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chicago jewish history

Vol. 24, No. 1, Winter 2000

chicago jewish historical society

Look to the rock from which you were hewn

Abraham Lincoln: The Tribute of the Synagogue

ABRAHAM LINCOLNStatue by August St. Gaudens in Lincoln Park;

photograph from H.L. Meites “History of the Jews of Chicago,” 1924

Society Open Meeting onFebruary 20 to FeatureRabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf

Judaism in “The Encyclopedia ofChicago” will be the topic of a lecture by thedistinguished rabbi emeritus of KAM IsaiahIsrael Congregation, Arnold Jacob Wolf.

He will preview the soon-to-be-published reference work about our city forwhich he has been invited to write an articleabout Judaism. Rabbi Wolf has written ontheology and contemporary issues for manyperiodicals. “Unfinished Rabbi,” a selectionof his writings was published in 1998.

Save the date––Sunday, February 20,2000. Rabbi Wolf will speak at 2:00 p.m.following a social hour and refreshments at1:00 p.m. at Bederman Hall, SpertusInstitute of Jewish Studies, 618 SouthMichigan Avenue, Chicago. Admission isfree and open to the public. ❖

IN THIS ISSUE1865: Eulogies for the SlainPresident by Renowned ChicagoRabbis Felsenthal and Adler

From the Archives: PreservingYour Family Photographs

West Side Memoir: SandyAronin’s First Year in the Yeshiva

Historic Jewish Boy Scout Troops

Officers 1999-2000Walter Roth PresidentBurt Robin Vice PresidentClare Greenberg SecretaryHerman Draznin Treasurer

DirectorsLeah AxelrodHarold T. BercCharles B. BernsteinDr. Irving CutlerDr. Carolyn EastwoodSheldon GardnerElise GinspargDaniel GreenbergDr. Adele Hast*Rachel Heimovics*Janet IltisBea KrausJoe KrausSeymour PerskyMuriel Robin Rogers*Norman D. Schwartz*Ethel ShulmanDr. Milton ShulmanNorma SpungenDr. N. Sue Weiler

*Indicates Past President

Chicago Jewish HistoryChicago Jewish History is publishedquarterly by the Chicago JewishHistorical Society at 618 SouthMichigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois60605. Telephone (312)663-5634.Please send submissions to the editor,Beverly Chubat, at 415 WestFullerton Parkway, #1102, Chicago, Illinois 60614-2859. Single copies $2.00 postpaid. Successor to Society News.

Editor/DesignerBeverly ChubatImmediate Past EditorJoe KrausEditor EmeritusIrwin J. Suloway

Editorial BoardJoe Kraus, Burt Robin, Walter Roth, Norman Schwartzand Milton Shulman


2 Chicago Jewish History Winter 2000

President’s Column

MOSES “MOE” ANNENBERG BUILT AGREAT FORTUNE IN HIS EARLY LIFE in Chicago. A recently published book, “Legacy–ABiography of Moses and Walter Annenberg” byChristopher Ogden (Little Brown, 1999),recounts the story of Moe and his son Walter, whomade an even greater fortune than his father.

Moe was 13 years old in 1885 when he arrivedhere from East Prussia with his family. He quickly

took to the rough, bare-knuckled capitalism of Chicago’s South Side.Moe’s brutal tactics in the “newspaper wars” of the early 1900s, andhis strong-arm methods for increasing the circulation of the Hearstnewspapers are described here in full.

By 1922, Moe had bought the hugely profitable Daily RacingForm and acquired the General News Bureau with a “racing wire”that gave Moe a huge edge over his competition (in placing bets onhorse races). After amassing his fortune, Moe moved on to acquirepublications in Milwaukee and Philadelphia, though he remainedactive in Chicago’s social life. For example, his name is listed as amember of the Executive Committee for The Romance of A People,the pageant staged by Chicago’s Jewry at the 1933 World’s Fair. Theprogram notes that “Moe L. Annenberg made possible attendance atthe Pageant by a large number of awards to charitable institutions.”(Unfortunately, “Legacy” does not mention the pageant.)

Moe ran afoul of the law at various times in his career. In the late1930s, he was indicted for income tax evasion. The author of“Legacy” strongly implies that it was political revenge that hadcaused the indictment to be filed. Moe’s newspapers, together withColonel McCormick’s Chicago Tribune, had waged a continuous warof words against President Roosevelt and the New Deal.

Moe’s trial took place in Chicago. His chief defense lawyer wasWeymouth Kirkland, the leading partner in a very powerful Chicagolaw firm. Hammond Chafetz, a Jewish lawyer in Kirkland’s firm, alsoparticipated in the defense. In the end, Moe pleaded guilty andreceived a three year sentence. He served nearly the entire term.Within six months of his release, he died of a brain tumor.

“Legacy” continues with Walter Annenberg’s story––the greatpublishing empire that he built and his dedication to redeeming thegood name of his father. He donated millions of dollars to manycharitable institutions, particularly universities. For his help to theRepublican Party, he was named Ambassador to Great Britain. Afterthe 1987 sale of his Triangle Publications to Rupert Murdoch for$3.2 billion, Annenberg’s charitable giving increased even more.

The biographer would like us to conclude that Moe’s name hasbeen redeemed and his sins of the Hearst era can be forgiven. That isa matter of opinion. But “Legacy” is a fascinating story of how animmigrant Jewish family achieved great wealth “the American way.”Walter Annenberg, now age 91, lives on his estate in California. ❖

Walter Roth

3Chicago Jewish History Winter 2000

Genealogist CompilesDatabase of MarriagesPerformed by RabbiBernard Felsenthal

A database is now available of526 marriages performed by RabbiFelsenthal from 1861 to 1905 atSinai Congregation and othersknown to have been performed atZion Congregation in Chicago.

The records were contained intwo small leather-bound pocketbooks with handwritten notationsattributed to Rabbi Felsenthal. TheAmerican Jewish Archives inCincinnati holds the originals.

A transcription was made of therecords by genealogist Fran LoebLuebke of Brookfield, Wisconsin,who presented a spiral-boundprintout of the transcription toNorman D. Schwartz, pastpresident of the Society. Researcherscan find the printout at the ChicagoJewish Archives, Spertus Institute ofJewish Studies.

The database is also available onthe Internet at: www.jewishgen.orgunder the title: Sinai Congregation,Chicago, Marriages. ❖

Seeking Information about Golden Age ofYiddish Radio in Chicago

National Public Radio is preparing a documentary about the heydayof Yiddish-American radio (1925-1955), and we want to make sure ourcity’s history is included. CJHS member Sima Miller would like to hearfrom any of our readers who have memorabilia, anecdotes orrecollections of Chicago’s “Jewish Hour” (Die Yiddishe Shtunde), hostedby Julius Miller. Please phone Sima Miller at (847)673-6409. ❖

Robert Matanky Offers Overview of the Three-Generation Jewish

Community in West Rogers Park Attorney, realtor and Jewish communal leader Robert Matanky

impressed the audience at the Society’s December 12, 1999 Open Meetingwith his detailed knowledge of West Rogers Park’s Jewish history.

Many changes have occured since the opening of its first synagogue, NerTamid, in 1938. In response to a classic decline in the mid 1960s, theneighborhood was revitalized by the construction of condos for “emptynesters” and the influx of young Orthodox Jewish families. Today, WestRogers Park is unique––a three-generation Chicago Jewish community. ❖

CJHS Reprints Programfrom 1933 World’s FairJewish Day Pageant, The Romance of A People

Production has begun on theprinting of a facsimile of thedecorative souvenir program bookfor The Romance, the spectacularevocation of Jewish history firstperformed on July 3, 1933, by a castof 3,500 Chicago area Jewish singersand dancers before an audience of125,000 at Soldier Field. A newforeword by Stephen J. Whitfield ofBrandeis University and a compre-hensive background article by CJHSpresident Walter Roth have beenadded to the original text. ❖

THE WEST ROGERS PARK ERUVSince becoming operational on December 26, 1992,

with railroads, a canal and strung wires used as boundaries, the West Rogers Park eruv has allowed observant Jews to carry things on

the Sabbath, something otherwise not allowed under Jewish law.

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Rabbi Bernard Felsenthal

The Murder of the PresidentTranslated from the German by Susan Wagner

In the same hour, my dear friends, in which we have gathered in thishouse, thousands of places of worship are open for the same purpose;

hundreds of thousands of people are gathered for the same purpose. Likeour temple with its symbols of grief and emblems of pain, todayinnumerable public and private buildings are clothed in ornaments ofsadness. The same feeling of deepest anguish that is now going throughthe souls of all those present here today lives in the hearts of millions.What is the reason for this magnificent, imposing, and impressivenational grief? A father has suddenly been taken from his family. Thefather of the fatherland has been killed at the hand of a murderer. Thelife of the highest officer and the first and outstanding citizen has beencut short, in a way never before recorded in the annals of the UnitedStates. To be sure, this past week we have already twice expressed ourfeelings. When we return again today to the great death, we arefollowing a powerful tug of our hearts, a feeling that has radiated fromWashington out into the nation.

In this hour, in the capital, the mortal remains of President Lincolnare being escorted in a ceremonial procession out of the White House tothe Capitol. In spirit we are also accompanying the body and fulfillingthe duty long held high by the Israelites, that of honoring the dead. Inspirit, millions are with us and follow the casket in the same way, andsadness is seen in every eye. An incredible funeral procession, one suchas only few people have deserved.

What form of light precedes the dead? This we can answer with thewords of the prophet:

“Thy righteousness shall go before thy face, and the glory of theLord shall gather thee up. (Isaiah 58:8)”

His righteousness draws him here. The biblical sense of “righteous-ness” is nothing other than that which in our present language we callspiritual and moral greatness, the sum of magnificent and noble deeds.And Lincoln was great. He was great, first, in that he undertook withwisdom and steadfastness to solve, and did solve, the problem which fellto him: a recreation of the Union; secondly, in that he made true themagnificent sentence of the Declaration of Independence: “All men arecreated equal;” and, thirdly, in that he paired justice and peace withgentleness and love in all of his endeavors.

1. His righteousness goes before him. The reputation precedes him,that he recreated the Union. Nearly 80 years ago, in 1787, the Unionwas brought about through the acceptance of the Constitution. TheUnion, dear to all friends of freedom on Earth, became an object of hatefor all enemies of freedom, a source of inner fear for all bearers of acrown. The Star Spangled Banner, the symbol of freedom, to which alloppressed nations look up in love and in hope, created hate and hostilityeverywhere that freedom was hated. Some aristocratic parties in theSouth, irresponsible and driven by heinous motives, became all-powerfuland wanted to destroy the Union, to kick the flag into dust. What

Eulogies forAbraham Lincolnby Rabbis BernardFelsenthal andLiebman Adler

A rare book presented to CJHSpresident Walter Roth will serve todramatically transport our readersback to the dark days of April,1865, immediately following theassassination of President Lincoln.

We can read the eloquent wordsof Felsenthal and Adler as theyrespond to the terrible event,because theys have been collected inthe book “Abraham Lincoln: TheTribute of the Synagogue,” whichwas given as a gift to Walter Roth byDr. Joseph and Raya Shapiro.

The book is a collection ofrabbinical tributes to Lincoln,edited by Emanuel Hertz andpublished by Bloch Publishing Co.in 1927. There is a foreword by theVery Rev. J. H. Hertz, Chief Rabbiof the British Empire, and a prefaceby Nicholas Murray Butler,President of Columbia University.

The collected works date fromthe 1860s to the 1920s. TheFelsenthal and Adler speeches areunique in that they are the onlyones in the German language. ❖

About the translator:

SUSAN WAGNER is a fourth yearstudent at the University of Chicago.Since 1853, when her forebearsimmigrated from Germany toFreeport, Illinois, six generations ofher family have operated WagnerPrinting in that town, the site of asignificant Lincoln-Douglas debate.In fact, her ancestor reported on theevent, sending his story to New York.Ms. Wagner sharpened her languageskills when she was an exchangestudent in Germany and Switzerland.


would have been the consequences if we had let the rebellion continuewithout trying to stop it? The nation and the government would havestood dishonored before the world, an object of mockery and scorn.And what would have been the consequences if the rebellion hadsucceeded and the Union had been ripped apart? Two rival powerswould have come into being, who would have torn each other to piecesin continually recurring wars, who would have been without influencein the council of nations, and without the power of enforcing their ownjust demands. History is full of examples of how disastrous it is fornations when unity, which is created through both land and history, isdestroyed.

Our old German fatherland is weak and politically meaningless,because it is divided into so many states. In spite of all battles,

unity has not yet been achieved. But also our own Jewish history gives usenlightening examples of the ruinous consequences of the destruction ofa Union. After Solomon’s death, his kingdom was divided into two––Judah and Ephraim. And what misery was brought to the people! Howthese kingdoms became the playthings and bones of contention ofneighboring nations! How their decline was accelerated! The prophets,those incomparable patriots and men of the people, speak often inwords of deepest pain about the unlucky division, and when they lookinto the long-awaited and magnificent future, a nation, one andundivided, stands before their eyes. And so said Ezekiel (37: 22) “And Iwill make them one nation in the land…and they shall no more be twonations, neither shall they be divided any more into two kingdoms.”

The crushing of the rebellion and the recreation and management ofthe Union was the great task given to our departed President Lincoln.With a steadfast approach, he steered our country through high,unmerciful waves. With a sure hand, he saved the Union from sinkingin threatening currents.…He had to chart the proper course in order toreach the desired goal, the harbor of peace. The safe port lay ahead of us,rescue was in sight…Then Death called: “Time is up.” Death, broughtby the hand of an assassin. “The ship drifts,” says an old Jewish tune,“that has lost its steersman.” But no! He saved us from the greatestdanger, and the relatively easier task can be handled by his successor.We, however, see his value and offer him our thanks, and honor him.The judgement of history will be more unbiased. On a clean slate it willbe engraved: Abraham Lincoln, Reunitor of the Union.

2. His righteousness goes before him. The reputation also precedeshim, that he turned the words freedom and equality into deed andtruth. “All men are created equal.” Never has a greater, more magnificentsentence been spoken in a political document, as these on the 4th ofJuly, 1776, in the Declaration of Independence by the American peopleconvened in Congress. But oddly enough, until now, this sentence hasremained a dead letter. If it is true that the people are unequal withrespect to bodily and mental gifts, possessions and so on, they should,however, be considered equal in the halls of lawmakers and before theseats of justice. But that men struggled against taking this sentence intothe lawbooks and acknowledging it in life, that men in a free landtolerated the institution of slavery, not only tolerated but

As a young man, in 1861, hebecame Chicago’s first Reform rabbi,the first spiritual leader of SinaiCongregation. As a 70-year-old, hebecame an ardent Zionist, who wentagainst the prevailing Reformsentiment of the time––the first non-Polish American Jewish leader toembrace the cause, he proudly stated.His disciples called Rabbi Felsenthal“the aged yet youthful master.”

He was born at Meunchweiler,near Kaiserslautern, in the RhenishPalatinate. While still a young boy heamassed a great store of rabbinic andtalmudic learning, though he didn’toriginally set out to become a rabbi.His ambition was to enter the civilservice of his native Bavaria, but hesoon learned that as a Jew he couldhave no hopes in that field. Instead, hebecame a teacher of Hebrew languageand literature in his native village until1854, when he immigrated with hisfamily to the United States.

Felsenthal served as rabbi of SinaiCongregation for just three years. In1864 he became spiritual leader ofZion Congregation, a new temple onChicago’s growing West Side, where heserved for 23 years until his retirementin 1886. That congregation would laterevolve into today’s Oak Park TempleB’nai Abraham Zion.

These brief biographical notes areexcerpted from the historical profile,“Zionist Pioneer: Bernard Felsenthal,”by Society president Walter Roth,which was featured in the Spring 1996issue of Chicago Jewish History. ❖

continued on Page 6

Bernard Felsenthal (1822-1908)


also intensively strengthened, not only intensivelystrengthened but also extensively spread, thatrevenged itself in the end. He who reads the historyof the last half century impartially cannot close hiseyes to the realization that nothing but slavery wasthe source of disaster out of which this great warfinally emerged. He who lists other causes remainsimprisoned on the surface of things… Weunderstand the reasons, although we don't approveof them, that swayed many early on to the opinionthat men should not attack slavery. We understandthat earlier many let themselves be led by theconsideration that the abolition of slavery mightthreaten the welfare of the land and the continuedexistence of the Union. Such doubts are fading, andthose who were mastered by them should say beforeeveryone: “Slavery is dead; we should make surethat it never again prevails to carry the seeds offuture terrible wars, that it never again holds thespark that can ignite the destroying flame.”

To whom do we owe the glory of carrying theshining flag forward in this direction? It wasLincoln, the emancipator Lincoln, who through hisundying proclamation freed the Union from thedisgrace of slavery. And for this our warmest thanks,our sincerest honor. Posterity will honor and admirehim and an unbiased history will, furthermore,when the names of the benefactors of mankind arenamed, add another shining name: AbrahamLincoln, the liberator.

3. His righteousness goes before him. And it alsobelongs to him, that in his nature and in his deedsjustice and mildness were united in splendor. Thisshowed itself the entire time he stood at the head ofthe government. Everyone admits today that theaccusation of tyrannical instincts was nothing butan unfounded, partisan accusation, and thatnothing was more foreign to him than a despoticaland authoritarian character. But only in the lastdays of his life did his mild, loving nature showitself, show that he was inclined to handle the rebelswith the greatest consideration, to open the gatewide to them, and to say to them: Come and betrue members of our nation’s family, and our wordswill be: forgive and forget! In the beginning, as itwas said in the Talmudic writings, God wanted torule the world in strict justice, but in considerationof the world, He added compassionate love. Thelate president similarly united justice with love. We

should all follow his example, so that we, too, nolonger hold feelings of hatred and revenge towardsthe rebels after their will has been broken. Sorrowhas to make a nation better and raise it up ratherthan make it worse. A tragedy might be shocking,but it must cleanse and consecrate the inner person.So let us foster a loving and reconciling nature, aswe admiringly saw revealed in the transfiguredPresident. And certainly, later generations will readit on the unbiased pages of history: AbrahamLincoln, the man, in his private and public lifeunited justice and love, steadfastness and mildnessinto the greatest beauty possible.

The relatively short history of America alreadyhas a number of brilliant names to name,

shining stars in the firmament of the fatherland’shistory: Roger Williams, the tested fighter, the firstin modern times to make the basic law of freedomof religion and freedom of conscience legal within astate; George Washington, the noble patriot, whowas first in war, first in peace and first in the heartsof his countrymen; Benjamin Franklin, theplainspoken yet outstanding man of the people,who took the lightning from the sky and the scepterfrom the throne; Alexander Hamilton, theingenious statesman, who built our finances on asafe and secure basis; Thomas Jefferson, the ferventfreedom president, who brought the principle of atrue and pure self-government to continual rule;Andrew Jackson, the uncompromising, who saidthe celebratory words, “For the future, the Unionshould and must be maintained.” Beside them thename Abraham Lincoln shines as a star of the firstmagnitude––Abraham Lincoln, the reunitor of theUnion, the liberator, the man of justice and love!“May the memory of righteousness be blessed!” ❖

Rabbi Liebman Adler

Speech 1.Translated from the German by Susan Wagner

In this hour the earthly remains of the father ofthe fatherland are leaving the White House in

Washington. As the bells toll throughout the land,far and wide, so also beat the hearts of all thinkingand feeling beings in this land.

The mind can deceive itself and can also betempted; it tends to the wrong paths. Not the mindof a single person, but that of millions. We onlyneed to consider how many sensible Israelites,

Felsenthal continued from Page 5


Christians, Muslims and pagans there are and howdifferently they all think in terms of religion, andhow differently the political parties think in theimportant matters of people. The heart can also beled astray, when it is taught to do so. But if theheart is met surprised and unprepared, all good menfeel the same. The voice of the heart is God's voice.

While the beloved leader has lain murdered inWashington, few hearts in the land have beenhappy. The first news of the hideous event shockedall hearts and startled all feelings. Like an electriccurrent the pain flowed in one moment overmillions of square miles through millions of hearts.In this hour our hearts beat faster, the feelings aremore excited, the pain is sharp again. It is as if oneperson whispers to another the question which waswhispered to Elisha on the day that his master,Elijah, ascended into heaven, “Do you know thatthe Lord is going to take your master from youtoday? (2 Kings 2:3)” This simultaneous sensationin an entire people is a holy revelation…that it istruly a great man, a noble person, a wise leader, thattoday in Abraham Lincoln is borne to the grave.

Is his memory worthy of the honor that ispresently being shown to him? Is he worthy of thegreatest and highest of the land gathering inWashington around his corpse in solemn, expressiveceremonies? Is he worthy of the honor and thetribute which his memory is receiving at this hourfrom millions of reverent people in tens ofthousands of places of worship in cities and villages,even in the wigwams of the wild ones? In ancientEgypt, there existed a Judgment Hall, which had tocarry out a formal, strict investigation of thepersonal record of the deceased before a solemn,respectable burial was permitted. Over you, OLincoln, the civilized world is sitting in judgment, acourt of millions, and calling with one voice, “Youare worthy of the honor! You are to be honored,sympathized with, and at the same time praised, byall countries, by all peoples, and by all times!” Thus,the manual workers will proudly call: “He was oneof us, blessed be his memory!” The merchant classwill proudly remember the fact that he also onceranked among its members and will honor hismemory. The judicature will engrave in marble intheir holy halls that he was a member of this classand will consecrate his memory. History’s rulers willread with elation that Abraham Lincoln was a rulerwho sat among them.

Ring, bells, dully and terribly; the faithful echo

of our hearts! And the bells, as we hear them here,will ring from village to village, from city to city.Hearts will overflow with melancholy for your sadreturn trip from Washington, which was theglittering scene of your public deeds and the field ofyour concerns and sufferings after your peaceful,quiet, once so happy home in Springfield. A shorttime ago, the people called and you were led toWashington to the ruler’s seat; today, God is leadingyou back. His calls you must follow. We must givein to them. O, how we would have rejoiced…Howgladly we would have seen your life’s luck tied tothat of our country. How happy it would havemade us, if you could have enjoyed the remainderof your term in peace and quiet and reconciliation,after your lot in the president’s seat was so muchunrest, worry and sorrow.

But God wanted it otherwise. Providence gavethe country a mild ruler in a time of war. Perhaps itnow needs a stronger one in the forthcoming workof peace, so that the severe always goes hand inhand with the tender. However, the full, warm joyhas been removed from that which time may revealas a happy message. The sad fate of the leader, thedreadful act against the chosen one of the people,will remain the bitter drop that spoils the sweetestgoblet of joy.

P raise be to God, that he, who committed theterrible act, was not among us in faith, that the

Israelites did not produce such a monster! At anyrate, as men may be, we now have to read in thenewspapers that this act is reminiscent of the“wicked Jews who killed Jesus Christ.”1 As menmay be, our ancestors, who 2000 years agocondemned to death a private man working againstthe legal order under the observation of all legalforms, are being called from the grave and set ascounterparts on the side of the presidentialmurderers. This reproach would hurt Christianityeven more, that after 2000 years of existence, in ourenlightened age, in the century of schools andbooks, members of its confession were capable ofsuch a horrible act. But we are far from suchnarrow-mindedness, to seriously blame the entiretyof a religion for something for which individuals areresponsible. We would commit a serious sin if wewanted to call out in our pain, “The wickedChristians have killed our Abe Lincoln. They havekilled the savior of their own country!”2 Wemourn, rather, the shared leader together, Jews and

continued on Page 10


T he first photographs were daguerreotypes,produced by J.L.M. Daguerre and othersbeginning in 1839. These early images not

only introduced a new technology, but also createda new type of historical record. In the years since itsinvention, photography has passed through manystages and the technology has changed dramat-ically. As time passes, old photographs become evenmore important as visual records of eras long gone.

The Chicago Jewish Archives has severalthousand negatives and photographs in itscollections. The photograph on this page showsPhilip Weinstein, owner of Lawrence-PhilipStudios and photographer for the JewishFederation for 50 years, at work in his office. TheWeinstein Photo Archive contains more than 2000sets of negatives, representing the work he did for

the Federation, for synagogues, and for otherJewish organizations in Chicago.

Many families keep a photographic record oftheir history, handing down historic photographsfrom generation to generation. It can be moredifficult to maintain ideal conditions in the homethan it is in an archive, but there are simple stepsthat can be taken to make sure photographs last aslong as possible. Photographs should ideally bekept cool (archivists use 68 degrees and 45%humidity as a guideline), and in a place where thetemperature is relatively stable. Wide fluctuationsin temperature can be just as damaging as heat.Light and dust both cause fading of the image, andthe oil from human skin can interact with thesurface of the photograph to cause damage. Handlephotographs by their edges or with cotton gloves.

Archivists use mylar sleeves or acid-freepaper envelopes or folders to storephotos; black and white photos shouldbe stored separately from color, andnegatives kept separate from prints.

Identification of photographs is anongoing problem in most archives.Many times collections of photographswill arrive with no clue to theindividuals pictured or dates. Equallytroublesome, they often arrive fullyidentified on the back, but in felt-tipmarker or ink, which will eventuallybleed through the front of the image.Identification is important, but shouldbe done in pencil or on a separate sheetof paper folded around the photograph.Modern photos are sometimes too slick

Preserving Your Family PhotographsBy Joy Kingsolver

FROM THE

CHICAGO JEWISH

archives

Philip Weinstein


to take regular pencil markings, but special photopencils can be found at art supply stores and aresafe to use.

Sometimes photographs like the one on thispage arrive in an archive tightly rolled; this isespecially common with panoramic

photographs, which tend to curl naturally becauseof their long, narrow shape. The photographshown here was placed in a humid environmenttemporarily to relax it. (Archivists use a “humiditybox,” which allows the air to become humidwithout wetting the surface of the photograph.) Itwas then flattened under weights for several days.When this photograph was donated to the archives,it was a “mystery picture;” after it was treated wecould see that it shows a dinner of the RabbinicalAssociation of Hebrew Theological College in1940. Because the photograph was never forcedopen after it began to curl, it is undamaged; forcingit to unroll would have cracked the emulsion layer,which holds the image.

Tears and other damage can sometimes berepaired by an archivist or conservator, but shouldnever be fixed at home with tape, as this will cause

further damage in the long run. Tape, paper clips,sticky notes, rubber bands, and ink all pose dangersto photographs and other historic documents.Handled correctly and treated with care,photographs will last for many years, providing avaluable record of the past and the presentforfuture generations.

An upcoming exhibition will highlightphotographs and other documents from familycollections in the archives. The exhibition is called“Jewish Roots in Chicago: Family Papers at theChicago Jewish Archives.” It will be open to thepublic from March 13 through August 31, 2000,in the 6th floor gallery of the Spertus Institute ofJewish Studies, 618 South Michigan Avenue,Chicago. Hours are 9-5, Monday throughThursday and 9-3 on Fridays. ❖

Dinner, Rabbinical Association of Hebrew Theological College, 1940

JOY KINGSOLVER is Director, Chicago Jewish Archivesat the Spertus Institue of Jewish Studies. If you have anyquestions about the preservation techniques discussed in this article, or the upcoming exhibition, please phoneMs. Kingsolver at (312)322-1741.


Rabbi Liebman Adler

Speech 2.Translated from the German by Susan Wagner

T ime, the powerful healer and reliever ofwounds and sorrows, has also proved her worth

for our pain over the sorrowful end of ourpresident, Abraham Lincoln. The deadening ofhearts, which followed the first news of the horror,has moved out of its place; the tears have dried. Thelively participation, as the body moved from state tostate, city to city, towards its final resting place, aparticipation and an emotion of the entire peoplewhich swelled over all banks, this has abated. What,however, the emotional expression has lost in powerand intensity since then, the cool judgment ofrationality has won. In the clamor of feelings, thejudgment of rationality is unable to speak. Onlyafter feelings retreat tiredly and their loudexpression wanes, may one hear what reason andrationality say.

When the heart mourns, it mourns passionately,and therefore it exhausts itself even earlier andweakens. Rationality and reason mourn, when theymourn, with restraint, but therefore more lastingly.At times, rationality and reason want absolutelynothing in common with the mourning of theheart, they don’t acknowledge it, in that they denyits legitimacy. But the mourning for AbrahamLincoln’s passing away is now advancing throughrationality and reason, since the heart is tired fromso much mourning. This progression shows that thepain of the nation as it has revealed itself in the pastweeks with an intensity without comparison, wasnot the product of a momentary surge, no sickly,sentimental or even artificially brought forthexcitement, but deep, bitter earnestness. We don’tneed to be ashamed of the weakness in our hearts;strong men do not need to deny their tears forLincoln, because cool rationality and sober reason,which have neither heart nor tears, are alsomourning.

When we consider a viewpoint that is farremoved from criticism about weaknesses of theheart and entirely isolated from everything thatcould cloud a cool, unbiased judgement, we wouldalways return in our judgment to what our heartfelt and said in the first surprised moment of feelingupon reception of the terrible news.

The more we think back about Lincoln, the

Christians, and pray, Jews as well as Christians, forthe peace of a soul; of course, by our religiousteachings the devout of all peoples and every belieftake part in blessedness. He may also, even as non-Israelite, stand before us as an enlightening modelin his strict honesty, in his pure morality, in hisnon-hypocritical devoutness, in his generosity, inhis good heart and in his luminescent patriotism.We should do modestly in our limited lives what hepracticed to the furthest extent in his high position.

While the body of our great, beloved, formerPresident is being carried out of the White House,the new head of government is moving in. It is nowour obligation to the fatherland to be faithful to itshead and not to wait with honor and acknowl-edgement until death makes us soft. The newpresident remained firm and unshakingly true tothe Union, when all around him wavered and fell;we forget that he once wavered when all stood firmaround him. By forgetting, we act in the spirit ofthe late president, the confirmed patriot.

Your body, Abe Lincoln, is carried now fromcity to city, from state to state, until its final restingplace, to add dust to dust. Your spirit, however, risesto God. He looks after the worlds, He measures thecelestial spheres, all the puzzles of the world aresolvable for Him. He looks after a magnificence inthe circle of the just, against which the magnif-icence of Washington sinks into dust. In the bookof history, the pencil is already busy… ensuringyour immortality.

Your spirit, Abe Lincoln, is before the judicialbench of God. There your acts are angels speakingfor you. Let our prayer for the welfare of your soulascend from the depth of our hearts, together withthe praying nation, into heaven. ❖

1 Translator’s note: Text in quotes originally in English2 Translator’s note: Text in quotes originally in English

Adler continued from Page 7

Michigan Avenue Seen from Park Row, in Civil War Times from H.L. Meites “History of the Jews of Chicago,” 1924


more dear he becomes to us and the moreunmotivated we find his murder and the greater theloss of him seems for the nation.

Rare qualities were united in Lincoln.Statesmanly size, a noble heart, an incorruptiblehonesty, a deep piety and fear of God; a person, aman, a citizen; the great and the high; depth andintimacy; a mental education to the height of thetimes with the disposition and the uninhibitednessof an innocent child that still reads ABC books. Ifnot in bodily stature, but in his effectiveness duringthe most dangerous time on the presidential seat, helooks like David in his fight with Goliath. TheGoliath of the rebellious Confederacy stepped outlike a giant, a monster, on whose growth and onwhose armor evil spirits had already worked long, indarkness as well as in sunlight. Goliath blasphemedGod and Israel. Against him we see David step out,the son of Jesse, with ruddy cheeks, a child in hisentire relaxed appearance. His weapons weresmooth stones of the river, thrown with a slingshot,a shepherd’s bag carrying the stones. But what arewe missing? The giant falls, hit on his head. He fallswith his iron armor and with a cry, like a treeswaying, he falls, and David chops his head off;David, who came against him in the name of theliving God; the God of Israel. David was Lincoln.Lincoln’s smooth stones were his simple moralityand his good-natured jokes.

Rationality and reason mourn the man, whowas at home in the realm of rationality and reason,like the heart mourns him, who had so much heart.

Rationality and reason console us also and let ustake comfort in him. The contemplation of Lincolnand his life is a heart-lifting phenomenon for ourland and the joy over his life is more for us than thesadness at his death.

For Lincoln himself death was not bad luck, ifdeath ever is bad luck. Before his death, he enjoyedthe greatest happiness. He saw the enemyoverthrown, the Union saved, the chains of slaverybroken, and his own honor saved. A difficult task,an unpleasant job, the Reconstruction, lay beforehim. A step left would bring millions of bitterenemies from the right; a step right, millions ofbitter enemies from the left. In this question, manyof our statesmen will be swayed and lose therewards of their long political lives. The expectedunpleasant fight with a defeated and thereforeenraged brother stands before us. In Congress, inthe Senate, in the Cabinet and in everything that we

have together, he is already staring us in the facewith a determined fury in his heart; he feels as if hisunrestrained pride has been mortally wounded. Aquick death freed you from this unpleasant future.You don’t need to pronounce any death sentences,you don’t need to take anyone into custody, youdon’t need to hunt anyone from house and home,all of which awaited your soft soul in life. The sadfate of punishing has been saved for your successor.

The appearance of Lincoln at the head ofsociety was a revelation of the youth and abilitysleeping within him. Lincoln, the ruler in the WhiteHouse, was not like a competent ruler on the king’sthrone who owed to the land only the chance of hisbirth. Lincoln was chosen by millions, and thehonor of choice falls back upon those who choose.It shows that our people’s government and theadministration of our public affairs are not ascorrupt and ruined as is mistakenly claimed. Apeople that chooses an unassuming, honest man outof thousands of opportunistic politicians must havesome of his virtue themselves.

And men such as Lincoln are not rare in ourrepublic. One need not look at the pinnacle ofsociety or at the military in the largest cities. Onehas to look for them where Lincoln was found,where Samuel searched for the first king of Israel,among the humble, working citizens. When lookingfor them, one must not overlook the log cabins andthe modest farm houses. An able, honest man mayalso live behind a marble facade, an able modestman may also ride in a fine carriage, but one neednot look exclusively there for them.

L incoln’s life comforts us today in importantways. Lincoln made it further in four years with

his honesty than many weighty statesmen withshining abilities and wide knowledge accomplish inan entire lifetime. One of the greatest statesmen ofEngland, who sits at the helm of the country and ismorally one of the best, Lord John Russell, said in apublic Parliament meeting about the murder ofLincoln by the South, that the murder was morethan a crime, it was a mistake, a miscalculation.That is the way that statesmen speak. To them,honesty is less important than intelligent calculationand a misconception more inexcusable than ascientific, coldly calculated crime for a specificpurpose. But Lincoln did not think so. Honest andAbe have grown into one another, like Siamesetwins. And Honest Abe shines among the stars of

continued on Page 15


West Side Memoir My First Year in the Yeshiva

BY SENDER LEIB ARONIN

were at the yeshiva. After a study session, all thestudents left the yeshiva together and were accom-panied on our walk west on Douglas and north onIndependence Blvd. by a motorcycle policeman.

Shabbos morning services were also held at theyeshiva. The noon meals took place in a storefront at409 South Pulaski, lovingly known as the Four-O-NineClub. Mincha was prayed at the Chicago JewishAcademy on Wilcox. Seudah shlishis, the third Shabbosmeal, was here also. This meal consisted of an apple anda d’var Torah (a word of Torah) given by our mashgiachruchani––spiritual supervisor––Rabbi Moshe Wernick,of blessed memory. He once questioned this practiceand gave the following explanation: “One can fulfill hisobligation to eat the Third Meal by listening to a d’varTorah. Then what is the need for the apple? Just in casethe d’var Torah is shown to be incorrect, one hasfulfilled his obligation with the apple.”

A nother rabbi at the yeshiva who greatlyinfluenced me was Rabbi Hertzl Kaplan, ofblessed memory. A product of the Slobodka

Yeshiva in Europe, he was really “with it.” A popularsong at the time was Sixteen Tons, sung by TennesseeErnie Ford, that described the plight of coal miners:

You load sixteen tons and what do you get?Another day older and deeper in debt.St. Peter, don’t you call me ‘cause I can’t go––I owe my soul to the company store.

Rabbi Kaplan devoted a large portion of a class periodcomparing the benefits of a life containing Torah andmitzvos complementing a career, with a life pursuingonly the “almighty dollar” from the company store.

During another class he discussed a passage fromthe Talmud: Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says: TheHoly One, blessed be He, wished to give merit to Israel.Therefore he gave them much Torah and manymitzvos…(Makos, end of the third chapter). Said RabbiKaplan: “If G-d wanted to benefit Israel, He shouldhave given us a small amount of Torah and a fewmitzvos. So much Torah and so many mitzvos: how canwe do it all? The answer is that G-d gave us so muchTorah and so many mitzvos that it is impossible for eachof us not to find one part of the Torah or one mitzvahthat we can do with proficiency and enjoyment. Withthis small start, we will search for other Torah and other

*Rabbi Doctor Abraham J. Twerski is founder-medicaldirector of Gateway Rehabilitation Center, a residentialtreatment program for drug addicts and alcoholics inAliquippa, Pennsylvania.

I t was 1955. I was a senior at Washington HighSchool in Milwaukee. Three years before, theAronin family had moved from the tiny town of

Mayville, Wisconsin (population about 3,000), wherewe were the only Jewish family, to the metropolis ofMilwaukee so my siblings and I could obtain a formalJewish education.

We enrolled in the Beth Jehudah Hebrew School,which was headed by Rabbi Abraham Joshua “Shea”Twerski. What would you teach a young man who ishaltingly able to read Hebrew and can translate a fewverses of Chumash? Toss him into the sea of theTalmud, of course! After three years of navigating,guided by Shea’s voluminous word lists, I became fairlyproficient. Moreover, Shea’s enthusiasm for teachingTorah had affected me, and I was really enjoyingstudying Talmud.

Then one day Shea announced that he felt he couldbetter serve his community through medicine, and hehad enrolled in the medical school of MarquetteUniversity.* I was devastated. Where could I pursue myTalmudic studies? The answer was in Chicago, at theBet HaMidrash LaTorah––Hebrew Theological College.

Shea’s two younger brothers, the twins Michael(now Rabbi of Cong. Beth Jehudah and director of theTorah Foundation of Milwaukee) and Aaron (nowprofessor at Brooklyn Law School) took the responsi-bility of preparing me for the yeshiva’s entrance exam inTalmud. They were successful, and I was accepted.

The Hebrew Theological College (HTC)occupied a large, imposing building at 3448West Douglas Blvd. on Chicago’s West Side.

East and west of HTC on the boulevard were manylarge and beautiful synagogues. Nearby, Stone TempleBaptist Church at 3622 West Douglas––formerly theFirst Romanian Congregation Shaarei Shomayim––made it obvious that this was a neighborhood intransition. The yeshiva dormitory was no longer used.Out-of-town students lived in apartments near JacksonBlvd. and Pulaski Rd. Friday night services and meals


“Z eke” Sender is now Rav Yitzchak Sender, asenior rosh yeshiva at the HTC in Skokie.When he was a still a young bochur, he had

already written a book in Hebrew called Trumas Moshe,concerning the complex topic of priestly gifts. Besidesfive other books in Hebrew, he has to his credit the“Commentators” series, containing insights of Jewishsages on various topics. His books are distributed byPhillip Feldheim, Inc., and are available at localHebrew book stores. (When I was in the process ofputting together my own book, “A Student Looks atthe Siddur,” it was Rabbi Sender to whom I went forcounsel. I was proud that he was the first scholar to give

me a written approbation onmy book, which is alsoavailable at local Hebrewbookstores.)

As this was my first year inyeshiva and I had many lostyears to catch up, I devotedmy full efforts to my Hebrewstudies and did not attendevening college as did manyof my fellow students. Theend of the school yearapproached, and I learnedthat the HTC was to leave itsDouglas Blvd. location andmove to Congregation AnsheSholom, a large synagogue at754 South IndependenceBlvd. This would be itslocation for a two-year

transition period until the HTC’s new suburban Skokiecampus, at 7135 North Carpenter Road, would becompleted. I decided to try out a yeshiva in the East.

Two years later found me back at my yeshiva, theHebrew Theological College in Skokie! ❖

SANDY ARONIN writes of himself: “I am stillassociated with the yeshiva. My older son attendedFasman Yeshiva High School and continues his studyof Torah while supporting his wife Nechama and mytwo grandsons. My younger son has returned to theyeshiva from its Israel program. For almost 30 years Ihave been leading a Talmud class in Peterson Park, aspart of the HTC’s community service program. Theintroduction to my book, “A Student Looks at theSiddur,” acknowledges my great debt to this institu-tion. (To support my family I do accounting work.)”

mitzvos to enjoy. In this way, we will find ourselvesstudying all the Torah and performing all the mitzvos!”(Almost 30 years later, this message was the theme ofmy son Shmuel’s Bar Mitzvah speech.)

The apartment which I shared with five other out-of-town students––yeshiva bochurim––was located onJackson Blvd., about a block west of Pulaski.Milwaukee, Seattle, Toronto and Santo Domingo werethe cities we called home. We developed lastingfriendships as a result of dorming together. Those whoremained in Chicago to attend college, work and raisetheir families include Irwin Broderick, GeorgeHorovicz, David Langsner and I. We developed unique

skills dorming together. I learned that foods fried inpeanut butter do not taste as bad as the idea sounds!

One day we were visited by “Uncle Ben” Aronin,who brought some money for our “refrigerator fund.”He also brought a booklet that he had written: an aidto studying Talmud tractate Baba Kama, which thestudents at the yeshiva were then studying. (Ben Aroninwas actually my father’s first cousin. A gifted writer,translator, dramatist and educator, Ben was affection-ately known as “Uncle” by the young people of theChicago Jewish community of the 1940s and ‘50s.)

In the bais midrash (study hall) of HTC I metseveral alter bochurim (senior students) whom I oftenmeet today. Rabbi Ben Tzion Stern is a KashrusSupervisor for the Chicago Rabbinical Council. He canbe seen at the most elegant parties. Rabbi JoshuaLevinson was a senior member of the Bellows Kollel for Advanced Studies before he and his family moved to Israel.

The Yeshiva at 3448 West Douglas Blvd Postcard from the author’s collection


The Boy Scouts of America: Historic Chicago Jewish Troops

A Chicago Tribune article on October 13, 1985,“How a Chicagoan brought scouting to Americanboys,” recounts the founding of the BSA:

“A favorite [Boy Scout campfire] story wasthat of an unknown scout who helpedglobetrotting Chicago publisher William DixonBoyce find his way through a dense Londonfog. The scout refused a tip, saying it was his‘good turn’ for the day.

Intrigued, Boyce visited the headquarters ofLt. Gen. Sir Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, who hadestablished scouting in Great Britain, andresolved to do the same in the United States.Boyce, who published the Chicago SaturdayBlade, the Chicago Ledger and Boyce’s Weekly,employed thousands of young men in the saleand delivery of his journals and had a keenappreciation of the value of honesty, industryand obedience in youth.

In 1910, upon his return to Chicago fromabroad, Boyce began to carry out his plan,launching one of the great organizational effortsof all time. Within a year the National Councilof the Boy Scouts of America had beenestablished, with headquarters in New York.”

The National Council of the BSA had a Jewishconnection from its founding. Banker Mortimer L.Schiff, son of the great Jewish financier, communalleader and philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff, was a vice-president of the organization from 1910 until 1931when he was elected president. Tragically, he diedwithin a month of his election. The following year, hismother Therese Loeb [Mrs. Jacob H.] Schiff presentedthe Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation at Mendham,N.J., in memory of her son. (A genealogical notesupplied by CJHS board member Charles B. Bernstein:he tells us that the great-grandson of Mortimer isAndrew Schiff, who is married to Karenna Gore, thedaughter of Vice President Al Gore. However, for twogenerations the Schiffs have not practiced Judaism.)

But our subject is the involvement of ChicagoJewish youths in scouting! CJHS board member HaroldT. Berc has compiled a list of West Side troops, c. 1928,that were entirely or mostly comprised of Jewish boys.Mr. Berc recalls that all West Side troops couldsubscribe for two weeks or more to summer camps atCamp Black Hawk on the Big Blue Lake near

WEST SIDE c. 1928

Troop 210: American Boys Commonwealth (ABC)Clubhouse Roosevelt Rd. near California Scoutmaster: Mac Goldsban [sp]

Troop 225: Union Park Ashland Ave. near Ogden Scoutmaster: Iz Granatstein

Troop 315(?): Basement Clubhouse of Apt. Bldg.Christiana or adjacent street south of Roosevelt Rd.Scoutmaster: Sam Mendelssohn

Troop 318: Millard Avenue Presbyterian Church Millard north of Ogden. (Scoutmasters tried to revive old active church troop with new member-ship from Jewish Lawndale)Scoutmasters: Irving Epstein & Harry Steiner

Troop 323: Jewish Old Peoples Home (chederrooms used as clubhouse) Ogden Ave. and AlbanyScoutmaster: David Friedman, who also wasprincipal of cheder

Troops 332 and 333: Jewish People’s Institute(JPI) Douglas Blvd. and St. LouisScoutmasters: Norman Horwitz & B. Idzent

Troop 335: Fillmore Police Station Squad RoomGrenshaw and Crawford (Pulaski)Scoutmaster: Iz Granatstein

Troop 3__?: Temple Judea Independence Blvd.near Roosevelt Rd. Scoutmaster: ?

HYDE PARK Troop 510: Temple Isaiah Israel

Troop 529(?): KAM Temple

NORTH SIDE? NORTHWEST SIDE?SOUTH SHORE? SUBURBS?We ask our readers for their memories ofother historic Chicago Jewish Troops.

Muskegon, Michigan, and that all Chicago troops hadday or weekend camping privileges at Camp FortDearborn, located on the Des Plaines River in what isnow the Seymour Simon Forest Preserve, at Belmontand Cumberland.

Board member Dr. Milton Shulman has added twotroops that he remembers from the Hyde Parkneighborhood, and notes that not until kosher food wasintroduced at scout camps could all Jewish boys fullyavail themselves of the Boy Scout experience. ❖


Society WelcomesNew MembersDr. & Mrs. Morton DoblinLinda GaibelCarolyn GainesHoward GilbertSandra J. LernerHamilton M. Loeb, Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Bud RosenbaumGeorge RosenbaumJerome Wolf

the greatest magnitude while John Russell and those like him will beforgotten much like servants after they have been paid.

And Lincoln’s appearance offers us the comfort that the institutionsof our land are of the sort that we get our ruler, if I may call ourpresident so, not through birth, which is the same as chance, butthrough the vote. We do not need to allow ourselves to be ruled bygenerations of stupidity; instead we can choose the best man in ouropinion, and when we make a mistake, when through a misvote anunworthy man manages to arrive at the president’s seat, we can correctthe mistake in four years. Our governmental institutions additionallygive us the comfort, through the appearance of Lincoln in thepresidency, that our governors are raised through work, among thepeople, unaware of their future status. Imagine Lincoln in his youth as ahereditary prince, surrounded by chamberlains and servants bendingdown before him while he is still in the cradle, instructed and taught bycourt tutors on their knees, with the consequence that for money andfavor he is smiled at, made angry, rebuked and praised, as can be read inthe history of princes, intentionally misled and weakened anddisinherited by corrupt, paid friends: would such a Lincoln have grownto his place? Would Lincoln, so raised, have been able to carry out hisduty? Work and seclusion alone ensure a good upbringing. The youngplant that is set in the sun too early is stunted. Children who are raisedin the sun of too much favor, too much general attention, are ruined fortheir future development. And that is why there are so relatively few ablerulers on the throne…

O f those who took the throne, only a few have actually ruled. Only afew of these were actually capable of doing the bad and the good

that was brought about by their reign. The entourages and the partiesthat surrounded the throne ruled, not the kings. Their upbringingsspoiled their independence. Not so for Lincoln and our presidents. Inparticular Lincoln had nothing like a princely upbringing. The boatmenon the Mississippi were no flatterers. No chamberlains helped him buildhis houses or his fences. And in his mature years, when he made amistake that he was not reproached for, he heard about it from hisopponent Douglas, who grew up with work just as he did. In this way,our governors are brought up and prepared for office. In this way, we getsomething sweet from that which is strong, we win something good outof our struggle.

“The saints shall rejoice in glory; they shall be joyful in their beds.(Psalm 149)”

Tyrants are praised in life, cursed in death. Just rulers hear a lot ofreproaches in life, but their praise begins with death. The just are firstglorified when they are no longer in this world. As they lie dying ontheir deathbeds, in the quiet of the grave, their souls hear sweetharmonies rising as an echo of their deeds on earth.

So, sleep softly, pious one, in honor! Out of your grave, from yourplace in the bosom of the earth, the praise of justice is rising out of thehere and now and the afterlife, a choir of angels calling and urging thefear of God, love, and justice. ❖

Adler continued from Page 11

He was born in Lengsfeld, in theGrand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar. Froman early age he was educated byprominent Hebrew scholars, includinghis father and the father of [Chicago’svery first rabbi] Reverend IgnatzKunreuther. In 1854 he immigrated toAmerica where he served a Detroitcongregation until 1861 when he wascalled to Chicago, to the pulpit atKAM, a position he occupied contin-uously, with the exception of 1872-76,until his retirement in 1882. RabbiAdler was a widely published scholarlywriter as well as a preacher.

He was the father of DankmarAdler (1844-1900), the great Chicagoarchitect-engineer. Young Dankmarenlisted in the Union army on hiseighteenth birthday in August, 1862,serving in the First Illinois Artillery andlater in the Engineer Corps of theMilitary Division of the Tennessee.

These notes about the Adlers aredrawn from H.L. Meites “History ofthe Jews of Chicago” and a featurearticle in CJH, Spring 1990. ❖

Liebman Adler (1812-1892)

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About the SocietyWhat We AreThe Chicago Jewish HistoricalSociety was founded in 1977 and isin part an outgrowth of local Jewishparticipation in the AmericanBicentennial Celebration of 1976.Muriel Robin was the foundingpresident. The Society has as itspurpose the discovery, preservationand dissemination of informationconcerning the Jewish experience inthe Chicago area.

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