The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Browse Items (206 total)

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Genie Aberson (1940-) on July 30, 2007. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Leslie D. Aberson (1936-) on February 4, 2002. The summary is accompanied by Aberson's resume. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Marie Abrams (1937-) on October 2, 2001. The summary is accompanied by Marie Abrams's resume. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Nancy Abrams (1938-) on February 6, 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.

    Nancy K. Abrams was born in Louisville, and grew up in the Highlands in her youth. Her daily life included attending middle and high school, Sunday school on weekends, and socializing with friends at a Bardstown Road drug store. She and her family were largely unaffected by the local flood of 1937 and the international Jewish crisis of the Holocaust and Israeli conflicts. She maintained Jewish faith by being confirmed and participating in the NCJW, a demonstration of social service she passed on to subsequent generations in her family.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ronald Abrams (1936-) on October 2, 2001. The summary is accompanied by Ronald Abrams's resume. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ida Sontz (1923-) in June 2010. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Julian Shapiro (1930-) in December 2011. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Milton Z. Russman (1916-2014) in Fall 2010. The summary is accompanied by an obituary for Milton Z. Russman. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Sonia Cohen Levine (1904-) on June 23, 2011. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Muriel Handmaker (1934-) on December 14, 2010. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Betty Byck Goodman (1934-) in August 2011. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

    Betty Byck Goodman, the daughter of German immigrants, was born in Louisville. She lived in an upscale neighborhood that housed few Jews and few shops. During the Great Flood of 1937 she went down to Mockingbird Valley with a maid to see the water level and lived a month without electricity. Her experiences with synagogue were limited but she was confirmed and did observe Passover. Betty attended Emmet Field Elementary School, then Barrett Junior High, then went to the Kentucky Home School for Girls. She attended college at the University of Miami, Ohio, and then enrolled in Spalding for Counseling Psychology and her Master’s, which she used to help families with alcohol abuse. Her father joined the United States Army at the beginning of World War II at age 42 and eventually landed at Fort Bragg. One of her most passionate hobbies is painting, for which she takes classes at the Temple. She intends to leave behind a spirit of respect, love, and dignity to treat others with.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Caroline Balleisen (1930-2020) in September 2011. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Blema Baer (1914-2013) on August 7, 2007. The summary is accompanied by an obituary for Blema Baer. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ethel Baer (1924-2012) on October 26, 2010. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

    Ethel C. Baer was born to Polish immigrant parents and was raised in a practicing Jewish household in which she spoke Yiddish and English. Her neighborhood, in which very few other Jewish families lived, accepted her and she made many good friends. She attended Atherton High School and enjoyed going to drugstores with friends, walking Cave Hill Cemetery, and getting groceries locally from farmers and butchers. The Baers were not severely affected by the Great Flood; however, they did assist others in escaping the floodwaters and finding food. Each side of the family lost relatives in the Holocaust. Ethel’s husband served in WWII when he was 19-21 years old. Ethel was heavily involved in religious life and practice, observing feasts such as Passover at home, keeping strictly kosher, and her daughter had a Bat Mitzvah at age 50. Her interests include playing Bridge, playing piano for senior citizens at the Jewish Community Center, and living life by the mantra of “Live and Let Live.”

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Shirley Bailen (1922-2019) in May 2018. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • 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.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ann Shapira (1914-) on November 12, 2008. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Joe Rubin (1923-) on September 19, 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.

    The son of Polish parents, Joe Rubin was born in Louisville in a completely Yiddish-speaking household. The single Jewish family in his neighborhood, he attended Agudas Achim congregation. During the Great Flood of 1937 his family took in relatives and were relatively unaffected, receiving groceries by boat. All major holidays were celebrated in his home, and he went to Talmud Torah to study Hebrew. He is involved in the JCC and gladly contributes to Israeli support causes. In his free time he plays golf, reads, and strives to be a good husband to his wife Edith, for which he hopes his children to remember him by.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Edith Rubin (1929-) on September 19, 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.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Suzy Post (1933-) on 2001 and, 2014. The summary is accompanied by a photograph of Post on August 18, 2014. Clippings and articles on Post were not digitized. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.
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