulsa Convention Cen-ter with your packet upon arrival). OnSaturday evening, we will continuelearning about both Texas and Okla-homa Jewry from our speakers. Ourweekend concludes with our boardmeeting on Sunday morning, also atthe complex. Following the adjourn-ment of the meeting, we will proceeddirectly into the Sherwin Miller Mu-seum of Jewish Art where we willhave a docent-guided tour for thosenot able to see the Museum early onFriday. Mr. Feldman has graciouslyvoluntered to open the museum earlyfor TJHS members.

The Tulsa Jewish GenealogicalSociety, as well as the entire TulsaJewish community are being invited toour Saturday sessions and are wel-come to attend our board meeting onSunday. The leaders we met with arelooking forward to meeting TJHSmembers—you never know who you’ll

meet and how much you’ll have incommon. As Barry Abels and I dis-covered while talking, he knew mymother, Blanche Sheiness, may sherest in peace, when he lived in CorpusChristi.

You can either drive (a four-hourdrive from Dallas; Samylu and Ithought the drive went quickly withlittle traffic—and think of the casinosyou can stop at—we saw at leastfour!) or you can fly to Tulsa (Ameri-can, Delta, United, Southwest, AirTrans) and the Marriott has a compli-mentary shuttle to pick you up—it’sabout 20 minutes to the hotel.

Please plan to join us for the win-ter board meeting in Tulsa—to meetnew friends and neighbors to the“north” and have the opportunity tosee a U.S. renowned Jewish Art Mu-seum!

Our Annual Gathering will be heldthe weekend of April 23rd in Dallasand the host committee is diligentlyworking on plans.

I wish each of you an early HappyChanukah, and a Happy New Year,and I hope to see you at the winterboard meeting and the Annual Gather-ing.

President, 2008-2010

of Jenny Solomon, Carolyn Cruz,David Hoffman, Davie Lou Solka, andLarry Rose.

Last but not least, the reviewercongratulates the co-editors. “Rabbiand historian Kenneth A. Roseman, au-thor of a prize-winning series foryoung readers, was recruited early inthe project and helped shape its themesand structures

Last but not least, the reviewercongratulates the co-editors. “RabbiKenneth A. Roseman, author of aprize-winning series for young read-

ers, was recruited early in the projectand helped shape its themes and struc-ture. Hollace Weiner writes with theear of a journalist and the eye of apainter.” The reviewer adds that “therichness and readability of the volumeis a credit to the talents of its editors.”

Everyone take a bow. We haveanother winner!

Lone Stars of David: The Jews ofTexas, which retails for $35, is in itssecond printing. It can be purchasedat Barnes & Noble, Borders, andthrough www.amazon.com.

Save the DateSave the DateJanuary 15-17, 2010Joint Board Meeting with

Oklahoma Jewish HistoricalSociety in Tulsa

April 23-25, 2010Annual Gathering in

Dallas

Message from the President, continued from page 2

Lone Stars of David, continued from page 8


Symposium on the Galveston MovementThe Symposium on the Galveston Movement was held in conjunction with the

“Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island,”an exhibit at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum on September 10-11, 2009.

BryanStone,SallyDrayer,andRabbiJimmyKessler

Dr. RobertAbzug

Helen Wilk, Elaine Albin, Ima JoyGandler, and Barbara Rosenberg

Jan Hart Samylu Rubin and Betty and Neil Gurwitz


A trio of Arab businessmen whomoved to Fort Worth enrolled in En-glish-language classes at a Baptistchurch, but quit because the teachersdelivered more doctrine than diction.Instead, the Muslims attended theCouncil of Jewish Women’s Ameri-canization School at the Hebrew Insti-tute and contentedly learned in a non-sectarian classroom.

Likewise, the Italian nuns runningSaint Theresa’s Home for childrenstudied English at the Hebrew Insti-tute. The sisters, who wore habits toclass, learned not only the vernacularbut also enough streetwise tips to passtheir Texas driving tests.

Another student, a longtime FortWorth resident from Greece, yearnedto take her citizenship exam but couldnot comprehend America’s threebranches of government. At theAmericanization School, her teachercompared the United States’ execu-tive, legislative, and judicial branchesto an old-fashioned kitchen stove. Theoven was the legislative branch; thebroiler, the judiciary; and the stovetop,the chief executive. Each branch func-tioned separately, yet together as aunit. The metaphor helped the immi-grant pass her naturalization test.

The teacher, in each instance, wasAmelia Levy Rosenstein, a master ofmetaphor and the AmericanizationSchool’s unofficial dean from the1930s until the school’s closing in1973. Without textbooks—or tuition—Rosenstein taught year after year, firstat the Hebrew Institute and later atBeth-El Congregation, using intuitionand common sense to teach adultsfrom more than a score of foreign na-tions. Along with a corps of changing

Becoming American by Wayof the Hebrew Institute

by Hollace Ava WeinerExcerpted from Grace & Gumption: Stories of Fort Worth Women

© Texas Christian University Press, 2007

volunteers, she cut pic-tures out of grocery adsand catalogues andpasted them on con-struction paper to simu-late a trip to the store.She hosted potluck sup-pers in her home tosample dishes from for-eign lands. She sched-uled after-school con-ferences to untangle bu-reaucratic snafus result-ing from the ever-changing maze of immi-gration statutes andnaturalization require-ments.

The Council of Jewish Womenopened the Americanization School in1907, during an era when democracy’smelting-pot theory prevailed. At thattime, Fort Worth was a booming stock-yards-and-packinghouse town, beck-oning immigrant families from Greece,Poland, Mexico, and at least fifteenother nations. With the promise ofjobs, foreigners arrived to work in thecity’s two meatpacking plants, one op-erated by Swift & Co. and the otherby Armour & Co.

In the early twentieth century,there were few restrictions on Euro-pean or Latin American immigration.However, the increasing visibility offoreigners with varying complexionsled to mounting xenophobia and, by1921, to immigration quotas basedupon country of origin. The generalpopulace believed the Anglo-Saxonheritage to be the strongest, purest,most civilized strain. Popular publicspeakers and best-selling books ad-vised that instilling immigrants with

Anglo-Saxon val-ues and customswould “convert”them to the Ameri-can work ethic andturn them into pa-triotic citizens. TheCouncil of JewishWomen’s Ameri-canization Schoolmet a need, bothpractical and psy-chological, helpingto homogenizenewcomersthrough lessons inlanguage, etiquette,

and hygiene. The AmericanizationSchool also reassured the city’s Jews,whose families had immigrated to theUnited States a generation or so be-fore, that they too were looked uponas 100% American.

The Americanization School’s1907 opening corresponded with thestart of the Galveston Movement,which, over a seven-year period,brought ten thousand Yiddish-speakingrefugees to Texas. From the port ofGalveston, these East-European immi-grants dispersed across Texas and theMiddle West as far north as the Dako-tas, with an average of eight refugeesa month settling in Fort Worth.

The city’s Americanization Schoolopened with six teachers—threewomen from the Council and threemen from the B’nai B’rith lodge. Itenrolled around twenty students—so-called “scholars” ranging in age from14 to 45. Evening classes initially con-vened in a prominent location—theTarrant County Courthouse, a land-



mark that symbolized the school’s im-portance and the women’s connec-tions.

The Fort Worth Council of JewishWomen—along with sister sections inDetroit and New York—was amongthe earliest Jewish women’s groups toorganize a school to “help the foreignborn.” As the grassroots effort caughton, the Council’s headquarters in NewYork issued a policy statement in 1911urging that every chapter help Ameri-canize immigrants who were resettlingin their cities. Eventually, Americaniza-tion Schools opened in dozens of cities,including El Paso, Houston, and SanAntonio. To assist the network ofadult-education schools, the Council’snational office published instructionmanuals, sponsored regional institutes,and worked so closely with the U.S.Immigration and Naturalization Ser-vice that it had its own special codenumber—#116—for requesting docu-ments, tracking lost paperwork, andhelping immigrants cut red tape. Asthe organization’s influence expanded,it added the word “National” to itsname in 1923, becoming the NationalCouncil of Jewish Women (NCJW).

Fort Worth’s AmericanizationSchool was well established by 1925,the year that Amelia Levy, a Houstonschoolteacher, visited the city to attendthe Jewish Chautauqua Society’ssouthwest regional meeting. Her rolewas to present a “model Sundayschool lesson” during a program fol-lowing Friday-evening worship ser-vices at Beth-El, the city’s Reformcongregation. Her appearance socaptivated congregant AbeRosenstein, an auditor with the RockIsland Railroad, that a two-year court-ship ensued.

The couple married in Houston inJune of 1927 and moved in with hisfamily in a house at 2511 Fifth Avenuein Fort Worth.

In that era, marriage was deemeda fulltime role for women. Female

teachers lost their classroom positionswhen they wed. The Fort Worthschool board, however, relaxed therule if there was a teachershortage—and there was.Amelia Rosenstein was hiredat an annual salary of $900 toteach first grade at Hi-MountElementary, a four-room,redbrick building, now a com-munity center, at 4125Lafayette Avenue. She latertaught at Arlington HeightsElementary at 5100 CampBowie Boulevard. The schooldistrict’s employment policygranted exceptions to marriedwomen, but not those expect-ing children. AmeliaRosenstein apparently stoppedteaching at the start of the1931 school year. On Decem-ber 7, 1931, Amelia and AbeRosenstein’s only child, Ber-nard, was born. Since teachingwas Amelia’s calling, as soonas she was able, she began tosubstitute in the Americaniza-tion School.

By then, the school for immigrantshad experienced some ups and downsand was at a low point. Libby SimonGinsburg, president of the Council ofJewish Women (and a cousin of AbeRosenstein), made it her priority, ac-cording to her annual report, to restorethe “school of adult education” to itsprior position of prestige. This wasduring the Depression, and funds werescarce. Classroom space was donatedby the Hebrew Institute, the three-story Jewish community center at 819Taylor Street that was operated byAhavath Sholom, the Orthodox syna-gogue next door. A recruitment drivefor students went into high gear.Among the “difficulties to overcomewas getting married women to attendclasses.” By the end of the spring se-mester, however, the AmericanizationSchool once again had a reputation “as

a school of real merit.” Ginsburg re-ported that the Fort Worth “Board ofEducation became cognizant of our

excellent work . . [and] . . furnishedus a highly qualified teacher.” Amongthe volunteer teachers listed in theCouncil’s annual report for 1934 was“Mrs. A. Rosenstein.”

The more Amelia Rosenstein vol-unteered at the AmericanizationSchool, the more she took charge.When the school district’s teachermoved on to another position,Rosenstein stepped in and received asmall salary. In the late-1930s, theWorks Progress Administration beganfunding English-literacy classes. TheAmericanization School received someof that New Deal money, funneledthrough the Fort Worth school board.Gradually, Rosenstein became theschool’s unofficial dean.

“I went to help, and I liked it somuch,” Rosenstein told the Fort

Becoming American, continued from page 12



Worth Press. “You just lose yourselfso completely in . . . these people whocome from all over the world. It’s achallenge to help.” The most challeng-ing students were those who hadnever been to school and were illiter-ate in their native language. By con-trast, students with formal schooling—whether in Japanese or Swahili—real-ized that there were patterns to dis-cern, and they grasped more quicklywhere the teacher was headed.

The stream of students enrolling atthe Americanization School throughoutthe late 1930s and early 1940s wasmainly from Europe, where Hitler wasrising to power. After World War II,the War Brides Act of 1945 facilitatedimmigration for spouses and familiesof returning American soldiers. In1948, the Displaced Persons Act al-lowed admittance of many refugeesuprooted by the war and unable to en-ter the United States under standardimmigration policies. . . . The 1953Refugee Relief Act loosened restric-tions for still more. With the onset ofthe Cold War, the Hungarian RefugeeAct of 1956 and Cuban AdjustmentProgram of the 1960s keptRosenstein’s classes full and diverse.Fort Worth’s Americanization Schoolbecame a veritable United Nations, adiplomatic meeting ground, which an-nually enrolled up to thirty studentsfrom Siberia to the South Pacific.

One rule at the school was “En-glish only”—a trial indeed for Eulaliaand Petra Zamora, sisters-in-law fromsouth of the border who had failedtheir citizenship tests three times dur-ing a 19-year period. After one semes-ter in Amelia Rosenstein’s classroom,they made the grade.

More difficult than the Zamoraswas an Asian student who resisted us-ing capital letters at the start of sen-tences. His native language had butone set of letters—all the equivalent oflower case. Another challenging stu-dent was a Swiss chef who needed to

learn culinary terms. Rosenstein’s stu-dents roared with laughter as she con-torted her body to illustrate the wordgizzard. “As long as we have . . .pantomime, we’re all right,” shechuckled. Rosenstein utilized Brailleto assist a blind student, and speechtherapy to help an adult who had sofew teeth that she could not pronounceMassachusetts.

One year, the FBI came lookingfor Rosenstein. The reason: an Aus-trian war bride married to a Saginaw,Texas judge had heard about theschool but had no idea how to locateit. Her only clue was that a womannamed Eeemelia from a Jewish orga-nization ran the classes. Out of frus-tration, the war bride, MarguerethaHess Luedke, asked her husband’schum, the Saginaw chief of police, totrack down the school. He turned therequest over to his friends at the FBI.One evening, a startled AmeliaRosenstein picked up the telephonereceiver and heard a man’s voice an-nounce, “Mrs. Rosenstein? This isAgent _____ with the FBI. We’vebeen looking for you.” A short timelater, Margueretha Luedke passed hercitizenship test.

Another, much larger, successstory involved a Hong Kong warbride—a former teacher who not onlybecame an American citizen but alsoenrolled at Texas Wesleyan College,graduated magna cum laude, studiedon scholarship at Texas Woman’s Uni-versity, and became an East Coast re-search chemist.

Most Americanization studentshad more modest goals. AnnieRutlader, a pre-World War II immi-grant, fulfilled her dream on Decem-ber 1, 1940, when she smiled andraised aloft her naturalization papersfor a Star-Telegram photographer.Polish-born Rutlader had arrived inFort Worth in 1931 to join her husband,Sam, who had immigrated a decadebefore to join a brother. By 1938, de-

spite seven years in Texas, Annie’sEnglish skills were virtually nonexist-ent. With her relatives, she spoke Pol-ish and Yiddish. Her husband’s Englishremained rudimentary, because he op-erated a grocery store in a Mexicanneighborhood. “He had to learn tospeak Spanish because his customersweren’t going to learn to speak Yid-dish!” observed his daughter, BessRutlader Gaines, who was born in1932.

When Bess started first grade inthe fall of 1938, her mother enrolled inthe Americanization School. “We werelearning to read English at the sametime,” she recounted. “I would helpher with some of the work. I remem-ber so well asking her the questionsthat might be on her citizenship test:‘Can anybody be a president?’ Shewould shake her head, ‘No,’ and say,‘You have to be born in the UnitedStates.’”

Bess remembered riding the buswith her mother to the Hebrew Insti-tute, where classes convened until1951, when the building was sold.Neither of Bess’s parents ever learnedto drive a car. During her mother’safternoon classes, the child waited inthe lobby on a marble bench in front ofa white-marble slab inscribed with thenames of 81 Jewish servicemen fromFort Worth who had fought in WorldWar I. Bess read and re-read theirnames—Tony Bergman . . . DavidGreines . . . Leo Potishman . . . S.Sankary. “It was cold on that bench,”Bess recalled. Whenever AnnieRutlader stayed after class to conferwith her teachers, Amelia Rosensteininvited the child into the classroom.

More than half a century later,Bess recalled Amelia Rosenstein as a“tiny” but commanding woman with“big, round brown eyes, like BettyDavis,” and wavy, graying hair looselypulled back into a bun. She often worehigh heels, white gloves, and a neck-




lace that matched her dress. A cordialyet formal presence, she could com-municate with anyone, whether or notthey spoke the same language. Bessremembered Rosenstein especiallywell because her family subsequentlymoved into a one-story brick housewith a front porch a block away fromthe Rosensteins’ home at 2717Hemphill Street.

The Rutladers were among themore fortunate immigrants who haddeparted Europe before the outbreakof World War II. Later students at theAmericanization School were not asblessed.

Livia Schreiber, a survivor of theAuschwitz death camp, arrived in FortWorth in 1945 and moved in with herfirst cousin, physician EugeneSteinberger. He had sponsored her im-migration to America. Pretty and ani-mated, the 20-year-old refugee pickedup English with a lilting Czech accent.The NCJW nominated her as its 1947candidate for Presentation, a Jewishdebutante ball held at Thanksgivingtime. Within a few years, Livia mar-ried Texan Sam Levine, enrolled in theAmericanization School, and appliedfor U.S. citizenship. On June 19, 1950,Livia Schreiber Levine stood before afederal district judge, renounced alle-giance to any “prince or potentate,”and recited the oath of American citi-zenship. Her success turned into afront-page headline in the nextmorning’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram:“Citizenship Helps Blot Out Concen-tration Camp.” Levine’s empathy andoptimism led her to return to theAmericanization School as a volunteerteacher. (In later years, she taughtHebrew and Holocaust studies atBeth-El.)

Each Jewish woman to graduatefrom the Americanization School re-ceived a year’s membership in theNCJW. Amelia Rosenstein encour-aged Livia Levine to attend a meeting.Following introductions, Levine was

asked to describe her wartime ordeal,from her 1939 deportation fromCzechoslovakia to her seven-yeartrauma at the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. “My En-glish was so bad, I am afraid I hit it offwrong with the women,” Levine re-called. Some of the women wereskeptical of her narrative. “One of theladies said, ‘You know, we had it hardtoo. We had to have special couponsfor gasoline and tires for a car.’ . . . Iwas talking to them about bread . . . .Some of these women really and trulydid not know what had gone on underthe Nazis. I was so hurt.” Althoughthe trauma of the death camps hadbeen in the headlines, many chose todeny it or blot it out.”

Americans were even less awareof Louis and Ann Kirschner Bogart’snightmare. This Polish couple—he, atextile designer from Lodz, and she, afashion designer from Beilsko-Biala—met and married in Uzbekistan afterspending much of the war in Stalinistlabor camps in Siberia. “Nobodytalked about people in Russia starvingto death. It was never publicized,”maintained Ann Bogart, who immi-grated to Fort Worth in 1950. “In Si-beria, we were eating grass. If we didget food, it was corn mush three timesa day. I can’t eat cornbread to thisday. It tastes bitter to me. In Siberia,during the winter we cut down treesfor fuel. In the summer, we plantedpotatoes. You couldn’t run away. Youwould freeze to death.”

At the outbreak of World War II,both Ann’s and Louis’s families hadfled east to escape the advancing Ger-man army, only to be taken prisoner bythe Russians. When Germany at-tacked Russia in 1941, the Sovietsjoined the Allies and eventually re-leased Polish prisoners, many ofwhom journeyed by cattle wagonacross the Ural Mountains toUzbekistan. There, Ann and Louis metin January 1944 at the home of her

cousin, also a war refugee. The couplemarried on March 8, 1945. Post-war,the Bogarts spent five years in a dis-placed persons camp in the Bavariantown of Landsberg. From there, theyapplied to immigrate to Israel, Norway,and the United States. “We waited tosee what came first,” Ann Bogart ex-plained. Visas for Norway and theUnited States arrived on the same day.The Bogarts chose America, “becauseNorway was too close to Russia.”

The couple traveled by ship toNew Orleans and by train to FortWorth, where they received onemonth’s rent for an apartment stockedwith food. Once in Texas, they put thepast behind them. “It’s good to knowwhere you came from,” Ann Bogartacknowledged, “but you can’t thinkabout the things that happened. Youhave to go forward or you will just wiltaway.”

In Fort Worth, Louis Bogart wentto work as a shipping clerk at S.Herzfeld Sportswear, a ladies’-ready-to-wear manufacturer. Owners Selloand Frieda Herzfeld, German immi-grants who had fled to the U.S. in1938, were Americanization-Schoolgraduates themselves and good friendsof Amelia and Abe Rosenstein. Infact, when Sello Herzfeld passed hisnaturalization exam in the 1940s, hecelebrated by giving the Rosensteins’son a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

During the months that LouisBogart worked at S. Herzfeld Sports-wear, his wife, Ann, earned extramoney at home, stitching clothing al-terations on her Singer sewing ma-chine. It was Amelia Rosenstein whointroduced Ann Bogart to pinkingshears—the saw-toothed scissors thatkeep edges of fabric from easily fray-ing.

“I didn’t go very long to theAmericanization School,” Ann Bogartrecalled. “Because I knew more lan-guages than one, it was easier for




me.” At the Americanization School,Ann and Louis Bogart received in-struction in U.S. history, the Bill ofRights, and the Constitution. Ulti-mately, none of those civics lessonscame to bear when Ann Bogart tookher citizenship exam. “All I rememberabout my test is that . . . the manasked me why a woman cannot be apresident of the United States.” Quiz-zically, she stared back at the exam-iner, unaware that he was teasing herwith a sexist joke. “He said, ‘Becausea woman won’t say her age.’ Thatwas my test. He never asked meabout history.”

Toward the end of Ann Bogart’ssecond year in Fort Worth, she de-signed a coat for a schoolteacher. Abuyer with Meacham’s DepartmentStore saw the teacher wearing thecoat, asked where it was purchased,and subsequently contracted with AnnBogart to sew for the upscale store. “Istarted to make skirts,” she recalled.“Louis took an order for the skirt—five dozen. He went to Dallas, wherehe bought leftover fabric. I sewedthem.” The couple’s eye for businessand fashion soon led them to apply fora loan from the Hebrew Free LoanAssociation—also called GemilusChasodim, Yiddish for “deeds of kind-ness.” This lending institution, commonin Jewish communities and dating to1907 in Fort Worth, extends interest-free business loans upon the recom-mendation of two co-religionists.“That’s how we started,” Ann Bogartrecalled. (The Herzfeld sportswearcompany had also begun with a He-brew free loan.) Bogart Industrieseventually employed 1,000 people infactories in Fort Worth, Jacksboro,Cleburne, Dublin, and Mexico. AnnBogart designed clothing for Sears,Roebuck and Co. and J.C. Penney.She sewed custom-made bathing suitsand evening gowns for contestants inthe Miss Texas and Miss AmericaPageants. For many years, the

Bogarts served on the board of direc-tors of the Miss Texas Pageant. ForAnn Bogart and many other immi-grants, the Americanization Schoolwas one important step along the pathtoward a new life in Texas.

Rosenstein’s son Bernard, wholives in Dallas, recalled that one of hismother’s most unforgettable studentswas Rosie Snofsky (pronouncedSchnapfsky). A Polish immigrant, shevisited the Rosensteins’ home one dayfor help with filling out her citizenshipapplication. “Mama asked, ‘Where’dyou come from?’ ‘Pinsk.’ She thenasked, ‘When’s your birthday?’ Rosieresponded ‘Auch Purim,’” meaning onthe Jewish holiday of Purim, whichcan fall in February or March, depend-ing upon the Jewish lunar calendar.The year that Rosie Snofsky appliedfor U.S. citizenship, Purim fell onMarch 17. Therefore, AmeliaRosenstein wrote March 17, 1882, asher birth date. “It became a familyjoke,” Bernard recalled. “The birthdayof Mrs. Snofsky”—hardly an Irish-sounding name—“was on St. Patrick’sDay.”

Besides teaching English, helpingimmigrants fill out forms, training vol-unteers, and leading the Council ofJewish Women, Amelia Rosensteinalso taught first-grade Sunday Schoolat Beth-El Congregation for fortyyears.

The first-grade curriculum beganwith the creation of the world. “Chil-dren love and enjoy the ‘in the begin-ning,’” Rosenstein told the FortWorth Press. Rosenstein’s creation-story lessons culminated with the cel-ebration of the Sabbath, with severalSundays devoted to a Sabbath Tableprogram. Over and over, the firstgraders rehearsed Hebrew blessingsfor lighting candles, sipping the fruit ofthe vine, and breaking bread until theyhad internalized the sanctity of theseventh day. They baked challah in theTemple kitchen. The course of study

ended with an annual Model SabbathTable Demonstration—a Sundaymorning when each first grader set hisor her place at an elegant table cov-ered with fine linen. From home, thestudents brought a setting of china, sil-ver, and crystal, as well as fresh flow-ers, candlesticks, and a Kiddush cup.The children’s beaming parents at-tended, as did the rabbi. One parentsent her son with a paper plate insteadof fine china and received an admon-ishment from the teacher.

Rosenstein’s final Model SabbathTable Demonstration was celebratedin the fall of 1972. That November,she turned 75. By the end of theschool year, her sister-in-law Milliehad died, and her husband Abe was indeclining health. Amelia Rosensteinannounced her retirement.

Rosenstein’s adult students beggedher to continue. The NCJW looked fora successor. The school’s top two vol-unteers were Clara Levy, a Beth-Elcongregant who worked at GeneralDynamics, and her close friend PatRiddell, an Episcopalian. “They askedme if I would take over the school,”recalled Riddell, whose volunteer workhad earned her “honorary member-ship” in the NCJW. Riddell declinedthe job because she was unfamiliarwith the labyrinth of rules governingimmigration and naturalization. Thatwas Rosenstein’s area of expertise.

Thus, Amelia Rosenstein’s 1973retirement brought to a close theAmericanization School, which, underher guidance, had graduated morethan 600 students. By then, area publicschools offered adult-educationclasses to help foreigners transition tolife in Texas. The NCJW’s American-ization School no longer filled anunmet community need.

At a Sabbath service honoringAmelia Rosenstein on September 7,1973, several generations of worship-pers gathered to praise the beloved




When my parents took me homefrom St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houstonin June, 1929, it was to a street thatran off the two blocks of Needville’smain street. During the nine yearsNeedville was my home, the sign asone entered the town indicated a popu-lation of 400. There were no streetnames then, but now the street ourhouse was on is called RichmondStreet.

A car mechanic’s garage was atthe corner of the main street, and nextto it were three houses. When I wasbrought there, the families occupyingthose houses were the Schaeffers, theSteins, and the Erlichmans, the onlyJewish inhabitants of the town. TheSchaeffers moved before I have anymemories of them as neighbors, but Ido remember many times stopping into the drug store they ran inRosenberg, eleven miles away. Mr.Stein and my father both ran generalstores on the main street.

Trying to keep a kosher home wasa challenge that faced my mother.Fairly regular trips into Houston madeit possible to get kosher meat. I recallthe shops which were run by theLewis and Lidsky families. Therewas a solution at hand for chicken forFriday night Shabbat dinner. Ourneighbor, Mr. Stein, was capable ofkilling a chicken so that it was kosher.I observed the routine many times.

He would gather the wings to thefowl’s side so that he could tuck thebird under his left arm. Then, hewould bend its neck back so that hecould pluck a few feathers before per-forming a single stroke with hisstraight razor and then, released thechicken to do its dance of death. Mymother would pluck the feathers andeviscerate the bird so that she couldcomplete the process of making it ko-sher. I had none of the illusions about

food that neatly packaged parts allowyoung people today to entertain.

On the whole, my memory is thatalthough we were viewed as different,people were friendly. My brother andI had regular playmates. There wasevidence, however, that some peopleheld prejudices against us. More thanonce “Christ-killer” was shouted at meby one of my playmates when we hadsome disagreement. At first I let itpass with no particular bad feelings.But an important incident in my child-hood revealed to me that it had af-fected me quite deeply.

One of my playmates, a girlnamed Hilda, the older daughter of thecar mechanic, was a frail child. Shewas one of my favorite classmates.Some congenital problem probably ac-counted for her dying when she wasabout six or seven. That in itself wasfrightening to me. I heard that herfuneral would be at a church a fewblocks away. It was a relativelysmall, white building with double doorsa few steps up. When I was about toenter, I saw at the far end a large cru-cifix. It hung at an angle so that itseemed to be floating toward me. Iwas terrified, recalling the epithet myplaymates had flung at me. I turnedand ran home crying all the way.

An incident that I recall somewhatfrom experiencing it but probably morefrom hearing my parents tell of it, in-volved a visit from a hobo. This wasin the thirties when there were manyriding the rails. A hobo had appearedin town on a Friday and asked if therewere any Jewish people who mighttake him in for a Shabbat dinner.Someone in town referred him to myparents. The idea of a Jewish hobowas, in itself, somewhat astonishing,but there was something that madehim even more unique. When he firstappeared, I was frightened by the

large bundle he had flung over hisshoulder. I had been aware of theabduction of the Lindbergh baby andconsidered myself a potential victim.But my parents were very welcomingand in return, the hobo shared some ofthe valuables in his bundle. Theywere newspapers clippings that de-clared him to be the King of the Ho-bos. He hit the road the next day withthe address of my maternal aunt andher family of twelve children in Cleve-land, Ohio. Sometime later, he paidthem a Shabbat visit, too.

Although I soon lived in placeswith much larger Jewish populations, Ivalue my childhood in Needville formaking me aware of both the positiveand negative aspects of being a mem-ber of a minority and for teaching meto question the degree of acceptancefrom the population as a whole.

Life in Needville, Texasby H. P. Erlichman

Sunday school teacher and Ameri-canization coach. When the legend-ary educator died a decade later,on December 19, 1983, Rabbi Rob-ert Schur noted in his graveside eu-logy that Amelia Rosenstein hadtaught students from Vietnam toVenezuela and from first grade toretirement age. Her lessons wouldlive on.

Becoming American, continuedfrom page 16

Please Note:Please Note:Please Note:If you are sending a

check to the Texas JewishHistorical Society, pleaseindicate the purpose ofthe check—dues, gift,

contribution, etc.


TJHS Fall Board Meeting

Top left photo: BabeSchwartz and BarbaraRosenberg. Top right photo:Jan and Charles Hart.Photo to left: Gary andMichael Solka.

Dick and Claire Brooks Davie Lou Solka


Austin, September 12-13, 2009

Clockwise from top leftphoto: Dr. Robert Abzug;Vickie and David Vogel;Rusty and Mitzi Milstein;Marvin and Yetta Leshin,Raye Brown and David Leff.


(Jerry), Marvin, and Sybil.33 Manny,Jerry, and Sybil attended the Univer-sity of Texas; Marvin went to TexasA & M.34

In 1953, Charles retired from thedepartment store35 and sold it. Itburned later that summer and wasnever reopened.36 He stayed activeinto his eighties. His obituary readthat he had been in failing health forseveral years and a patient atBreckenridge Nursing Home duringthe final seven weeks of his life. Hewas buried in Ahavath Sholom Cem-etery in Fort Worth.37

After Charles’ death, Berthamoved to Houston to be near hersons.38 She enjoyed a very long, ac-tive life, and wrote a memoir bookletfor her grandchildren. She was amember of Congregation BethYeshurun, JCC’s Tuesday Club, theYiddish Club, Golden Age Club,Hadassah, O.R.T., and PioneerWomen.39

On her ninety-ninth birthday, theJCC gave Bertha a lifetime member-ship40 and a special proclamation camefrom Mayor Kathy Whitmire.41 Ber-tha walked to McDonald’s each morn-ing for coffee with friends, even on

days when it was difficult to do so.42

For her 100th birthday, she washonored by the American Society forTechnion, Houston Chapter, atStouffer Greenway Plaza. TheBenders had donated funds in the late1950s to build Bender Laboratory ofAeronautical Engineering at theTechnion, which was instrumental indeveloping the aeronautical advancesand avionics for which the IDF isknown worldwide.43 Two of theirsons had studied at the Technion in1930.44 Among the Bender gifts werea high pressure jet and a supersonicwind tunnel.45

Other honors for her milestonebirthday included being made a chartermember of the Mental Health Asso-ciation of Houston and Harris County100 Club.46 Bertha was honored byCongregation Beth Yeshurun in a cel-ebration that Rabbi Jack Segal invitedall to attend.

“Once you hit a hundred,” Berthasaid, “there’s nothing to it. When Iturned seventy, I thought I was old,and then, strangely enough, every tenyears after that I felt younger.47

Bertha Bender died January 4,1990 at the age of 101. Rabbi PaulKaplan and Cantor Robert Gerber of-ficiated at her funeral. She was bur-ied at Woodlawn Cemetery on Janu-ary 7, 1990.48 As she ended one ofher poems,

It matters not, I’ve had my day,I wouldn’t turn back the clock of

time,As in the night, I grope my way

to my allotted line.49

I’m sure many more stories couldbe told of Charlie and Bertha Benderof Breckenridge, Texas, and I wouldlove to hear them, but these are thememories preserved in newspaperclippings in our archives.50

References1 Abilene Reporter News, July 23,

1970 obituary of Charles Bender.2 Box 3A169 (all clippings cited are

from this box unless otherwise noted),

Texas Jewish Historical Society Ar-chives, Dolph Briscoe Center forAmerican History, University ofTexas, Austin, containing photocopiesand newspaper clippings (many unla-beled and undated) and unlabelednotes about Charles and BerthaBender from Deep in the Heart, byRuthe Winegarten and CathySchechter, Eakin Press, 1990.

3 Abilene Reporter News, op cit.4 Unidentified biographical sheet.5 Box 3A164, Betty Ewing, “A De-

light at 101,” Houston Chronicle, Sep-tember 6, 1989.

6 Abilene Reporter News, op cit.7 Box 3A169, Jeanne F. Samuels,

undated.8 Box 3A164, Bertha Bender, “Early

Influences on my Life,” 1983 NCJWHouston, Oral history.

9 Breckenridge American, February10, 1963, and Ewing op cit.

10 Box 3A164, Bertha Bender, “IRemember When,” November, 1983,NCJW Houston.

11 Ibid.12 Ewing, op cit.13 Unlabeled biographical informa-

tion, apparently notes for Deep in theHeart.

14 Ewing, op cit.15 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July

19, 1970.16 Breckenridge American, August

4, 1970.17 Breckenridge American?, un-

dated (August 4, 1970?).18 Breckenridge American, op cit.19 Abilene Reporter News, July 23,

1970 obituary of Charles Bender.20 Box 3A169.21 Abilene Reporter News, July 23,

1970.22 Unlabeled, undated newspaper

article authored by “D.H.W.”23 Photo of the Benders with Ben

Gurion in Deep in the Heart, p. 163.24 Unlabeled, undated newspaper

article; Ewing op cit.25 Unlabeled, undated newspaper

Charles & Bertha Bender, continued from page 7

Charles and Bertha Bender at theirson Marvin’s wedding.



TJHS TS Traveling Exg ExhibitThe Texas Jewish Historical

Society has compiled twomuseum quality photo exhibitswith explanations depicting earlyJewish life and contributions.Both exhibits highlight the lives ofJews in Texas since the early partof the century.

Each exhibit is comprised ofapproximately thirty-sixphotographs that can either beself-standing with an easel backor hung on a wall. There is nocharge for the exhibits and theywill be shipped prepaid freight via

UPS in waterproof boxes to yourlocation. The only expense to theborrower will be the shipping ofthe exhibit back via UPS ground.

The exhibits have beendisplayed in various locations inTexas and other parts of theUnited States, including RhodeIsland and California. They arean excellent program for schools,congregations and otherorganizations. To schedule theexhibits, please contact JackGerrick at 817-927-8765 or emailhim at [email protected].

The deadline for theFebruary, 2009 TJHS

Newsletter is January 8.

The Cemetery Book that waspublished by the Texas JewishHistorical Society in 1997 is beingupdated. If you know of any deathsthat have occurred since 1997 and theburial was in a non-Jewish cemetery,please contact Charles Hart at254-778-2676 [email protected]

Cemetery Book Update

The Nominating Committee hasThe Nominating Committee hasbegun sbegun selecting ng nominees fs for 20or 2010-2011. If y. If you or anou or anyone ye you knou know isw isinterested in serving on the board ofinterested in serving on the board ofthe Te Texas Js Jewish Hish Historical Soccal Society,please cone contact Vt Vickie Ve Vogel, c, chair,

at vvt [email protected].

article.26 Jewish Herald Voice, July 7, 1960.

Photo can be found in Deep in the Heart,p. 163.

27 Unlabeled, undated newspaper article.28 Unlabeled, undated newspaper article.29 Breckenridge American, November

21, 1954.30 Breckinridge American, February 10,

1963.31 See Hollace Ava Weiner and Lauraine

Miller, “Little synagogues across Texas,” inLone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas,ed. by Hollace Ava Weiner and Kenneth D.Roseman, Brandeis University Press, 2007,pp. 189-190. Photo of the Benders and theTemple in 1929. Another version of thisphoto can be found in Deep in the Heart,p. 126.

32 Breckenridge American, 1929.(Founded in 1929 as the Daily American,according to Rob Durham, managing editor,email August 11, 2009.) In 1974, TempleBeth Israel was sold to a church. Unidenti-fied clipping.

33 Unlabeled, undated newspaper obitu-ary, and photo in Box 3Z290.

34 Ewing op cit; photo in Box 3Z290.35 Unlabeled, undated article.36 unidentified biographical sheet.37 Abilene Reporter News, July 23, 1970.38 Unlabeled biographical information, ap-

parently notes for Deep in the Heart.39 Unlabeled obituary.40 Jewish Herald Voice, undated.41 Presumably Jewish Herald Voice, un-

dated.42 Jeanne F. Samuels, 1988 Passover edi-

tion of the Jewish Herald Voice, accordingto Rabbi Jack Segal. The clipping is notdated or identified in the archive box.

43 Unlabeled, undated.44 Unlabeled, undated.45 Ewing, op cit.46 Unlabeled, undated.47 Ewing, op cit.48 Unlabeled obituary.49 From unlabeled obituary.50 Remember to include the name of the

publication and date when you keep newsclippings, to help future researchers!

Charles & Bertha Bender, continuedfrom page 20


Czech architect and designer ErnoFabry, a Holocaust-era immigrant, lefthis imprint on a Texas synagogue. Theark doors he designed in 1948 for FortWorth’s Beth-El Congregation stayedwith the Temple when it moved into anew building in 2000. What’s more,the door’s design—a sunburst of metalrays emanating from a central JewishStar—is replicated in four gates at theentrance to the congregation’s twenty-first century synagogue.

The appeal of Fabry’s designs isunderscored in a retrospective of hiswork, on display through October 25at Johns Hopkins University’s Ever-green Museum of Modernism in Balti-more. The exhibit catalogue, titledModernism at Evergreen: ErnoFabry (1906-1984), includes threephotographs from the Fort Worthsynagogue as well as examples of thedesigner’s furniture, wall paper, mu-rals, and buildings.

Erno Fabry (formerly Erno FayFriedmann) was an architect, furnituredesigner, and “tastemaker” fromKosice, now part of the Czech Repub-lic. He left Europe on a temporaryvisa in 1938 to work with the Ameri-can Wood Council. When his ship, aHamburg-Amerika liner, reachedFrance, it was called back to Germanybecause Hitler had annexed Austriaand planned to outfit all German shipsfor the war effort.

Erno’s first instinct was to returnto his hometown. But a brother ad-vised him to continue to the U.S.A.The situation in Eastern Europe wasdire. Most of his family perished.

In the United States, Fabryworked under Norman Bel Geddes, afamed theatrical and industrial de-signer. As the U.S. mobilized for war,

Erno designed airplane struts. He en-listed in the Army and fought inNormandy, North Africa, and Italy. In1943, he legally changed his surnamefrom Friedmann to Fabry.

After the war, his design businessflourished. Postwar Americans, eagerto move beyond classical and tradi-tional designs, embraced Fabry’s con-temporary ideas. He often traveledfrom his New York office to El Pasoto work with the American FurnitureCompany, owned by MannieBlaugrund, a Czech-born Jew.

Aboutthat time, twoEl Paso broth-ers, Miltonand SeymourAmstater,bought FortWorth’sMeacham’sDepartmentStore. TheyrecruitedFabry to rede-sign the inte-rior. TheAmstaterbrothers wereaffiliated withBeth-El,which wasgutted by firein August of1946. Beth-El’s leaders admiredFabry’s work and hired him to trans-form their 1920s shell of a building intoa synagogue with a contemporary in-terior.

Fabry not only designed the arkdoors, but also the stained-glass win-dows and the backdrop of marble and

travertine. The most striking feature inthe redesigned sanctuary was the ceil-ing—with its recessed lighting and afloating Jewish star suspended from akidney-shaped field.

Ringing the sanctuary walls wereFabry-designed menorahs fashionedfrom flat aluminum rods, bent perpen-dicular into art deco candelabrum.Like the ark door, these too weremoved from the old synagogue to thenew building and its Hall of Remem-brance. The Beth-El Congregation Ar-chives has correspondence with Fabry

as well as blueprints for the menorahsand the Magen-David door.

Info: Evergreen Museum & Li-brary, 4545 N. Charles Street, Balti-more, Maryland (410-516-0341;[email protected];www.museums.jhu.edu). The exhibitruns through October 25.

Modernism Exhibit at Johns HopkinsFeatures Work of Fort Worth

Synagogue Designerby Hollace Weiner

Beth-El’s sanctuary, 1948. (Courtesy W.D. Smith Commercial Photog-raphy Collection, Special Collections, University of Texas at Arling-

ton Library, Arlington, Texas.)


Welcome Ne New Mw Members!June 27, 2009 - September 26, 2009

Jay Marks505 TrianonHouston, TX 77024

Roberta Rosenberg2209 Baldwin, #3338Houston, TX 77002

Texas Jewish Historical Society 2009-2010

PresidentSally Drayer (Dallas)

1st Vice-PresidentRusty Milstein (Longview)

2nd Vice-PresidentDavid Hoffman (Evant)

3rd Vice-PresidentDr. Jane Guzman (Dallas)

TreasurerRuth Nathan (Houston)

Recording SecretaryMarilyn Jorrie (Boulder, Colorado)

Corresponding SecretarySamylu Rubin (Dallas)

HistorianLynn Greenberg (Houston)

ArchivistIma Joy Gandler (Waco)

ParliamentarianMarc Wormser (Corpus Christi)

Board of Trustees2008-2010

Raye Brown (Houston)Bob Gindler (Sugar Land)

Neil Gurwitz (Bastrop)Jan Hart (Temple)

Flora Melasky Herbert (Dallas)Nancy Hoffman (Austin)

Ed Katten (Waco)Howard Lackman (Arlington)

Selma Mantel (Houston)Greg Meyer (San Antonio)Davie Lou Solka (Austin)

Jenny Solomon (Fort Worth)Max Stool (San Antonio)David Vogel (La Grange)

Hollace Weiner (Fort Worth)Sherry Zander (Dallas)

Rotating Member (Various)

Board of Trustees2009-2011

Dr. Robert Abzug (Austin)Harold Berman (Dallas)

Leon Brachman (Fort Worth)Douglas Braudaway (Del Rio)

Claire Brooks (Austin)Dick Brooks (Austin)Roy Elsner (Dallas)

Dr. Kay Goldman (College Station)Scott Langston (Weatherford)

David Leff (Houston)Yetta Leshin (Corpus Christi)Abbi Michaelson (Lockhart)

Mitzi Milstein (Longview)Susan Novick (El Paso)

Rabbi Jordan Parr (Plano)Mina Pashkoff (Houston)Shirley Rich (Houston)

Beverly Trachtenberg (Houston)Rosalie Weisfeld (McAllen)Gary Whitfield (Fort Worth)

Officers

Lois (Flesh) & Don Rosenfield6107 WigtonHouston, TX 77096713-774-2318

Rabbi Adrienne Scott6500 N. Braeswood Blvd.Houston, TX 77096713-771-6221713-771-6705 (Cell)[email protected]

Has Has Your AddrAddressChanged?

get help from some of the othermembers of the congregation.The beauty of this whole congre-gation was that it was a mixtureof people and the different waysthey practiced Judaism. It was,indeed, one Jewish communitywith absolute respect for eachmember and the way he or shewanted to practice his faith—truetolerance.

Some of the Harlingen Jewishfamilies that I remember wereCohn, Wolf, Sondock, Levine,Messmer, and Kirsh.

If you have any changes in your information, please send those changes to: Marc Wormser,4301 Boros Dr., Corpus Christi, TX 78413; 361-854-4209; [email protected]

Memories of Harlingen, contin-ued from page 3


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