1 20 324 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/1d01904a1cf59c726e507f641969d3cf.mp3?Expires=1779926400&Signature=ancsw1hn6N%7EdLc8aMrHhnl-85WRx42bzJlO91TlqgMkrYp599iqV678PXDtGGuiiwdr-WiAC0Kznb2ub2SNSKkVa1HaLIHXCL-uEUNSeAnnfbE6CZtYYVzL-pQTfMmULXACauW0JOOKLa6k1Nul52wl09v7cJU7MIWl4HT%7EJguJ3By%7ElQTj1wb0Q1wAugCHX5A0YwbMmgxlE-g4pve9pwujQS5KRNnAu%7E2zZegoYg7o259qLGoFnZ2urJCmodqNqlU9CEkJjSRolHLPsw-jOtENzX-WqOKXDls8rplPi0ji85kp3sF%7EpfB2VzLCHx1q7tqeOShnhhr%7Eaa4jVjjsjgw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 411bdb914fdc73a647b25b6a6de02efe 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 Cabbage Patch Settlement House Records Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Cabbage Patch Settlement House Records, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Oral History A resource containing historical information from recorded interviews with people having personal knowledge of past events. Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Roosevelt Chin [00:00:03] I remember telling Miss Marshall-- she kept pushing me. "Why don't you go ahead and graduate? Why do you work here so much? Won't you get more-- take more hours, at UofL?" And I remember finally coming in and telling her that my true feelings were, I didn't want to be a doctor. I didn't want to take all that science. I really wanted to do art. And I remember she was the only one to back me because my father kept saying, "All this money we've wasted and you don't want to be a doctor?" You know. And my mother had told me "oh, your sisters taking journalism at Syracuse. And your brother's taking business management at UK. Why do you wanna be an artist? You know, they're again, being from-- being from the old country that they couldn't conceive of, of following your-- your dreams and feeling. They only look at it in the way of can you make a living being an artist? And you know, at that time, they didn't think you could. And I remember Miss Marshall introduced me to a man named Gilmore, Mr. Gilmore, who was the advertisement director at General Electric. And I remember she almost pushed me into it. And she said to Mr. Gilmore, "Now, Roosevelt wants to be an artist, and I want you to take him under your wing and teach him how to-- how to do the advertising. And I almost couldn't say no because I'd already made this spiel about, hey, I want to be in the arts. And rather than discuss it with me, or argue or try to talk me out of it, she went ahead and proceeded to get me into that direction. So after making that commitment, I couldn't back out. And finally, Gilmore advised me that if I wanted to go into art, I better get some training. Go ahead and register at the-- at the what they call the Art center, which is right next to the University of Louisville. It wasn't part of the university. And so I went there and registered and took a year at the art center, and that wasn't credited towards a degree. And in 56, my father had just died, and my brother was the executor of the will. And he told me, "Hey, there's some money for each one of us. So if you really want to go away to art school, you can." And then the first big decision was when I want to leave the cabbage patch. I remember talking to Miss Marshall and she says, well, I want you to leave. In fact, she almost forced me, said, "You're not going to be hired here until you go to school." So in 56, I went to New York and attended three schools: American Art Academy, some of the night school, and the Art Student League, which was the big thing then. It was right across the street from Carnegie Hall. And I remember in 56 and 57 going to school there. And the reason I chose New York because at that time, my sister who was in Syracuse had gotten married and she moved into New York, in Brooklyn. In fact, that's where her first and only child was born: in New York. So I knew I had room and board. I go to New York. So in 56 and part of 57, I stayed in New York and attended three schools. No degree. The gist of what they call professional training to build up a portfolio of my work. Then I got homesick, cuz I remember I came home for the Male-Manual game. I came home for Christmas, and everybody kept saying, "Well, just stay up in New York." You know? And so I remember Miss Marshall told me, "Don't come back until summer." So the longest stretch was from-- from New Year's to June, my only Easter, on New York and Fifth Avenue. And, "You'll be back in the summer of 56". Then I told Miss Marshall, "I'll never go back to New York again, just too far away." So then I went to the Cincinnati Art Academy in 57, 58, and, and, studied at the University of Cincinnati Art Academy. And then 60, I had all this training, no degree. And Miss Marshall said, "You need a degree." So I went back to the University of Louisville and picked up a Bachelor of Science in art history, which was just another way of saying he got a degree, because at that time they had no art degree. They still had that little art center, which wasn't part of the University of Louisville. So I had to stock up on things like art history and ceramics, things that they offered. But they didn't have the biggies, you know, the painting and the sculpturing and lithograph and all that. And at that time is when they finally made the little transition where the university had its own art department, and in 60, I picked up a bachelor's degree. And then I worked here for a long time until Miss Marshall again, said that I need a social work degree, so in, 67, 68, 69 I went back to Kent School. So that was a long time in between, from 60 to 68, where I didn't-- I didn't do any schooling at all. I just worked full time here. Since finishing Kent School, I have never, never left. Yeah, [unclear]. Keith Cardwell [00:05:19] Well, I want to thank you for being open and sharing all of this with us today. And we'll-- we'll set up another time to meet later on and pick up with your post college days and your leadership role here, and try to cover that in the next--- in another hour or so, on another Saturday. Right. Thank you. [END OF SESSION] Keith Cardwell [00:05:55] My name is Keith Cardwell with the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Today is Saturday, March the 7th, 1987, 10:00. I'm doing a second interview with Roosevelt Chin. We're sitting in the boardroom at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. We finished up our last day by, getting you through college and through your degree work at Kent School. I'm going to pick up today with the post college days and your leadership role here at the Cabbage Patch. How was that transition from-- from school to a full time leadership position? Roosevelt Chin [00:06:43] Actually, I had two transition periods because, I went to the University of Louisville, entering in 1952 and stressing out a lot. I remember, knowing that some of my classmates were graduating 51, and now, I hadn't even, come close to graduating. And all that time where I was taking a hodgepodge of-- of courses, I was still working at the Cabbage Patch. And I remember in 56 making a similar decision of, do I want to pursue an art career or stay at the Cabbage Patch. And Miss Marshall encouraged me to try the art field, because I think she had a sense that after I'd satisfy this yearning to-- to experiment, that I would be back at Cabbage Patch, and she knew that all along. So with her blessing, I went to New York in 56 and-- 56 and 57, and part of 58, I attended some professional art schools and, got my fill of art. Came back to Louisville and then came back to work with Cabbage Patch. And finally she said, well, if you're going to be back and it looks like you are, you'll need a degree. And I already had-- I think I accumulated 170 some-odd hours and I only need 120 to graduate. But they were all sorts of subjects that you couldn't collate into any kind of a degree. There was some art history. There was some sciences. There were some humanities. But no emphasis on any of them. So I went back in 60, 59 and 60 to the University of Louisville and picked up an undergraduate degree. Well, my first transition period began after 60, when I knew I was finishing college and I knew I would be full time at the Cabbage Patch. Now, at that time, 60 to 69, I think I relied mostly on the-- on the, power of the activity better than the leadership of me. I was very adept at being creative in presenting activities for the youngsters, but the activity itself was so exciting and different that the kids would join my activities, and really, really, got a lot out of it. Despite my-- my-- my leadership role, I think the activity itself would have carried it over. I had huge, Easter plays. I had a number of-- running some of the Christmas parties for 600 people, elaborate decorations, big plays on the-- what-- we used to have the stage in the gym which is no longer there, now, the teen room. But, some of those, extravaganza were, you know, were really big. You'd spend two, three months in getting ready for it, learning the parts, or building sets, or costumes, everything. And at that time, we had large numbers in Sewing School. One time we took on to-- to do the whole Bible, which is, you know, 300 and-- I mean, we had about ten one act plays that Mrs. Green and I had to write. And each one dealt with, you know, from Abraham all the way-- all the way up to, Wycliffe, writing-- printing the Bibles and then smuggling them in. We came-- we went through the whole gamut and I made costumes for them, I took tents and, and, fishing boats and, Roman forums and the-- and the cave for the Easter play, and all in one play. But now you look back and say, "how in the world did we get all of that done?" But the Sewing school ladies helped make the costumes out of the scraps from the rummage sales. [unclear]. And, we had different people come in and rehearse with each group. And I was coordinated with building scenery all through the building with the Sewing School children, in three different places and, each group of girls were doing their own little story without knowing what the others were doing. Then on the grand day, we all assembled upstairs in the-- what is now the daycare. And--and in the correct sequence, we introduced each group and they got up and portrayed more tableaus-- what they were-- that they just posed in the scene that was most important in that particular story. And-- and Ms. Green or I would read the Bible passage and Bible story that went along with it. So it wasn't acting in the sense that people think of. It was more just, depicting what-- what we want to get across to the children. And that was those-- those were those huge things that we used to do. And, I guess I was so energetic back then, it just didn't faze me to-- to work day and night of some of those things. And the huge Christmas parties with, the 30 foot tree on top of the stage and elaborate Christmas plays and-- and, I was rehearing, building sets for the-- for the stage. And I think that time of the-- of my career, I was probably the most energetic as far as, I was still coaching basketball teams and doing arts and crafts, and I was doing a lot of camping, and, I really didn't feel the sense of-- I felt I was a leader here, but I felt I was really a, without theory or without, real purpose in what my leadership was supposed to accomplish within our park. Right. Keith Cardwell [00:12:27] Well, yeah. I was going to ask, who was Ms. Green? Roosevelt Chin [00:12:32] And Mrs. Green is is Mrs. John R. Green, who-- who was hired here to run the sewing school. And at that time, we didn't have the department as such. But she was, I guess, would be the relief worker, the one that did the home visits, the one who, supplied clothes and--- and food and so forth when we needed handlers. Much like our social services department now. Keith Cardwell [00:12:57] Where did the finances come to put on a production like this? Roosevelt Chin [00:13:02] I don't, you know, there again, I don't remember, a budget and such. It was from Mr. Marshall, who told Mrs. Green she could spend this much and get it done. And we did a lot of what we call a cash advance. We would go down and buy things out of our own pockets, give the bill to Miss Marshall and she'd-- she'd give us back the money. And there were some things that we had to buy, you know. A lot of-- lot of decorations and costumes. Some things we just couldn't make ourselves and we'd have to go out and buy. Keith Cardwell [00:13:28] But we were these plays, presented to the public or just to the kids here-- Roosevelt Chin [00:13:33] To the population of the Sewing School and arts and crafts. And that would be at least 100 children. Christmas parties and plays were sponsored by one of the companies in the neighborhood. The one I remember most is-- it was a paper company down the street. And instead of having a annual Christmas party, they would bring all their executives and secretaries over and their participation would be handing out the presents, an ice cream and the bag of candy, as the children left. And one person, I can't remember his name but I always assumed he was the president of the company, would be the Santa Claus. And then the-- the board of directors and members of the Cabbage Patch Circle would be the, ushers and-- and the monitors, and I would be in charge of the, of the, program, and Deitsch would be in charge of the gifts, and he would order the gifts and get the different church groups to come in and wrap them and have them all ready for the party. Well, it was a joint effort. And Jim Cooksey, the other staff, would be in charge of-- of the mechanics, the borrowing chairs from Walnut Street Baptist church and borrowing chairs from the funeral homes and, you know, 600 chairs. It was a lot of chairs to gather, and it would just fill the whole gym up. Keith Cardwell [00:14:56] What was the name of that paper company? Roosevelt Chin [00:14:58] Gee, I-- years and years, I think they switched names is the only reason I can't recall. We used to call them the Rowland Paper Company, but I think they, they, merged with another group. And, I recall-- it could be Superior Paper Company later, but they would never let us mention their name. I remember that was always my job. At the end of the play, I had to go up on the stage and, announce that we want to thank and I usually wanted to say the name of the company, but they would always tell me, no, you want to thank the Printers of America, which was for the-- the union or whatever agency that, that actually the money came from. There was always some nebulous type of a thank you where we really didn't know who to thank. Keith Cardwell [00:15:45] Yeah. Roosevelt Chin [00:15:46] Miss Marshall knew them-- knew the people, but they they didn't want to identify themselves or-- or take the credit for it, because it wasn't their money. It was maybe just the people who had delegated where the money went. But there was a real big thing about the-- whoever got to be the Santa Claus. Yeah. I don't think it was the same one each year. But that was a period when we were doing the long trips and camping up to Yellowstone Park to Grand Canyon to Canada, to Disney World. The football teams were very large, competing with the high schools around here. And in the freshman leagues, we were forming our own football league, which is now the Living Loud League we started as a local junior football league, but it was really high energy and-- and really, a good variety of activities. At that point, we hadn't-- we hadn't gotten together and decided, "Hey, you do the athletics." Others didn't have you do this and you do that and parceled out the different duties. We just all pitched in and whatever we thought needed to be done, we pitched in and did it. Keith Cardwell [00:17:01] Would you say that was the heyday of the Cabbage Patch? Roosevelt Chin [00:17:04] Those were the days of a large crowd, of no trouble getting-- getting who you want to join. You know, you wanted good football players, they would come from all over the place. Same thing with the Sewing School. We had them transported in from all the different schools, every school in the [unclear]. And, I remember Thursday was Sewing School day and it took the whole staff to get ready for it. You know, Dietsch had to make pickups at some schools, Cooksey would pick up a couple of shools, I would go to anther school. Even our secretary would have to sit at the door and take attendance. They were lined up to get in and we're talking about 80, 90 girls going in. Keith Cardwell [00:17:45] Hey, tell me a little more about about the Sewing School. Where was it held? Roosevelt Chin [00:17:49] Sewing School, there were three department. The beginners were downstairs in the basement, which is now called the Creative Arts Room. The middle group was upstairs with a tutoring room that's divided into-- into two separate rooms. That was one large room. And--- and then the advanced girls were over at the daycare. [unclear] And, they did a dress, among-- I remember the downstairs one was just learning how to do the stitches and make things like a pincushion or a, or a potholder. The ones upstairs, with Mrs. Green in charge-- downstairs was usually in charge of Ms. Palmer-Ball, who was a board member, and Mrs. Green was in charge of the intermediate ones upstairs in a large, what we called sewing room, which is now where the tutoring room is. Mrs. Green was in charge of that one. And they would do things like aprons and-- and stuffed animals, a little bit more advanced, where they would learn to use the sewing machine. And she was good at crafts type of sewing, meaning a laundry bag that held clothes pins shaped like a duck, you know, to hang on the clothes line. And and she would make funny figures. I mean, remember there were these little fat moon shaped people, with little legs and arm. And inside you'd keep your pajamas. For when you went to slumber parties and the boys would have something to put their pajamas in, and Kleenex box holders and things like that. So it wasn't sewing as such, except that you did learn how to do your stitches and then use your yarn and things like that. And then the older ones met in what is now the sleeping room for the daycare. And Mrs. Joyce was in charge of that. And they were the, the ones that are in the third year, and they would use the sewing machines, they would actually make their own dresses and jackets and so forth. And all three of them would be a total between 80 and 100 per week. And of course, they would have, all kinds of elaborate, celebrations, any kind of a holiday. These sewing schools were well fortified with, volunteers. They were all-- all the three leaders, Mrs. Palmer-Ball and Ms. Joyce and Mrs. Green, were very active in the church, and they were able to really get a lot of strong support from Ms. Marshall's friends and people from their churches. So, it was no problem to get 30 volunteers coming for each of these sessions, and each one would bring flowers and treats, you know, it was really a party type atmosphere. Well, these were the ladies that each one wanted to be looked at. And when you put them all together, it was really a nice gesture. And then one thing I remember-- Christmas decorating the room, you know, they were bringing these huge, pieces of magnolia leaves and red candles and, you know, really a Alice in Wonderland type of production. Each one would almost outdo the other one. And, and treats they would come into, you know, they didn't come with the things-- They came out of the bakery down the street. They they came from the nice sheltered [unclear], Hepburn Lane type of bakery. You know, the things that our children had never had a chance to experiment. The little tastes and the little tiny treats were painted. It was not only enjoyable for our children, but it was a learning experience they got to taste some things like-- that you don't get in this neighborhood, and the more they did it, the the more the children enjoyed it and the more the the volunteers would try to top it each week. And I was always in on it, because they would ask me, "Hey, we're getting ready to have Mother's Day, what kind of things can you get ready for us?" And I'd have a Mother's Day poster for each room, and they would bring the lilies and the flowers and the candles and the treats and cupcakes and all that. So that was really a big weekly affair. I guess that was the-- probably the biggest thing going on weekly at the Cabbage Patch all those years. Classes couldn't match it. Well, football was big, but there again, that was-- that was more isolated. It wasn't just open to everybody. Obviously you have to have some skill to play football. Whereas sewing, any girl who's interested can come out and come to sew. Keith Cardwell [00:22:16] When did that phase out? Roosevelt Chin [00:22:19] You'd almost have to say with the bussing because, see, they would meet here--- they'd get out of school, at that time I guess it was 2:20 when school was out and they would be here by quarter to three. All classes were to start sewing by 3:00. And by 4:00 we would take them all home. And of course in the winter months it would be dark by 5:00. But then with the bussing, two things I remember happening was they didn't get out school till later, they started getting out at 3:30 instead of-- you know, all the time I grew up, 2:00 was always the last period. Three-- School would be out at three. But this is when I was in high school and everybody who played ball got out at two. Because you got-- you had to to go to the gym to get ready for practice. And later on I think it was expanded to 2:20. And then with the bussing, probably because we had to start so much earlier--- I think the elementary didn't go until nine something and got out at three something, and the high school-- that kept going one hour earlier. I think the high school even today I think get out at 2:20 and the elementary get out at 3:20. I never could understand the-- why the difference, but I think that's to alleviate the numbers of busses and the-- and the traffic and the driving and so forth. So once the elementary schools, and there were about 7 or 8 in our neighborhood that came to the sewing school, once they were required to stay later, that immediately had a chain reaction. Because some of the volunteers couldn't come because they of course had husbands they had to cook for and they wouldn't get home. Keith Cardwell [00:23:55] [Unclear]. Roosevelt Chin [00:23:55] Okay. I remember some of the volunteer teachers who'd been coming all this time had to stop work. They had to be home by-- it used to be they'd get home by 4:30. The last pickup going back to the schools for the children was usally at 4:00. That means the volunteers left at 4:00. They'd be home about 4:30 to cook for their families. And then when you added another hour that took their time in their schedule. And then on top of that, the bussing moved a variety of neighborhoods into the schools, because I remember going to one of the schools close by, Cochran, and the-- and the principal said, well, you know, you can't just gear it to the Cabbage Patch Kids. I've got kids from other neighborhoods in here now. If we're going to allow you to announce that camping is starting or sewing school is signing up, everyone in the school has to be eligible to come and sign, even though by the distance of travel, that would keep some of them from doing it. I still have to present it to them, at least give them a chance to reject it. And that kind of put a crimp to the publicity angle. We couldn't get our word to an exclusive bunch. But-- so when you started, we'd have to make a general announcement to all the schools in the neighborhood, and of course, a lot of those children had no idea what the Cabbage Patch was or had no desire to even come here. So our kids were kind of spread out because we only talked to the buildings that were in our neighborhood. Some of our children weren't even in those buildings. They would be bussed out to other buildings in those neighborhoods. So we just missed out on getting the word across to them. That, the volunteers and the the time, were the three major factors to start doing sewing school out. And the majority, not the majority, but a lot of them did walk after-- after the sewing was over. Keith Cardwell [00:25:51] When did bussing take effect in Louisville? Roosevelt Chin [00:25:56] Gee, must've been, Early 70s, I guess. 74, 73, 74, something like that. But ever since then, sewing has kind of phased itself out and sewing as such, as recently as last the 2 or 3 years has not been sewing skills as much as it is doing projects that required some sewing. You know, you make stuffed, soft-- softer Cabbage Patch dolls and you did the little old things that use yarn and you did have to grab it and you did have to push it and pull it through. But there was no actual sewing lessons given. Let's see. That finishes the transition period between starting to work here and finishing my undergraduate degree. In 60, I finally got my degree at the University of Louisville and began a completely full time, because up to that time, even though I was full time, I was still taking time off to go to school and do other things. And so from 60 to 69, I was completely full time, and there was a transition in-- the in the building too. I remember one of the key things that happened was we opened up the second floor above the game room, which is now used by the daycare. I remember in 60 we had what we call a Fiftieth Anniversary. We began in 1910. Well, that was a very elaborate type of thing. And we get all sorts of groups coming in. And Ms. Marshall would talk to them and we had a building fund. I remember Ms. Marshall had me draw a huge picture of what the second floor would look in our building, and as each one gave Miss Marshall some money, she would paint in one of the bricks and we tried to paint all the bricks on there to raise enough money for the second floor. But that was in 60, and at that time the teenage program was only, I guess, football and camping and so forth. There wasn't-- there wasn't the what I would call the boy girl dating relationship type of program. And, from the 60s on, once we open that second floor, we called it the Teen Lounge. In fact, sometimes I forget and I still call it the Teen Lounge. And the Teen Lounge is where we first started having things like bands coming in and-- and every Saturday night, the teenagers would get to decorate it up and have little lights at each table and do the disc jockey thing, play the records and all that. And that's when, that's when Ruth Tomlin down the street really got involved and-- and started to develop the teenagers. And it really got there again, quite-- quite elaborate and big. Big dances, Valentine dances, Easter dances, filling the gym up, having bands on the stage, patio lights out in the yard, and umbrella tables, and they really got into it. And that-- that was the time when I was just finished with college and starting full time and knew I would be here the whole time, and we-- during the 60s were all our big campng trips and-- New York-- we went to New York World's Fair. That was what, 64? I remember the whole bunch going to-- going to Yellowstone Park. Dietsch and I took a bunch to Grand Canyon. Cooksey and I took the football team down to Florida. So if memory serves me right, that was all in that time, in the 60s. And the dances were real big and, a lot of the young people that we worked then, would date each other and end up getting married and that hadn't happened here, and I knew maybe 2 or 3 cases. So [Joe] Burks being one, he met his wife here. My sister and-- and her husband met here. And from then on, that's becoming a-- a thing that's more common than not. A lot of the kids did, you know, end up marrying each other-- [INTERRUPTION] but not as elaborate. I think Burks had-- he met-- he met Katthleen here. Keith Cardwell [00:30:27] Yeah. Roosevelt Chin [00:30:28] But it was more just probably opening up Saturday night. I don't think there was the full gym decorating or having-- fans really start picking up once, well, I guess the Beatles, you know-- once guitar start taking over. Up to that point, bands meant trumpets and so forth and actual--- actual musical instruments, trombones and everything and clarinets. Well, I think once the Beatles and the-- the "rock bands" came in,all you needed was a guitar and a drum. So every-- every little group in the neighborhood tried to start a-- start a band and those kind of bands didn't cost a lot and didn't really need a lot of musical talent. So the little teen bands were everywhere. Everybody's garage had somebody's band practicing, and they would come around and ask us if they could, you know, play for the band. And I remember every week we'd feature this and groups would come in. And one-- one day a week, they would come up to our lounge upstairs and play sort of, an audition. And if our teenagers liked them, we'd hired them for the big dance on Saturday night. And more and more-- and I don't remember refusing anybody, but most of them were Cabbage Patch kids anyway or at least one member of the band, and usually there were four, and one member would be a Cabbage Patcher. So, dances, yes-- there were dances in the old days, but not-- not as elaborate as it was in the 60s. Keith Cardwell [00:31:52] Since by this time there were Blacks, involved in all aspects of the Cabbage Patch. Roosevelt Chin [00:32:01] Well, and all that stems in the fact that our philosophy then and this began in the late 50s I guess, 57 first I remember, no, even before that I guess, we were-- the feeling then was, we offered them the same thing, but we didn't mix them. We didn't let them come at the same time. So we have what we'd call the N program, which stands for the Negro program. And we'd closed the-- the game room and gym and the activities at five. Then the Blacks would come in, you know, that's a-- that's a term that came later, the Negroes would come in back then is what was used, and they would stay from 5:00 to 7:00 and they would leave and then the whites would come back in from 7:00 to 9:00 and only if they came out for a team were they together. In fact, at the very beginning, I remember we would have one team that was all Black and one team that was all white, even though they knew each other-- well, maybe they didn't know each other. They weren't in school together or anything. But they did come at different times to play and-- and their very first teams were, we offered them the same team. There would be-- there would be two 17 year old teams, one for the white ones, one for the Black ones. So Ms. Marshall had a vision where she knew that the Blacks were to be treated the same, but she wasn't ready to make the total move where it was completely integrated. She just made sure they all had the same opportunity. They all had a chance to use the game room. They all had a chance to get on the teams. And we did the trips that way. Keith Cardwell [00:33:41] What motivated Miss Marshall to open the doors of the Cabbage Patch to the Blacks after 50 years of not-- 30 years of not having done it? Roosevelt Chin [00:33:52] I think she was always a-- she had that pioneer spirit where she was-- she was willing to try things that other people wouldn't try or were afraid to try. But, you know, there were Blacks before-- Black-- let me qualify that. When-- the general consensus of when when the Blacks used our facilities and joined our group was the Sherman Lewis era. And I remember the story about Sherman was that, you know, he went two or three other places and they wouldn't let him play. And-- but he came here and Joe Burks took a ball and let him play. But he became an All-American, and now the coach-- defensive coach of the Super Bowl champions, the 49ers. The San Francisco 49ers. But that seems to be the-- the thing that everyone recalls when they talk about the integration program. But I can remember even before that, some of Joe Burks's team had Blacks on it, and I remember there was one whole team with nothing but blacks, and I can't remember that coming after the Sherman-- I think it was preceding it. So it was maybe just touch and go back then. But it didn't really count until we completely opened up the building. And that began the time that-- I'm pretty sure because I know when Sherman played football here was in 57, so I would I would always say that was the time, 57, when we opened up everything. But, I think I can remember in the earlier 50s, some of the Blacks having their own teams here. State wise, I'm not positive. Keith Cardwell [00:35:35] Yeah. When-- when did the Cabbage Patch start integrating the teams and-- and allowing the Blacks and whites to use the game room at the same time. Roosevelt Chin [00:35:42] Now at that time the teams and activities were integrated before the facility because the fear of some of the whites and some of the parents and some of the staff was that once we open the doors to anyone using our game room and gym, the-- the proven theory, proven because we'd seen it elsewhere, was when the blacks moved in, the white flight. The whites would move out. That was-- that was certainly happening in the school. Because Central, and I guess [unclear] were all Black, you know, when we were first opening up the schools for the blacks because, well, at that time they strictly went by, place of residence. So naturally, all the Blacks who live downtown would all go to Central and all the whites who have moved out to the suburbs have- would all go to the County school. So just by that selection of where you live, that made it either all Black or all white. So same thing here. We thought once we open it up, all the whites who were moving away-- when I was growing up, the housing project on 13th and Hill was all white. So we could see the-- the Parkway place-- Parkway housing project, and we could see that transition as the Blacks start moving into the project, the whites start moving out. And the-- of course, now it's frankly a totally Black project. And we could see the writing on the wall that once we open our doors, that would happen. And so we thought we better do it step by step. And the first one was to use a controlled group. Football, basketball, would be controlled because you knew who-- who could come out and through your cut system, you could just make sure it wasn't all Black. So we we would able-- we were able to-- well, you hate to use the word quota, but you were able to monitor so that the whole team wasn't all white, which is something we knew wasn't right. And we also knew it couldn't be all Black because that would mean we were chasing all the whites away. So we were able to make a blend that way, because when Sherman played, it was a white and black team. It wasn't all black or all white. And for years, that was the way we operated. Special groups for Blacks and whites were in it whenever was needed. Open free play, we still had that-- the N program. And that didn't change until, gee, I guess when the bussing started in the 70s, in the early 70s or the middle of the 70s when everything started, when we finally opened up the facility to everyone. Plus, at that time, a majority of the Blacks didn't feel like they were being discriminated here anyway because they were at least allowed to come in and participate on teams and in a different club. Because arts and crafts and all that was integrated. Anytime we had a-- we used to-- for a while we did it where-- I can't remember how we did, but I remember there were always two days, Tuesdays and Thursdays, when we tried to have our clubs or hobbies and so forth. And because we knew all the Blacks would also be in the building. We didn't ever want them, you know, although I'm sure they knew it, to see that the whole gym and game room was all white. And then we didn't want the whites to see that hey, the whole game room and gym is Black from 5:00 to 7:00. So we had to come manipulate to make sure that the two open periods didn't clash and run into other because, you know, we thought that could cause some problems if all the whites, were lined up at one door ready to come in and all the Blacks were leaving by the same door. So I remember we would enter and exit at two different ends of the building so that it would lessen the fact that, hey, you know, you all-- we're letting you all use the Cabbage Patch but not at the same time. But we thought that was bold enough a step to take at that time until the-- until the total integration came about where everybody comes to the same door and [unclear]. But I can remember that we were the very first ones because other agencies would ask us, how come we hadn't had any--- there was one time in Louisville when there were riots everywhere. I can't remember when that was. I'm sure that led up to the-- to the bussing part. And I remember a lot of people were asking us, how come, you know, we were primed for a riot. You know, [unclear], someone would come around and burn the place down and all that and-- and I think we avoided that because they already knew they were using our facilities and that-- that's been going on for, you know, ten years, you know, where some of the guys who played ball here already knew that, hey, they didn't, you know, we didn't go at the same time but we all played ball together and we all came to arts and crafts together and Christmas parties and all that. So I think, they didn't feel that they were being deprived. They were only being kept separate as not to cause any problems. Because every-- every activity was open to them, even though they weren't together. There wasn't anything that we didn't allow them to-- to do with the whites except they did it at separate times. But we never did have any kind of rioting or protest or anything or sit down or sit in at the Cabbage Patch and probably because of Ms. Marshall, we started early enough. Because I think we would have-- I remember, some of the stories I'd heard from some of the other coaches and Joe Burks in particular where the-- where the Black teams would come in and just dominate some white team. And back then the Blacks, you know, Central and some of these other teams, there were a couple of teams in Lexington, Dunbar and a couple of these all Black teams, never played the white schools. The white schools stayed among themselves. The Blacks had their own state tournament, the Blacks had their own national champions and so forth. And, even at that time, I think we had some Black teams here. And whenever we played some other white team, you could just see the superiority of the Black players, that probably they were hungrier and they were, you know-- They were more motivated. And I remember one time Dietsch and I both had 17 year old teams and we met each other in the finals. My team was all white and his team was all black and-- so you really can't pinpoint at what time did we start integrating, because we did it in such a way that it was like-- it was like seeing a relative that you hadn't seen in a long time, and suddenly he's grown up and you didn't really see that he got bigger each day. It was a- such a gradual transition. And it probably came about because of Miss Marshall. And the Cabbage Patch started to early. Keith Cardwell [00:42:28] What kind of relationships were there between the Blacks and the whites after having integrated and all of that, at the teen dances and that sort of stuff? Roosevelt Chin [00:42:44] You know, I don't remember a lot of Blacks participating in that. I think it was open to them. There were a few that came around, but, and there again, the other problem that kind of went away was also at that time they didn't-- they stopped doing the slow dancing in the close dancing. It was all just standing on your own, doing the twist, you know, doing whatever it was that they're doing. So in that way, we didn't have that boy girl type of problem that we --everybody thought we were going to have, because it was mostly dancing alone. You didn't touch anybody else, you know? I think that was what was so strong in the 70s. And I can't really remember the Blacks and whites causing any kind of a problem once we opened it up to-- and, you know, I can't really actually remember how we offered Black-- I don't think we had dances for them. A little bit-- that's a little-- that's a little hazy right now, I can't remember. You know, I can remember everything we had for the whites we also had for the Blacks. But I don't remember that being the case with the dancing. I remember the out of town trips, because we would go to Butler for swimming with the white kids, and then we'd announce, "Hey, next Thursday we'll be up with another group." And so they would be expecting the Cabbage Patch group to come but this time it would be all black, you know, and we were doing it that way in those days, but I can't remember the dances at all being done that way. Keith Cardwell [00:44:12] Yeah. Did you have any problems at Butler or any other place when you-- Roosevelt Chin [00:44:16] Yeah. I remember a couple of the-- couple of the groups like that, the blacks would do a lot of-- but again, you can't say it that way because you're-- you're, stereotyping the blacks being the thieves. One group went there and there was a lot of stealing in the gift shop and all that. And I remember, that we had [unclear] taken drastic measures to counteract that. And there again, there was probably-- even society wasn't quite ready for a whole bus load of Blacks to come in. So, in a stereotype type of attitude the shopkeepers all said "oh, they're Black? They stole it." You know, that type of-- where it could have been anybody else stealing it too, you know. Nowadays, you know, it's accepted that, you know, the color of a person has nothing to do with if he's a thief or not. But in those days I think the fact that-- I guess it was quite imposing to see a bus load of Blacks come in if, you're not ready for it. And so I think anything that went wrong, immediately they'd say, "All the Black kids from Cabbage Patch did it." Keith Cardwell [00:45:14] Were you ever refused admission to any place? Roosevelt Chin [00:45:17] I think we checked ahead of time. We were quite aware that some of the other places around the state just weren't ready for us yet. I remember camping, you know, when we negotiate for a campground, you always mentioned that "We have some Blacks in our group." Because we knew, a lot of places weren't doing it yet or were slower to doing it or else hadn't done it to the degree that we had done it. I remember that was always part of our groundwork that we did before the groups. Keith Cardwell [00:45:52] On these long trips you would take to Washington and New York or Canada, how did the financing, allow for such a trip? Roosevelt Chin [00:46:04] You know, again, I wasn't-- we didn't operate as a budget as such. It was just a question of Ms. Marshall would look into the-- she would have 2 or 3, friends of her, they would manage her books, and she would just make a phone call that we had the funds to send this bunch on a trip. So I think there was a budget in her head but it was never written down that you had this much to spend for your camping program. And it was the question of the staff convincing her that it was worth-- it was a worthwhile activity and she would get the money for it. And if there wasn't the money or it was short she would make some phone calls with some of her friends and say, "Hey, we need this much more before we can allow them to go" and [unclear] a check. So you would almost have to say it was her individual efforts that solicited the money to go whenever it was over and above what we normally would have spent. Keith Cardwell [00:47:00] What was your title during the years of 60 to 69? Roosevelt Chin [00:47:04] Just Cabbage Patch staff. We hadn't worked up an organizational chart. We had no designation of who did what. I just know, I wasn't-- I just, by my training would sort of move in on the arts and crafts department. And Dietsch just sort of moved into the women's athletics and the running the whole gaming and gym program. And Cooksey was more into the home visiting and discipline and the counseling and the football program. But it was never pointed out that you're in charge of this area and you're in charge of that area. Keith Cardwell [00:47:41] When did that time come about where you came by title? Roosevelt Chin [00:47:47] After Miss Marshall was inactive. She was in the nursing home for a while, and I think it was just by direction but we did it in such a piecemeal fashion. Sort of like a family running a store. There was no need to, write down that you're the stock clerk and I'll do the mopping, you know. Everybody just did it. But once Miss Marshall was out of the picture, I think people who stepped in to try to continue the operation were amazed and they'd say, "How did anybody know what they were doing? No one knew when they started out." But I think at that point, the board and some of the other people started asking, you know, we had to-- we had to be more professional about it and defend it in a better way. And I think that's when we started working up organizational charts and budgets. And I think that interim period when Dietsch was the executive director, was when we really first start getting into budget and so forth. The [unclear] Miss Marshall had with us, that was never, never, a problem with the staff. She took care of all that. Keith Cardwell [00:48:47] What year did Miss Marshall become inactive? Roosevelt Chin [00:48:55] She died when the sewers blew up, so that was 80, I think 81 when she died. I guess, about a six year period. She had-- she had gotten mugged over at the Puritan hotel on 4th and Ormsby. She had pulled the car up and somebody reached in the passenger window and wanted her purse and as determined as Miss Marshall was she wouldn't let go. And I think the guy swung and hit her in the face. She took off and he was hanging out the window and finally got, 100 yards down before the guy finally let go and fell out and she was just shaken up by that. And I think that was the first sign I had that she-- this lady had had it, you know, she's really getting weak, she [unclear]. And I remember she took a trip and fell, I don't know if she fell in the train or the ship or what, and broke her hip, and they had to bring it back, and, you know, she-- they replaced her hip with a plastic one. And she was in a nursing home, and we felt, "Well that's it. She'll be in a nursing home the rest of her life." And you know, she moved out her nursing home and came back to the Cabbage Patch, not doing anything except being on the phone and conducting board meetings. And then I can't remember why she had a relapse, but they came to the point where she couldn't even do that. But she went back in a nursing home again when, where she dies actually. So there were two times when she was in nursing home: once after the hip and once because she just wasn't capable of doing it again. Keith Cardwell [00:50:31] What was the name of the nursing home? Roosevelt Chin [00:50:32] Gee, it was right across from Bowman Field. I guess it was Trimble County. Her first nursing home was Mount Holly out on Frankfurt avenue when she first broke her hip, but Cooksey and I would make, well I guess Dietsch did too, daily runs to her. She was so particular in what she wanted to eat and who would cook it and all that. And she recovered from that and came back here, because, then it became Mrs. [unclear], the secretary of [unclear], Cooksey, Dietsch and I taking turns taking her home, picking her up, taking her home. Keith Cardwell [00:51:05] She still lived at the Puritan? Roosevelt Chin [00:51:06] At the Puritan, right. And I remember sometimes, you know, it'd be a three hour thing just to get her home, get her on the bed, make some tomato soup for her in the little kitchenette there, and feeding it to her, and then leaving and wondering how she's gonna get-- She was too weak to even get up and wash herself or get dressed for the next day. And I think she had a sitter for a while who would come in at 5:00 and sit through the night and-- but none of them would last. You know, she was just so demanding and so particular in the way she wanted things done. She went through I think probably every sitter in the city of Louisville, until she could get somebody that she could get along with. And then when something happened, they'd quit on her and she'd have to find somebody else. Meanwhile, all that time, in order for her to be at the Cabbage Patch, one of us would have to respond to her calls and pick her up, bring her in, lie her down on the couch at the end of the room and she operated up via the little couch there. And then the whole day she would just lie there and, answer the phone, or we'd come in with questions and she'd tell us who to call to get an answer. Until she got to the point where she could-- just couldn't do it. There were many nights when she was ready to go home, we would almost have to bodily pick her up. Get the juices flowing again so she could walk to the car. So there were two nursing homes [unclear]. Mount Holly for the hip, and Twinbrook, for when she just got too old. Keith Cardwell [00:52:36] How was it during that time of transition from Miss Marshall being such a dominant force to her being-- Roosevelt Chin [00:52:45] I think there was, the word's not resentment, but I think there was a lot of uncertainty in staff and volunteers in program. Suddenly we were without our captain or the person who guided the ship, and everybody was just running around doing whatever they thought was something they'd been doing all along. And I think, at the interim, the board of directors asked Dietsch to be the-- to be the director here. So I know there were a lot of conflicts at that time. I think Dietsch-- none of us were really groomed to do this type of job because Miss Marshall did it all. So we knew very little about who to call for funds or how they did the budget if there was a budget, or how to appropriate tasks to all the staff members. So when Dietsch was asked to do it, I know there were a lot of-- the type of attitude, "Well, Miss Marshall could tell me to do it, but I'm not going to accept it when Dietsch tells me to do it," especially if we did it in an unusual way, because Miss Marshall did it in an unusual way. And at that time I remember everyone starting to form their own organization chart. You know, there wasn't one. You know, in other words I would start saying, "Well, I don't agree with how the football's done, I'm not gonna do football anymore, I'm just gonna concentrate on my arts and crafts." And then Cooksey would feel, "Well, they're not doing this the way I think it ought to be done. I'm just going to start doing my counseling and my own thing too." And then there again, Dietsch. Dietsch would do it the way he thought that Miss Marshall or he wanted it done. So there were a lot of-- a lot of growing pains and struggling, each in his own way, with no one person making it cohesive. Keith Cardwell [00:54:47] Was there any fear at that time that the cabbage patch would fold? Roosevelt Chin [00:54:55] Yeah, I think there was-- not "fold," but not be the same, was the biggest concern. We didn't want it to just become a community center like all the other places. There was something-- there was something unique about the Cabbage Patch, and it's hard to pinpoint what it is, but I think we were more individual oriented, rather than just services oriented. We knew who was coming. We cared about them. They'd be coming for a lot of years. And I think we were feeling we were losing that. But I think even-- even after Dietsch was here for a while, there was always that feeling that the board would step in and change it. I think the board could see, you know, this budget and able to report to us. You know, we didn't do monthly reports, you know. She did it all. We didn't present budgets at the end of the year. It was all in her head. And anything special that came up, like buying a bus or-- or funding a large ship, we had no idea how to come up with [unclear] because before we'd just run to Miss Marshall. So in a way, we were really ill prepared to take over for her because she did it so much of her-- on her own. So I think the board could sense-- and it must've been frustrating for Dietsch too, because he was-- he was in here-- he was in the middle, you know, he was trying to-- trying to be part of the team, of the staff. And then here he-- here at the other end the board was bombarding him with all these questions. How, you know, "How are we running this thing? How come no one knows what we're doing?" You know, and so forth. And, well-- so he was kind of caught in the middle, and I think everyone could sense that something had to be done. You just can't flounder this way. A lot of-- a lot of short tempers and there was a lot of refusing to work with each other and there was a lot of activities canceled because we thought the other person wasn't backing what we were doing. And it was hard to convince another staff member to do it, even though it was hard to convince Miss Marshall. I think Miss Marshall-- Miss Marshall's diplomatic talents were so much greater. She would individually go for the others, and saw that all three of us agreed. But now there wasn't that arbitrator there. And sp each one just went their own way. Keith Cardwell [00:57:21] What kind of power struggle did you see with the board who seemed to me-- [crosstalk]. Roosevelt Chin [00:57:26] [Crosstalk]-- There were some who were still the old, Miss Marshall's friend who knew us and call us their boys, you know, and watched us grow up and mature here, who still felt like even though we-- we weren't quite as professional as we should have been, they weren't either as board of directors. They were just good friends of Miss Marshall. They had a good heart. They cared about what happened to this place. There was that faction and-- and there was the new blood who were coming in, who were the young professionals. Well, not young, but they were professional type of people. Because there again, without Miss Marshall at the helm, a lot of the board members, they didn't know what to do either. So they'd say, "Let's make sure so and so comes in. He's a lawyer! And make sure so and so comes in. He's a bookkeeper!" And so some of these professional skilled people would come into the board and, of course, they didn't know anything about the past history of how Miss Marshall ran it. So they could only see, "Hey, this [unclear] they don't even have a budget there. They don't even know how-- you know, they don't have an organizational chart." So you can see the dichotomy of the old time board member who was just really Miss Marshall's friend, and the new professional who saw, "Hey, this is a challenge. They've asked me to come on the board of directors. I'm not gonna sit by and watch this thing flounder." But you could see that. That transition. So eventually, I think the-- after 2 or 3 years and the new members being voted in, I think the new bunch started asking enough questions, that the old bunch, who were again, getting up in their 90s and not able to make all the meetings and so forth, couldn't answer because no one could answer these questions. Miss Marshall had all the answers. So that bunch sort of faded out. And then the newer bunch, the more board oriented type of person, started taking over. And they could see, "Hey, this place is really, really-- there's too many skeletons and too many people not knowing what to do, probably because everyone depended on Miss Marshall so much. So this new bunch started-- started implementing things that we had never been exposed to before. Suddenly, "Hey, we went, you all-- you guys to come up with an organization chart so we'll know what Cooksey's doing. We'll know what Chin's doing." And they'd start coming up with things like, "You've got to work out some kind of budget. You know, we can't make decisions. We can't make both-- we don't even know how much we're supposed to be spending. And you all go through those programs and you all come up with a budget." And none of us really know how to set up a budget. And a lot of those little things, were the writing on the wall. I mean, you just sensed [unclear]. Keith Cardwell [01:00:03] Was it during this time with Cooksey left? Roosevelt Chin [01:00:07] Yeah, it almost straddled it. There was-- there was something nebulous about the, Cooksey leaving. I mean, even to this day, I don't think anyone could really pinpoint. There again, you hate to repeat rumors. You hate to, you know-- you can only speculate. And the three areas I can think of, was-- was number one, he was finishing up his-- [end of recording] 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 Interview with Roosevelt Chin, Part 1 of 2, February-March, 1987 Subject The topic of the resource Child care Chinese Americans Youth--Services for Youth--Religious life Kentucky Kentucky--Louisville Christians Christian life Segregation Religion Community development Social settlements Nonprofit organizations Chin, Roosevelt, 1933-2007 Marshall, Louise, 1888-1981 Cabbage Patch Settlement House (Louisville, Ky.) Description An account of the resource The first of a two-part interview with Roosevelt Chin (1933-2007), a lifetime worker at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville, Kentucky. Interview conducted by Keith Cardwell. The interview duration is one hour and thirty-four seconds. Chin describes his college years and the transition from being a full-time student to accepting a full-time leadership position at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Chin describes the various theatrical productions and parties that he helped organize at the Cabbage Patch. Chin describes the innerworkings of the Sewing School. Chin opines on how the changes in school bussing schedules brought about a low period for the Cabbage Patch. Chin describes the process by which Black people were integrated into the Cabbage Patch in the late 1950s. Chin describes the years of declining health in the life of the founder of the Cabbage Patch, Louise Marshall (1888-1981). Chin details the responsibilities to Miss Marshall which were put upon him and other Cabbage Patch staff members who were close to Miss Marshall during her final years. Chin describes the conflicts between board members and staff members of the Cabbage Patch after Miss Marshall became inactive in the early 1980s. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chin, Roosevelt, 1933-2007 Cardwell, Keith 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 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mss. BJ C112 Item 1530, Cabbage Patch Settlement House Records, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Mss. BJ C112 Item 1530 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-02-28 1987-03-07 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio recording Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/bd99da0a5ad8a5b0dc5640ea98b0d3be.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=YoFbS8znMF8OlICutc8SvkbKaRF4XxLsZP3yYIu1nQlbLmov5qpSR8HZvYYN4Y%7EGRa3QpaVJNr03HvwBhc8ocj9j9gihjOofxDxtU716z2Sq7AN8rb7%7EX2SOnJ01TVx8a8Z0co%7EgCxFH0NE5Mbd8SKVdHUNOvkvsryK%7EMOiuCfOLfAuUiUFt%7EfR%7EuChMqJyeWrIQAZgoUg6hubMiJ3-VipPbM2XWo1-Ou99ZUftyR48JUo3rhJSDO1GahpDPV0EWtZaJQeDOpZxCyFeTk85dukZDvWw292gLNLnRmHlvFEL4-03QyT7cn2C1hpQ887s0plcTwAFjUAGuniOKWvnqZA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM a26abfb39c9fc87c83927e258f9d8401 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam with on Kimberly Feinberg, I am conducting an interview Genie Aberson for the JFVS archives July 30, 2007. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My mother, through my grandparents, was first generation bom in Louisville, they came from different parts of Germany, grandfather Joseph Lang came from Frankfort and grand mother came from Aingbach. And they came over here and met in Louisville. My Father’s family is from Germany also, but not sure which parts, the name was Lowenstein. Elsie Flisher. Fleischer was my other Grandmother Lowenstein 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? annie Lang Mother was Fbom in Louisville. Father Stanley Ben Lowenstein in Hamilton OH They met when she went to university of Cincinnati an Conservatory d he went to School law school of Music in Cincy there and that’s how they met. 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? March 18, 1940. mainly English, a little German, quite a bit later when grandmother lived with us when I was about 12. first house was 2228 village drive in Louisville, near the famous village drive circle in the highlands. When I was bout 12 we moved to 2320 on village drive. Brother, mother, father, grandmother and leased with us. 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? A lot of Jewish people lot of fun. It was like a temple. And a lot of my parents friends knew each other and were friends with each other, and we would hang out with the many Jewish people there. A lot of my parents’ friends who were Jewish were in the neighborhood also. No, Iwalked could have to school but I was driven. I wentto temple and Sunday school, we were in a driving group then. Was both, the model drug store was a Jewish drugstore and we would go over there & have delicious sodas and we would hang out and have a good time. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? It probably affected my family, but not me. I didn’t really feel it. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? �A lot of car trips, some plane^Jhatwas^yery exciting and it was not as frequent, by plane we went to Cincinnati and Chicago, we took a trip to Hawaii, when I was in high school, and my brother had just graduated that fromwas highaschool. big deal we loved that. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? Very actively, my grandfather on my mother’s side was president of the temple, Brith Sholom My father was pres of temple,BrithShol mand mother pres of sisterhood. I had a very involved family.fathempl or 8 years 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All of them, especially Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, and Passover was a big deal to my family. I have wonderful memories of it. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? Yes, confirmed. I was 11.What is your educational background? What was your career? Hs, and 3 yrs to college the university of Miami and University transferred toof Kentucky and at UofL a few courses but didn’t graduate. Elementary education. And volunteered. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I was bom here and never left. There were friends and family and it was easy. and I loved it. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? Well it’s really cute. I was at University of Kentucky I had just transferred from U of Miami Miami to be with someone I had been with in high school. And his fraternity brother introduced us at a frat party. October 16, 1960. 3 children. 2 daughters and a son. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I was a vice president of the sisterhood, at Brith Shohem which is now combined with the temple, membership chair, active in the guild, women’s auxiliary officer of in Jewish Hospita that, head of the bingo project, and patients watched bingo and patients loved it. I just like to volunteer one time things, and now I still like to help out a little bit. Yes.was My very husband involved in the J 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? �My grandfather brought over a lot of his family about 1930’s and came over himself for better job opportunity. Not really no. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Going to Israel. We were on a mission from New York and I never imagined that something could be that touching. Even though you read about it, you can’t even visualize. And the wonderful education from the guides, I feel very lucky that I got that experience. Very much did, mother loved going to temple and had a lot of sayings thank god and knock on wood. She had high spirituality and loved going to temple and the holidayswere very impressed on me. And fasting and Passover andobservdtheritualsofJudaismthe whole bit. 'J" Love to read, bridge, canasta, tennis, work out, going to art museums, and art ©lass,' and works or art, piays and symphony, being social, and being with friends having them over and having cookouts. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Christmas, because my in-laws anniversary was Christmas day, being their anniversary we always had friends and made a big deal out of the day. Holidays, birthdays and any family occasion. 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? Good mother, and a friend, and a active grandparent, and sister, family is the most important. We are very close. Closeness of family and being there for each other and make the most of being together and share the closeness. Do for each other and always enjoy and make the most of their time together. Even if they don’t live in the same city make time to see each other and be there for each other. Bea wonderful parent and grandparent. And be proud of what religion you are, your Jewishness, and give back to your community because it’s been so good to you through volunteering or monetarily. donating JFVS/aj 07/30/07 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam with on Kimberly Feinberg, I am conducting an interview Genie Aberson for the JFVS archives July 30, 2007. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My mother was first generation bom in Louisville, my grandparents came from different parts of Germany, my grandfather, Joseph Lang, came from Frankfort and grandmother came from Ainsbach. And they came over here, and met in Louisville. My father’s family is from Germany also, but not sure which parts, name was Lowenstein. Elsie Fleischer Lowenstein was my other grandmother. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother, Fannie Lang, was bom in Louisville. My father, Stanley Ben Lowenstein, was bom in Hamilton, OH. They met when she went to University of Cincinnati Conservatory School of Music and he went to law school in Cincinnati, and that’s how they met. 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? March 18, 1940. mainly English, a little German, quite a bit later when grandmother lived with us when I was about 12. First house was 2228 village drive in Louisville, near the famous Village Drive Circle. In the highlands. When I was about 12 we moved to 2320 on village drive. Brother , mother, father, grandmother lived with us. 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? A lot of Jewish people lot of fun. It was like a temple. And a lot of my parent’s friends knew each other, we were friends with each other, and we would hang out with the many Jewish people there. A lot of my parents’ friends who were Jewish were in the neighborhood also. No, I could have walked to school, but I was driven. I went to temple and Sunday school; we were in a driving group then. There were both, the Model Drug Store, was a Jewish drugstore and we would go over there and have delicious sodas and we would hang out and have a good time. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? It probably affected my family, but not me. I didn’t really feel it. �7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? A lot of car trips, some plane, that was very exciting and it was not as frequent, by plane I went to Cincinnati and Chicago, and the family took a trip to Hawaii, when I was in high school, my brother had just graduated from high school and that was a big deal, we loved that. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? Very actively, my grandfather on my mother’s side was president of the temple Brith Shalom, my father president of temple Brith Shalom, and mother president of sisterhood at Brith Shalom for 8 years. I had a very involved family at the temple. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All of them, especially Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, and Passover were a big deal to my family. I have wonderful memories of it. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? Yes, I was confirmed. 11 .What is your educational background? What was your career? High school, and 3 yrs to college the University of Miami and transferred to University of Kentucky, and I took a few courses at UofL, but didn’t graduate. Elementary education. And volunteered. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I was bom here and never left. There were friends and family and it was easy and I loved it. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? Well it’s really cute. I was at University of Kentucky I had just transferred from the University of Miami to be with someone I had been with in high school. And his fraternity brother introduced us at a frat party. October 16, 1960. 3 children. 2 daughters and a son. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I was a vice president of the sisterhood, at Brith Shohem which is now combined with the temple, membership chair, active in the guild, women’s auxiliary officer of �Jewish Hospital in that, head of the bingo time project, and patients watched bingo and patients loved it. I just like to volunteer one shot things, and now I still like to help out a little bit. Yes, my husband was very involved in the Jewish community. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My grandfather brought over a lot of his family about 1930’s and came over himself for better job opportunity. Not really no. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Going to Israel. We were on a UJA mission from New York, and I never imagined that something could be that touching. Even though you read about it, you can’t even visualize. And the wonderful education from the guides, I feel very lucky that I got that experience. Very much did, mother loved going to temple and had a lot of sayings thank god and knock on wood. She had high spirituality and loved going to temple and the holidays were very impressed on me. And fasting and Passover, and observed the rituals of Judaism. Also the importance of the Seder, because my family made a big deal out of that by having lots of family. It was most enjoyable and memorable having the short service with all of us participating. 17. What interests do you have? Love to read, play bridge, play canasta, I played tennis, I work out, going to art museums, and art glass, and works of art, Broadway plays and attending symphony, being social, and being with friends having them over and having cookouts. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Christmas, because my in-laws anniversary was Christmas day, being their anniversary we always had friends and made a big deal out of the day. Holidays, birthdays and any family occasion. 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? To be a good mother, and a friend, and a caring, active grandparent, and sister, family is the most important. We are very close. Closeness of family and being there for each other and make the most of being together and share the closeness. Do for each other and always enjoy and make the most of their time together. Even if they don’t live in the same city make time to see each other and be there for each other. Be a wonderful parent and grandparent. And be proud of what religion you are, your Jewishness, and give back to your community because it’s been so good to you through volunteering or monetarily donating. JFVS/aj 07/30/07 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �Jewish Family & \Vocational Service Louis & Lee Roth Family Center JFVS is always here throughout every season of your life. Board of Directors Judy Freundlich Tiell Executive Director Barbara Goldberg President Debbie Friedman Jay Klempner Vice Presidents TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Mark Ament Treasurer I do hereby give my permission to record my life history through the Jewish Lowell D. Katz, M.D. Ex-officio President Family and Vocational Service, 3587 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40205. Mitchell Charney Jane Goldstein Marjorie B. Kohn Robert Levine Howard Markus Shirley Markus Gail Pohn Lillian Seligman Steven Shapiro Jeffrey Weiss P'^t Presidents My story will be kept in the JFVS Library and can be accessed by interested people. It will be preserved archivally for future generations. o D. Cole Arthur Grossman Shelton R. Weber Honorary Directors Caren Carney Sally Davis Ann Friedman Sandi Friedson Alyson Goldberg Rick Greenberg Ronald Levine Martin Margulis Stephanie Mutchnick Marsha Beck Roth Hunt Schuster Brian Segal Bernard Sweet Reed Weinberg Amy Wisotsky Rabbi David Ariel-Joel Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Nadia Siritsky Rabbi Robert Slosberg Rabbi Bradley C. Tecktiel JFVS/aj 7/18/007 Word.coununit. permission.history Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Jewish Family & Vocational Service Metro United Way 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_abersong Title A name given to the resource Interview with Genie Aberson, 2007 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aberson, Genie, 1940- Feinberg, Kimberly Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-07-30 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.) Aberson, Leslie D., 1936- Highlands (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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/36a9374403ddad07618e5c87c03cc546.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=R8K-0YGo9eohSI7EG-6q2hxPwIZ%7EACo%7EChu487wmkIV%7EWSZaD25ZnVBvCZiySgevtu1K7jJngnmLOYH%7Eh2YfIqxps92IhIRub3leOQN29Io-jEUm1y%7EJIqg3jdOYPfL4qSV6akyn7FXONq6omyRT9mnld5EnbgFOszL-QMgKRxJzcpw1bbWfLpQH50JZ-rtNWdw-m8t49Vt4d62SrbZM3%7E9Lu10f5KjS-fOnpSUUYAHj6Kp091TKt-FTcK16zXbinCuHUhXhvtR7o1kD29zXechJucotLdX583xpT22XSyiwtoISyZiDnaRWVL-Q9aXVoz80Kskm6MUxBp6W85a26Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 4c7091a749815921c01270ebbb94b0ee PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam with on Ann Friedman Les Aberson February 4, 2002 , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My maternal grandparents come from Latvia, Russia in the late 1890’s. They came after the pogroms came into power for freedom. One of my mother’s brothers was bom in Russia. He was the only sibling to be bom there. They came to New York and then moved to St. Louis. He was a blacksmith. On my father’s side, my grandparents came from Russia, moved to Germany, England, and then St. Louis. My father’s mother was from Worchester England. My dad’s father was a tailor, and made clothing. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My father, Hillard Aberson, was bom 8/15/1903 in St. Louis. My mother Adele Wenneier Aberson, was bom 2/10/1911 in St. Louis. 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 bom on 5/30/36. English was spoken in my house, but my mother would speak Yiddish when she wanted to say something secretively. My mother and sister lived in the house with me in St. Louis. My sister’s name is Renee Aberson Hymson. 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? I lived in a Will Simon neighborhood, you knew your neighbors. My oldest friends were Irish Catholic, white Jewish, and non-Jewish. There was no prejudice shown. There was an area with though guys, but I always went with my Irish friends, and they left us alone. I walked alone to Delmar-Hamed, my school, which was a few miles to walk to. I went to Hamley Junior High School, and we had moved far west to a larger home. I had a very long walk of two or three miles. Winters were cold and there was no bus. We moved to Lexington when I went to Lafayette High. I got my driver’s license when I was 15, and I had skipped a grade. I drove the last few years to School. I was part of the Sheramut Congregation in St. Louis. When we moved to Lexington I was part of Adath Israel. My family went to services. I blew the shofar on Rosh �Hashanah. They would pull pranks on me. One year there was streamers, one year confetti. When I blew the shofar herds would come. We had no air conditioning, and they would flock to the area. In St. Louis Mr. Jaspers was the grocery store, but there was no drug store. Mr. Jaspers was very nice and let us have a pickle. You knew everybody. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? We were not part of the flood. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? Automobile When we were very young we would always go with my parents on vacation. We went to Miami, Lexington, Louisville, and New England. When we were in Lexington there was a lot of family together; lots of aunts and uncles. We had lots of family picnics, and they were great. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? My father was president of the brotherhood, and my mother was president of the sisterhood. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All of the holidays were observed. Christmas was my parents’ anniversary, and we had a big tree. We celebrated every major Jewish holiday. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended Adath Israel and was confirmed. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? I got a BS from UK in 1957, and a law degree in 1960. My first job was attorney for the department of highways, appellate division. I would write briefs for court of appeals. I wrote the case: Low to value lease hold interests in to eminent domain. I wrote laws that are still in effect today. It was a precedent. It stands as a landmark case. I then went to trail as district attorney for Lexington, KY (27 counties). After a year the director of the Louisville department wanted to make me an assistant. We decided that we had to leave Lexington and turned down the big promotion. I left and went with Shelly Wehers and Fred Goldberg. I was with them 2 years, and did general work. I wanted to do a different kind of law. I had been working for Jae Kaplan, and he hired me. He had a well respected practice. This was in 1963.1 did trial work, business law, and estate work. Today my law relates to business and real estate; it relates almost exclusively to corporate tax and estate work. �12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? My position with Goldberg in 1961. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? Genie was dating my little brother in my fraternity, and she broke up with him. I then started to date her. Genie loved to go out to dinner. I never called her for a date, I just drove in and often she was on a date. Once I went there and I spent time with her folks. She asked me to marry her. I got her a watch for our engagement. I hadn’t packed to our honeymoon, and I also lost my pants. We had to go back and pack. We were married at Brith Shalom October 16, 1960 by Martin Perely and Joe Rosenbloom. We had three children. Karen Lowenstein Aberson Mengel married Dr. Barry Mengel and had two children, Abigail Fae Mengel and Jashua Sonley. Angela Lynn Aberson Weildstein married Daniel Weilstein and had two children, Max and Charles. Leslie Hillard Aberson married DJacqueline and had two children, Jordon Hunter and Gabriella Ashley. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I was president of Bnai Brith, Brith Shalom, and the temple men’s club. I was on the Jewish Hospital board, public capital campaign chair for Jewish Hospital, capital campaign chair for Temple, and a board member for the conference of Christians and Jews. Genie was part of the sisterhood, and my children were in religious clubs; my whole family was involved in temple. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? During WWII all of my cousins were in the Pacific and Europe. My mother helped with the Red Cross, and my father was also involved. All of my cousins came back. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Rabbi Gordon from St. Louis was a fabulous guy. When he spoke it was as if G-d was speaking. My parents’ values were unbelievable. All of the arts are important, they set the example. I had a very special mom and dad that always made time. When I was in grade school a teacher asked me to write an essay about the man you most admired and I wrote about my dad. I was the only one. I am awed by nature. �I try to follow Jewish values; it’s the values as much as the religion. It’s not the ritual it’s who and what you are. 17. What interests do you have? Professionally, well read, business I am in, and friendships are my interests. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Holidays were fabulous. I remember my dad’s mother, she was the only grandparent alive, special occasions, my birthday, Christmas, we had Hershey and no one could get it, we had a party at my parents’ at Christmas. For my parents’ big occasions we had big parties. All of my life cycle events were important. 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? That others had learned values from me and people are proud of me and love me. I want them to think of the great memories we had together. I want people to think of me as a good person. It is important to be caring and honest. Good character leaves a good name. JFVS/aj 06/13/07 Word.olderAdult.OralHistaries.forms �Louis & Lee Roth Family Center Board of Directors Stephanie Speige! Executive Director Marjorie B. Kohn President Steven Shapira President Elect/Treasurar Barbara Goldberg David Handmaker Lowell Katz Robert Riley Vice Presidents Gail Pohn Ex-officio President MltcheH Charney jane Goldstein Robert Levine Howard Markus Shirley Markus Lillian Seligman Jeffrey Weiss Past Presidents 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. Lewis D. Cole Alexander Erlen Arthur Grossman Shelton R.Weber Honorary Directors 'Km ent Bennett Ellyn Berman Joan Byer Howard L- Cantor Natalie Davis Jonathan Dubins Simon Reids Phyllis Horman Ann Friedman Bob German Rachel Greenberg Debbie Hyman Howard KapHn Jay Klempner Benjamin Levitan Chuck OXoon Jordan Pohn Suzy Post Mona Schramko Judy Shapira Julie Strull Susan Waterman Frank Welsberg Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg Rabbi Bradley C.Tecktiel Witness Date Signed JFVS/aj 10/4/01 Word, coununitpannission.history Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Accredited by til of Accreditation of Services pllies and Children, Inc. Jewish Family & Vocational Service �Feb 15 02 11:21a 502-326-2669 Bob Friedman p.2 LESLIE D. ABERSON PERSONAL INFORMATION: PROFESSIONAL: Member of law firm Rothschild, Aberson, Miller & Goodin EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Bachelor of Science Degree - University of Kentucky - 1957 Juris Doctor - University of Kentucky - 1960 CURRENT MEMBERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONS; Director - University of Kentucky Law School Foundation since 1987 Fellow - University of Kentucky Director - Louisville Free Public Library Foundation since 1988 Director - Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame since 1963 (Bank of Louisville) Director - MidAmerica Bancorp since 1982 Member - Jewish Hospital Institutional Review Committee Director - The Temple RECENT PAST MEMBERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONS: Member Kentucky Council on Higher Education until 1992 Director - Jewish Hospital of Louisville Director - Louisville Medical Research Foundation President & Director - B'rith Sholom Temple Director - National Conference of Christians and Jews Vice President Louisville & Director - Jewish Community Federation of �Feb 15 02 11:22a Bob Friedman 502-326-2669 Leslie D. Aberson Page 2 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: Louisville Bar Association Kentucky Bar Association Kentucky Trial Lawyer's Association American Trial Lawyer's Association Admitted to practice - State of Kentucky, United States Tax Court and Supreme Court of the United States MISCELLANEOUS: Recipient - Louis Cole Young Leadership Award Married - former Regene Jo Lowenstein. Three children: Karen A. Mangel, Angie A. Wildstein and Leslie H Aberson. Three grandchildren: Abigail and Josh Mangel and Maxwell H. Wildstein. p.3 �Feb 15 02 1 1 :22a p. 4 502-326-2669 Bob Fr i edman LESLIE D. ABERSON CURRENT MEMBERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONS: Director - Louisville Free Public Library Foundation since 1968 Director - Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame since 1963 (Bank of Louisville) since 1982 Director - MidAmerica Bancorp Member - Jewish Hospital Institutional Review Committee Director - The Temple and current Chairman of The Temple Capital Campaign Drive Fellow - University of Kentucky RECENT PAST MEMBERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONS: Director - University of Kentucky Law School Foundation Member Kentucky Council on Higher Education until 1992 Director - Jewish Hospital of Louisville Director - Louisville Medical Research Foundation President & Director - B1rith Sholom Temple Director - National Conference of Christians and Jews Vice President Louisville & Director - Jewish Community Federation of PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: Louisville Bar Association Kentucky Bar Association Admitted to practice - State of Kentucky, United States Tax Court and Supreme Court of the United States C: \DOCUMENT\IxDA-PERS\lda .bio2 -wpd � 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_abersonl Title A name given to the resource Interview with Les Aberson, 2002 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aberson, Leslie D., 1936- Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-02-04 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.) St. Louis (Mo.) Missouri Lexington (Ky.) Fayette County (Ky.) Lawyers Aberson, Genie, 1940- 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/2a0e2f175d3b79d0652a8242d18b5ee8.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=LaT7omwPqC%7E0JGxfoPP0zHgE4orNXISw2thlf8JQhjpO0n8%7ElCHcD8XG4dHIB1pqNNTVP69zQ7cjbH9TBNK2F4HaU59e%7EOpsLKbqUmZEmbCnL03cO7fc6UHJgyarDKrJFnrQ-K4sDpBQzJNERXZZObhPypEhg%7E4LRs7YAUAqzCx6q2z4-Z1l4F9-K2VL4hfiAu7tmcsST0vgh4trkyumodIqFtGEPYPtB6V0drbJZF7QxFh5OQH-hO87ZMQYL5DYJfWp2VcrpISX6qH2cJwa2oFYSbSabSJ%7EjDjKHZovU%7EEl%7EbgI3fmDtawDFWd-%7E41-qlpBpjlapOeLs334LzspMA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM a4355990ed26a9e10d8e2cb22764e968 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. I am with on Robert Friedman , I am conducting an interview Marie K. Abrams for the JFVS archives October 2, 2001. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? Charles SW1 helped my father come from Germany in 1929 when he was 18 years old, because Hitler was coming into power, and he had to leave. My grandmother came in 1939, because she wouldn’t leave my grandfather while he was alive. My mother’s grandparents came from Lithuania and were married in 1893 in Louisville, Kentucky, and then went to Mississippi and lived there in a small town until my grandmother came over from Lithuania in 1886. After my mother was bom they moved back to Louisville. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother Thelma Evans Kahn 4/22/12-7/10/89 was bom in Louisville, Kentucky. My father Leo Kahn 2/7/11- 4/27/87 was bom in Germany. 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 bom 10/19/37. My father decided that English would be the only language spoken in my house. Even when refugees came to our house he would only speak English. We lived on Auerbach er Court when I was bom. When I was 1 /2 we moved to Murray. We had a one bedroom apartment, in which the maid lived along with the family, so I slept in the back. 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? There were Jews were in my neighborhood, we were the only Jewish family, and people walked places. It was 2-3 blocks to the grocery store, Liberty Bank, and Cherokee Dairy, where everyone walked to get ice cream. When I was in 5th and 6th grades I walked to both school and temple. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? This question was not asked �7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? I preferred traveling by bus. From the age of 1 I went to AJ until I was about 3. When I was 8 or 9 I would go to YMHA to dancing school. Every Saturday I went to Brith Shalom, and then Laura Kahy and I would go to 2nd and Broadway for lunch and a movie. When we took long trips we took the train and when I was a teenager we used a car. I went to Chattanooga and I stayed one month during the Polis Scare, and for 5years I went to Biloxi Mississippi for a big family reunion. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? My father was on the board of the temple. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? We celebrated Passover dinner at my mother’s sister’s (Aunt Sophie’s) house, Rosh Hashanah at home, and for the Sabbath I went to Brith Shalom every Saturday. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended temple and was confirmed with my class until we graduated high school which no other class had done. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? I spent 2 years at Vanderbilt and 2 years at the University of Louisville. I received History, Sacred Science, and a Teaching certificate. I then taught at Southern High for 2.5 years, and when I stopped teaching there was a great teacher increase. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I have always lived in Louisville. My family came here when my mother was bom. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met Ronnie at Vanderbilt. I was a Frat. Project. I was dating a ZBT Parents picked me up at end of freshman year. My mother said about Ronnie, “He’s cute.” �I said “yuck” When I went sophomore year I had broken up with the ZBT brother. Ronnie decided they were going to rush the Jewish girls. I always had dates with the 2 guys. Ronnie said he was serious so I stopped dating the other guy. We were married on February 2, 1958 in my parents’ living room. We had a choice of big wedding or small and cash was sparse to us. I had two children, Elizabeth Sue (Beth) Abrams Mitchell 5/11/62 and Marc Neil Abrams 5/19/64. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? Club? My mother and father active in the temple, Shriners, and Oldhum Church. My mother was very active in NCSW but wouldn’t take presidency. When I joined she resigned. NCJW? 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My father’s father (my grandfather) was killed in WWI in Germany. WWII my father was of age to be drafted but declared 47-7th and became an air raid warden. I remember the rations and tin cans. My family had no personal involvement in Israeli wars. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I always was devout to Judaism because of the concept of giving and responsibility to uphold justice to make the world a better place. As a teenager I was attentive to services. I didn’t think of spirituality. I lived through Judaism “It’s what you do” if you are a Jew. I was always drawn to livelihood passages, “Do Justice-love mercy. I walk humbly with thou G-d.” There is not a day in my life that I’m not affected by choices. I can make (Jewish) it’s me! 17. What interests do you have? My interests include family, community service, friends, and reading. 18. What are your favorite family memories? They all deal with humor and storytelling. My father was a practical joker and my children still tell Thelma and Ted jokes or stories. 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? My legacy is my children. Remembered for their humor and humanity. �I want to be remembered for the small things that have affected others. Little victories are the values that everyone should take with them. JFVS/aj 06/01/07 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �Resume MARIE K. ABRAMS 2829 Avenue of the Woods Louisville, KY 40241 502-426-4220 CURRENT COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Board of Trustees, University of Louisville Board, Jewish Council for Public Afiairs (JCPA) Board, Southern Regional Council Board, Center for Women and Families United Jewish Communities (UJC), Trustee and Pillar member of HSSP (Human Services and Social Policy) UJC, HSSP Chair of National Agencies Committee PAST COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES National Vice Chair, National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC) Co-Chair Equal Opportunity and Social Justice Task Force, NJCRAC Race and Public Policy Ad Hoc Committee, JCPA Chair, Social Security Task Force, Council of Jewish Federation’s Washington Action Office Chairperson, Kentucky Commission on Women President, National Council of Jewish Women (N.C.J.W.), Louisville Section Member, National Board, N.C.J.W. and Vice Chair of National Affairs Committee President, Kentucky Youth Advocates Leadership Kentucky Class, 1986 Board, Louisville Jewish Community Federation Chair, Women's Division, Louisville United Jewish Campaign Chair, Community Relations Council, Jewish Community Federation Advisory Council, Jefferson County Office for Women Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Task Force Louisville Public Education Committee (group of 12 people appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to involve the business community in the direction and quality of education in our community) Chairman, Israel Advisory Committee of the Louisville Community Relations Council (CRC) Governor's Task Force on Juvenile Delinquency; Chair, Subcommittee on Status Offenders Board, Jewish Hospital Chair, Task Force on Educational Funding, Jefferson County Public Schools Chair, Community-wide pro- and anti-busing dialogue group appointed by mayor and county judge to reduce tension Chair, Title XX Coalition White House Conference on Domestic and Economic Affairs Board member, Louisville and Jefferson County Youth Commission �Board member, Jewish Social Service Agency Board member, Family and Children’s Agency Board member, Jewish Community Center Delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1988 Chair, Harvey Sloane Inauguration, 1982 EMPLOYMENT Legislative Aide to Kentucky Senate Majority Office, 1982-Present, (full-time during sessions, part-time in interim) Associate, Schimpeler Corradino & Associates, 1984-1989, an engineering and urban design firm (coordinated projects, managed public involvement activities and served as intergovernmental liaison) Legislative Aide to Chairman Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee, 1980 Administrative Assistant to Governor of Kentucky during 1972 and 1974 General Assemblies Public School Teacher AWARDS Hannah G. Solomon Award, National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section Lewis Cole Young Leadership Award, Jewish Community Federation Wilson Wyatt, Sr. Award, Leadership Kentucky National Conference Brotherhood Award Ottenheimer Award EDUCATION Vanderbilt University, 1955-1957 B.A., University of Louisville, 1959 - Social Science Major �Jewish Family & Vocational Service 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 unless I choose to keep it myself. ’ark Ament .ne Bennett _ilyn 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 Participant Witness Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg Rabbi Bradley C.Tecktiel JFVS/aj 5/14/01 Word.coununit.p Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Accredited by Council of Accreditation of Services or Families and Children, Inc. United Way 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_abramsm Title A name given to the resource Interview with Marie Abrams, 2001 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abrams, Marie K., 1937- Friedman, Robert Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-10-02 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.) Highlands (Louisville, Ky.) Abrams, Ronald W., 1936- 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/b9df4a592918a00520f31a288752766b.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=QPRmxUZtldtcezGSItr4bwAP3ob9UDGzbyi85XYwou8lgxCaNTrOCk0GSKu%7Ev9UV3vGoInfX1x2U2ZyJADL7nQ4tRJ5u4WyJl5u8RS-E9HXFNi%7EWGXUd%7E9MGXK0J915tWKxKkMN4gq5fhCByZBRTg9c0FM3A1VEVXigqCvE6WE2Sff3mQ8SqYTmfeFgAlIRY8gGgooTSnenj-aYsAuM0dIl8%7EybFYdF-ZL3X-XN2I0HxRbZLNkcLhQymmcskWUapgBiE590Y0mxeOvsusOgRkrbiplARPuNByAJaxM0Lh%7E1gureoWEwvnhEf9Yr2XYXqT5AuFGvVpguF4c2Moe1gMQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 6bcd2c078bf84876396e62a99902bbbc PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam _____ Ann Friedman with______ Nancy K. Abrams on________ February 6, 2002 , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? On my mother’s side, my great grandfather came from Scotland. My grandfather and grandmother lived in Covington, KY but moved to Cincinnati, OH where my mother was bom. My father was bom in Mississippi and his parents were also bom in this country. I don’t know where my great grandparents were bom but they tleft this country and went to Israel to die. In 1967, my husband and I went to Israel and found their graves at Mt. Olive. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My father, Harry Klein, was bom near Jackson, MI. My mother, Marjorie Levine Klein, was in Cincinnati, OH. 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? My birth date is January 16, 1938. Only English was spoken at home. We lived in the Highlands, and I have one sister. When I was in my teens, my grandmother and great-grandparents all came to live in our home. 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? There were many Jewish families living in the Highlands, and all my relatives lived within a two-mile radius. Out chauffer drove us to school and I was embarrassed so I sat next to him rather than in the back with my sister. On pretty days, I walked home with friends. When I was in high school, I would get out of the chauffeur driven car a block from school and walk. We were always driven to Sunday school, as we had carpools and everybody in our neighborhood had a chauffeur. When I went to temple, it was always with my parents. We had a drug store at Bardstown Road where we hung out. I also went to Cherokee Ice Cream every day for a chocolate ice cream cone, even in the winter. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? �The flood didn’t really affect my family as we lived in an apartment at that time. My parents had people over for meals during the flood, people who couldn’t get to their homes. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? We drove and took the train to Cincinnati many times. We went to Florida when I was one for six months because I was sick. Years later we drove often to Florida. I took a train to Camp Wenonah in Maine every summer. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? We belonged to the temple, but were never really involved. My father was always involved with selling bonds. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? Passover was the big holiday with all of the family together. We also celevrated all the other major Jewish holidays. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I went to Sunday school and I was confirmed. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? I had one year of college in Illinois. My career was motherhood and volunteering. I worked for the temple sisterhood, but mainly for NCJW and the UJC. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I was bom in Louisville. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? My brother-in-law introduced us in Louisville in 1955, and we were married there in 1957. We have four children, Karen, Kenny, Kathy, and Keith, all with a K. We also hace twelve wonderful grandchildren (one deceased). 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I started out with the temple sisterhood, but mostly NCJW, which I started doing in my early 20’s, and I was president when I was 35. then I started the candy business, which I had for 18 years. Out children were very involved with B’nai Brith clubs and volunteer work. Our son Kenny started a few volunteer programs that raised money for heart disease (in high school). �15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My family was not affected at all. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? There really were not a lot, we always had out extended family for the Jewish Heritage, and we always felt very Jewish. I feel like our parents tried to assimilate. Today there is a lot more with my children. 17. What interests do you have? My interests were golf, tennis, reading, walking, bridge, and especially volunteer work. Now I play tennis, read, walk, play bridge, and do limited volunteer work. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Taking our four children, their spouses, and their children on family vacations early in the summer. Raising my children was the most wonderful time of my life. Once I was eighteen, I went to Florida every year with my parents and my sister, and we went to school there. A bus would pick me up at the hotel. This continued through my second year of high school. My parents took my husband and me on several trips to Europe. My grandmother went on one. I have great memories of my aunt and those trips. That is why my husband and I now take our children and grandchildren, so that we may always be close to family. 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 would like my children to be good, caring parents, which they are. They have more religion in their life, which pleases me greatly. They are very caring, loving, and thoughtful people. They do lots of volunteer work and we see, in their own way, they are trying to make out world a better place. I feel like I have passed these values on to them. I really did something right. That is how I would like to be remembered, a good parent, grandparent, and friend. JFVS/aj 06/13/07 Word.oiderAdult.OralHistories.forms �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. Participant Witness Date Signed JFVS/aj 10/4/01 Word.coununit.permission.history � 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_abramsn Title A name given to the resource Interview with Nancy Abrams, 2002 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abrams, Nancy K., 1938- Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-02-06 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.) Highlands (Louisville, Ky.) Abrams, Ronald W., 1936- 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/673e280476d25c2a04933c547adef040.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=tJjAxXY%7EevaX2i%7E-6AhSmR%7EWQwZbLqGjhMAkZKbI3ZfkT0GwErnVvTGpODUyhUpu7nQLjGdXTKavvQyUPmedD5wpXMHX-yLWvF1dq1Fuc-YnqnXbMPKq2NYqTgHtNqRmIKGXWYypJE2sFaenWG5ylA-JzUiJdp71jn8M6JcBlg4vmbm69fQptGKEcr2GSslPVPVOOiOdxlVzT%7EQUVhWh7iMbD40VecyfdzhnDFJOb5SWfYrigxPV9m9sUfiPVsG7BUIHlsOc-FrQu8QOMw4%7EfXMxEi5btgJQd5of6%7ERpcM9fSYGPA6lHzC254ggIAOxhGTNOcLdUPLsxn3efswXGBQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 0bd88217189431e1ad0225b5a5b94b70 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam with on Robert Friedman , I am conducting an interview Ronald Abrams for the JFVS archives October 2, 2001. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My mother and her father came to the United States when she was six months old. She was bom in Minsk, Russia or on the ship. She never knew her birthday, date, just the year of 1901. My dad was bom in the United States in New York in 1849. His father, from Lithuania came over in the 1880’s. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother, Dorothy Peterman Abromovitz Giller, was bom April 5, 1901 and died February 5, 1987. My father, Benjamin Abromovitz, was bom February 5, 1894 and died May 18, 1967. My name was always Abrams. 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 bom June 22, 1936. The languages spoken in my home were English and some Yiddish. My grandfather lived with us until I was 5 at which point he died. We lived in the same apartment until my mother died. My sister also lived there. She was 13 when I was bom, so she was only home for summers. 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? We lived in the upper west side of Manhattan, at 85 and West End Avenue. There were primarily Jewish families. I never though about being Jewish. I did not know in grade school or high school if my friends were Jewish or not. I went to high school in the Bronx. I went to Bronx High School of Science, a college prep high school. I walked to grade school and junior high. I took the subway to high school. There were several grocery stores and drug stores. We lived a block away from Broadway and I would go to Riverside Park. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? Not asked on this interview. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? �I went camp every summer in Connecticut and up state New York for two months. There was one time I went to California by train with my family. We also went to Long Island to visit family. We went by car, and never flew. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? No, but we were involved in Hebrew Kindergarten and Infants Home. My father founded it. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? We did not observe holidays and rituals. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended Sunday school for 3 years. I was Bar Mitzvahed but never learned Hebrew. We were never members of a congregation and I had no formal education. My firs Seder was in school at Vanderbilt University. 11.What is your educational background? What was your career? I received a BA in business from Vanderbilt University. I then went to Coopers and Lybrand as an accountant. I then spent 41 years at Yeager, Ford, and Warren. I am now retired, but I’m still involved with assisting start up companies. (Please see attached sheet.) 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? Marie, because we were dating, and my business, brought me to Louisville. I was going to school at Vanderbilt University and came for a holiday weekend. While I was here inn Louisville, I talked to a CPA who said to graduate and get a CPA degree. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met Marie at Vanderbilt.She was a Frat. Project. She was dating a ZBT When I went sophomore year she had broken up with the ZBT brother. I decided they were going to rush the Jewish girls. She always had dates with the 2 guys. I said I was serious so she stopped dating the other guy. We were married on February 2, 1958 in her parents’ living room. We had a choice of big wedding or small and cash was sparse to us. I had two children, Elizabeth Sue (Beth) Abrams Mitchell 5/11/62 and Marc Neil Abrams 5/19/64. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? �My mother and father active in the temple, Shriners, and Oldhum Church. My mother was very active in NCSW but wouldn’t take presidency. When I joined she resigned. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My brother-in-law was in the navy during WWII. My family was not affected by the wars in Israel. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I have no real spiritual memories in the religious sense. Family has made the difference. The march on Washington-Soviet Jewry. I believe in what we do here. Marie taught me how to be Jewish. 17. What interests do you have? The community, golf, and travel are my interests. Another interest of mine is to help young people start their business, not in a tax related way, but to help them raise money. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Trips before 1976. The 200th anniversary in 1975. The Seder where we took from two books (we would have other people over and Marie planned the service). 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? My legacy is community and general involvement. Our children are heavily involved in the community, which is a lovely change for us. Beth is involved in NCSW. I tried to do a good job in the community. JFVS/aj 10/17/02 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �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 unless I choose to keep it myself. Mark Ament '>iane Bennett Jlyn 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 Date Signed JFVS/aj 5/14/01 Word.coununit.pennission.history Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agepcies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Accredited by Council of Accreditation of Services for 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 �BIOGRAPHY RONALD W. ABRAMS EDUCATION 1950- 1953 1953 - 1957 1957- 1958 Bronx High School of Science B.A., Vanderbilt University University of Louisville EMPLOYMENT 1957 - Present 1971 - Present 1977 - 1990 1990 - 1994 1994 - 1997 1998-1999 20012001- Coopers & Lybrand, Louisville, Kentucky (or its predecessor) Partner Partner in Charge of Taxes Executive Tax Partner Tax Market Leader Viperlink, International, CFO, Director T eledvance,LLC-Director Monty’s Plant Food-Director COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Adath Israel B’rith Sholom (B’rith Sholom) Treasurer 1967 - 1969 1969- 1971 Secretary 1971 - 1973 Second Vice President 1973 - 1975 First Vice President 1975 - 1977 President 1977-Present Board Member Jewish Community Federation 1974 - Present Board Member 1973 - Present Campaign - UJC 1977 - 1980 Chairman Community Relations Council 1982 Chairman Group & Social Services Subcommittee, Planning & Budgeting Committee 1982 - Present Endowment Fund 1983 - 1986 Treasurer 1986 - 1988 Vice President 1986 Co-Chairman of United Jewish Campaign 1988 - 1991 President 1991 - Present Executive Committee �1997 - Present Chair, Foundation �Metro United Way 1987 Portfolio Chairman 1991 Leadership Circle Chairman 1991 - 1995 Nominating Committee 1994 Endowment Committee 1994 Allen Society- Volunteer of the Year 1995 - Present Resource Development Cabinet 1997 - Present Board of Directors Louisville Chamber of Commerce Activities Economic Development Steering Committee Targeted Marketing Subcommittee Chairman Occupational Tax Task Force Entrepreneurial Conference Chairman, Tax Legislative Policy Subcommittee Government Affairs Committee OTHER 1971 - 1974 1973 1973 1968 1969 - 1971 1971 - 1973 1974 1974- 1982 1978 - 1979 1973 - 1975 1969- 1971 1974 1976- 1978 1976 - 1978 1981 - 1982 Community Action Committee, Louisville and Jefferson County Council on Religion and Race Board Bureau of Jewish Education Board B'nai Brith - Treasurer Actors Theatre Board Member Standard Country Club Board Member - Treasurer Young Leadership Award, Jewish Community Federation National Conference of Christians & Jews: Board Member Co-Chairman Member, Legislation Advisory Committee Kentucky Society of CPA's Chairman, Federal Taxation Committee Kentucky Society of CPA's Treasurer, Vote Yes for Transit Committee Governor's Economic Development Committee, Task Force-on Finance Board Member, Midwest Council, Union of American Hebrew Congregations Leadership Louisville, Louisville Chamber of Commerce National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council / Jewish Council for Public Affairs 1982 - 1986 Church State Commission 1982 - Present Equal Opportunity and Social Justice Task Force 1995 Chair, Budget and Finance Committee 1996- 2000 Treasurer 2000- Present Executive Com �1979- 1983 1984- 1990 1990 - Present 1987- 1993 1994- 1996 1989 - Present 1991 - 1993 1992 1994- 1996 Urban League - Board Member Jewish Hospital Board Jewish Hospital Healthcare Systems Board Fifteen Telecommunications (Public TV station): Chairman and Board Member, Finance Committee Chairman, Team One subsidiary board Regional Cancer Center Corporation Board Member Midwest United Jewish Appeal Major Gifts Committee Person of the Year - B’nai Brith Council on Peacemaking - Board Member Council of Jewish Federations - (National) 1991 - 1993 Board Member 1993 - 1996 Vice Chairman, Community Budgeting Council 1997 National Funding Council, Executive Committee 1995 - 1997 Strategic Planning Steering Committee 1995 - 1997 1998 - Present Task Force on Soviet Jewry AdvocacyBoard Member � 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_abramsr Title A name given to the resource Interview with Ronald Abrams, 2001 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abrams, Ronald W., 1936- Friedman, Robert Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-10-02 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.) New York (N.Y.) Accountants 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/e12bda8b56898c67ec8807501db40ca8.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=ZlaRbdxJqOeQyF-pi1CMwFZ53DdTIEMN7k-KzMA9lXh2ZySxMS%7EBcgM0F44OVvDJlsxnQh07xUrwUBnPEk-ZB%7EZiHTkZr01WdQ531yLEoReMBuZ3rZMc61cPHiZnAen3%7EAQfdyCDWjlWhRjVAzhPcqOvu2ETxBwc61%7EUgzSqKjT0GKT7xVb6jQl-BlQL28PQxeR4GidHsEBJ0uxty%7EH3UVdQpQ%7EUSQdgf3yOHGYV9GgWLIBvN4MKQVUff63uhMF3rZkhKnvYZ4s3OoIEndkrPpAOFTtZoesMNkfIJISYsWqlipQpU9oW%7Ej2J3Kc-C%7ENToA9z5v9AaA1uUp-nUaNh%7EQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 5cda875b0073eba0c96a445bc72dc071 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES / 1. lam _____ Kim berly Feinberg \/ Blema Baer w ith 7 0 0 August 6, 2 on , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives . 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My father came to America first because he had a sister living here. And he sent for my mother and brother and sister, who came over later. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother, Ida Kasap, was bom in Kiev. My father, Samuel Sandler, was bom in Kiev. 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 Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/aunts? Grandparents? July 10, 1914. Mostly English. Mom and pop didn’t speak Yiddish very often. 763 S 1st street, I think it’s all commercial right now. Brothers, 3, and 4 sisters, mother and father. 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? Friendly, no Jews lived there. Yes, yes. Yes, there was a grocery right on the comer right where we lived, a Pigly Wiggly, and the drug store was about three blocks from where we lived, Davis’s drug store. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? Quite a bit. My father was in Chicago buying clothes for his store, and one of my brother’s was down at the store, and another brother was down at the river putting up sand bags. And my sister and I were washing this beautiful punch bowl and listening to the news and I dropped the punch bowl. Then my sister and I went to the school, which was about ‘A a block away. And a boat came over to our house to take us out of there. There were about 500 on the second floor of the school and 500 that lived on the first floor, and we were there for quite a bit. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? Planes, I’ve been on two cruises they are great but I like trains or planes. Street car. No. �8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? No, just as members. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All of them. We had one shlu kappors, it was when we would put money in the charity boxes and swing chickens. We had Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? Yes, went to Hebrew school for a short time. No, no. 11 .What is your educational background? What was your career? Hs graduate, and took some courses at UofL, observed but didn’t register. Started out working at Selman’s, then my husband was a football coach, then I had 'YOMZ' two children, then when pay became ill he had dabbled in insurance so I went into agency and became a business woman. that for climbrng^pplej^ 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? Bom here. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? First I met him when I was in high school, and he would come by at the end of school and offer me a ride home, but I didn’t date him for a long time after that. Then he started calling me for dates and that was it. June 21, 1938 at Anches Sphard synagogue. Two children one son has passed away. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? Volunteering for everything, united Jewish campaign, bond selling for Israel, 7,000 hrs for Jewish hospital. Ever since I was 7 I was volunteering, I used to write letters to my parent’s friends children. Jewish convalescent children, council, and community chest, the arts and crafts gallery, my list can go on and on. My family wasn’t really involved, my brothers were away from here, and they traveled a lot. I was really the most active in my family. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? �Just like everyone, devastated, my brother served in the service and got accommodation for his services. My son was over in Vietnam taking pictures, my sister worked at the hospital as a candy(strippbf, but everyone safely returned home after the wars. My father, who was a tailor, would fix the soldiers uniforms and S' clothes, without charge. No. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Just the fact that Judaism has taught me about sharing and caring for others, and to try to be an example and role model of being good and considerate and thoughtful of other people. It’s taught me charity and its importance. 17. What interests do you have? Right now, working at the hospital is one of my greatest interests, I love to go antiquing, reading, I used to love to drive, but they’ve taken my car away from me, so I straighten up my house and do all the little chores, I still volunteer at 93yrs old, I visit the patients, I have a nephew who is a dr. and he calls me to visit his patients. 18. What are your favorite family memories? My family, my sisters and I were the best of friends, and my brothers were also realy close to us. My sisters and I would travel together, one of my sisters and I went to Israel together and my four sisters and I went to Japan together. And we would celebrate all of the holidays together. I just have the fondest memories with family. 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 don’t know. I would like to be remembered as a very caring person. The golden rule, do unto others as u would like to have done unto u, and I really try to live that, I think prayers are important. When I was really sick I used to watch touched by an angel, and I remember when I had my heart surgery and I was there for 7wks. And it dawned on me that I hadn’t said my prayers, and I remembered how important it was to talk to g-d. And once I began to say them again I really started feeling better. It’s important to know that there is someone greater than us that’s looking down on us and really taking care of us. JFVS/aj 08/06/07 Word.olderAdultOralHistories.forms �Louis & Lee Roth Family Center JFVS is always here throughout every season of your life. Board o f Directors Judy Freundlich Tiell Executive Director Barbara Goldberg President Debbie Friedman Jay Klempner Vice Presidents TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Mark Ament Treasurer I do hereby give my permission to record my life history through the Jewish Lowell D. Katz, M.D. Ex-officio President Family and Vocational Service, 3587 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40205. Mitchell Charney Jane Goldstein Marjorie B. Kohn Robert Levine Howard Markus Shirley Markus Gail Pohn Lillian Seligman Steven Shapiro Jeffrey Weiss Past Presidents My story will be kept in the JFVS Library and can be accessed by interested people. It will be preserved archivally for future generations. D. Cole .ur Grossman Shelton R. Weber Honorary Directors Participant Caren Carney Sally Davis Ann Friedman Sandi Friedson Alyson Goldberg Rick Greenberg Ronald Levine Martin Margulis Stephanie Mutchnick Marsha Beck Roth Hunt Schuster Brian Segal Bernard Sweet Reed Weinberg Amy Wisotsky Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi David Ariel-Joel Avrohom Litvin Stanley Miles Joe Rooks Rapport Gaylia R. Rooks Nadia Siritsky Robert Slosberg Bradley C. Tecktiel Witrfe^, Date Signed JFVS/aj 7/18/007 Word.coununit. permission.history Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Jewish Family & Vocational Service F E T D ^ f^ A ^O N Metro United Way 3587 Dutchmans Lane • Louisville, Kentucky 40205 ♦ (502) 452-6341 • Fax (502) 452-6718 E-mail: jfvs@jfvs.com • Web: www.jfvs.com �Blema Baer, 99, died Friday, October 4, 2013 at Deer Park Retirement Center in Cincinnati. She was a native of Louisville bom July 10,1914. Blema was retired sales agent for Klein & Appel Insurance Agency (19541992). She wore many hats as a volunteer for 54 years at Jewish Hospital but her favorite one was visiting the patients on Friday. She was often called "Mama Baer" and "Girl Friday". She served on Jewish Hospital Guild, member of The Speed Museum, a life member of Hadassah, serving on the board, member of NCJW - Louisville Section, member of Congregation Anshei Sfard and Congregation Anshei Sfard Sisterhood. She was a volunteer for United Jewish Campaign, Bonds for Israel, Arts & Crafts gallery and Jewish Home for Convalescent Children. She received The Julia Victor Volunteer of the Year Award in 1986 and won The Bell Award in 2010. Blema's special way with people has also been helpful to Jewish Hospital Transplant Program. The hospital's social service staff needed someone to be a committed friend to Kentucky's first heart transplant recipient. Blema was selected because of her supportive and nurturing nature as well as her level-headedness in dealing with complicated and unpredictable situations. She was so effective in her first case that social services requested her assistance with other patients. Blema enjoyed antique shopping, square dancing, reading, needlepoint and her Canasta games. Her home was always open to family, friends and to Ray's football players, better known as "His" boys. She is preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Baer; her son Perry Baer; her parents, Samuel and Ida Kapsah Sandler; her sisters, Cecil Speevack, Rebecca Judah, Flora Levine and Marian Stem; her brothers, Jack Sandler, Morris Sandler and Carl Sandler. She is survived by her devoted son and daughter-in-law, Gordon and Shirley Baer; sister-in-laws, Emma Sandler and Arlette Baer; and many devoted, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and friends. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, October 6,2013 at Herman Meyer & Son, 1338 Ellison Avenue with burial to follow in Anshei Sfard Cemetery. Visitation will be after 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may go to donor's favorite charity. � 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_baerb Title A name given to the resource Interview with Blema Baer, 2007 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baer, Blema, 1914-2013 Feinberg, Kimberly Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-08-07 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.) Floods 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/61c400762287b963413ffdde510aafea.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=ae-SEYC59rjpXAX0qeF-M3Nh89j4gWFnmF4MzveIkR%7Ew3Rw2Hkkp8LUYU-NTxDFAqpYI28p1swZKPYxPSGGJxNYvBmFbsByBZmBtWkRrb0BTzs296bvy1q1u1K0vhKMJkHSIGt0b%7EUqSOjkWMAIum9ik4IBYzP5Xh99XmbwsOkXl-TeYMuHDbsfQe5kdFpr0p4%7EhhNDLu6Y6Q27cHrYeoBPuI%7E5TJgFZJp636hEnl7kuByhzfgkyrcvcLMXdXYz-uhL2DilDd%7EpMdiKW15BCyiMn0rzb--8tGXMFRnp%7ETKB4Az5%7EFmt-5UdIbsTk3vWTv4XxIw47IGQF5iUSI8Ivfg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM f3dafcd603742bd5daa34f8f10c05054 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. I am Linda Leeser, and I am conducting an interview with Ethel C. B aeffor the JFCS archives October 26, 2010. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? Ethel’s Mother came to this country when she was 20 years old, around 1920. First one of her brothers came, then another, then another, and then it was her turn. Another sister of her Mother moved to Argentina. Ethel’s Mother came to Chicago, where one of her brothers lived. She worked in a knitted dress factory, sewing beads on the dresses. Mother attended the Huffman Preparatory School to learn English. Her Father came sometime between 1918 and 1920. He was a tailor and heard of an opening for a tailor, and that is what brought him. Edith’s parents knew each other in the old country, and when her Father heard that her Mother was in Chicago, he went to see her. Both sides of the family lost relatives in the Holocaust. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? Father-Solomon (Shalom) Cooper, born in 1900 in Bialystok. Mother-Edith Kagan, also born in 1900 in Bialystok. 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? Her birth date is 7-24-24. They spoke Yiddish and English at home. Both parents became citizens at the Old Neighborhood House. They lived at 1121 East Broadway. There was Mother, Father, Bubby Adel Kagan, brother (who was 4 years younger) and sister (who was 13 years younger). 5. What was your neighborhood like? They lived in a family-oriented neighborhood, but there were no other Jews. Her Father’s tailor shop was in the front of their house on East Broadway, and the family lived in the back. They were a couple houses away from the Lutheran Church, and the minister’s children were some of the kids with whom she played. They were respectful of Ethel’s family religion, and the minister asked Bubby what would be kosher so that she could eat with them. In her backyard there were peach trees and a grape arbor, and that was a great source of fun for the neighborhood kids. A girl named Lucille, who was from a German family, became a good friend, and they put on plays in the summer and served lemonade and charged admission. �Ethel lived across the street from Normal School, which is now Breckinridge School, which she attended. Then the school become Eastern Junior High, and she went there, and then to Atherton. Attended Sunday school at KI on the comer of Floyd and Jacob. There was a grocery store called Coldiron’s and a drug store on the corner of Barrett and Broadway, that was owned by Harry Meit. Also found in that area was Dages Paints, OK storage located on the corner of Barrett and Broadway. Her uncle Albert was a kosher butcher and and worked for the Fuch’s. There was also a kosher deli on Preston Street called Deitz. . Mother could get goats’ milk from Marcus Dairy at the recommendation of Ethel’s pediatrician, because she was lactose intolerant. Cave Hill was one of her favorite haunts, as was Highland Library. During the Depression, everything was scarce, but she remembers farmers coming by selling fruit in season and eggs. The area of Grey, Chestnut, Walnut, and Preston was the place where much of Jewish life was centered. Ethel’s family moved to Indianapolis for one year because her Father became ill and couldn’t work as a tailor. Ethel worked in a restaurant that year and went to Arther Jordon Music School on a scholarship. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? Ethel was 13 years old at the time of the flood. The water level came very close to their home, even past the bottom of the hill that started at Barrett and Broadway. She remembers people coming in boats to give typhoid shots, and the Red Cross came with flour and yeast, and Bubby made bread. They had to boil their water and put a little iodine in it. Although the house was not inundated with floodwater, her Father’s tailor shop show room was used to give typhoid shots and radio was established to send boats. Other family came to stay with them during this time, and there were 10 people in 3 % rooms. The family could watch the water rise. Ethel remembers some kids being able to ice skate to school from Butchertown prior to the flood. Her Mother worried about Ethel and her brother loosing schooling because of the flood, so they were sent to their uncle in Champaign, Illinois for a semester. 7. If you wished to travel, what kind of transportation did you use? The family had a 1929 Chevy which Father called their “Jewish Packard”. She remembers a trip the family took to the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. There was a streetcar that went down Broadway with its rails in the middle of the street. �8. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Ethel’s Father was a cantor and sang with Keneseth Israel sometimes, and also Anshei Sfard, if there were no customers. Making a living was primary. But Bubby went every Shabbat. Sometimes when Ethel was good, she would go to shul with Bubby and then go with her to her Bubby’s girlfriends’ homes. Mother would go to shul sometimes, as would Ethel. Then she would go to the picture show with her girlfriends before the price changed in the afternoons. They would also go to Taylor’s Drug Store for tuna and cokes.. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? Shabbas, Havdallah, Friday eve dinner, even when the pantry was lean. Usually they would have meat or chicken once/week. And Passover was also observed and celebrated. It was fun to change dishes and Bubby would make wine from the grape arbor. But Ethel had an allergy to the rosin in grapes and peaches, and was not allowed to have any of the things that Bubby made from them. She could drink mead, though, which Bubby also made. They could seat 20 around the dining room table. They had an icebox, not a refrigerator. In the morning, the women would congregate in the kitchen and cook all day to prepare-including her Father’s sister and Mother’s sister-in-law. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bat Mitzvah? Ethel went to Sunday school and was confirmed, but she didn’t learn Hebrew. That was just not something girls did in those days. She remembers roller-skating to the library, and the sidewalks from Barrett to Rubel Ave. were bricks!! 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? Ethel received a Bachelors Degree in Music Education at the University of Louisville, (which was not a state school then). During part of that time she joined the Cadet Nurse Corp, for 1 years. She worked at the Autistic School as the music therapist for 14 years. A friend worked there and asked her to join them. It was located at 4th and St. Catherine, then at the Hurstbourne Christian Church, and finally it moved to the Coach House behind the Women’s Club on 4th Street. The public school system did not accept children with autism at that time. Ethel still has tapes of her work with the children, and her memories are touching. She went on to get her degree at the Institute of Music Therapy at the age of 54. 12. Ethel was born in Louisville. See # 2 and #3 for family history. 13. How did you meet your husband? Where were you married? Did you have children? She and her husband Ed worked at Waterman’s Department Store-all Jewish kids worked there. They were married in Holyoke, MA, where her husband was stationed, on July 7, 1945, by a Rabbi who didn’t speak English. �Ethel has three children: son Sol is a music professor; daughter Lois is a Spanish professor; son Andrew is a chiropractor. 14. Tell about your involvement in the Jewish Community? As a girl, Ethel belonged to the Fillies Club, played piano at the YWHA for dance classes, and also worked for the USO where she brought classical music recordings for the soldiers. She and her husband and children were members of Brith Shalom where all their kids were confirmed and their sons Bar Mitzvahed. Their daughter had a Bat Mitzvah when she was 50 years old, in Illinois. They kept kosher while her Mother lived with then, but not after. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Her Father developed Parkinson’s disease at age 37, thought to have been contracted as a result of encephalitis from the war. Her brother was too young for the army in WWII, but he joined the Reserves when he was old enough. During this time, her Mother ran a dry cleaning shop. Ethel’s husband served in WWII at 19 years of age-until he was 21 or 22. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? She loved Chanukah-latkes, dreidl, gelt, lighting the candles and singing. Her Father was a musician, too, and those are fond memories-music and the holidays. Ethel loved Pesach best!!! Mr. Rubenstein used to bring over the Pesach order to them. Her Bubby instituted the tzedakah box, which was called the “Thank God box”. Visiting rabbis could eat with them because they were kosher. The family was brought up to be charitable. When beggars came to the house, the family would share food with them, giving them sandwiches, but didn’t let them in the house. During the Depression, everything was scarce, but there was fruit in season. Farmers would come by with strawberries and eggs. 17. What interests do you have? Ethel likes to play bridge; she plays piano for the senior citizens club at JCC, and she likes to read-especially fiction and biographies. She enjoys going to plays with her friends and enjoys needlework. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Celebrating the holidays with family and friends has always been special to her. �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? She hopes that the people she has known will enjoy music and literature. She is a firm believer in education. Her philosophy is “Live and let live,” which is not always so easy to do. Be a good parent, a good friend, and enjoy life. � 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_baere Title A name given to the resource Interview with Ethel Baer, 2010 Description An account of the resource 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.” Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baer, Ethel, 1924-2012 Lesser, Linda Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-10-26 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.) Chicago (Ill.) Immigration Textile workers Clothing workers Tailors Floods Business enterprises Music therapists 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/44e5e0865581c7c705133161084eb152.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=JyACjfN0sykFQkSUb%7EMBJ8l%7EZI-irAlgj71v9IDdrtvNp3hD42FCf750TYW-50U-aWkp8QNBIXDAIq73qKkusymPqWJGf4BoOravtuDhSMAlocfehI5pfVZn9%7EBJzEQozDVpCsVWzLIx7gBLyGn1xNWewan-ca2gaxFxOUPLB2AQOPV09Y%7Eu21epaGrmIHPo-RbwjsV3mFqiM6k%7EJGrsOZ5rumESiUzGrn2wkD7N7TTX8WWHEf4dRBI59qR6AFfazHLb4WrncdUtqMohf0Y4zV0lMBhB3gC5JEHf45Z7Iq5xRhRL8ba-n2yi7K9%7EO3Ry4PmD%7E4DuMfxKxKylJuPqaQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 3ea6ba39072300f223d482dc3c96e212 PDF Text Text My name is Shirley Bailen and This is my story I was bom in Louisville in the “old” Jewish hospital on May 7, 1922. My father was Wolf Diamond (1884-1978). He was bom in Lithuania. My mother was Birdie Marks. (1888-1978). She was bom in Louisville. I was the third child bom in our family. My sister, Tobie was bom in 1912 and my brother, Victor, was bom in 1915. We lived above my father’s shoe store at 603 West Market. Our next home was at Second at and Lee when I was six. Two years later we moved to Second and Gaulbert. I started school at Prentice Elementary for kindergarten and the first half of first grade. My mother and I walked to school every day. My next school was Cochran which was at Second and Hill. After sixth grade I went to Halleck Hall Junior High and then to Louisville Girls High, graduating in 1940. Everyone remembers we had a major flood here in January-February 1937. We lived on the third floor and while we didn’t get flooded ourselves, the water got into the basement and the furnace was out of commission. At times, t was so cold that my sister and I huddled together in a twin bed under all the blankets we owned trying to get warm. My father tried to cook an egg in a spoon using a candle for heat. We had to get to my Aunt Esther Marks and Uncle Harry who lived at Second and Brandeis. My mother stopped a passing boat operated by two young men and they took my sister and me. Later my parents came. We later moved to the Highlands, near the “loop” at Highland Avenue and we stayed with my father’s sister, a family by the name of Sadawitz, until we were able to get back in our home after the waters receded and repairs were made to the furnace. My brother became a pharmacist and married a girl from North Dakota and my sister became a teacher and she married Abe Goldberg. He was a tailor and had a shop on West Market. I got married right out of high school. It was on October 27, 1940, David Bailen (1918-2004) and I married and began a wonderful life together for 67 years. We knew we couldn’t afford the expense of a large wedding, and the potential guest lists had already expanded beyond our budget. So we went to Lexington and Rabbi Pero married us in a private ceremony. David got a job as a photographer at a ship yard in Evansville, Indiana. It made landing craft for the military. When WWII started he joined the Air Force and we relocated to a base at Stana, California. We rode our bicycles every where and really liked California and we seriously considered staying there. While he was in service there I worked on the base for the air force, also. 1 �Of course during the war, there were shortages of most items and everyone had ration cards. We drank our coffee black as we could not get cream. Mother would send us extra ration stamps so we could buy meat occasionally. Once we went to the races in Tijuana, Mexico. We biked everywhere we could...to Laguna Beach...to Balboa. We had become real Californians, but fate stepped in when David’s father died. After the war we came home and David opened a photo shop in Bonnycastle drugs. Later Hucks Pharmacy, near Speed and Bardstown Road closed and sold his pharmacy business to Bonnycastle, so David moved his photo shop to that location and we ran a dispensary, no pharmacy. Several years later we were unable to renew our lease and closed that business. Then the course of our lives changed again. David worked in sales for one of the candy/tobacco wholesale businesses and during this same time, Donald Stem who had a drug store decided that he needed help. He wanted to spend all of his time with the prescription service and asked me to run the rest of the store for him. This proved to be a good arrangement for both of us, and I did this for 12 years. One event was significant in my life; at age 56 I had cancer. The doctors were reluctant to tell me about my chances for cure and survival. I insisted and was told that I had only a 20% chance. I told the doctor that I was tough and would beat it. After all, I had children and grandchildren I needed to be here for. There came another unusual opportunity when Jack Benjamin was involved with the drama department at the new JCC on Dutchman’s Lane. He asked David to read for a part. David had never done anything with any theater, but finally agreed to read. David was pretty good with accents and we were all surprised when he was selected for the lead in the play, ft was such a big success and had so many sold out performances, they had to extend it for a month. Another unusual experience occurred when David won a trip to the Los Angeles summer Olympics in 1968. His name was drawn by M & M, one of the candy companies he represented. We stayed at Disney and after the Olympics we went to Mexico City for a week before returning to Louisville. Our son, James, was bom here in Louisville while David was still in the army. James attended Centre College on scholarship in Danville. It is a Christian college and a required course was Christian Bible. James took the course and wrote a paper on a Jewish leader and won first place and $263 prize money. He went to UL medical school and made urology as his specialty. He helped form the medical group First Urology which is the largest such group in this area. He married Cathy Eichengreen. 2 �James has three children: Michael attended college at Northwestern and became an investment banker with Deutsch Bank in Manhattan. He married Karen Carney. He was going to work the morning of 9/11. After the collapse of the second tower he had to walk 17 blocks before he could get a phone signal to call us and report that he was OK. They decided that they would rather live in Louisville and came home. He works for Texas Roadhouse as chief financial officer. They have two children: Brody, 9 and Zoe, 6. James second child is Neil, who married Lisa. They have Blair, 5 and Whitney, 2. He is a lawyer with the Stites-Harbison group. Their third child is Erica. She is a pediatrician. Her husband is Sean Griffin. He is an orthopedic surgeon at Norton Hospital. They have no children. Our second son is Barry Paul Bailen. He lives in Olympia, Washington and is now retired from Evergreen University as an academic counselor. His daughter is Molly and she is marred to Greg Maalof. They live in Portland, OR. While we were retired we participated in at least 10 Elderhostel programs at various places of interest including San Francisco, Boston, New Orleans, and St. Louis. We lived in a condo in the St Matthews area. Following David’s death in 2004 I continued to be active and I volunteered at Jewish hospital, at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and for a year at the Louisville Free Public Library After being alone for 6 years I moved into Magnolia Springs and I have been here about eight years now7. interview by Irvin Goldstein May, 2018 3 � 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_bailens Title A name given to the resource Interview with Shirley Bailen, 2018 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bailen, Shirley D., 1922-2019 Goldstein, Irvin Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-05 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.) Floods Old Louisville (Louisville, Ky.) Highlands (Louisville, Ky.) World War, 1939-1945 Business enterprises 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/c0c0b0a1f00060c183265eb1be18edc0.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=RjGeB5D6m9Gz5QhxshGmhuZykAEk5t-AvIYK4g5iRwCcDGoFj65NlHqBsuqkzF-ItXHKIeg85oeiwiBQcpVvuJJecbJa55iwjwZunMcSUBIzJbHyY5NC6G6zd3MEqj38Fl5jN9eDuE3EWFFFpd1DAq31dxEkngkv8pdKh5L5IILy71mjldVU8SWEsSIjRhpy23pRzq%7EEER8qCan4c%7EKBSgZjdxBm-KzB-vma020foSDQg3bVGol%7EWE1qrquO1%7EWgmz5fRfDETBzZbBqlQbhz6Dir48ky-mtNMVjVUFj%7EfOK6xYeGhJ4RX3kMef7nKajFfWeToj%7EQ00FHbyGp5HlJlg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 84086c84f7e2d4025dd9e89a4ca91831 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES I am Gay A Balleisen d e l s t e i n , I am conducting an interview with: Caroline for the JFCS archives in September 2011 . 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My parents, Belle Stern and Isadore Maurice Kimmelfield, were born in Kupel, a village near Odessa, Ukraine. One of Belle’s sisters ran away and Belle went after her, traveling all over Europe for two years. The sister ended up in New York, and Belle found her there in 1917. She stayed with her sister for awhile and then went to New Bedford, Conn, to teach Hebrew. She spoke four languages. Isadore was a Talmudic scholar, a Zionist, and a Socialist. (Jews were slowly being assimilated into Russian society but few Jews were allowed in schools.) Isadore left Kupel in 1914 to escape the draft, went to Cleveland and then to New York. He met Belle at a landsman society. She was being courted by Velvel Chomsky who became president of Dropsie College and was the father of Noam Chomsky, but she chose Isadore instead. Isadore was a foreman with Western Union but he went on strike with his workers and was boycotted for two years. Then he worked for All America Cable and stayed there for the rest of his life. Belle went to adult education classes and took English to get a job, but her husband wouldn’t let her work. Everyone spoke English in their home, no Yiddish, because Belle wanted her kids to be Americanized. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? I was born in 1930 in Brooklyn, N.Y. I had one older brother, Arthur. I lived in Brooklyn until I went to college. No other Jewish families lived near us. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/Aunts? 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? I met Paul Tenen at Brooklyn College and after several years of dating, we married in 1952 after I graduated from Columbia Law School. Three years later Paul was killed in an auto accident. Five years later I met Donald Balleisen, and we married in 1959. Donald graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School. He worked for Penicken Ford which was sold to Reynolds Tobacco Co., and we did not want to move to Winston Salem. I knew about Louisville—its orchestra, the Courier Journal and Harry Carmichael who desegregated schools before there was a law—so we decided to move to Louisville. I had mainly preferred mixed gender groups, but I was invited to a meeting of NCJW, and I was so impressed by them that I joined the group. 6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? �I lived in Louisville on Runnymede since 1969. The houses were just being built then, and many Jews lived there. Donald and I were associated with The Temple (which was downtown) and we shopped at Holiday Manor. We were not here for the flood but were here for the tornado which went ip 1-71 but missed our subdivision. We put the kids in the basement, but Donald was upstairs talking on the phone to N.Y. and I kept calling him to come down to the basement. 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? THIS GOES BACK TO THE TIME IN BROOKLYN. My family used the subway and buses. Even when we went to the country, Northbranch in the Catskills, we took a bus for five hours. We and another family rented rooms in a farmhouse there. We played Monopoly, hiked, picked berries, etc. It was there that I had my first incident of anti-Semitism when a child called me a dirty Jew. At home I lived close to Coney Island. 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? BROOKLYN: My family was not much involved with religion. We went to synagogue on the high holidays and celebrated Thanksgiving but not Christmas. Once when I was 6 or 7 my father tried to ’et me sit with him in the Synagogue, but I was sent to sit upstairs with my mother. 10. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? 11. Did you attend Sunday School or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday School with you? BROOKLYN: I went to Sunday School at the Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, which was like the JCC. I was not confirmed, but learned Bible stories, sang, took ballet and drama. I am not now in touch with anyone there; but one friend, Iris Kline Owens, persuaded me to apply to Barnard. I would have liked to be in touch with her, but she died. Iris wrote novels. Other well-known people who attended the Community House were Rhoda Karpatkin who was a CEO of Consumer Union and Maurice Sendak. 12. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? I attended Brooklyn College, Barnard, and Columbia. My first job, in high school, was selling linens at Loessers Dept, store in Brooklyn. When I graduated from law school there were few if any jobs for Jewish women, so the Dean of the law school hired me to work on a project to develop an income tax code. The people on that committee were famous and interesting. They met at the Bar Association and usually had lunch at the Harvard Club, but since it did not let in women when they were with me they went across the street to the Algonquin. The office looked at the Colgate clock, same as in Louisville. The firm had two Jewish partners, one of whom hired me. I was always interested in �public policy which led me to become an attorney. I had thought I would go into politics, but didn’t have the confidence. Instead, I decided to open my own practice, and worked for the same professor who had hired me, doing research at the Columbia library. There I met Myra Schumann who was ioing the same kind of work. I told Myra I wanted to meet a man who wanted to marry, not just have sex. Myra talked to her husband who was a friend of Donald Balleisen and set up a date for him with me. Donald was tall, wore a hat, and took me to dinner at the Plaza, then to the movie (The Last Angry Man), on to a jazz club, and then to a walk by the river. This was January 17, 1959. On Valentine’s Day he gave me a lovely heart pin, and we married on April 8, 1959, a small wedding at the Sheraton Netherlands. We had three children: Ellen, born January 9, 1960; Wendy, born October 13, 1963; and Edward, born July 3, 1965. I have three grandchildren; Cassandra Marie Finger who graduated from Smith three years ago; Zach who is 15 and Aaron, 13, who live with Edward in Durham, SC where he is a professor at Duke. Daughter Ellen lives in New York and teaches ESL at CUNY and does pension consulting for the teachers’ union. While I was raising my children in Louisville, I was on many boards. When my husband left Greenbaum, I became his associate lawyer, and 'then we became partners with Tilford, Dobbins, Alexanders, Buckaway, and Black. I specialized in estate tax, tax planning, and was a courtappointed lawyer for children’s abuse cases. 13. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. 15. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? In my neighborhood in Brooklyn was an Italian Catholic girl who became my close friend. We would walk to the Bay wearing shorts and the soldiers in trucks would whistle at us. However, once a man exposed himself and that was the end of the walks. I experienced no anti-Semitism in Louisville. 16. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? I had one aunt who immigrated to Israel in the 1950s. My Mother’s oldest brother, who had four kids, was in the Red Army and they ended up in a displaced persons’ camp. Bella, who was a poll watcher, finally got them into the U.S. Her brother became a professor at Dropsie College, but was angry with his sister for not getting him a position in New York. My brother enlisted in the army at 17 (1943) and wanted to go into the Specialized Training program. Later he was sent to Penn State on the Gl Bill and became an attorney. 17. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I have no spiritual memories. I just liked being Jewish. 18. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? When I was young I liked Frank Sinatra, drawing, my cat, folk dancing (as a teenager), politics and playing the piano. I took lessons for eight years at the 3rd Street Music Settlement where lessons �plus music theory were $1.25. Now I am involved in writing my memoirs, politics, the Citizens Housing Counsel, the Citizens Union, and the American Jewish Committee. 19. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? My best memories are of having my whole family here for my birthday. I wish I had been more involved with them, but they are all far apart geographically. 20. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? I would like to be remembered as a person who really cared about Tikkun 01am. I want my children and grandchildren to do their own thing and be happy. I am very proud of all of them. � 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_balleisenc Title A name given to the resource Interview with Caroline Balleisen, 2011 Description An account of the resource 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Balleisen, Caroline, 1930-2020 Adelstein, Gay Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-09 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/2f5849d34710bd376ddd7272138bfa54.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=Tv0dv-0IzRPoloSg8fxAe0NYflgbCGCFJ9B73gz0M-yJctwBETWjBZy3qiYXub2AHaC6FAkEaazgIxevtMxGLO8NF6EGQtRi%7E53rqNTtSAFo%7Ee%7ENUqhpRDjmM3do7Edn9rQp8sA9uBC0kjY0rGZju8s%7EAvWkKCfGU0D0i8AlF3HBeTao8i0nO80wrK%7ExUpobxc4lPhXcPh-7WjXRPuWPNKratjC7IhWHeZ7w8QSXehnFsH12UPkkNgMkXRKCO6jT859lL-aQFVMi5rcyg2nSi5WOWNLQ67GMiFRB9BU4QpbwwSpCkw27OnRqNAxgCkbWBIKgMQiLsIi4dPQyYcTVwQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 68466f926d3eef0aac4aad5530babf86 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES Ia . ^ Ann F r i e d m a n , I am conducting an interview with: Helene Banks for the JFCS archives in 2001. 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My mother was bom in the United States (Philadelphia, PA) but returned to Brussels, Belgium with her parents and brother Ben (also born in the U.S.) around 1912. Her parents felt there was much anti-Semitism in U.S. at that time and felt they would live more comfortably in Belgium. My mother returned to the United States in July 1940 when we were fleeing the Germans in World War II. She came with me (age 3-1/2) and my sister Simone who was only three weeks old and who was born in Bordeaux, France, en route to the United States. I was born in Brussels but we had to flee Brussels because the German occupation had already begun there. My mother had never relinquished her U.S. citizenship so we, as her children, were able to come to the U.S. with her. My father couldn’t come at that time because he was not a U.S. citizen, having been bom in Poland. He fled to Casablanca, finally making it to the United States and rejoining his family in 1941. My mother’s brothers helped him get to the U.S. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? My mother’s name was Lena Halpern. She was born in Philadelphia, PA on May 14, 1907. My father’s name was Leon Bronstein (later Anglicized to Brownson). He was born in Poland about ten days after Chanukah in 1908. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? French and English were spoken in our home. When I arrived in the U.S. at age 3, I didn’t know a word of English - a year later I didn’t know a word of French. We lived in New York City immediately after arriving in the U.S. When my father rejoined us a year later, we moved to Norfolk, Virginia where my father accepted a position as a furrier in a well-known department store. Later he opened his own fur salon and storage vault which in the 50s was billed as the largest fur storage vault in the South. We lived in a small bungalow in a lovely residential area. When I was 12 years old my parents built a large brick Colonial home in the Larchmont area of Norfolk. I lived in both these homes with my three younger sisters, Simone (Mona), Bernice (Bunny), and Rachele Joyce (we called her Joyce then). No aunts or uncles lived nearby and all four of my grandparents were lost in the Holocaust. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/Aunts? 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? I came with my former husband who was transferred to Louisville with the Recruiting Service of the U.S. Airforce. We arrived here on June 9, 1975. �6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? There were several other Jewish families in the Ghent area where we lived in our first home. We walked to school. We were driven to Sunday school at Temple Beth El, our Conservative synagogue. There were both a grocery and a drug store in this area. We had no Jewish neighbors in the Larchmont area. I took a bus to high school each day and we had to travel some distance to get to a grocery or drug store. 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? The flood did not affect me because I did not live in Louisville at that time. 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? We didn’t travel a lot but when we did, it was by car. We did attend family weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, usually in New York. I took my first plane trip to New York to visit my aunts, uncles and cousins when I was 17 years old. 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? Yes, my family was always involved with our synagogue. My father was a respected member of our synagogue and belonged to the Men’s Club. My mother belonged to the Sisterhood. 10. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? All Jewish holidays and rituals were celebrated in our home and in the synagogue. We were Conservative and very observant. 11. Did you attend Sunday school or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday school with you? Yes, I attended Sunday school, Hebrew school and I was confirmed. 12. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? i graduated high school and completed one year of college. I took a summer job for an insurance company and promised to stay. I did not return to college for that reason. I was an executive secretary, a legal secretary and administrative assistant. I retired from KFC Corp, headquarters in November, 1985. �13. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? I met my first husband, Jack Jaffe, at the Jewish Community Center in Norfolk, Virginia in 1956. We were married March 2, 1957 in Norfolk. We had three children: Denis (Deni) JaffeTownsend, Sharon Ellen Jaffe (Glasser), and Leonard Burton Jaffe. Jack and I were divorced in June, 1976 and he died in June, 1980. I net Norman Banks in June of 1982. His sister Rhona, after meeting me, gave Norman my number to call and we began dating regularly thereafter. We were married at Adath Jeshurun on May 27, 1984. We have no children together. Norman has three children of his own from his previous marriage, 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. Before moving to Louisville, I was always working full time but was a member of Hadassah (and still am) because there was always a chapter in every city to which we were transferred. I joined NCJW, Louisville Section, the day I retired from KFC - November 1, 1985. I have remained active in all areas of the section and served as president from 1991 to 1993. In the late 70s I was an advisor to Modern Femmes BBG. I chaired the Scholarship Committee of the Home of the Innocents Auxiliary, served on the Holocaust Steering Committee and on the Board of the Federation’s Community Relations Council. My children were active in the Jewish community organizations in San Antonio and Louisville. They continue to serve their respective communities. 15. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? 16. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? As mentioned earlier, I lost all four of my grandparents in the gas chambers. And there, but for the grace of G-d, went I. Although I have not been directly affected by the wars in Israel, I have grave concern for its people. I pray they will one day enjoy peace. 17. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I particularly recall celebrating Simchas Torah with my father. The men marched around the synagogue carrying all the torahs from the ark and we children followed behind, carrying and waving our flags that we topped with an apple. A fond memory is of sitting between Joe Kaplan and my husband Norman chanting and singing the prayers on the High Holidays at Adath Jeshurun. Judaism has affected my life greatly. I have tried t live my life by its commandments. 18. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? family, volunteer work, mahjong, needlepointing, knitting and reading are my interests. 19. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? �My sister Mona and I would get my mother’s hats down from her closet and along with my mother, the three of us would try on all the hats frontwards, backwards and inside out. We’d laugh so hard. My son’s Bar Mitzvah and all our other joyous family events also are favorite memories. 20. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? My legacy to this world is my three children who, in spite of obstacles and hardships they had to overcome, have become outstanding and respected citizens in their own communities. I’d like to be remembered as a good wife, a good mother, honest, caring and someone who tried to help others. �QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES Ann Friedman 1. I am Helene Banks with __________________ , 2001. * y , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives on 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when. My mother was bom in the United States (Philadelphia, PA) but returned to Brussels, Belgium with her parents and brother Ben (also bom in the U.S.) around 1912. Her parents felt there was much anti-Semitism in the U.S. at that time and felt they would live more comfortably in Belgium. My mother returned to the United States in July 1940 when we were fleeing the Germans in World War II. She came with me (age 3-1/2) and my sister Simone who was only 3 weeks old and who was bom in Bordeaux, France, en route to the United States. I was bom in Brussels but we had to flee Brussels because the German occupation had already begun there. My mother had never relinquished her U.S. citizenship so we, as her children, were able to come to the U.S. with her. My father couldn’t come at that time because he was not a U.S. citizen having been bom in Poland. He fled to Casablanca, finally making it to the United States and rejoining his family in 1941. My m other’s brothers helped him get to the U.S. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother’s name was Lena Halpern. She was bom in Philadelphia, PA on May 14, 1907. My father’s name was Leon Bronstein (later Anglicized to Brownson). He was bom in Poland about ten days after Chanukah in 1908. 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? French and English were spoken in our home. When I arrived in the U.S. at age 3, I didn’t know a w ord o f English - a year later I didn’t know a word o f French. We lived in New York City immediately after arriving in the U.S. When my father rejoined us a year later, we moved to Norfolk, Virginia where my father accepted a position as a furrier in a well-known department store. Later he opened his own fur salon and storage vault which in the 50’s was billed as the largest fur storage vault in the South. We lived in a small bungalow in a lovely residential area. When I was 12 years old my parents built a large brick Colonial home in the Larchmont area o f Norfolk. I lived in both these homes with my three younger sisters, Simone (Mona), Bernice (Bunny) and Rachele Joyce (we called her Joyce then). No aunts or uncles lived nearby and all four o f my grandparents were lost in the Holocaust. �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? There were several other Jewish families in the Ghent area where we lived in our first home. We walked to school. We were driven to Sunday School at Temple Beth El, our Conservative Synagogue. There were both a grocery and drug store in this area. We had no Jewish neighbors in the Larchmont area. I took a bus to high school each day and we had to travel some distance to get to a grocery or drug store. 6. If you wished to travel, what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? We didn’t travel a lot but when we did, it was by car. We did attend family weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, usually in New York. I took my first plane trip to New York to visit my aunts, uncles and cousins when I was 17 years old. 7. Was you family involved in a synagogue/temple? Yes, my family was always involved with our synagogue. My father was a respected member o f our Synagogue and belonged to the Men’s Club. My mother belonged to the Sisterhood. 8. What holidays and rituals were observed? All Jewish holidays and rituals were celebrated in our home and in the synagogue. We were Conservative and very observant. 9. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? Yes, I attended Sunday school, Hebrew school and I was confirmed. 10. What is your educational background? What was your career? I graduated high school and completed one year o f college. I took a summer job for an insurance company and promised to stay. I did not return to college for that reason. I was an executive secretary, a legal secretary and administrative assistant. I retired from KFC Corp, headquarters in November 1985. 11. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come. I came with my former husband who was transferred to Louisville with the Recruiting Service o f the U. S. Air Force. We arrived here on June 9, 1975. �12. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met my first husband, Jack Jaffe, at the Jewish Community Center in Norfolk, Virginia in 1956. We were married March 2, 1957 in Norfolk. We had three children, Denise (Deni) Jaffe Townsend, Sharon Ellen Jaffe (Glasser) and Leonard Burton Jaffe. Jack and I were divorced in June 1976 and he died in June 1980. I met Norman Banks in June o f 1982. His sister Rhona, after meeting me, gave Norman my number to call and we began dating regularly thereafter. We were married at Adath Jeshurun on May 27,1984. We have no children together. Norman has three children o f his own from his previous marriage. 13. Tell all about your involvement in the Jewish Community. Was your whole family involved. Before moving to Louisville I was always working full time but was a member o f Hadassah (and still am) because there was always a chapter in every city to which we were transferred. I joined NCJW, Louisville Section the day I retired from KFC - November 1, 1985. I have remained active in all areas o f the section and served as President from 1991 to 1993. In the late ‘70’s I was an advisor to M odem Femmes BBG. I chaired the Scholarship Committee o f the Home o f the Innocents Auxiliary , served on the Holocaust Steering Committee and on the Board o f the Federation’s Community Relations Council. My children were active in the Jewish community organizations in San Antonio and Louisville. They continue to serve their respective communities. 14. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? As mentioned earlier, I lost all four o f my grandparents in the gas chambers. And there for the grace o f G-d went I. Although I have not been directly affected by the wars in Israel, I have grave concern for its people. I pray they will one day enjoy peace. 15. What are your favorite spiritual memories. How did religion affect your life? I particularly recall celebrating Simchas Torah with my father. The men marched around the synagogue carrying all the torahs from the ark and we children followed behind carrying and waving our flags that we topped with an apple. Another fond memory is of sitting between Joe Kaplan and my husband Norman chanting and singing the prayers on the High Holidays at Adath Jeshurun. Judaism has affected my life greatly. I have tried to live my life by its commandments. 16. What interests do you have? Family, volunteer work, Mah Jong, needlepointing, knitting and reading are my interests. �17. What are your favorite family memories. My sister Mona and I would get my mothers hats down from her closet and along with my mother, the three o f us would try on all the hats frontward, backwards and inside out. W e’d laugh so hard. My son’s Bar Mitzvah and all our other joyous family events also are favorite memories. 18. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What values would you like to pass on to those you leave behind. My legacy to this world is my three children who, in spite o f obstacles and hardships they had to overcome, have become outstanding and respected citizens in their own communities. I ’d like to be remembered as a good wife, a good mother, honest, caring and someone who tried to help others. There was no question about the 1937 flood on the form when this interview was done. The flood did not affect me because I did not live in Louisville at that time. � 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_banksh Title A name given to the resource Interview with Helene Banks, 2001 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Helene Banks in 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Banks, Helene Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/1d689c4472c05105b25746531800e9b3.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=bZV4msp8bdyJ-TqLsYSPon3EVb3imuo3ktVI3e5iqwLLJIoHwuWXhIIamZT8mQ9tMLKFfEpdYmlYdmkC9YMeRRszX-fElUfh0mT3V%7ERrraNVlmcU7ZFsbObUVRnY8kSKuFR5JB1JqpO7kDOl2lRGneYb%7E6mKHL4VdgwulPYYMyOtMAeqLPbegJQSHf9Hebfxg%7EyClqFOzWPrR8024I2MS%7EYGake4YWCP2rlhdOIkdLzflTfYAVluck0cgvVwh5p2%7ERn2JmB325OCDaBeeEJMPmZ31G4JPTbOG3xqWO8q7q4wBTzjKvvsovwlw%7ErhNU8Q3sEmh63vrP-jGvad0BBeow__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM d25a9a12da82007ff0098179cb28eca4 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES I am Ann F r i e d m a n , I am conducting an interview with: Norman Banks On July 26, 2001 for the JFCS archives. 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My grandparents lived in the Ukraine. My grandfather was a miller (flour) by trade. When the Cossacks came to their village the men were taken away to serve in the military. My grandfather, Nathan, and my grandmother, Clara Michelbanc, fled with their children, Maurice, Fannie and another sister who was called “Red,” to a seaport city in Germany where they stayed only until they were able to get passage to the United States in 1898. My father, Maurice, had another brother named Martin who was born after the family arrived in the United States. The family first arrived in New York and then went to Baltimore. My mother, Esther Sophie Bordensky, “Sophie,” came in the United States with her parents from Poland or Russia in the 1890s. Sophie had nine siblings (ten children). One of her brothers will be 100 years old this year; he lives in Rockville, MD. The family settled in the same area as my father’s family, Wilkins Avenue in Baltimore. My parents met because they lived close to each other. They married in 1916. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? My mother was Esther Sophie Bordensky Banks. My father was Maurice Banks. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? I was born on April 25, 1918. My grandparents spoke Yiddish and some English. My sister, Rhona Banks Singlust, and I spoke English. �4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/Aunts? 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? I came to Louisville in 1933. After the Depression, Fort Eustis was closed and the troops were moved to fort Knox, Kentucky. An Army general asked my father if he would like to come to Fort Knox. He came in 1931, and the rest of the family joined him in 1933. 6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? The Jews of Baltimore lived in the Carroll Park area, somewhat like a ghetto, with Italians living in their own area and Poles in their own. Jews traveled together. That’s the way it was - rough. The family moved to Hopewell, Virginia, a very small town near Ft. Eustis, when I was two or three years old. My father and brother-in-law opened a grocery and they took turns working in the grocery while also working in a munitions plant. About 18 months later World War I ended, the munitions plant closed, people lost their jobs, the grocery closed, and the town virtually became a “ghost town.” A business opportunity presented itself in Clarksburg, West Virginia and my family lived there for about two years, after which the family relocated to Newport News, Virginia. It was there that I went to Sunday school, Hebrew School and went to schul. My mother’s father was a cantor so religion was a great priority. This was where I really grew up, attended services and had my Bar Mitzvahl 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? We traveled by train or automobile. I would go to Baltimore with my mother who had a chronic medical condition and was treated by her brother, Nathan Bordensky, who was a doctor. We also �traveled to see family on the old Kiptopeke Ferry, which in those days took you from Virginia to Maryland (you actually took your car on the ferry and drove the rest of the way.) 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? My family and I attended the Orthodox synagogue. 10. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? All Jewish holidays and rituals were observed and I was raised in a kosher home. On Shabbat and holidays my grandmother would not cook because they could not burn a flame. She took her food to the bakery because the baker’s ovens remained warm. 11. Did you attend Sunday School or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday School with you? I attended religious school and became a Bar Mitzvah. I was to be confirmed but got into an argument with the rabbi. The Confirmation class had to write speeches using the letters from the word “dogma.” My assigned letter was “d.” I wrote the speech but the rabbi refused to accept it and said I had to write another speech. I refused and my father was called to come to the synagogue. I never wrote a new speech, but the rabbi was fired when it was learned he had never been ordained. 12. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? I attended two years of high school in Newport News, Virginia and completed the last two years at Male High School here in Louisville. The family moved to Louisville in 1922. My career was working for my father in the laundry, dry cleaning and tailoring business. The Depression had hit and everything was tough. The Bank of Kentucky failed, the insurance policy with the bank failed and “there went my education down the tubes.” 13. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? �I met my first wife, Birdie Mae Kaplan, when she slammed the door in my face at a party. We dated for about three years until her mother urged me to make a marital decision. We married on July 7, 1940 at the Kentucky Hotel at Fifth and Walnut Rabbi Gittleman married us. It was a huge wedding. We had three children - Jeffrey Banks, Neil Banks and Anne Banks. Birdie Mae passed away in November, 1981. I met Helene Jaffe through my sister and we started dating right away - July, 1982. We dated for two years but I also dated a few other women. I “sowed a lot of wild oats.” We married on May 27, 1984. Helene has three children. 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. I was active at Adath Jeshurun as Treasurer of the Board and worked for UJC for a number of years. The whole family is active in the Jewish community in many organizations in different areas. 15. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? 16. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? I was in the Tank Corps in Germany and spent eighteen months in the service. 17. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Attending services with my family is a favorite spiritual memory. “My religion is the core of my being.” 18. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? My interests were and are golf, cards (bridge), reading, music and dancing. 19. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? My fondest memories are of family and marriage. We were a large family and went on trips together and celebrated occasions together. .Family is most important to me. �20. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? He was a good man, Gunga Din!” He loved all his family, his children and Helene’s children. I want to be remembered as a “good guy,” honest, honorable and with a good sense of humor. �QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. la m ______ Ann Friedman______ ______ , I am conducting an interview with Norman Banks Z' for the JFVS archives on July 26, 2 0 0 1 . 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My grandparents lived in the Ukraine. My grandfather was a miller (flour) by trade. When the Cossacks came to their village the men were taken away to serve in the military. My grandfather, Nathan and my grandmother, Clara Michelbanc fled with their children, Maurice, Fannie and another sister who was called “Red”, to a seaport city in Germany where they stayed only until they were able to get passage to the United States in 1898. My father, Maurice, had another brother named Martin who was bom after the family arrived in the United States. The family first arrived in New York and then went to Baltimore. My mother, Esther Sophie Bordensky “Sophie”, came in the United States with her parents from Poland or Russia in the 1890’s. Sophie had nine siblings (ten children). One of her brothers will be 100 years old this year, he lives in Rockville, MD. The family settled in the same area as my father’s family, Wilkins Avenue is Baltimore. My parents met because they lived close to each other. They married in 1916. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My mother was Esther Sophie Bordensky Banks. My father was Maurice Banks. 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 bom on April 25, 1918. My grandparents spoke Yiddish and some English. My sister, Rhona Banks Singlust and I spoke English. 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? The Jews of Baltimore lived in the Carroll Park area, somewhat like a ghetto with Italians living in their own area and the Poles in their own. Jew traveled together. That’s the way it was - rough. The family moved to Hopewell, Virginia, a very small town near Ft. Eustis, when I was two or three years old. My father and brother-in-law opened a grocery and they took turns working in the grocery while also working in a munitions plant. About 18 months later World War I ended, the munitions plant closed, people lost their jobs, the grocery closed, �and the town virtually became a “ghost town.” A business opportunity presented itself in Clarksburg, West Virginia and my family there for about two years after which the family relocated to Newport News, Virginia. It was there that I went to Sunday school, Hebrew school and went to Schul. My mother’s father was a cantor so religion was a great priority. This was where I really grew up, attended services and had my Bar Mitzvah. 6. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? We traveled by train or automobile. I would go to Baltimore with my mother who had a chronic medical condition and was treated by her brother, Nathan Bordensky, who was a doctor. We also traveled to see family on the old Kiptopeke Ferry, which in those days took you from Virginia to Maryland (you actually took your car on the ferry and drove the rest of the way). 7. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? My family and I attended the Orthodox synagogue. 8. What holidays and rituals were observed? All Jewish holidays and rituals were observed and I was raised in a kosher home. On Shabbat and holidays my grandmother would not cook because they could not bum a flame. She took her food to the bakery because the baker’s ovens remained warm. 9. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended religious school and became a Bar Mitzvah. I was to be confirmed but got into an argument with the Rabbi. The Confirmation Class had to write speeches using the letters from the word “dogma.” My assigned letter was “d.” I wrote the speech but the Rabbi refused to accept it and said I had to write another speech. I refused and my father was called to come to the synagogue. I never wrote a new speech, but the Rabbi was fired when it was learned he had never been ordained. 10. What is your edlueatiioniag background? What was your career? I attend two years of high school in Newport News, Virginia and completed the last two years at Male High School here in Louisville. The family moved to Louisville in 1933. My career was working for my father in the laundry, dry cleaning and tailoring business. The Depression had hit and everything was tough. The Bank of Kentucky failed, the insurance policy with the bank failed and “there went my education down the tubes.” 11. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I came to Louisville in 1933. After the Depression, Fort Eustis was closed and the troops were moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky. An Army General asked my father if he would like to come to Fort Knox. He came in 1931 and the rest of the family joined him in 1933. �12. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met my first wife, Birdie Mae Kaplan, when she slammed the door in my face at a party. We dated for about three years until her mother urged me to make a marital decision. We married on July 7, 1940 at the Kentucky Hotel at 5th and Walnut Streets in Louisville. Rabbi Gittleman married us. It was a huge wedding. We had three children - Jeffrey Banks, Neil Banks and Anne Banks. Birdie Mae passed away in November 1981. I met Helene Jaffe through my sister and we started dating right away - July 1982. We dated for two years but I also dated a few other women. I “sewed a lot of wild oats.” We married May 27, 1984. Helene has three children. 13. Tell about your involvement in the Jewish Community. Was your whole family involved? I was active at Adath Jeshurun as Treasurer of the Board and worked for UJC for a number of years. The whole family is active is in the Jewish community in many organizations in different areas. 14. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? I was in the Tank Corps in Germany and spent eighteen months in the service. 15. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Attending services with my family in a favorite spiritual memory. “My religion is the core of my being.” 16. What interests did you have? My interests were and are golf, cards (bridge), reading, music and dancing. 17. What are your favorite family memories? My fondest memories are of family and marriage. We were a large family and went on trips together and celebrated occasions together. Family is most important to me. 18. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What values would you like to pass on to those you leave behind? “He was a good man, Gunga Din!” He loved all his family, his children and Helene’s children. I want to be remembered as a “good guy”, honest, honorable and with a good sense of humor. JFVS/aj 6/10/02 Word.olderAdultOralHistories.Banks Norman �# Friday, March 21, 2008 ~ 14 Adar II 5768 ■ Norman Banks, 89, died Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at the Episcopal Church Home after a lengthy illness. Mr. Banks was a 1935 graduate of Louisville Male High School and had served with the U.S. Army Tank Corps in World War II. He was in the laundry and dry cleaning business in the Fort Knox and Radcliff areas and was president of the Muldraugh Realty Company. He was the 54th member of the Standard Country Club and member of B'nai Brith and Congregation Adath Jeshurun. He was preceded in death by his parents, Maurice and Sophie Banks; his first wife, Birdie Mae Banks; and his sister, Rhona Singlust. He is survived by his wife, Helene D. Banks; his sons, Jeffrey (Carol) and Neil; daughter, Anne Banks; stepchildren, Deni Townsend (Bill), Sharon Jaffe (James Glasser) and Leonard Jaffe (Charleen); grandchildren, Sara Dentinger (Jeff), Michael Banks, Jonathan Bronner (Sara), Meredith and Elizabeth Bronner, Adam, Brandon and Emilee Banks, Jaclyn Lackey (Jason), and Sarah and Annie Glasser; great­ grandchildren, Noah and Olivia Dentinger; brothers-in-law, Dr. Martin Kaplan and Dr. Ben Kaplan (Miriam); and Martha Brown, who helped care for him. The family wishes to thank the loving and caring staff of the Episcopal Church Home. His funeral will be 2:00pm Friday, March 21,2008 at the funeral home, with burial in Adath Jeshurun Cemetery 2926 Preston Highway. Visitation will begin at 1:00pm Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkinson's Support Center of Kentuckiana, Congregation Adath Jeshurun or Hosparus of Louisville. � 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_banksn Title A name given to the resource Interview with Norman Banks, 2001 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Norman Banks (1918-2008) on July 26, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Banks, Norman, 1918-2008 Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-07-26 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/0237dc485ca30f755f8b5982a12b0f07.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=AVaMKDUwdz7zHub4FZR9WQFTBQEnvO7cRL4cYbIevw5zVVYRNSYpDgRpdz25bYxoXFiYB4q472Zg6XKhs6JJSQatz8k0MVTa6XzcKrl6LGZLdOc-oLin1TbWMgykJF8-15m9eWiPzsuXOJp5g0OM7KJN%7Eq0qcz2%7ETIsOhy75icmXHbbDCi5z2QrOqtpvA7o-b8qQ5hTZRKLatf7FcH%7E4LQUxlMu8uwCV86Bn%7ElN8NHCdwZP03cB2pi5J0q6yihXGDxQGGYaRmMXKXRQQaoTT6nU%7EZ-Nd9lPCj5qgdXfWIyXPx3gC6U2mfhzFBRnd55-CyCAmz5s-%7E4sXvLAld%7EOM8w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 01a2e4f2bce899197e4d16643c2f70d3 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORY OF MARGOT BARR 1. I am Helene Banks, I am conducting an interview with Margot Barr for the JFCS archives on June 29, 2010. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My family came to the United States in August 1939 from Donauschingen in Germany. My father and other townsmen were put in jail on Kristalnacht. We lived in a small community and my father was released from jail when the family obtained the records necessary to travel. We went to and stayed there for a couple of days because Dad’s mother and other relatives lived there. Then we went to Paris for a couple of days. Dad wanted to stay, but mother said “no.” We were on the last ship to leave in August of 1939. When we arrived in New York, my Dad had 10 cents. Mother’s sister lived in New York. My uncle, aunt and their two children were with us on the ship. My aunt was the one who talked my mother into getting papers to be able to leave when the time came. 3 What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My father’s name was Fred Bensinger and mother’s name was Judith. They were Both were born in Germany. 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 Sisters? Grandparents? Uncles/Aunts? Brothers? I was born September 25, 1929 (I was 9 years old when I came here.). German and Yiddush were spoken in my home and we had to learn English when we arrived in the United States. We were separated from our parents for a short time (our family didn’t have any money) and our mother disapproved of the separation. Finally, we were all reunited. When we came to Louisville, Dad was given a job operating an elevator. We lived downtown on Brook Street. My brother, sister, Mother, Dad and I lived together in the same house. We lived right next to the school. 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? Jews lived everywhere in the neighborhood; on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Streets. The Jews lived all around us. Yes, I walked to school. Both my brother and sister went to �Sunday School but I did not. We went to the Temple first. Then we joined Adath Oral History of Margot Barr June 29, 2010 Page 2 Jeshurun and I then went with my brother and sister. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? We weren’t here until 1939. 7. If you wished to travel, what kind of transportation did you use. Did you travel when you were young. If so, where? We didn’t travel. I did travel with three other girls by train to Florida when I was 18 or 19. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? My whole family was involved at Adath Jeshurun.. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All holidays and rituals were observed in our home. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I did not attend religious school. I was not Confirmed or Bat Mitzvahed. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? I finished high school and went to night school to take college courses at the University of Louisville. I worked in an office as a secretary. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I came with my family in 1939 or 1940. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? I met my husband in Louisville in 19 ?? . He owned a store on 4 Street. We were married in Louisville on August 10, 1952. I have three children; Sandy Hammond, Jennifer Burke and Jeff Barr. �Oral History of Margot Barr September 29, 2010 Page 3 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community? Was your whole family involved? My whole family was involved in the Jewish Community. My mother always helped at the JCC, especially with senior activities. My children have also been involved. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Our family was deeply affected by World War II. We had to escape Europe. The wars in Israel affected me as they did other Jews. I was very distressed and supported them as we could. We bought Israeli bonds 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? My spiritual memories are being together with my family for Jewish holidays and family celebrations. .My mother always cooked and we would go to services together. 17. What interests do you have? I play bridge, go out with friends to the theater and go to lunch and dinner Occasionally. 18. What are you favorite family memories? My best memories are being together with my family and parents. 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? It is important to keep the family as a group and do everything you can to help the needy. Make sure the family is able to get an education and that everyone has a good life. �Margot Barr Margot Barr, nee Bensinger, was bom in September, 1929, in a small town in Germany, called Donaueschingen. She was the oldest of three siblings, Ann, and Carl. As conditions in Germany began to deteriorate her parents realized the urgency of emigration. She remembers that her father, Fred, was jailed for a time by the Nazis He had a small retail shop, which was taken from them. These were perilous times for Jews in Germany, and eventually all of Europe. Her mother’s sister and her family also were able to leave Germany and they were the only other family members who escaped, those remaining all eventually perished. A cousin in Chicago was a sponsor and helped the family get the required papers for emigration from Germany. At one point they even tried to get to South America but that didn’t work out and then the visa to America finally became available. When the family was finally allowed to leave, they left with little in the way of possessions or wealth. They used the last of their funds to pay for the journey and arrived with little more than the clothes they were wearing. Their boxes of belongings were to be shipped to them but nothing ever arrived. They first went to France, where a cousin of her father’s encouraged them to settle there. However, Margot’s mother, Judith, insisted that they follow their original plans and leave Europe right away, which proved to be the action that saved the family. They arrived in New York in August, 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war in Europe in September. Margot was 10. The family lived in New York a short time before they were helped by HIAS, which found a place for them in Kansas City. The family was given bus tickets for their trip. However, when the bus stopped in Louisville, Fred decided that since they had some relatives here, they would remain in Louisville. They lived for a while at 944 South Brook Street near Male High. Her mother worked at a shop across the street from the school and had other part time jobs, which allowed her to be there when the children came home from school. Her parents attended classes to learn English and the children picked up English rather easily, as children often do. They later moved to 954 South Brook to a larger house, which enabled them to take in boarders. Her sister, Ann Schaffer, now lives in New York. Margot and her brother, Carl, still reside in Louisville. Margot’s father, Fred, died August, 1979 and Margot’s mother, Judith, lived independently and enjoyed good health until very late in life and died in her own home September, 2007 at the age of 103. Margot recalls that the people of Louisville were helpful, friendly and welcoming and assisted the family to get settled. She went to Girl’s High but did not attend college. She met her husband, Larry, who was bom in Dayton, OH and had moved to Louisville from Huntington, West Virginia to take a job in sales. He was the manager of the Collins stores on Fourth. They were married in 1951. Margot and Larry moved to Dorothy Ave and lived there for about five years before moving to a home on Wendell, in the Bowman Field area. Larry died in February, 2003. �The Barr’s had three children, Jan, Sandy and Jeff. They were members of Adath Jeshurun, which Margot said was a welcoming and warm congregation. Her children attended religious school at AJ and Jeff celebrated his bar mitzvah there. The family enjoyed occasional travel by auto, seeing many sites in this country while the children were young. Margot recalls being busy with her children and home. She was a secretary/receptionist for Temple Brith Sholom for many years and continued with the congregation when it merged with Temple Adath Israel, now called The Temple. She recalls the many seders and other religious observances at home as well as the functions held at Congregation Adath Jeshurun. Her daughter, Jan, married Robert Burke and lives in the North Palm Beach area. They have three children. Daughter Sandy, married Dr. Mark Hammond, a local dentist, and they have two children. Her son Jeff also lives in Louisville. Additional family information Fred Bensinger was the son of Carl and Bertha Bensinger. Judith Bensinger was the daughter of Isaac and Sophie Schlessinger Lawrence (Larry) Barr was the son of Samuel and Sophie Barr Prepared by Irvin Goldstein with additional details by Carl Bensinger. December, 2011 �Margot, 85, died peacefully on March 22, 2015. She was bom Barr in Germany and came to this country with her family as a child. She was the secretary of The Temple before her retirement. She was a star bridge player who acquired life master status and an avid Mah Jong player. She was a member of Congregation Adath Jeshurun, The Temple and the Jewish Community Center. She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 51 years, Larry Barr; and her parents, Fred and Judith Bensinger. She is survived by her children, Jeff Barr, Jan Burke (Rob) and Sandy Hammond (Mark); her grandchildren, Jamie Burke, Jeremy Burke, Joshua Burke, Lauren Hammond (Ryan Rosenthal) and Kenny Hammond (Liz); her great-grandchild, Sophie Hammond; her brother, Carl Bensinger; her sister, Ann Schaffer (Sam); her cousin, Hans Bensinger; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Funeral services will be 3:00 p.m. Monday, March 23, 2015 at Herman Meyer & Son, 1338 Ellison Avenue with burial to follow in Adath Jeshurun Cemetery. Visitation will begin after 2:00 p.m. Contributions, in her memory, may be made to the Judith Bensinger Fund at the Jewish Community Center, The Temple or Congregation Adath Jeshurun. � 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_barrm Title A name given to the resource Interview with Margot Barr, 2010 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Margot Barr (1929-2015) on June 29, 2010. The summary is accompanied by an obituary for Margot Barr. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Barr, Margot, 1929-2015 Banks, Helene Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-06-29 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/1575b51bba2b71afe785bcd54a0787b8.jpg?Expires=1779926400&Signature=qiydKTtEzCdY3rn6WMpaC2FW6%7EE9xBwV5k9VyPyYaLqu-gYmCTvKN5PQIbXRSflLhPt9FTbyW0i6tV3UKRCmZ%7EuxCG3U58pfLVgYoPhqXZuUyPHIvHoBa2Iwn2NjNo4CadO-AuKD7Dm9JXBCTVckQatN3Ek36H6-ptaOLzOBJ0IzTx1jWkOpU8iSOVEuuq6p9QNfEx4CV15FGxfnVFfTEDGxRvLiurUA7axDWGXyAdQCKJ08UlG6CgUuRqXnwHYF7iY%7EohF8GBGOwpEjyVxXVFPsA49sxj13yB4MEMh%7ETnByrdJ8OwmpPSfok4KnEuR6WQB7-1sWUfAT2nUGv5nPrg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 8317a1f869e7145b4c4cffe7f33e2b19 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/88d7cc26ddae7ed795ea59042c2b5316.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=Dd8KTjwWeit8e079K5IVSa9cWG-KFNbjC%7EzI%7EXWMKzuwuZ6uxuOlGicAZJrMBheD-omPM8RRV1oUSesQpI-DPbovkZmAEEXeCvCry1odUmcV-4rlap1lJ8ZrBvmsjmNvwhXmFAPDOttlTCIEIqbgj5aVlDxrtoxWp5GR3Sxj-XTtFB1BTqpMfAThMDqWKljdOXCP67XflC3m84I7hn2-TJ75DEor1KX%7EGJ1dX5wxXsYFke4hgVWjJ3QDtXcdIVjq%7EIP921MIfFsPHAjk%7EWnrhuVlSlL9GGgy%7E1wzBf9ei3%7EvvLdrGFR0N5YsSH5-3YhAuy4FKB%7EN8m2dGDlR5xmhMw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 5b4433e931e4abfcac3d0bf4ff85f3ef PDF Text Text My Name is Enid German-Beck And This is My Story I was bom on November 18th, 1930 to Dave and Hilda Bordorf at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville. My parents lived on Douglass Boulevard with my older sister Sherry at the time. Sherry was bom in February of 1927, she later died in 2005. The first place I remember living however was Eastern Parkway, east of Bardstown road about halfway to Cherokee Park. This must have been around the end of 1935. My father sold tires on credit and he did very well for us. Goodyear and Goodrich thought my father’s business was a good idea and Goodrich attempted to hire him. My father declined their offer and they eventually put him out of business as he was a competitor. This severely hurt my father’s finances and coupled with the losses he took during the 1937 flood it forced us to move to Sherwood Avenue. Granted it was just one street over but the difference in the economic status between the two streets way very apparent. However, I was still a child at this point and it did not impact me as much as my parents. I remember having a lot of fun growing up. It seemed no matter where I lived there were always other boys and girls my age to play with. When we lived on Eastern Parkway, we would get together on Peggy Ray’s porch and listen to the radio, Buck Rogers and other shows were always played. During the week we’d play outside. I learned to ride a bike when we lived on Eastern Parkway. Back then the bicycle stands were located on the back on the bike. You'd flip it down and it'd sit on this mechanism that allowed you to pedal but didn't allow the bike to move. One evening I was sitting on my sister's bike pedaling when my father came home from work. He pushed the bike of the stand and I started forward. Somehow, I managed to balance myself and I was riding a bike for the first time. When I was around four years old, I got angry with my mom and decided to run away from home. I knew the route my father would take to work; he’d head down the driveway and turn left toward Bardstown Road. I thought I would follow my dad’s route, but I had no idea where to go once I turned left. I ended up at a gas station frequented by my parents and the man who was working there recognized me. He didn’t know how to get in touch with my parents or where I lived so he took me home with him and his wife fed me lunch. Later in the day I heard our maid, Adeline, calling my name and she took me home. Apparently, my mother and Adeline found out I was missing and called the police and had been searching for me. While still living on Eastern Parkway, Johnny Greenebaun and I would play in Cherokee Park. We went there one day after a rain and played near a creek that ran thru the park. I got to close to the edge and began sliding down the muddy bank, unable to stop myself. Johnny grabbed my hand and with his other hand grabbed a thin tree and was able to pull me to safety. I credit him with saving my life. 1 �Other fun things to do in Cherokee Park were climbing Big Rock and the Daniel Boone monument. We also enjoyed the swings, seasaws, and sliding board. It was a good place to picnic, too. When we moved to Sherwood in about 1937 there was a large group of people my age to play with. We’d play games such as prisoners base, kick the can, and my father runs a grocery. We'd stay out all day, go home for supper, and then come right back out and play until dark. I remember that in the summer the tar that they put down for roads would get soft because of the heat. We'd walk barefoot in the tar, so we could see our footprints. We had a coal furnace on Sherwood and a highlight of the day would be when they delivered coal. All the kids would come and watch the men shovel the coal into the chute. There was a bakery, Donaldson's, that delivered bread, cakes, etc. via a horse drawn carriage. Occasionally he would let us ride in the carriage (more like a big box) with him. The ice man delivered to houses that did not have electric refrigerators. The family put a sign in the window that indicated how much ice they wanted. The ice man would give us shards of ice to eat. There were street hawkers: men selling strawberries and watermelons. A man had a bicycle with a knife sharpening attachment. And also a man collected rags occasionally. My parents would drive us to Bowman field to cool off on a hot evening. We would sit on benches that were close to the airstrip and anytime the prop planes landed or took off we were met with a lovely breeze. We also enjoyed root beer from a root beer stand there as well. We moved to Trevilian Way in June, 1941. On Trevilian Way we’d gather on the next street over: Hillside. There was a farm called Evan’s Farm where we’d occasionally be allowed to ride a horse. We’d also get together and play games like basket ball and things like that. We’d also spend time in Iroquois Park amphitheater. At that time they had a row of nozzles that sprayed water in the air to conceal the stage instead of curtains today. My parents also took my sister and me to see Victor Borge perform and on another occasion to see a play called “Tomorrow the World” at the Memorial Auditorium. I also remember that every winter the kids would get together at Tennis Court Hill in Cherokee Park to sled. It was the hill right above the tennis courts and the police would set up a first aid station and a place to dry gloves. It was a wonderful hill for sledding. There was also one Christmas on Sherwood, I must have been eight or nine, when my mother had to take the bus home with all the Christmas gifts. My father had kept his store open late and needed to keep the car. My mother got off work and went to buy the Christmas gifts. She had to ride the bus from downtown to our house and then walk from Bardstown road to Sherwood with all the presents. That was a far walk and I thought she was a superwoman. We attended religious services at Adath Israel at the Temple on 3rd Street. I remember it had Greek-like pillars in the front and a couple statues of Moses, they must have been replicas of some famous statues. The Rabbi’s name was Rauch and I’d attend Sunday school there. At one time I could point at one of the chandeliers and 2 �tell you how many light bulbs were in it. During my confirmation year there was a sergeant from Fort Knox teaching the class. I can’t remember his name, but he taught us the basics of other religions and things like that. I also tried to learn Hebrew, but I didn’t do well at it. Apparently, I have no knack to learning foreign language. A fact that is probably interesting from my childhood would be the transportation in Louisville. My family only had one car and when my father had to use it we had to ride the public transportation. There were street cars that you could ride in to go downtown. At this time the cars were segregated where whites sat in the front and the African Americans sat in the back. I also wanted to sit in the back, I thought it would be cool to have a window behind me and on both sides to look out of. I didn’t understand what segregation was at the time and why I wasn’t allowed to go where the African Americans were. In 1940, the mayor of Louisville, Wilson Wyatt, ended the segregation of the transportation and library systems in the city. He later became Adlai Stevenson’s campaign manager when he ran for president as a democrat. The 1937 Flood is also a vivid memory of my childhood. There is a very famous picture of the statue of Abraham Lincoln outside of the library standing on water. The Army engineers had to build pontoon bridges just so you could get around the city. All the sewers backed up and there were limited times for running water. The radio broadcasts said to fill pots and pans with water in order to store it. My mom did that and filled the bathtub with water. Our aunt and uncle came to live with us as well due to their house flooding. We had to get typhoid shots and all schools were suspended. There was no electricity, so my sister and I had fun with candles in front of our mother’s vanity. We were trying to be spooky and made our faces look shadowy. We let out of joyful cheer when the electricity finally kicked on. The only reason we knew it had come on was the fact that the refrigerator kicked on. Back then the fridges had their compressors on top and when they came on there was a loud humming sound. I started my education at Longfellow Elementary which is now a school for special learning. I attended kindergarten through sixth grade there. When I was in the fourth or fifth grade there was a measles epidemic in Louisville. If you hadn’t had the measles yet you were told to stay home. Well I hadn’t had them yet and there was another boy from my class that hadn’t had them either. We’d go to Cherokee park and play all day. We must have known about the war in Europe, this was before the U.S. fought, at the time because we’d recreate bombing scenes with rocks. After two weeks the quarantine was ended and we could return to school. Funny thing was, I went back to school and the boy caught the measles! I went to Highland Junior High for the seventh through the ninth grade. By this time, we already lived on Trevilian Way and my parents had recovered from their financial issues. The war in Europe (WWII) was impacting the U.S. as well. When the U.S. entered the war, my father was too old to be drafted; he worked as a manager at a liquor store. My mother worked at the Wilbur Roger store, a chain of women’s clothing, where she was the assistant manager (later manager). When the news of the Pearl Harbor attack came 3 �over the radio, I was playing solitaire in the living room, my mother was in the kitchen, and my father must have been outside working. Now I had no idea where Pearl Harbor was or the significance of an attack on it, I learned a lot of geography during the war. My mother was visibly upset at the news. She went to find my father to tell him and both were incredibly concerned. I remember sitting on the porch one day and seeing an Army car pull up to the house across the street. It took us a moment, but we soon realized that our neighbor’s son had been killed in the fighting. The city held a blood drive for the military while I was in junior high. It was a competition to get as many people to donate as we could. I rode my bike to Bowman Field to try to get volunteers. There was a sizeable air force unit stationed there and somehow, I was able to get many of them to sign up. I ended up coming in second in the whole city! The newspaper headlines read something like "The Girl Who Robbed Peter to Pay Paul!" That was when I learned what that phrase meant! A polio epidemic hit Louisville during this era as well. Everything was closed, and you could only play board games or ride bikes. In fact, many people just stayed inside. We played a never ending game of Monopoly. The banker continued to hand out money so the game wouldn’t end. When the epidemic ended, the kids would gather at the Lakeside pool and spend whole days there. A surprising issue I developed as a child was having reoccurring nightmares about Hitler, I’m sure this was something that plagued everyone’s mind. Rationing also impacted our family. Any materials needed for the war effort was rationed. This included tires, gas, shoes, sugar, and meat among other things. I remember we’d get extra meat from our parent’s friends, the Karls, in exchange for liquor. The Karls were in the meat business and my father was still in the liquor business. My father also kept the owner of the Ford agency supplied with wine and liquor during the war. Because of this, when the war ended my father was able to purchase the first Ford car that came into the showroom. I remember we drove to Connecticut where my mother’s family lived. Somewhere between New York and New Haven we were pulled over by a policeman. My mother started giving him lip saying something along the lines of “We weren’t going over the speed limit, we’ve done nothing illegal.” The policeman told her to be quiet because he was just interested in looking at the new car! After Junior High I went to Atherton High School in 1945 and later graduated in 1948 after the war had ended. I could drive during this time and before they installed the flood walls we’d drive to the river to watch it rise after a heavy ran. After high school I went on to Rockford College in September of 1948 and later transferred to Miami University of Ohio. While I was at Miami, I met Sid German and we began to date. We married in 1951 and during this time he went to fight in Korea. After the war we had two children, Brad and Barbara. Brad was bom in 1958. He married Francesca MacArthur, a relative of General MacArthur. Together they had two children, Rebecca and David. Francesca converted to Judaism so both of their children were raised Jewish. They live in Bethesda, Maryland and Brad has recently retired. Barbara was bom in 1960. She married Dave 4 �Harris and together had two children Corwin and Joshua. Corwin has both of my great grandchildren. Barbara and Dave divorced, and she went on to marry Michael Carter. They are now divorced. She lives in Beachwood, a suburb of Cleveland and has physical problems from three automobile accidents, none of which were her fault. In 1964 I received a Bachelors degree in English from what is now known as Case Western Reserve University. I continued into graduate school at Case Western Reserve University and in 1966 received a Masters in Education with a specialization in school counseling. I also attended Kent State University where I took Small Group Studies I often think back to my time in Louisville. I remember when Judy Levinstein and I would go to Churchill Downs to bet and cheer for the horses that my father selected for us. He was a good handicapper because his picks either came in Win, Place, or Show. I remember my time at the YMHA on 2nd street. There were a lot of clubs that met there and I was a member of The Sweater Girls, I played on their basketball team. There was another girls club called The Hen Hussies. The boys clubs were known as The Condors and The Clovers. All of the clubs organized formal dances where Charlie Bunsen and the Bunsen Burners played. In 1973 Sid and I separated. I stayed in Cleveland, Ohio and was a guidance counselor at Kirk Middle School in East Cleveland, where I remained for twenty-five years. I also worked part time as an academic and career counselor at the Cuyahoga Community College and conducted workshops in Assertive Communication for continuing education. I eventually came to sit on the board of trustees of the Center for Families and Children representing the East Cleveland School District. In 1979 I met Duane Beck, the Director of the Center for Families and Children. We came to know each other very well and married in 1986. Duane passed away in 2014.1 attend services at the Jewish Secular Community in Cleveland Interview by Ian Stamper and Irvin Goldstein November 2018 5 �'nms iss ill st n e y Miss Enid Kay Bordorf, daughter of the David Bordorfs. who live on Trevilian Way, cuts the cake at the party given her last Saturday by her parents at the Standard Club in honor of her sixteenth birthday anniversary. Standing about the table: Pfc. Joseph W einstein of New Haven, Conn., Margaret Flarsheim, A rth u r Lerman, Miss Bordorf, Irving Hirsch and Joyce Brody. About 100 guests were invited to celebrate the occasion. ��� https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/b7cf7d593449e4f9996022bb00d584d0.jpg?Expires=1779926400&Signature=WZScgntfaEDG3JDC-z1CxfIEdMF%7EWlSOabxCJMNeutkQrb20FAgoi%7EfsL8l0ZvYQU0yuxJAk2Yy-muk8JQC-vkpIEwFnL9XZ7%7ElXMMDXVAIV18EtfElOEJXgJZEmS22z8OlYqQ6q2U611IiB%7ETvr-Xxw2kf71nESnUxT2QoM0IfqwExFVMvkcioG0lbLXBUEZ6kLL4mFPss0%7EFXbOaO7RXEN5Fk4XbWpO34F-V8SMN0C8AR4IlyygFwv1Bx2UGshpyCfyiHTJlO4G0SEMK798CDPH2BkNwEs%7ERdvw6Z0Q8VXdtdQRHhCjJdwUOj1LFJSTUkjNBEOULaoIsfUi66hBg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM a15b5ba3db50b57b1dead3a5568c24a5 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/047c3bd02a48c05ee946abe8d4de22f1.jpg?Expires=1779926400&Signature=chkUv61o6QV9fUNoSLWlq45awOo5WZyZjENs0ucZ5msX4JBtmaogHJPDANJcsJlcp3ycd7ocBjEcj2HgRcrcxOjomTXQKKjJNSmiI3jQ6eHjNuhjw4YpqWBWqDjpmu6SkuHb7M1kyXlDQYlgPFiHcR-Xcf9ibctIz0%7EMiDOUDNyh%7EO8TIDqyBE3RUn5B5GfBL92eI-FtnO4Zrg3xFMTwBfj4OUGkCDlrxX-k7s4AzP0uzP2ShVolf8PBBnMzvwjEbiF0QybKhkZIRbEAkpEU6sS3%7EGHiQS4RBlAeZ-nPje9udSDF1z5CtoszKCCnRcm5XipdTROXg3CQ4oFTZ4s15w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 744c95b29e8deee531e9321d3c53c6db https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/ade5904adbe5f55ba17380c0666d71b0.jpg?Expires=1779926400&Signature=uikSlZ3YMe0yNJqd0dPPBmOeEEA6ZCbhmLKRmb7yG2p0qMirjXtlpWcI7sPouiDjFzWcTSnvwvMOccgBoWrSaLLbKaxvn92Tb6Q7y1qAf4%7Ebs1vBvb4t2n14T1Pgz5u88GcSiCiP53sCCFGI5JOOe133jKteEMud05gKogrwblBed6w7mvoIVuMobcwc3egD7fus9K9z4tIft02jxTvLGySxey6gmFJyNrkFZpX%7EC%7E-bWRyugnyO30BgUSZlZUqcOyul0O1nHPfaSRjF4e4jsTo4Slbto6E3%7EDsGnjWs9IZZFXWwuAGGIdJbM00L0zweZO9fE-FP%7EqT7KeX6QswEtg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 0e9835e6e0f4af0e1886a873dfd4b1d2 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_becke Title A name given to the resource Interview with Enid German-Beck and photographs, 1930s-1950s, 2010-2011 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Enid German-Beck (1930-) in November 2010. The summary is accompanied by photographs of Enid, her homes, and her family and friends, dating from the 1930s-1950s, 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource German-Beck, Enid, 1930- Goldstein, Irvin Stamper, Ian Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-11 2011-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Report Photograph Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Still Image 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 1930s 1940s 1950s 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/45b25b6c26e495984a75e32e3605f2af.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=UamGGMO5K6hSE6lm4MjduDPbDgQnJWgdr98%7E%7ECBq4%7Et5XuYsv12VVu1A2iwLn%7EhVirGnPbaJR4Wm3cMXn8oqQtRBXmxnhLfrzl0SkPlROlvC2YQXjCG-p%7EDQGwUBPgGPKosNnY4mmtrlzIhUaw268CGAbQZGsmbAats5TcJ5hT5JeCuT6qQ6xk5TuETSeHP1t98Rzgwx4rQey7uc-DAwfdGfXmhfP4vOOr6J1RVPvAQ8TqGvQZEmOnN%7EYAivnizWjjw-SXcfztg0x4d9-YzwFRrJiaViugM5vCkpB8ri8ljbFxTFTE9tR01AVd8YAhyhtOrNmjj0rH8U%7EYRgB7KZlA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM d50fda2ea0421be6b485bafe449e99ea PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES We are Maxine Switow and Anita Weber, conducting an interview with: Carol Behr for the JFCS archives on December 23, 2011. 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My paternal grandparents were from Vienna, Austria, from a much assimilated family. My paternal grandmother came to New York with her father who wanted to take her away from an unsuitable suitor. In the early 1920s she met a man. They worked in a restaurant after they married. He died very early. She later moved to Louisville with my mother and father. My maternal grandparents came from St. Petersburg where my grandmother’s father was an overseer for a large estate. They left St. Petersburg before the Revolution where they barely escaped the Cossacks. My maternal grandmother became a well-known dress designer (“Madame Reed”) in New York City. She and my grandfather lived at 59th and Madison for many years. Both of my parents, Shirley (Sophie Resnikoff) and Julien Greenfield, were born in New York City. My father’s mother, Rosalie Greenfield, lived with my parents, my sister and me from 1937 until her death in 1955. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? My dad, Julian Greenfield, came to Louisville for a job in women’s wear. He opened the Joy Shop. They didn’t know a soul. My mom, Sophie, changed her name to Shirley and her Russian maiden name was Resnikoff which she didn’t change. Both parents were born in New York City. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? I was born 2/12/1933. English was spoken at home, never Yiddish. I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. My family moved to Louisville by train and car when I was two. My paternal grandmother lived with us. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/Aunts? �My parents lived in a rented house when they first came to Louisville, where soon after all their belongings were gone due to a fire. My sister was five years older. We moved to the Highlands on Spring Drive, Woodbourne and Lauderdale. We lived in the first “all-electric” house in the Highlands on Lauderdale. There were many other Jews who lived on Lauderdale. I walked to Highland Jr. High, took a bus to Atherton. My grandmother lived with us. Both my parents worked downtown on 4th Street. My family and I attended Adath Israel (3rd Street Temple). There were a few stores at Douglass—Heitzman’s Bakery and a produce store, an A&P, some drug stores—near my home. 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? A job was the reason for the move. We came by car and train. As soon as we came, there was a major flood and our belongings were lost in a fire. 6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? See Question 4. 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? Since we lived in the Highlands, we did not have to move out during the flood. In fact, other people moved into the garage of the Spring Drive Apts, where we lived during the flood. 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? We always had a car, but we often used a bus for transportation in Louisville. My dad took me out of town to Lake Wawasee in the car, because I had hay fever and I was uncomfortable, and it was very hot in Louisville! 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? I was involved with the Temple, and Dr. Rauch was the Rabbi. We were not very observant and did not keep Kosher. �10. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? My family observed Passover and Chanukah. 11. Did you attend Sunday School or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday school with you? I was confirmed, and attended Sunday school. I enjoyed Sunday school, and am still in touch with friends from Adath Israel. Rabbi Rauch was my earliest rabbi; later Rabbi Herbert Waller was rabbi. I did not have a Bat mitzvah; it was not done at Adath Israel. 12. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? I attended Indiana University for two years. Twenty years later I went to University of Louisville to get a business degree, but never graduated. I did a great deal of volunteer work in many organizations which influenced my life and enabled me in my future job opportunities. I ran a mini warehouse; worked for Jefferson County-City of Louisville for 20 years; did event planning and directed departments for the city and county. 13. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? I met my ex-husband, Max Behr, at the YMHA. We came from diverse backgrounds; I was Reform and Max was Orthodox. We married in 1952 and have two children, a daughter, Rhonda, and a son, Mark, and five grandchildren. We divorced in 1988. 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. Later, I was VERY involved in the Jewish community, Young Judea, YMHA, girls’ clubs, Hen Hussies, and Sigma Theta Pi. 15. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? I worked for Mayor Harvey Sloane and the City of Louisville and Jefferson County for 20 years, ran a mini warehouse, sold diamond dental bits, worked for a microfilm company, etc. There was a great �deal of anti-Semitism, but I ignored it. I would hear the worst remarks about Jews. Many times I would try to educate those people. Mostly, I ignored it. 16. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? My brother-in-law served in the Navy. My earliest recollections regarding the war were sitting by the radio and listening to the news with my family, and later about the Israeli wars. 17. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Everything in life affects you spiritually, and that religion affects everyday life if you love your religion. I am very proud to be Jewish, and my life reflects that feeling. 18. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? My favorite hobby was dancing. I belonged to a dance group, and we were “therapists” for each other. It was a modern dance group developed at the YMHA and the Jewish Community Center. Also, when Max and I lived in Germany while he was in the service, I taught dancing in Germany. I felt that I was “my mother’s daughter.” She was also a “doer” and a productive person who owned a store at 4th and Market. I was very involved in Hadassah, as was my mother. 19. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? My favorite spiritual memories are the births of my children and grandchildren, their mitzvahs, and watching and engaging in their lives. 20. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? My legacy? Being home and having family dinners, being a great mom and grandmother with my family and grandchildren; hoping I contributed something in my lifetime through examples of community service and family devotion. � 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_behrc Title A name given to the resource Interview with Carol Behr, 2011 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Carol Behr (1933-) on December 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Behr, Carol, 1933- Switlow, Maxine Weber, Anita Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-12-23 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/b3663ae02b3bdd309a8baae25a6bab49.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=CG25-dlp7K2S9H9JWNn4c3Ka6yLgELXO3HgwXnzeP-AROXnBCl-QCqxFWxCFy-nR-8ezXwYHUIsLv9XWNPeXQ0SxU2VbgTSTD2279r6ME-Z%7EO4Cn99w5IQxdRCYyke8c5XAbgGozxTYNZKjFVP8kt4tQadNI6aqhulPlcWOrx-3Pkzt1kLwxn5lxPEypIH6sTAhTfDAKL7TMKij%7Eeh%7EWuH7eBOvAMs4BUAyMYMqX3M0dHHaGRtsVEuM419O7SJg0M9YlRnCjc3a%7Eiu%7E4uPHwZHksVsIFUr-hZd96CGQUTvSZUgMglp0g2bOsDYnUA0YLSRGFHfB1VHU4mEW2%7Erprjg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 47e656e5932d15f69f9394321025a68a PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam ____ Ann Friedman w ith______ Jack Benjamin o n ________ July 24, 2001 , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My father had an uncle who came to Louisville in 1880. He lived in Shawnee Terrace and his name was Benjamin. My father’s sister, Hattie Benjamin, married Hyman Knopf and she came to Louisville in early 1990’s. Some family members came to New York before WWI. Other uncles, nieces, and aunts lived in East New York. One brother came when WWI went to Germany, he fought in the German Army and then came here. In the 1920’s he fought in the United States Army. He had moved here. Te rest of my father’s family immigrated except one sister who died in the Holocaust. All of my mother’s family except for one niece perished in the Holocaust. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My father, Max Benjamin, was bom in East Prussia on January 21,1888. My mother, Julia Zemik Benjamin, was bom in upper Silisia on November 2, 1888. 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 bom on May 6, 1927. German and English were spoken in my home. Up until I was ten we lived in a small Beuthen in Upper Silisia. M.F.B.S.M. My mother’s father and mother. I was 5 and 8 when my grandparents died. I came to the United States with my brother through Hias. I lived on Madison Street with my father’s brother, his wife, and daughter. I didn’t have a difficult adjustment. My brother lived with his daughter and her husband, and son with the original Emigre in the West end. 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? In Germany we lived in a large residence, which was over two businesses. One of the businesses was a saloon, which belonged to father and my mother’s brother. I lived on Town Square and directly across the square were orthodox and conservative schools and one may have been German reform. There was a kosher butcher and an apothecary. I went to a Jewish elementary school and the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On Madison Street Jews, Syrians, and Lebanese lived. Our house was one block form General Hospital. 1 walked to George W. Morris School, which was two blocks away. I went to A.J. Hebrew School and Sunday school. We were two blocks away from the Hay Market and we shopped there. I had my tonsils removed in the doctor’s office. �6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? Not asked during this questionnaire. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? When I lived in Germany I took a train to the United States. We had a chauffer and a town car. In Louisville I would walk or take the streetcar. I went to camp Tall Trees for several summers. The first year that we were in this country my mother and dad worked at Tall Trees. My sister would light the Friday night candles in Mrs. Nevils home. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? I belonged to Adath Jeshurun and attended services. I attended the syna gogue on Sabbath and High Holidays. 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All of them. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? My bar mitzvah was held at Adath Jerhurun, the temple where I went to Sunday school and Hebrew school. 11 .What is your educational background? What was your career? I attended the University of Louisville. I was a sociology major. I started working as a teen with Mrs. Arthur Kling as an arts and crafts assistant at Camp Ricory. I worked at the Y.M.H.A. I was a counselor at Tall Trees until 1945, when Uncle Sam called me for duty. I was active in the Air Force for two years and came back to Louisville and enrolled at the University of Louisville. I was head counselor at Tall Trees and got married. I married Ann Poland and then joined my wife’s mother in Lads & Dads business. I ran the day camp at the Jewish Community Center (J.C.C.). I was also the Adult Program Director. I got divorced and changed careers. After a few years I became facilities and membership director at the J.C.C., and I stayed at the center for fifteen years. Then I went into the grocery business for two years in New Albany, Indiana. When The Temple was new they were looking for an administrator and I got the job. I was administrator for twenty-one years. A teacher once told me that since he was I was Jewish my name must be Jacob, instead of Jack. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? Answered above �13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met my second wife, Mary Pfieffer, at The Temple and in 1990 we were married. I have one son whose name is Max Benjamin 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I was always involved with the Jewish Community. I was a board member and Sunday school principal at Brith Shalom. I was on the board at the J.C.C. and chairman of the camp committee. I received the JWB associate award. In 1980 I worked at The Temple in all areas of administration. My family was not involved. I was the youngest board member at the J.C.C. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My father was in the German Army in WWI. My mother lost a brother during WWII. My brother was named after this uncle. I served two years duty in the Caribbean. I served on a 85 foot rescue boat. At the end of the war a counselor asked me what I would like to do when the war was over. I said that I would like to got into the Foreign Service. The counselor said, “Jews wouldn’t be in that field.” I tried to sign up to fight in the wars in Israel. Hagana came to the United States looking for recently discharged service men. I was talked out of going to Hagana. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Standing on top of a mountain in the Rocey’s of on the sea shore. Religion has made me an ethical person. 17. What interests do you have? My interests are history, the Louisville Jewish community, photography, gardening, reading, opera, and the heritage theater (when Tarbis played husband and wife in the play, the last scene was so emotional. I was doing the lights and tears would roll down my face.) 18. What are your favorite family memories? The birth of my son. 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’ve contributed to the Jewish community so that in 200 years it will still be around. I would like to be remembered as someone who was involved in many events and that I was part of the community JFVS/aj 06/13/02 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �Jewish Family & Vocational Service Louis & Lee Roth Family Center Board of Directors Stephanie Speigel Executive D irector 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 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 unless I choose to keep it myself. Lewis D. Cole Alexander Erlen A rthur Grossman Shelton R.Weber Honorary Directors ' Mtman : Bennett ; >i Berman Susan Blieden Donald Bornstein Joan Byer Howard L Cantor Jonathan Dubins Glenn Fine Phyllis Florman Ann Friedman Bob German Mikhail Goldentul Debbie Hyman Howard Kaplin Jay Klempner Laurie Kupferman Alan Levitan Benjamin Levitan Jack B. Loewy Victoria Lyalina Kim Newstadt Chuck O 'Koon Suzy Post Judy Shapira Witness Date Signed JFVS/aj 5/14/01 Word.coununit.pennission.history Rabbi Chester Diamond Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Shmuel Mann Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Solomon Roodman Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg Association o f Jewish Family & Children's Agencies International Association of ’ -w sh Vocational Services adited by council of Accreditation o f Services for 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 �QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES I am Ann Roberts, I am conducting an interview with: Jack Benjamin for the JFCS archives on January 19, 2011. 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? Jack and his family fled the Nazis from Silesia, the southeastern part of Germany. In 1938, he and his brother arrived in Louisville. He went to live with his uncle (father’s brother), and his brother lived with a cousin, whose family had immigrated to Louisville in the 1880's. The following year, Jack's parents and sisfer joined him in Louisville. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? His father, Max was originally from East Prussia. His mother, Julia was from Beuthen, Selesia near Poland. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? Jack was born May 6, 1927. The Benjamin's spoke German at home. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Uncles/Aunts? Brothers? Sisters? The family lived in Old Louisville, on Brook St., across from the old Male H.S. During this time period, many Jews lived in the neighborhood, due to the close proximity to synagogues. While attending high school, Jack was the front desk room clerk at the nearby YMHA (on 2nd St.) during World War II. 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? It should be noted that the family immigrated to Louisville because other family members came in thel880’s, and again in the 1920’s when Max's sister, Haddie arrived. She owned a restaurant and worked at Camp Tall Trees. 6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? Was there a neighborhood grocery? Drug store? 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? The primary fransporfafion for the family was the trolley system and of course, walking. 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? In terms of involvement in the synagogue, the family was very busy making a living, but they did attend Shabbat services and observed holidays. �10. W hat holidays and ritu a ls w ere observed in yo u r fa m ily? Do you have any s ig n ific a n t m em ories surrou ndin g Jew ish celebrations and w ha t w as special ab out those occasions? Some of Jack’s most significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations are, his Bar Mitzvah, as well as enjoying his mother's "wonderful” cooking on a regular basis. 11. Did you attend re lig io u s s c h o o l? W ere you confirm ed? Did you have a Bar M itzvah? W hat are y o u r m em ories from th a t tim e ? Are you s till in touch w ith som e o f the people tha t attended Sunday School w ith you ? Jack is no longer in touch with the other students from Sunday School. 12. W hat is yo u r educational ba ckg ro u n d ? W hat was yo u r career? W ho o r w ha t influenced you to choose yo u r career? He attended U of L where, he was interested in social work. Between 1945-47, he was in the Air Force--in the air-sea rescue unit. Over the years he worked at Camp Tall Trees (his parents did also), and did so again after the Air Force. 13. How did you meet y o u r h u sban d/w ife? Where and w hen w ere you m arried? Do you have ch ild re n ? G randchildren? In 1949, he married and divorced some years later. 14. D iscuss your in vo lve m e n t in the Jew ish C om m unity o u tside o f y o u r tem ple or synagogue w hen you were grow ing up. From 1962- 1978, Jack was the Adult Program Director at the J.C.C., and prior to that, he was on the Board at the Center. Over the years, he contributed his talents to working with the Center’s Heritage Theater. Not only did he build scenery, and help with lighting, and had a partin “All My Sons.” In 1979, the Temple merger took place and Jack was hired as the Temple's first administrator. In 2000, Jack became Executive Director Emeritus and is a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees at the Temple. 15. W hat was your in v o lv e m e n t in the non- Jew ish co m m u n ity? Did you w itne ss any antiS em itism living in L o u is v ille ? Between 1978-1980, Jack was in a partnership with his brother-in-law in a grocery store in New Albany, IN. 16. How was your fa m ily affected by the W orld W ars? W ars in Israel? Jack’s brother, Fred was killed in Italy in World War II on March 7, 1945. 17. W hat are your fa vo rite s p iritu a l m em ories? How did re lig ion a ffect yo u r life? 18. W hat interests or hobbie s did you have when you w ere young and w h a t are they now? 19. W hat are your fa vo rite fa m ily m em ories - w hether it was w ith y o u r fa m ily o f origin, or yo u r extended fam ily and frie n d s ? W hat is your legacy? H ow w o u ld you like to be rem em bered? W hat values w ould you like to pass on to those you leave behind? Jack has a long history of commitment to the Jewish community. He would like to be remembered for helping people and being a "nice guy.” � 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_benjaminj Title A name given to the resource Interview with Jack Benjamin, 2001 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Jack Benjamin (1927-) on July 24, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Jack, 1927- Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-07-24 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/a036d45cd9654dbd81765dcfc73f5b59.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=TZp3dBo4fmLRz%7EbeLvrFvZIa1fvFclAafDq0RgBYxDksQkFSrJKgKBlzlb5LhCAxpSgINIU3MzsJeyunVIjrgXmiBtKJxGbkyec4799cN2SYSw2GkLuYtwOPc9bCbtK1f7YxUKENR1h-uKibwnkgJNDhuKVUPCWCfIYSWnTl1CCN9aLHeFtyobv6dwimQtkNcj-et96vxQEDDj6jHrV5uHlr%7EDucYLNpipOUgwPv4v-KZXdc-yKswFZHENFyCvBEeCRMsYjUtTapp7Ngh5lHW8aXb5JmOykxOI72jyRnADQRBeqE9fQurRcWjUgKioK25-8zPR1PQLEzok%7E-mOtzOw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 969ca52f22635a778798eaa7846c772b PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam _____ Ann Friedman_________ z w ith Madeline Bernstein J am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My father came from Minsh, Russia before World War I in 1915. My mother came to this country in 1924 from Estonia, Russia. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? Father - Julius Solavich, he didn’t make his name clear so they put down Soloff. He was bom in 1898 and died in 1944. He had typhoid fever when he was in his teens and lost his hair. He had a terrific sense of humor and loved people. He was in the scrap metal business and then opened a little store. His first wife died of consumption when their son, my half brother was ten years old. On her deathbed she wished that my father would bring her sister over to help take care of them. My mother, Mary Marher, was bom August 18, 1904. She was engaged to be married to a medical student in Estonia and she came to the United States to take care of my half brother. Her fiance was to come to the United States after he became a M.D. and they were to be married. When she got to Mexico they would not let her in the country unless she was married or had a blood relative. My father came to get her and married her. I was bom two years later. 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? My birth date in May 22, 1926. Yiddish, Russian and English were spoken at home. When my parents didn’t want me to know what was going on they spoke Russian. We lived above our clothing store on Willard Avenue in Michigan City. My mother, father, half brother and my sister, Pearl was bom six years later, she lived there too. Milton, my half brother, died during the war in November 1944. He had only been married for six months when he died. He married his first cousin, Sarah. They had a daughter, Margie who was bom after Milton died. 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? My neighborhood was mostly gentile. Polish and German. There were no Jews in the neighborhood and few in Michigan City. A Jewish family from Chicago moved in one summer. I walked to school about a mile away. I went to Sunday school (Chador) 8-12. We had a synagogue - orthodox and we were very religious. There was a neighborhood grocery and drug store. We had a little clothing store and we lived over the store. �6. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? If we traveled we took a bus or train, we didn’t have a car. When I was young we traveled to Fort Wayne and South Bend Indiana. We didn’t travel much because we lived on Lake Michigan. Our family would visit us! 7. Was your family involved in a synagogue I temple? We would attend the synagogue for High Holidays. My parents were too busy working. We didn’t have a full time Rabbi. 8. What holidays and rituals were observed? Chanukah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Passover were all observed. We would fast for Yom Kippur. 9. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I attended Chador and I was not confirmed or Bat Mitzvah. 10. What is your educational background? What was your career? I graduated from high school and went to Indiana State to become a teacher. When my dad and brother died I had to come home. I was eighteen years old when my dad died. I got a job at a lumber company at a secretary. I went to college on scholarship for one semester. My mother met Conrad Linde and they were married. I saved money from working and with a scholarship I decided to go to Indiana University. I met a good friend and we went to the university together. I never graduated from Indiana University. 11. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? I came to Louisville in 1948 with my husband, Sylvain. 12. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met Sylvain at Hillel my first year at Indiana University. He was a junior looking at the new freshman. We dated a year before we became engaged. I went back to school in 1946 and we eloped and married in Martinsville, Indiana. A justice of the peace married us. He wore marine greens and boots and his wife was the witness. We had three children. Jim bom in 1950, Hank bom in 1953 and Amy bom in 1956. 13. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community. Was you whole family involved? We all belonged to the Jewish Community Center. The boys belonged to the club as well as Amy. I worked at J.C.C. I belonged to the sisterhood and was vice president. I was also �involved with Kosair Hospital with epileptic children. Sylvain was involved in J.C.C., Shriners and was Temple brotherhood president. 14. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? My brother was killed in the war. My mother’s brother lived in Poland and had four children. He had to shoot and bury them and then he was killed. 15. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? My favorite spiritual memories were associated with my mom. Kassals came into their village to kill. My mother’s parents were killed but mother and her siblings survived. She always believed that God watched over them. I feel that God has kept me in good health. Religion affects my life all the time. I learned this through Judaism. One is good to others, especially older people who can’t get out. 16. What interests did you have? Bridge, Maj Jong, reading, cross stitching, people, volunteer work, Home of the Innocents, Diabetic Foundation and the Temple. 17. What are your favorite family memories? My family coming to visit in Michigan City. My whole family would come, cousins, aunts and uncles, everyone. 18. 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 would like to be remembered as a good friend and giving of myself. I hope that many values have been passed on to my children. They are very caring and giving of themselves. When I die I want people to celebrate my life. I have three wonderful children and I couldn’t ask for more than that. My mother was my greatest influence. She was the kind of person that I wanted to be. JFVS/aj 11/16/01 Word.olderAdultOralHistories.Bernstein Madeline �Jewish Family & Vocational Service Louis & Lee Roth Family Center B oard o f D ire c to rs Stephanie Speigel Executive D irector 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 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 unless I choose to keep it myself. Lewis D. Cole Alexander Erlen A rthur Grossman Shelton R.Weber Honorary Directors Altman j Bennett i Berman Susan Blieden Donald Bornstein Joan Byer Howard L Cantor Jonathan Dubins Glenn Fine Phyllis Florman Ann Friedman Bob German Mikhail Goldentul Debbie Hyman Howard Kaplin Jay Klempner Laurie Kupferman Alan Levitan Benjamin Levitan Jack B. Loewy Victoria Lyalina Kim Newstadt Chuck O ’Koon Suzy Post Judy Shapira Participant Witness 7- ^6 - b ) Date Signed JFVS/aj 5/14/01 Word.coununit.pennission.history Rabbi Chester Diamond Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Shmuel Mann Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Solomon Roodman Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg Association o f Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies International Association of '"wish Vocational Services •edited by Council o f Accreditation of Services fo 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 �QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES I am Ann F r i e d m a n ? , I am conducting an interview with: Madeleine Bernstein for the JFCS archives. 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My father came from Minsk, Russia before World War I in 1915. My mother came to this country in 1924 from Estonia, Russia. 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? Father - Julius Solavich; he didn’t make his name clear so they put down Soloff. H was born in 1898 and died in 1944. He had typhoid fever when he was in his teens and lost his hair. He had a terrific sense of humor and loved people. He was in the scrap metal business and then opened a little store. His first wife died of consumption when their son, my half-brother, was ten years old. On her deathbed she wished that my father would bring her sister over to help take care of them. My mother, Mary Marher, was born August 18, 1904. She was engaged to be married to a medical student in Estonia and she came to the United States to take care of my half-brother. Her fiance was to come to the United States after he became an M.D. and they were to be married. When she got to Mexico they would not let her in the country unless she was married or had a blood relative. My father came to get her and married her. I was born two years later. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? My birthdate is May 22, 1926. Yiddish, Russian and English were spoken at home. When my parents didn’t want me to know what was going on they spoke Russian. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Brothers? Sisters? Uncles/Aunts? We lived above our clothing store on Willard Avenue in Michigan City. My mother, father, half-brother and my sister Pearl, who was born six years later, lived there, too. Milton, my half-brother, died during the war in November, 1944. He had only been married for six months when he died. He married his first cousin, Sarah. They had a daughter, Margie, who was born after Milton died. 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? I came to Louisville in 1948 with my husband, Sylvain. L What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? �My neighborhood was mostly gentile, Polish and German. There were no Jews in the neighborhood and few in Michigan City. A Jewish family from Chicago moved in one summer. I walked to school about a mile away. I went to Sunday school (Chador) 8-12. We had a synagogue - orthodox, and we vere very religious. There was a neighborhood grocery and drug store. We had a little clothing store and we lived over the store. 5. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? NA 6. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? If we traveled, we took a bus or train. We didn’t have a car. When I was young we traveled to Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana. We didn’t travel much because we lived on Lake Michigan. Our family would visit us! 7. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? \Ne would attend the synagogue for High Holidays. My parents were too busy working. We didn’t have a full-time rabbi. 8. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? Chanukah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Passover were all observed. We would fast for Yom Kippur. 9. Did you attend Sunday school or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday school with you? I attended Chador and I was not confirmed or Bat Mitzvah. 10. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? I graduated from high school and went to Indiana State to become a teacher. When my dad and brother died I had to come home. I was eighteen years old when my dad died. I got a job at a lumber company as a secretary. I went to college on scholarship for one semester. My mother met Conrad �Linde and they were married. I saved money from working and with a scholarship I decided to go to Indiana University. I met a good friend and we went to the university together. I never graduated from Indiana University. 11. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? I met Sylvain at Hillel my first year at Indiana University. He was a junior looking at the new freshman. We dated a year before we became engaged. I went back to school in 1946 and we eloped and married in Martinsville, Indiana. A justice of the peace married us. He wore marine greens and boots and his wife was the witness. We had three children: Jim, bom in 1950; Hank, born in 1953; and Amy, born in 1956. 12. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. We belonged to the Jewish Community Center. The boys belonged to the club, as well as Amy. I worked at J.C.C. I belonged to the sisterhood and was vice president. I was also involved with Kosair Hospital with epileptic children. Sylvain was involved in J.C.C., Shriners, and was The Temple brotherhood president. 13. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? NA 14. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? My brother was killed in the war. My mother’s brother lived in Poland and had four children. He had to shoot and bury them and then he was killed. 15. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? My favorite spiritual memories were associated with my mom. Kassals came into their village to kill. My mother’s parents were killed but mother and her siblings survived. She always believed that God watched over them. I feel that God has kept me in good health. Religion affects my life all the time. I learned this through Judaism. One is good to others, especially older people who can’t get out. 16. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? Bridge, Mah Jongg, reading, cross-stitching, people, volunteer work, Home of the Innocents, Diabetic Foundation and The Temple. �17. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? 7ly family coming to visit in Michigan City. My whole family would come, cousins, aunts and uncles, everyone. 18. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? I would like to be remembered as a good friend and giving of myself. I hope that many values have been passed on to my children. They are very caring and giving of themselves. When I die, I want people to celebrate my life. I have three wonderful children and I couldn’t ask for more than that. My mother was my greatest influence. She was the kind of person that I wanted to be. � 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_bernsteinm Title A name given to the resource Interview with Madeline Bernstein, 2001 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Madeline Bernstein (1926-) in 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Madeline Bernstein grew up in a Jewish household in which her family spoke Russian, Yiddish, and English. She attended Synagogue with her family despite not having a full time Rabbi; however, she was not confirmed and did not receive a Bat Mitzvah. She lived in a primarily German and Polish part of Louisville. After attending Indiana University with her husband she came to Louisville, had three children together, and joined the Jewish Community Center as a family. Though losing her brother, uncle, and her uncle’s children to the Second World War, she maintained good health herself. Her pastimes include playing Bridge, Maj Jong, volunteering in Louisville, and following in the footsteps of her mother to pass on her values to future generations. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bernstein, Madeline, 1926- Friedman, Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/043a38b44e689fd7532c69f208820079.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=aTCOdGeddYFsVtp5Z5CD9FQHNMwK0O4yOfoLPCjGjD2lLu9Eg14sUtBhF0QSRC2Ua1gzQ5g7LZCfODHVxFGMlYCrWCiaoTpl8b9-F6u65wdJihypWWbdko9mqpEWnSPmF-eYxzIsiMuUuEs0NeM8vJljlWrPg627QmVDzjugptsBySDU-lGkV-J-t6a2ZJK2Mju9GT78G%7E%7EigSNS6BwXSQu-LjqXqu%7EmhhsNPeNDYgwv7%7EROXy1IU5ZUbTki1Xfdu%7EdaPuNzl8P6hxCMl7-ycf63vGbNVBs5S5dqxpJz4Ms7udKtav0OnNQT2MeuZafO6uB7l9IBhKHY4f-p%7ESragg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM d23d0c96d7aa80147a7345aa48095f1f PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. I am w ith on Helene Banks H erta Beskin August 1, 2 0 / 0 , I am conducting an interview for the JFVS archives 1 . 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? My parents and I came to the United States in 1941 from Reckendorf, Germany. We traveled first to Lisbon, then to Portugal, and lastly to New York. We settled in Cleveland, Ohio because my Uncle Gus was already there. Also, my brother Milton Schmidt had arrived in Cleveland in 1936, my brother Walter Schmidt arrived in 1938, and my grandmother Regina Goldschmidt in 1939.1 was 13 years old when I came to the United States. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? My parents, Isadore and Jenny Schmidt were both bom in Reckendorf, Germany. 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 Brothers? Sisters? Grandparents? Uncles/aunts? My birth date is September 3, 1927. German was spoken in our home. I lived in out house in Reckendorf with my mother, father, two brothers, and grandmother. 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 was a rural village with only six other Jewish families. I walked to school. Once a week a Jewish teacher came from a nearby town to teach Jewish history to the eight Jewish children that there were. There was a small grocery but no drugstore. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? Not asked during this interview. 7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple? My family was involved in the small local synagogue. �9. What holidays and rituals were observed? All Jewish holidays and rituals were observed, and both of my brothers had a bar mitzvah. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? I did not actually attend religious school except what was previously mentioned. My brothers trained for their Bar Mitzvahs in the town from where the teacher came. I was confirmed in Cleveland, Ohio when I was 15. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? I attended junior and senior high school in Cleveland and graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio in 1949.1 completed college in 3 years with a BS degree in Education. I was an elementary school teacher in Cleveland and am still teaching preschool at Adath Jeshurun Synagogue. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? My husband was transferred to Louisville, Kentucky in 1969 from Cincinnati, Ohio where we had lived for 3 years. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Did you have children? I met my husband Elliot Beskin at Ohio University. We married on June 18, 1950 in Cleveland. Elliott passed away on August 4. 1983. We had 3 daughters, Carol Klein, Lynn Rozelman, and Lisa George. 14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family involved? I taught Sunday School ad Adath Jeshurun and 3 years of preschool at the Jewish day school. My whole family was and is definitely still involved in the Jewish community. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Both of my brothers served in the U.S. army and my husband served in the U.S. army in Germany at the end of WWII when Jewish prisoners were liberated from the concentration camps. Survivors of the death camps did not at first trust him because of his uniform until he spoke with them in Yiddish. WWII in Europe affected me and my family greatly, because we had to flee Germany in order to survive. Except for my concern, I have not been directly affected by the wars in Israel. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? �Spending the Jewish holidays in synagogue with my family is my favorite spiritual memory. My religion has always been the basis of my life. 17. What interests do you have? Teaching my children and my grandchildren has always been my main interest. 18. What are your favorite family memories? The weddings of my three daughters and the bar and bat mitzvahs of four of my grandchildren are my favorite memories. 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 would like to be remembered as a good wife and mother. My daughter Lisa says I have taught her how to be a good mother to her children. I am leaving a good reputation as a teacher of many years, especially in the Jewish community. JFVS/aj 10/18/02 Word.olderAdult.OralHistories.forms �TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I do hereby give my permision to record my life history thugh the Jewish Family and Vocational Service, 3587 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40205. My story will be kept in the JFVS library unless I choose to keep it myself. Date Signed � 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_beskinh Title A name given to the resource Interview with Herta Beskin, 2001 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Herta Beskin (1927-) in August 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Beskin, Herta, 1927- Banks, Helene Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-08 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/ee5fe7fd2a5ae92f4aed82cb1c848ad5.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=Mg7Jzi2VcW%7E3dWJ9WkjMF5lgexQROMfhBop3Bfj7pL%7EQOS-ALfc8sXqYdhzP0NO%7EuwCmdEP0kuf%7EW4ngPFAsg0wq0fboHuAr7ItoU%7ESBjPt80EtQbrurKCb7%7ELlve8hUwDTzqz0nA7EWM4n5eh0rYACPWP4n6TzOL7Hiw3muvWmFffaCCtTjGjJF-LZclUDCQ-byzmqyoB3Bz9JhGJnF9aHxki7Kx4ZwGuiQiDNOLlb%7Ef7dCWKoul7lxmYZCVpxlx6OGVjK%7EcL5f9VBOevHXL2UQNsB-sZX4VAzjIRrZ5ljRl1cqNAeKTVFl-nWq-eR%7ElZTLZ7Rol9FL9TeSlhE87Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 8a6e91f29402698884960017c52b68a4 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES am Marcy B Beyer e y e r , I am conducting an interview with: for the JFCS archives on March 2 0 1 1 Marcy . 1. Tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? How did they travel? My parents arrived in Brooklyn, New York, from a shetle in White Russia in 1914. My mother, Luba Chazankin, and her brother, Dave Chazankin, walked, rode carts, and swam from their home near Kiev, Russia to a port in Germany where they booked passage to America. They left their native land because of anti-Semitism, because their eldest sister and brother-in-law were in North Dakota and urged them to leave Russia and travel to America. i 2. Tell me about your parents - their names and where were they born? Have there been other family names used in the past? Where, when, and why was it changed? My mother and father are first cousins of two sisters, Bessie and Mary Chazankin. They were both born in Russia to poor peasants. Bessie married Moses Chazankin and Mary married ? Gressman. (Can’t remember his first name.) I never knew my grandparents. My mother’s parents both came to live with her in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Mama lived after leaving Brooklyn. My father’s father died of tuberculosis as did his other siblings. His mother remarried a Bertachevsky and she had four more sons. She died in Moscow at age 92. None of my father’s immediate family, to my knowledge, came to America when he was still alive. My father’s last name was changed to Grossman” when he arrived at Ellis Island. 3. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home? I was born May 25, 1926 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the third of four children. My parents spoke Yiddish and Russian and some English in our home. 4. Where did you live as a child? Who lived in the same house with you - Grandparents? Uncles/Aunts? Brothers? Sisters? As a child, I lived at 725 Girard Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota (now a park) and 825 Penn Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was named for my maternal grandfather, Moses, and called Masha, Mashale, Marcella. I am told my grandmother Bessie lived with us, also my brother Harry, who died at age 12. I don’t remember him at all. At times, my Aunt Hannah, the youngest of the 12 Chazankin children, lived with us from time to time, depending which sister she was arguing with. At times, my Uncle Dave, the youngest son, stayed with us. There were also various roomers and boarders. I had one sister, Esther, and one brother, Irving. Both lived in the same house. 5. What brought you or your family to Louisville, Kentucky and when did you come? How did they travel? Did they share any unusual experiences with you? I came to Louisville for a position at the Jewish Community Center as Senior Adult Director in 1979. I was paid $1,000.00 a month. My parents were both dead, also my sister at age 56. I drove my Gremlin from Wisconsin to Kentucky, loaded with some belongings. My furniture arrived by van. �6. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday school? Synagogue/Temple? What kind of shops were in your neighborhood? In Minneapolis, we had many Jewish people in our surroundings. We had a Kosher butcher shop across the street, and a synagogue several blocks away. I attended Grant School which meant a long walk up a steep hill (used for sledding in the winter). I walked to school with a Gentile friend who lived one block away. I felt very sorry for her because her father drank and fought with her mother; and her parents did not like Jews. She didn’t know why. 7. If you or your family lived in Louisville at the time - how did the 1937 flood affect you and your loved ones? Did not live in Louisville in 1937. Actually, I probably never heard of Louisville. 8. If you wished to travel within the city limits what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel out of town when you were young? What kind of transportation did you use when you traveled out of town? And if so, where did you go? What special memories do you have of those trips? Since I had an automobile, I traveled by car. Did take the bus several times, traveling anywhere to get a feel of the city and its’ environs. We stayed with my Aunt Riva. We also stayed with Uncle Louis and his wife. Also visited Chicago during a fair time. I remember I wet the bed and was terribly embarrassed. My mother and aunt were yery soothing. I must have been 5 years old. 9. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? Were your parents or other family members religious? In Minneapolis, my parents attended Keneseth Israel on the High Holidays, my father downstairs and my mother up with the other aunts and close friends. I did not like attending Yom Kippur because I had to kiss my aunts and was offended by their bad breath. However, when I was old enough, I prepared the Yom Kippur evening table setting and placement of food. I never took a bite even though I was hungry. I am not like that anymore. 10. What holidays and rituals were observed in your family? Do you have any significant memories surrounding Jewish celebrations and what was special about those occasions? All Jewish Holidays were observed in our home with gusto. Although we were the poorest of all the relatives, my mother’s home always was filled with them at religious holidays. My mother, Aunt Hannah, Uncle Dave and Uncle Sam had glorious voices. There was much singing and joy. Many times, Mama included non-Jewish neighbors in our festivities. 11. Did you attend Sunday School or other religious schools? Were you confirmed? Did you have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? What are your memories from that time? Are you still in touch with some of the people that attended Sunday School with you? I attended Yiddish school for about a year until some other mother found out the teacher had wandering hands and the after-school tutoring was shut down. Too bad. I was learning to write �Yiddish which would have helped me help my mother correspond with her dear friend in Brookly, New York. I never attended Sunday school. q2. What is your educational background? What was your occupation? Who or what influenced you to choose your career? What kind of preparation or training was required for your career? My educational background consists of undergraduate degree in double major of Speech and English from the University of Minnesota Main campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota. With that degree I got a job as a Recreational Director in Ashiya, Japan with the Naval Air Force at the enlisted men’s service club. I eventually became the Director. I loved that job. I loved the people of Japan, my many travels through the country, the enlisted men and their many problems, the food, the beauty of the country. I had wonderful experiences. I returned in 1964 with my husband (Technical Rep.), and my son and daughter. What a thrill to show them Japan!! Both tours, I lived in Japan 3 years for a total of 6 years in that exotic country, yet so simple and uncluttered. 13. How did you meet your mate? At what point did you realize that this was the one you wanted to marry? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? Grandchildren? I met the father of my children on my first tour in Japan. He worked in the Post Office. He was not Jewish, but that did not matter to either of us. We did agree if we had children to raise them in my religion, since being in the service he would be away for long periods of time. We were married in Japan by the Christian Chaplain in a non-denominational service (after first being married by the American Consulate officer in Fukuoka, Japan.) We had a daughter, Rebecca Allison White, born in Japan 56 years ago; and a son, Robert Steven White, born in Hampton, Virginia 54 years ago. I do have two grandchildren by way of my son. My daughter had no children. 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community outside of your temple or synagogue when you were growing up. Jewish involvement? I was a leader of a group of young girls similar to scouts, but not. We met once a week for some kind of activity. This is very sketchy in my memory. I belonged to Hillel on campus at U. of M. Most of my close friends were of mixed religious backgrounds. My dearest friend, Ruth Goldberg, still lives in Minneapolis. We speak weekly and when I visit, I stay with her and Abe at their home in St. Louis Park, Minn, even though I have relatives in the area. My roommate was Chinese. She had been brought over by some Christian group. I did not know what sect. Perhaps Catholic. We remained friends until her death last year. She visited me in Louisville and I visited her in California and Colorado. Now, her life experiences would make a wonderful story. 15. What was your involvement in the non- Jewish community? Did you witness any antiSemitism living in Louisville? If so, how was this incident handled? My grade school was a mixture of Jews and non-Jews. I remember a heated discussion about Christmas celebrations in school. This was handled by a reform rabbi having a conversation with the community at the school. It was decided to also have a Hannukah celebration to balance the problem. Did I witness anti-Semitism? Oh, yes! Too much. I remember walking home from the bus stop and passing by a little boy who called me a dirty sheenie. I knew it was something derogatory because he �shouted it vehemently. I asked my mother what “sheenie” meant. She didn’t know and told me to ignore him. The next time this happened, I told the boy if he ever called me a sheenie again, I would smack him. He never did. worked at the Dayton Company, a large department store, in the sheet music department. There was the manager, her assistant and we part-time girls. A customer could request a song demonstrated and one of the full-time staff would play the piano. The assistant knew I was Jewish, yet she made derogatory remarks about the greasy hair of the new Jewish hire. Turned out the girl was Catholic. I never said anything. I was always polite. The manager was very nice and I never heard anything demeaning from her. The Dayton Company was anti-Semitic. The Jewish Community decided to band together and give them something to ponder. Jewish women with very Jewish sounding names called and closed their charge accounts. The message got through, and Dayton’s started hiring people with more Jewish sounding names! 16. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Pearl Harbor? What are your earliest recollections when thinking about major events in history? I remember WWII as a time of rationing. I had two cousins in the war; one in Guadalcanal, the other in the Philippines. I wrote very often. I think I was in my teens at the time! I remember when President Roosevelt died. I cried often because he had been the father I wanted as my own, and he had guided us through terrible times. Pearl Harbor is a blur. I remember drills when we hid under our desks; and purchasing stamps to eventually lead to a war bond. I remember the songs sung by Kate Smith, the Andrews sisters, Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby. I remember the scrap drives and my father dragging down a bed spring to contribute to the war effort. I remember my uncle taking the trolley from South Minneapolis to North Minneapolis where I worked in a super market just for a can of salmon I had secreted for him! I remember my mother telling the person handing out ration books that she already had a certain amount of sugar and he should remove the stamps for that month!! I did not go hungry. I did not feel deprived. 17. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? I am a secular Jew. I like the festivals, some of the history. I also like some other religious customs. We usually had Christmas dinner because my Aunt Hannah had the day off. I don’t think I ever was very religious. I followed the dietary rules in Mama’s home but not outside. Heaven and Hell were right here on earth and we had better make the best life possible....my mother’s teaching. 18. What interests or hobbies did you have when you were young and what are they now? What schools did you attend and are there any memories that stand out from that time in your life? Hobbies: Embroidery, reading, reading. Now: crafts, reading, traveling. I collected US stamps for a number of years but gave them to my grandson to sell if he needed money for college tuition. I have cabinets filled with items I collected on my travels around the world, but no pattern. I acted and recited in Junior High and High School. I acted in Little Theater and at the Univ, of Minnesota. I acted in Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio and Louisville. I feel very comfortable speaking before people. I like to write poetry and stories, mainly for myself. Something that has to be released from my emotions. And I love to read and also listen/read from tapes and CDs. �19. What are your favorite family memories - whether it was with your family of origin, or your extended family and friends? One of my sweetest memories is of sitting with my mother while she assembled clothing on the sewing machine and I had sewed the hems in skirts. She told tell me stories while we sat and I had her all to myself. I used to go to an aunt some afternoons to be taken care of because my mother had to sew and didn’t want to worry about me playing outside by myself. My aunt would give me lunch and sometimes I saw my favorite cousin. He worked in a nightclub and came in late so he slept late. My aunt would always have a meal ready for him. She rarely went out because she wanted to be home to look after him. Thank goodness, he was a wonderful son in return. My aunt would take a nap after he left and I would crawl in bed with her. She slept. Sometimes I did also. 20. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What message do you want to leave for your children and future generations? Legacy. I think I’m still raising my children! I want them to be grateful for living in America, and to respect others as they would like to be respected. I want them to love their religion, Judaism, but to accept the religious beliefs of others. I want them to help others by teaching, not just showing. I would like to be remembered as a fair person, listening to both sides before giving my decision or opinion. I want to be remembered as a person you could tell a “secret” to and know it stopped with me. I want to be remembered as being approachable, fun, innovative, good imagination, artistic, accepting (most of the time) and non-judgmental (most of the time). � 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_beyerm Title A name given to the resource Interview with Marcy Beyer, 2011 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Marcy Beyer (1926-) in March 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. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Beyer, Marcy, 1926- Beyer, Marcey Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-03 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.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/0e8d4e4ddb1eb2828b4cfbff9bc6b750.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=Ta4U-tz0iShwB03iqYBGXWgeyRhn3pXfRjLl-eqvHbVGyPS2BtbmJmHYeRrHh5diFoodGVwGl9HDF5MkJqUAheXxILkjKr0NBrLhoBXnVmHrRAdcr%7EgbL0y0GEmVTyRmD5vfoyslrSBFp0ewn6UjNCI2hdxzQ4kzmJGqF%7EuLbS-JKfSnw1RcyjqjNkKoFb79wMxxCeZEgAIG7S2QVX%7ES-sWzTfkGMilbDXUAxdAbdWp1Oj0hmOsYe8wa9x1mtUAq2bBkJIhPpb0juqQ1Ogw9uTdOVAMwCKtFk9GIKKJ0YlPr7uiroU9eM9mZQIFsHwxdkREoKwpw4wUFDf08H5GEEA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 2f514cae69b991c43119bc1512870b24 PDF Text Text QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES 1. lam Linda Lesser, I am conducting an interview with Steven L. Block for the JFCS archives on December 21, 2009. 2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and when? Steven’s Father’s family, the Selligmans, came from Prague in the 1840’s through New Orleans and settled in Alabama and Kentucky. Steven’s Mother’s Father was Russian (Steven’s maternal grandfather) and his Mother’s Mother was German. 3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born? Steven’s Father’s name is Louis Block. Steven’s Father was born in Louisville in 1905. Steven’s Mother’s name is Karolyn Arnson, and she was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1907. His Mother was active in the League of Women Voters and was an early feminist and very liberal in her political orientation. (His maternal grandmother was a suffragette and took part in the New York March in 1919.) His parents divorced in 1945 when his Father was in a dental surgical unit of medical corps serving in WWII. Steven was 11 at the time of their divorce. Both of his parents remarried. Today, Steven serves on the Board of the League of Women Voters, carrying on his Grandmother’s tradition. 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? Steven was born September 30, 1934 and is 75 years old and was born in Louisville. In his home, only English was spoken. He and his family lived in three locations in Louisville: Indian Hills, where there was only one other Jewish family. He has fond memories of being able to drink water from Beargrass Creek. He lived on 5 acres with his parents and younger brother Richard. Eastern Parkway was the second neighborhood where the his mother moved in 1944. There he met other Jewish kids and learned more about Jewish life. He was able to walk to Longfellow School. This home was near Model Drug Store, which housed a public library, and the Uptown Theater, which had a Jewish owner. He remembers going to the drug store with his brother for sandwiches and then to a movie, in the days before TV. His third neighborhood was on Cherokee Road where he was able to walk to Barrett Junior High School. 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? See number 4. 6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family? He was a tiny tot during the flood of 1937. He remembers his parents talking about it, and there may have been some leaks in his home. �7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you travel when you were young? If so, where? Both of his parents had cars, and while living on Eastern Parkway he also was allowed to take the Broadway bus downtown. Steven remembers going to a summer camp, run by a progressive teacher his Mother knew from New York. The camp was a working ranch in Montana, and he was there four summers, from age 11-15 (1946-1949). There he did things like building a three-seated outhouse, a corral, and a slop pit (where “slop” was put for the animals). His brother went to a more “normal” camp. 8. Was your family involved in a synagogue/temple? When Steven’s family lived in Indian Hills, he and his brother were picked up by Judge Granman who was teaching at Adath Israel downtown and taken to Sunday school. The family drove in for Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. When his Father remarried, he and his new wife became Unitarians and were founders of Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church 9. What holidays and rituals were observed? Although Steven’s family identified as Jewish, he was not brought up with a religious tradition. 10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah? Steven was confirmed, but not Bar Mitzvahed. 11. What is your educational background? What was your career? Steven attended the University of Louisville where he studied the social scienceseconomics, political science, and history. He received his B.S. there, as well as a teachers’ certificate. He left Louisville in 1958 for Harvard, where he studied City Planning. He discovered he was not very good at drafting and had the privilege of being one of the first social planners. He was invited to Sicily to help with some social planning, and then returned to Louisville and became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He was hired by the Planning Division of the State of Kentucky and developed closeness to his birth state from programs with which he worked. He moved to Washington D.C. where he worked with anti-poverty programs and helped start a new program: VISTA. He did work under Mr. Shriver, when VISTA was organizing farm workers and Native peoples. He is now retired from the Federal Government. 12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come? Steven was born in Louisville; he returned when 2 exhibits from his Frankfort collection were held at The Speed Museum. 13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married? Do you have children? He married a Senior English Teacher in 1963. They divorced in 2004 14. Discuss your involvement in the Jewish Community? Was your whole family involved? �Since returning to Louisville 6 years ago, Steven’s association with Judaism has grown. He joined a Havurah 3 years ago and has been reviving his ties with his religion. 15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel? Steven’s Father told him about WWI. And he has a vivid memory of some slides that his Father showed him of returning soldiers he treated, providing them with facial surgery from wounds they received in the war. His Father photographed them before and after their surgical procedures during his time in the military during WWIL These slides had a great impact on Steven. He remembers the Six Day War and the feeling of elation in his family about Israel’s victory. He has never been to Israel. 16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life? Steven has been moved by the experiences he had with Indian people in Washington state when he worked for VISTA. Singing religious music, whatever the tradition also moves him. He has a special memory of spending time with his brother and an older neighbor woman when his family lived in Indian Hills. The neighbor said she was descended from Anne Bloyn. They saw shooting stars in the night skies, when his neighborhood was still considered country. 17. What interests do you have? Steven notices he seems to be drawn to causes that champion the under dog and that help them win. Social action is important to him. He is on the Board of the League of Women Voters. He is one of the few men to have been invited to this position, and he is proud to follow his Mother’s footsteps. He likes to hear people tell their stories, is drawn to the arts, and enjoys watching basketball. He began collecting prints in 1978 (instead of the stock market, he notes), and he has been instrumental in establishing a permanent collection of prints he donated to the Speed Museum and the University of Louisville for future generations. He loves his birth city and state. 18. What are your favorite family memories? Integrated in above 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? Steven would like to be remembered as a generous fellow with good spirit and humor. He would like to be seen as someone friendly and enthusiastic, who delights in sharing and is moved by kindness. His value of becoming involved in worthy causes is something he would like to leave to others. He would like his name to be associated with generosity. JFCS/smh 03.30.09 Word.olderAdultOralHistories.forms �Louis & Lee Roth Family Center Celebrating 100 Years of Service in 2008 Board of Directors President Jay Klempner Vice Presidents Debbie Friedman Sandi Friedson Reed Weinberg Treasurer Mark Ament To Whom It May Concern: I do hereby give my permission to record my life history through the Jewish Family & Vocational Service Oral History Project, Immediate Past President Barbara Goldberg Past President Lowell D. Katz Directors Greg Berman Lance Gilbert Alyson Goldberg Ariel Kronenberg Martin Margulis She: i ' i h Abramson Miles S; ie Mutchnick Pe. .esnik Marsha Beck Roth Hunt Schuster Brian Segal Bernard Sweet Amy Wisotsky Stephi Wolff Executive Director Judy Freundlich Tieil 3587 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40205. My completed story will be sent to me and a second copy will be kept in the JFVS library unless otherwise stipulated in writing by me. Participant Interviewer Past Presidents Mitchell Charney Jane Goldstein Marjorie B. Kohn Robert Levine Howard Markus Shirley Markus Gail Pohn Lillian Seligman Steve Shapiro Jeffrey Weiss / A - O0 } Date Honorary Directors Arthur Grossman Shelton R. Weber Rabbi David Ariel-Joel Rabbi Avrohom Litvin Rabbi Stanley Miles Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Rabbi Robert Slosberg As ’on of Jewish Fa. . Children s Agencies International Association of Jewish Vocational Services ' J E W IS H ’ C O M M U N IT Y F E D E R ATIO N Jewish Family & Vocational Service 3 5 8 7 Dutch m ans Lane* • I nuisvillo KonrurUv 4 m n c • a c i C T ^ I . c—. /c n m ACI Z Y IO � 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_blocks Title A name given to the resource Interview with Steven Block, 2009 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Steven Block (1934-) on December 21, 2009. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Block, Steven, 1934- Lesser, Linda Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-12-21 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.)