1 20 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/ac99cef9ef834148d06e5168e71070a3.pdf?Expires=1782345600&Signature=DTCCKEJ9H8gH0yBavkWzT1wVUy5QDKc-I8%7EC%7EH7ULIPoGEmla8lXWiaife0HxmSJq-AreP9dbhDYVkABYXDZr8lr7-DVK22vyDmVm2jwYwp1Mf78TUA1a%7EVsMopdztasqEhC69BUOwPXYT1jw6awr3in0%7EhaqBuHiBz59iWaZg3BFv%7EOe5te24QKVQjiFKycJhOiVeSBn4BdZ1c8tsMZcayxvr9FZM2A3hAh8wqBPiKN8MKkdLp2ET-gc9W4-ZheyNyvzOdCbtnfjSRtkkrK9z7t9OFZcyKJ6v9ZgTgUJJVIqEvKQIbIJzNEoNvWogM8t0XK9TqZiqAWdCzAKsFFAQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM bfa689d273c592fd693a78b4a24d9679 PDF Text Text QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam with_ _ Helene Ranks Leonard Wexler I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives on__________ April 15, 2002 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My father came to the United States in approximately 1910 from Russia. My mother was born here in the U.S. Her parents, one sister and one brother also immigrated from Russia about the same time. They left Russia to escape oppression and came here for the opportunity in this country. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My father’s name was Bert Wexler. He was born in Russia in or around Kiev. My mother’s name is Eileen Wexler. She was born in New York City. 4. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? Where did you live then? Who lived in the same house with you Grandparents? - Uncles? - Aunts? - Brothers? - Sisters? I was born on February 21, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. English only was spoken in our home until we moved into my grandparent’s house when I was about 5 years old. From then on English and Yiddish were spoken. I lived there until I was 17 years old. It was a two-family house - my aunt, uncle and cousins lived on the second floor. I had no brothers or sisters. 5. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday School? Temple? Was there a neighborhood grocery? Drug store? Our neighborhood in terms of the economic scale was at the bottom, a working class neighborhood. It was predominantly Jewish but a fair number of non-Jews, mostly Italians and Irish also lived there. I did walk to school. I went to Chedar (after school Hebrew School). There was a little grocery store and a drug store in our area. 6. How were you affected by the 1937 flood? We weren’t in Louisville at the time of the flood, therefore, we weren’t affected by it. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? Up until the time I was probably in my teens I believe I never left New York other than an occasional auto trip to New Jersey or Philadelphia to visit people. �8. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? My family attended synagogue on occasion but were not active members of the synagogue. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? We observed Pesach very strictly. The house was thoroughly cleaned and the dishes changed. We also observed the High Holidays. I don’t remember our family observing other Jewish holidays. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended Hebrew school and was Bar Mitzvah. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? My undergraduate degree is from the University of Illinois and I received an MBA from the University of Chicago. My career, for the most part, was in corporate financial management. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? 1 came to Louisville in 1979 for a new job with Glenmore Distilleries as Controller. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? My wife, Frances, and I were introduced by a mutual friend in Chicago. We were married in Chicago in 1953. We had three children, Lawrence, Bruce and Donna. 14. Tell about your involvement in the Jewish Community. Was your whole family involved? When I lived in Chicago I had limited involvement in the Jewish community. We always belonged to a Temple as a family. All three of our children we Bar or Bat Mitzvah. After moving to Louisville, I became heavily involved with the Jewish Community. I was very actively involved in my Temple, Federation, Four Courts and Jewish Hospital. I am still active today serving on various boards. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? I was too young to serve in World War II. My oldest cousin served and was wounded in Europe. We were not directly affected by he wars in Israel, but we have great concern and are supporters of the State of Israel. �16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I still, from time to time, think of and remember Seders at my grandparent’s home when । was about 4 or 5 years old, even before we moved in with them. Religion has provided me with a moral compass. 17. What interests did you have? I have a broad range of interests, everything from reading and attending the ballet to going bicycling riding, playing handball and golf. 18. What are your favorite family memories? I took a number of trips as a family both when the children were youngsters and even more recently. These are my fondest memories (all of us being together at the same time). 19. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What values would you like to pass on to those you leave behind? I hope I pass on to my children that they be honest, sincere and true to themselves. I want to be remembered in whatever fashion people want to remember me. I know a lot of different people within a number of different circumstances, and I’m sure they will each remember me in a different way. I really have given no thought to how I will be remembered. JFT/hb 6/6/02 Word.oral histories.stories.Wexler Len �Louis & Lee Roth Family Center Board of Directors Stephanie Speigel Executive Director Marjorie B. Kohn President Steven Shapiro President Elect/Treasurer Barbara Goldberg David Handmaker Lowell Katz Robert Riley Vice Presidents Gail Pohn Ex-officio President Mitchell Charney Jane Goldstein Robert Levine Howard Markus Shirley Markus Lillian Seligman Jeffrey Weiss Past Presidents Lewis D. Cole Alexander Erlen Arthur Grossman Shelton R.Weber Honorary Directors TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I do hereby give my permission to record my life history through the Jewish Family and Vocational Service, 3587 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40205. My story will be kept in the JFVS Library and can be accessed by interested people. It will be preserved archivally for future generations. ‘ark Ament .ne Bennett _<iyn Berman Joan Byer Howard L Cantor Natalie Davis Jonathan Dubins Simon Fields Phyllis Florman Ann Friedman Bob German Rachel Greenberg Debbie Hyman Howard Kaplin Jay Klempner Benjamin Levitan Chuck O'Koon Jordan Pohn Suzy Post Mona Schramko Judy Shapira Julie Strull Susan Waterman Frank Weisberg Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg Rabbi Bradley C.Tecktiel Participant Witness Date Signed JFVS/aj 10/4/01 Word.coununitpermission.history Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Accredited by Council of Accreditation of Services r Families and Children, Inc. Jewish Family & Vocational Service 3587 Dutchmans Lane • Louisville, Kentucky 40205 ■ (502) 452-6341 • Fax (502) 452-6718 E-mail: jfvs@jfvs.com • Web: www.jfvs.com � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, 2001-2018 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jewish Family and Career Services (Louisville, Ky.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/" target="_blank" title="In Copyright" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Language A language of the resource eng heb Type The nature or genre of the resource Collection Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 20th century 21st century Description An account of the resource Summaries of 206 interviews with Jewish community members in Louisville, Kentucky, conducted by Jewish Family and Career Services volunteers. Originally started by Ann Friedman, Director of Klein Older Adult Services, the project sent volunteers to listen to seniors and summarize their stories. The volunteers used a standardized script to ask community members about their family’s immigration to the United States and move to Louisville; their family and religious life in Louisville; and what they hoped their legacy would be. Some of the interviews include supplemental material on the narrators, such as resumes, obituaries, and photographs. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource bulk 2001-2018 1930s-1950s 1980s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 024x6_wexlerl Title A name given to the resource Interview with Leonard Wexler, 2002 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Leonard Wexler (1931-) on April 15, 2002. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Leonard Wexler was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that attended synagogue occasionally but not regularly. His community was mostly Jewish and the celebration of Pesach was especially important to his family. He was Bar Mitzvah’d. After marrying his wife Frances, he came to Louisville as an employee of Glenmore Distilleries. He remained active in the Jewish community at Temple and the Jewish Federation. He loves cycling, golfing, and reminding his children to be true to who they are. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wexler, Leonard, 1931- Banks, Helene Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-04-15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Report Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Subject The topic of the resource Interviews Jewish families Jews Judaism Jefferson County (Ky.) Kentucky Louisville (Ky.) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 20th century 21st century Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived 024x6 Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Property rights in the collection belong to The Filson Historical Society. The Filson Historical Society can provide high-resolution scans of original source materials from its holdings for non-commercial and commercial use. To learn about this process, visit https://filsonhistorical.org/collections/order-reproductions/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Jewish Family and Career Services (Louisville, Ky.)