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You can tell a Jewish traveler by the way he checks into a hotel room, unpacks and automatically skims the local phonebook for Jewish names and places. |
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When he looks at his U.S. map, he may be wise enough to discover the Carolinas, where Jewish population is generally enjoying healthy growth. Yet to thousands of Jewish travelers the Carolinas are unfamiliar territory. Motorists speed from New York to Florida, stop overnight at South of the Border, and are greeted in Miami with two questions: "So which way did you come?" and "How long did it take you?" This modest website may change all that. |
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Within the 85,829 square miles of these two states lie treasures for Jews of all ages, persuasions and personalities. Many of the following destinations numbering almost 200 come as refreshing surprises even to Jewish people born and living in North and South Carolina. This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved |
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Charlotte
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BEN BERNANKE, SECOND MOST POWERFUL AMERICAN, IS PRIDE OF CAROLINA JEWISH PEOPLE When Dr. Ben Shalom Bernanke became Chairman of the Federal Reserve, fellow Jews worldwide fairly burst with pride. |
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HOLOCAUST TORAH ON DISPLAY AT TEMPLE BETH EL More than a thousand sacred Torahs were assembled in London after World War II. They were rescued from the Nazis who had collected them as historic remnants of the Jewish people they tried to destroy. |
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THE AMERICAN FREEDOM BELL Between the new Charlotte Museum of History and the old (1774) Hezekiah Alexander rock house is The American Freedom Bell. It was Jewish conceived and made in time to ring first at the stroke of midnight December 31, 1999. Seven feet tall, seven feet wide and weighing seven tons, it is the world's largest bell at ground level. |
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FIFTY-FOUR ACRES OF JUDAISM Unique in America: within the Charlotte city limits is a 54-acre Jewish campus called Shalom Park devoted to worship, education, health, sports, research, art and entertainment for Charlotte's eight thousand Jews and a great number of non-Jewish members. Home of Temple Beth El, the Carolinas' largest congregation; Temple Israel, Jewish Community Center, Carolina Agency for Jewish Education and other organizations. CAJE has generated more than 200 interview videos of Charlotte Jews and other priceless resources used for research. This project has been so successful that it is now enjoying a $31 million expansion that has tripled its facilities. 5007 Providence Road, Charlotte. Open 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Monday-Thursday 6am-9:30pm. Friday 6am-5pm. Saturday 12 noon-6pm. Sunday 8am-6pm. Phone 704-366-5007. |
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NORTH CAROLINA BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is a regional arts and entertainment complex. The five-level, 177,000 square foot center features two theaters and is the home of the region's opera, symphony, repertory, community concert and choral organizations. Named for the Blumenthal family, the leading Jewish name in the Charlotte area. Situated at the center of downtown Charlotte, 130 North Tryon street. Box office phone 704-372-1000. |
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WHERE HARRY GOLDEN WROTE ALL HIS BOOKS The last home of Harry Golden, author of Only in America and 19 other bestselling books, columnist, speaker and publisher of The Carolina Israelite, stands at the corner of East 8th street and Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte. From his legendary rocking chair in this and two other neighborhood houses, Golden developed a world reputation as humorist, social satirist and fearless champion of black rights. |
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HARRY GOLDEN'S PAPERS At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte north of the city Harry Golden's archives are neatly catalogued and open to the public and researchers. Included are his many book manuscripts, correspondence, notes and files. Located within J. Murrey Atkins Library. Open 7:30 AM to midnight Monday-Friday. |
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THE JEW WHO LED THOUSANDS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS A large obelisk stands today in uptown Charlotte that was unveiled in 1898 by a large convention of veterans headed by Louis Leon. The monument honors the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775, and the Charlotte men who died in the American Revolution. Outside the front entrance of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Trade and Alexander streets. |
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ARTHUR GOODMAN'S DREAMS CAME TRUE Charlotte lawyer Arthur Goodman was a humanitarian who dreamed of deprived children, the handicapped and animals getting the breaks in life they deserve. He founded the humane society, enacted legislation to help the handicapped and protect animal life, and turned his birthdays into parties for Charlottes handicapped children. His widow Katherine and son Arthur, Jr., donated 15 acres of land near the center of nearby Matthews to found Arthur Goodman Memorial Park half a century ago. Today a $650 thousand annual budget sustains the immense youth sports complex called Matthews Athletic and Recreation Association that is focused at Arthur Goodman Memorial Park. Thousands of boys and girls 4-17 participate in soccer, slow and fast-pitch softball, tee ball, coach pitch, minor and major league Little League, Babe Ruth, football, basketball and now lacrosse training and competition. The children are supported by a small army of avid family volunteers. What was once Goodmans weekend retreat from his law office is now a huge and growing sports campus with many lighted and irrigated playing fields, parking and recreation areas. South Trade Street one mile from Matthews center. |
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JUDAH BENJAMIN TWICE REMEMBERED Plaque at 227 South Tryon Street in Charlotte honors Judah Philip Benjamin, second only to President Jefferson Davis in leading the Confederacy. He was Secretary of State, Attorney General and Secretary of War. This was the site of the home of Abram Weil, Benjamin's friend, where he stayed after the surrender just before he escaped to England. |
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SIX MILLION REMEMBERED The Charlotte Holocaust Memorial helps the Carolinas' largest city remember the Six Million. Located within Marshall Park in downtown Charlotte at McDowell and 3rd streets. |
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THE CHURCH WITH THE STARS OF DAVID St. Peter's Episcopal Church at 115 West 7th Street in downtown Charlotte bears two large stars of David over its entrance. According to its warden, the church was thereby acknowledging that Christianity was built on the foundation of Judaism. When these stars disintegrated, Temple Beth El helped restore them. |
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SAM WITTKOWSKY STILL LOOKS OVER CHARLOTTE Within Elmwood Cemetery, a historic Charlotte city landmark, lies the imposing hilltop grave of Samuel Wittkowsky, 1835-1911. He was a civic leader and close friend of Governor Zebulon B. Vance, who took his speech, The Scattered Nation, about the Jewish people, to audiences throughout America. Wittkowsky was the first elected president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, helped found and was first Master of Excelsior #261, North Carolina's largest Masonic lodge, helped found the Charlotte Country Club, served as city alderman and founded the South's first building and loan firm. Of 13 Charlotte Jewish volunteers in the Confederate army, six were boys Wittkowsky had hired from New York to staff his dry goods store. Cemetery open dawn to dusk year around. 700 West 6th Street. |
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THE RINTELS HOUSE The home of Jacob Rintels on Queens Road in Charlotte is the best example of a restored historic Jewish home in the Carolinas. The Italianate style house was built in 1874 on West Trade Street and was moved to 1700 Queens Road in 1916. Rintels and wife Bessie Wallace Rintels were one of nine Jewish families living in Charlotte in 1850. Both are buried in Hebrew cemetery. |
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WHERE THE FAMOUS ARE BURlED IN CHARLOTTE A number of Jewish Confederate officers and enlisted men are buried in Hebrew Cemetery, located at 1908 Statesville Avenue, Charlotte. They include Captain Julius Roessler, First Lieutenant E. B. Cohen and Private Louis Leon, author of a famous Civil War diary. A large monument next to the chapel honors 13 Charlotte Jewish boys who lived and died for the Confederacy. Their graves are often marked with Confederate flags by veterans' groups. Also buried here are author Harry Golden, peach king Moses Richter, financier Dannie Heineman and Elizabeth Cohen, daughter of Aaron Cohen, a volunteer in George Washington's army. |
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DANNlE HEINEMAN'S MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER Heineman Medical Research Center is located at Carolinas Medical Center, 1001 Blythe Boulevard in Charlotte. It was established by Dannie N. Heineman, 1872-1962, world-renowned financier and benefactor, born in an apartment where the Marriott Hotel City Center now stands at Trade and Tryon streets. The center is the focus of research in cardiovascular diseases, improvement in patient care and development of surgical techniques. Also at Carolinas Medical Center is Blumenthal Cancer Center, serving the Carolinas region with care teams dedicated to breast, gynecology, gastrointestinal, lung, pediatric, head and neck, pain management, rehabilitation, stem cell transplantation, bone and soft tissue, melanoma, immunotherapy, brain, genitourinary and cancer risk assessment fields. |
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LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH Newly expanded museum covers regional history from 1877 to the present. Exhibits take visitors from cotton fields to skyscrapers, into a tenant farmer's shack, two-story Main Street and a black chapel. Named for Sandra and Leon Levine, retired head of 6,000 Family Dollar Stores in 43 states. 200 East 7th Street. Open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday. Sunday 12-5. $6 general, $5 seniors/students. |
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THE CCDS LEVINE CENTER Another Levine family landmark is the administration building of Charlotte Country Day School, the city's largest private school at 1440 Carmel Road. |
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$255 MILLION FOUNDATION GIVEN HEADQUARTERS BUILDING BY GORELICK, LUSKI FAMILIES Foundation for the Carolinas now operates from 217 South Tryon in Charlotte in the new South Tryon Square, thanks to a $1 million grant from the Luski and Gorelick families. WIth assets of $255 million, the foundation provides philanthropic services to NC and SC communities. The building is the historic Kale-Lawing site. |
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$5 MILLION FROM SANDRA AND LEON LEVINE BACKS EXPANDING CPCC LEVINE CAMPUS IN MATTHEWS This surprising middle-of-nowhere college includes 220,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and offices. The Levine grant pays for scholarships to hundreds of underprivileged students needing help. Entrance sign at junction of I-485 and US-74. |
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JEWS IN THE CHARLOTTE REGION SINCE 1585 A unique exhibit in the chapel of Temple Beth El in Charlotte tracks Jewish regional history from the year 1585 when Sir Walter Raleigh brought a famous Prague mineralogist to America to uncover Native American smelting secrets. It shows how Judah Benjamin, the nation's most famous Jew, came to Charlotte for the climactic Confederate cabinet meeting after Lincoln was assassinated. And how U.S. presidential adviser Bernard Baruch spent much of his childhood with family in Charlotte. Visitors will see a Holocaust torah, all that is left of the great temple in Brno, and a rare family torah. Most of all, Treasures of Temple Beth El traces the development of Jewish life in Charlotte, including many colorful personalities. 5101 Providence Road. |
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NABOW MUSEUM AT DUKE ENERGY The man most responsible for building all those dams on the Catawba River in the Carolinas was the chief engineer of Duke Power Company, David Nabow. |
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LEVINE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL DOUBLES CMC PEDIATRICS A $10 million grant from Leon and Sandra Levine is making possible the new children's hospital at Carolinas Medical Center. The 206,000-square-foot facility opened in 2007 to double the capacity of the busiest children's hospital in North Carolina. Total cost: $85 million. |
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TIME TO THANK OUR CHRISTIAN FRIENDS All over the Carolinas lie the remains of Jews who lived and died long ago in communities with no consecrated burial place for them. They are safe and remembered in church cemeteries, like this grave in a Charlotte Presbyterian cemetery of a woman born during the Revolutionary War. The inscription begins, "In memory of Mrs. Z. Penick who died April 12, 1854, 73rd year of her age, a mother in Israel..." |
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MANY CAROLINA MOVIE THEATERS WERE JEWISH OWNED AND OPERATED Most of the early film exhibitors are gone but some of their theaters linger and thrive. Jay and Fan Schrader and the Visulite. Morris and Edith Nuger and the Grand. Ellis Blumenthal and the Tryon. The Variety Club in the old Hotel Charlotte where they'd socialize. |
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
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Charleston
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COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON YASCHIK / ARNOLD JEWISH STUDIES CENTER This new three million dollar, 12,000 square foot building at the corner of Glebe and Wentworth streets offers college credit Jewish studies courses serving the entire community. The Robert Scott Small Library houses the largest archives of South Carolina Jewish history. Between these facilities you can access extensive oral history archives, business, institutional and family records; memoirs, scrapbooks, letters and photos; archives of two historic synagogues; the Southern Jewish Historical Society and the Charleston Jewish Federation. |
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CRADLE OF REFORM Beth Elohim congregation in Charleston is the birthplace of Reform Judaism in America and the oldest surviving Reform congregation in the world. Its members have been eminent leaders in the city, state and nation. Among them: Moses Lindo, who helped develop cultivation of indigo, and Joseph Levy, the first Jewish military officer in America. The present beautiful Greek Revival temple at 90 Hasell Street (pronounced Hazel) was built in 1840. The congregation began as a Sephardi group in 1749. George Washington wrote, "May the same temporal and eternal blessings which you implore for me rest upon your Congregation..." Guided tours 10-12 AM Monday-Friday. Services Friday 8:15 PM, Saturday ll AM. A rich collection of Beth Elohim records awaits visitors at the Jewish Heritage section of the College of Charleston. |
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WHERE JUDAH BENJAMIN WENT TO SCHOOL Judah Philip Benjamin attended the Hebrew Orphan Society school as a boy. The building still stands at 88 Broad Street. High on the front is a Hebrew inscription. The house of Judah Benjamin's father can be seen nearby at 35 Broad Street. |
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PRE-REVOLUTION CEMETERY ON COMING STREET The Beth Elohim Coming Street cemetery is the largest pre-Revolutionary Jewish cemetery in America. The congregation's first rabbi, Moses Cohen, was the first person buried here, in 1762. Bernard Baruch's great grandfather, Rabbi Hartwig Cohen, is one of several other Beth Elohim rabbis here. Other noteworthy persons at this site are nine Charleston Jews who took part in the American Revolution, six who fought in the War of 1812, eight of the 180 Charleston Jews who fought in the Civil War, and three of the Jewish Masons who founded the Scottish Rite here in 1801 (who were honored at the 2001 bicentennial). 189 Coming street. Call Temple Beth Elohim 843-723-1090 for guided tour. |
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GEORGE GERSHWIN COMPOSED HERE A three-story house at 89-91 Church Street in Charleston was the model for Catfish Row, the centerpiece of Porgy and Bess. George Gershwin wrote the opera while living in Folly Beach. |
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HENRIETTA SZOLD IN THE CHURCH WINDOW Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold is shown teaching arithmetic to Jewish children in a stained glass window at Grace Episcopal Church, 98 Wentworth Street, in Charleston. It is part of the Women's Window displaying biblical and contemporary female leaders. |
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BURIED WHERE HE WAS SCALPED Francis Salvador was killed and scalped by Tory-led Indians while on a defense mission near the Keowee River. He was the first Jew to hold an important elective office in South Carolina and the first Carolina Jew to die in the cause of American liberty. This tablet honoring Salvador can be seen within City Hall downtown. A plaque on a wall in Washington Park next door also tells his story. A William Halsy mural on the social hall wall of Beth Elohim depicts Salvador's historic death. |
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STAR OF DAVID SHINES IN MAGNOLIA GARDENS In Magnolia Gardens biblical plants are arranged as a Star of David. A statue of the boy David stands in the center of pomegranates, palms, olives and papyrus. 8am-dusk, 365 days a year. Admission charge. Highway 61 10 miles outside Charleston. |
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CHARLESTON COMMUNITY CENTER Israeli entertainers, lectures, health club, sports facilities and events for seniors and singles draw Charleston Jews to 1645 Raoul Wallenberg Boulevard. Call 843-571-6565 for schedules. Next door is the Sherman House, built to house Jews and non-Jews with special needs. |
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BETH ELOHIM ARCHIVES The history of Charleston Jewry is beautifully documented with ceremonial objects, records, paintings and photographs at the Beth Elohim Archives Museum, 86 Hasell Street. |
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HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL ON MARION SQUARE Next to the John C. Calhoun monument stands a touching memorial to named survivors who resettled in South Carolina. Designed by Jonathan Levy Architecture of Boston. Calhoun Street near Meeting. |
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M. C. MORDECAI HOUSE Moses Cohen Mordecai operated a steamship line, served as state senator and sat on countless boards and commissions. His flagship, The Isabel, removed Major Robert Anderson and his men from Fort Sumter as the Civil War began. View his house at 69 Meeting Street. No interior access to this private home. |
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PHOEBE PEMBER HOUSE Moses C. Levy was a synagogue leader and one of four Jewish founders of the Scottish Rite of Masonry in Charleston. His granddaughter, Phoebe Yates Levy Pember, grew up in this classic single house at 301 East Bay Street. As a nurse she treated tens of thousands of wounded Confederate soldiers at Chimborazo hospital near Richmond. House now a bed-and-breakfast and conference center. |
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JEWISH MASONS HELPED FOUND THE SCOTTISH RITE TWO CENTURIES AGO IN CHARLESTON The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, largest fraternal organization in the world, was founded in Charleston, SC, May 31, 1801 by twelve Masons, four of whom were Jewish, an extraordinary proportion. But then Masonry was said to have been brought to America by Jews in 1736*. Many Jewish Masons were among celebrants of the 200th anniversary of the Scottish Rite in 2001. This new monument honors the founders at the Charleston Scottish Rite Temple at 1051 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard. * - Encyclopedia Judaica |
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CHARLESTON: PROUD OF ITS BLACK JEWISH CHIEF OF POLICE The Charleston, SC, police department was founded in 1680. It took 302 years for that city to hire a black Jewish police chief. |
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
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Other Areas
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THE PEACH KINGS Peach orchards abound in the Carolinas largely due to the marketing genius of Moses Richter, his son and grandsons of Mt. Gilead and Charlotte. Travelers can enjoy peach blossoms in March and April and harvesting from mid-May to mid-September in these areas: North Carolina--The south-central region near the town of Candor. South Carolina--Aiken, Saluda, Edgefield, Gaffney, Inman, Spartanburg, McBee and Allendale. At least 20,000 acres are devoted to peach growing in the two Carolinas. |
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The countless tourists who visit South of the Border each year know--or know about--the late Alan Schafer, the Dillon County boy who grew his 1950 beer joint into the biggest tourist magnet in South Carolina. The indescribable complex includes a 300-room motor hotel, six restaurants, 14 gift shops and 2 casinos on a 500-acre spread with 800 employees. Junction of I-95, US 301 and US 501 on the NC-SC border. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. |
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JEWS CARED FOR MULES WORKING COTTON FIELDS The poignant story of the rise and fall of little Jewish communities is personified by Bishopville, SC. This was the heart of the SC cotton kingdom which still produces 730,000 pounds a year. |
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Camden's Jewish community dates from 1788. Temple Beth El on Lyttleton street can seat 60 but only 25 remain to worship there and then only on the High Holy Days. The jewel of a Spanish mission style Reform temple began as a Catholic church. Bernard Baruch's mother started a sabbath school in 1880. The famed house where Bernard Baruch was born was torn down to make room for a church parking lot. A historical marker remains at 1201 Broad street. |
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THE CAMDEN HOSPITALS Bernard Baruch's father was Surgeon General of the Confederate Army, recognized for his specialty of hydrotherapy. In his honor Bernard made large donations to the establishment and expansion of the original Camden hospital. The long-term unit of today's Kershaw County Medical Center is named for A. Sam Karesh, Camden merchant. Haile and Roberts streets. |
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BIRTHPLACE OF THE BIG APPLE We are not making this up: the world famous popular dance of the 1930s, The Big Apple, was invented in a Columbia nightclub that was built as the charming Beth Shalom synagogue in 1907. Some say the New York City nickname was born here, too. This is the way it looks today. Corner of Park and Hampton streets. |
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COLUMBIA HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL Sculptor Irwin Hyman designed this 2001 monument to the six million. A wall etched with a chronology and map of the Holocaust, and names of SC survivors, is mounted on a slate Star of David. Hampton and Gadsden streets. |
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BERNARD BARUCH SILVER COLLECTION 18th century silver collected by Bernard and Annie Griffen Baruch are on permanent exhibit at McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina in the center of Columbia. Free admission Tuesday-Friday 9am-4pm. |
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USC SOUTH CAROLINIANA LIBRARY Dozens of Jewish collections are housed in this building's archives--records of the Columbia Hebrew Benevolent Society, mercantile ledgers, and the papers of eminent Jews such as Edwin DeLeon, Thomas Cooper DeLeon, August Kohn and Anita Pollitzer. The Modern Political Collections Archives contain papers of state lawmakers Sol Blatt, Isadore Lourie and Harriet Keyserling. Monday-Friday 8:30-5, Saturday 9-1. 910 Sumter Street, Columbia. |
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SOUTH CAROLINA STATE HOUSE At Main and Gervais streets in Columbia's center is the site of many Jewish legislators' service to South Carolina. Portraits of Speaker of the House Solomon Blatt, Bernard Baruch and other Jewish leaders are displayed in the lobby. Many SC Jewish legislators and mayors posed for this historic photo. |
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THE SUMTER COUNTY MUSEUM Andrew Jackson Moses and Octavia Harby raised their 17 children in the 1848 house on this property at 122 North Washington Street, Sumter. Five served in the Confederate forces. The reconstructed building of 1916 is now the site of the extensive collections. At the nearby annex, the Genealogical and Historical Research Center houses the Moise family papers, firsthand Civil War accounts by Octavia Harby Moses, charts, photographs and historical documents. 219 West Liberty Street. |
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WINTHROP UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES In Rock Hill you can discover the history of Jewish women's clubs, an ill-fated attempt to settle Russian Jews in an agricultural colony called Happyville (near Aiken), taped memories of the first Jewish students, and interviews of Pollitzer sisters Mabel and Carrie. Dacus Library. Monday-Friday 8-5. |
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MAX HELLER CONFERENCE CENTER Max Heller fled Vienna in 1938 to work in a Greenville shirt factory. When he was elected mayor, he revitalized downtown and created an esplanade inspired by his memories of outdoor cafes, music and flowers. This center is part of the Hyatt Regency Greenville, in honor of Max and Trude Heller. |
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SOLOMON BLATT CONTINUES TO GIVE Sol Blatt (pronounced blot) served South Carolina as its beloved, all-powerful, long-time speaker of the house. He gave his state park its recreation center for the handicapped. Near the entrance to 307-acre Barnwell State Park, Route 3, Blackville, SC. Open dawn to dusk daily. Free admission. |
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PALESTINE, JERUSALEM AND JEWS QUARTER ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA For the curious traveler, North Carolina has Palestine, a community five miles north of Albemarle where five roads meet. It has Jews Quarter Island, a 2 1/2-mile peninsula in southeast Currituck County that is used as a hunting lodge. And it has Jerusalem, a former community in south Davie County. Its church is still there on US 601 in Mocksville. |
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A TALE OF THREE BROTHERS Gather round and hear about Sol, Al, and Lukie. Three Tenner brothers hailed from Charleston where they made tires. They surfaced with a sister in Charlotte in 1935 to open Tenners restaurant on West Trade Street near the square. It was the only place local Jewish people could find hot pastrami, kosher pickles and a 35-cent lunch. In 1953 their hearts took them to Patrick, SC, 86 miles southeast of Charlotte. There they planted a 300-acre vineyard, the largest in the South, with cast concrete posts, and built a winery across the road. For 40 years they produced inexpensive Patrick red for Tenners and customers in Charlotte and beyond. When the brothers retired, Sam Goldfein took over the restaurant and Marvin Sands bought the winery in 1965. It was a great epoch for Sol, Al, Lukie and the Jews of Charlotte. The remains of winery and vineyard can be seen at 8608 Hartsville-Ruby Road outside Patrick. |
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UNC AT CHAPEL HILL: BEGINNING OF JEWISH GREATNESS The Carolinas largest and oldest university is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Many world-famous Jews studied there, including Louis Harris of the Harris Poll; Richard Adler who composed the scores of Pajama Game and Damn Yankees; tennis champion Vic Seixas; Pulitzer prize juror, newspaper editor and author Sylvan Meyer; Marvin Sands who built the Constellation empire, the superstar of the wine world; Herman Blumenthal and his three sons of Radiator Specialty Company, and generations of the Ceasar and Herman Cone families of Cone Mills, largest maker of denim in the world. The Charles H. Revson Foundation in New York has given $250 thousand to the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at Chapel Hill. It honors UNC graduate Eli Evans, president emeritus of that Foundation and author of Jewish-related bestselling books like Judah P. Benjamin. During his 25 years as president of the Revson Foundation, he granted $147 million to Jewish causes, urban affairs, education and biomedical research. |
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THEN AND NOW: JEWISH MASONS THROUGHOUT THE CAROLINAS Travel through the centuries and the miles and you will find countless Jewish Masons who have been part of the fabric of this regions history. The first Jewish Masons officially in the Carolinas were Simon Nathan and Benjamin Seixas, designated to represent Masonry in Charlotte and Charleston in June, 1781. At the Scottish Rite temples in Charlotte and Charleston you can see hard evidence of more than two centuries of Masonic Jewish activity in the Carolinas. Four of the founders of the Scottish Rite in Charleston in 1801 were Jewish Masons, and many others participated. Jews have been founders and masters of lodges even grand masters across the Carolinas. Masonic squares-and-compasses appear on graves in Jewish cemeteries in both Carolinas. In the Charlotte Treasures of Temple Beth El exhibit are documents of the 1997 joint Jewish-Masonic service honoring many Masons who have been that congregations founders, presidents, rabbis, and members. Witness the connection at the Charlotte Scottish Rite Temple at 4740 Randolph Road. In Charleston visit the Scottish Rite Center, 1051 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. |
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GOLF TWELVE MONTHS A YEAR All year long golf reigns supreme in North and South Carolina, from the mountains to the sea. Pinehurst, NC, is the crown jewel. There are so many courses in Myrtle Beach, SC, you could play a different one every day for more than three months. You can hit a ball a mile from Grandfather Mountain. Golf packages draw Canadians by the thousands. While northern golfers are reduced to swapping golf stories all through their rotten weather, southern golfers are swinging happily in more days of sunshine than Miami. Check it out. |
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THE HOUSE IN WINNSBORO WHERE BERNARD BARUCH'S PARENTS WERE MARRIED Sherman's Union troops torched the grand mansion of Saling and Sarah Wolfe in Camden, SC, while their 15-year-old daughter Isabelle watched in horror. The Wolfes and the surviving 10 of their 13 children then moved to this 1831 house in Winnsboro. They were living here when Dr. Simon Baruch, Surgeon General of the Confederacy, returned from the war to marry Isabelle under the chuppah in this house. It still stands on the east side of South Congress street, across from the Fairfield County Museum. One of their children would be Bernard Baruch, one of the greatest Jews in American history, fiscal counsel to every president from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt, host at his Georgetown Hobcaw Barony estate to many world leaders, and philanthropist beyond measure. This large two-story home is considered Winnsboro's best example of antebellum style beautifully proportioned, well-designed, handsomely ornamented and decorated. It is in transition between neglected private ownership and restoration for public tours. |
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THE FIRST JEW IN THE CAROLINAS WAS IN THE LOST COLONY AND SURVIVED Joachim Gaunse (Gans), was the first Jew to come to the Carolinas. Queen Elizabeth of England enabled this famed Prague metallurgist to come to America in 1585 to study the copper and iron smelting techniques of the natives. Sir Walter Raleigh brought him here on his second trip to Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Gaunse stayed one year to complete his research into speeding the processing of metals necessary to England's military success. Luckily Sir Francis Drake landed at Roanoke Island June 19, 1586, so Gaunse got a trip home with Drake before the settlement of 117 men, women, and children disappeared to become the mysterious Lost Colony. His busy year here saw Gaunse observing mining and refining by the Tuscarora Indians in east-central NC along the Roanoke, Neuse, Taw and Pamlico rivers and by the Cherokees in the west. There he saw copper activity in what is present day Alleghany, Ashe, Jackson, and Swain counties of NC and Carroll, Floyd and Grayson of VA. Unbelievably, fate brought this first Jew to Roanoke Island, saw him perform his remarkable research alone among strange people, live briefly among the ill-fated Lost Colony and escape successfully to England with only a few survivors. The best way to relive his professional adventure is to attend the superb Lost Colony pageant at the Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island between May 31 and August 20 annually. Drive US 64 or 264 all the way east to Manteo, NC. Tickets $4-$20. Kids half-price Fri-Sat. For tickets phone TicketWeb 866-468-7630 9am-9pm 7 days a week. |
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JEWISH LAWYER CO-FOUNDED WORLD'S LARGEST SQUAB FARM Wendell M. Levi, Sr. Sumter, SC, attorney, was a first lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps during World War I, heading their Pigeon Section. |
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ALLAN SINDLER SCULPTURES ENHANCE JEWISH SITES Highly acclaimed Jewish sculptor Allan Sindler has brought artistic stature to a number of public and private locations in the Carolinas. Those you can enjoy without special permission include the double Star of David in front of the Camden temple, a metal sculpture in the garden at the Bishopville Cotton Museum, Mother Without Rocking Chair and a Holocaust piece at his Camden home, a Star of David at the Tree of Life synagogue in Columbia, and a piece at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. |
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FORT JACKSON HONORS GENERAL ROBERT SOLOMON WITH NEW CENTER Robert K. Solomon was 3rd Armored Division Information Officer, served with VII Corps in Stuttgart and Chief of Policy and Plans Division of CINFO. He became commander of Fort Jackson and was active leader of Synagogue Beth Shalom in Columbia. |
This website is Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved
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Congregations in the Carolinas
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| REFORM North Carolina Congregation Beth HaTephila, 43 North Liberty Street, Asheville, NC Boone Jewish Community, c/o Unitarian Fellowship, 381 East King Street, Boone, NC Beth Shalom, Box 5161, Cary, NC Temple Beth El, 5101 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC Judea Reform Congregation, 1955 West Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC Temple Emmanuel, 310 South Street, Gastonia, NC Temple Emanuel, 713 North Greene Street and 1129 Jefferson Road, Greensboro, NC Agudas Israel, 505 Glasgow Lane, Box 668, Hendersonville, NC Temple Beth Shalom Hickory Center, 4360 North Center Street, Hickory, NC B'nai Israel, 1207 Kensington Drive, High Point, NC Temple Israel, Box 1292, Kinston, NC Lake Norman Jewish Congregation, P.O. Box 5199, Mooresville, NC 28117, 704-987-9980 Temple B'nai Sholem, 505 Middle Street, New Bern, NC Brevard Jewish Community, Brevard, NC Temple Beth Or, 5315 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh, NC Temple Israel, 1600 Brenner Avenue, Salisbury, NC Beth Shalom, Sandhills Jewish congregation, 131 Jackson Springs Road, Jackson Springs, NC 27281 910-673-4224 Temple of Israel, Fourth and Market Streets, Wilmington, NC Temple Emanuel, 201 Oakwood Drive, Winston-Salem, NC South Carolina Congregation of Adath Yeshurun, 154 Greenville Street NW, Aiken, SC Temple B'nai Israel, Oakland Avenue, Anderson, SC Temple Beth El, 1500 block Lyttleton Street, Camden, SC Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, 86 Hasell Street, Charleston, SC Tree of Life Congregation, 6719 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC Beth Israel Congregation, 316 Park Avenue, Florence, SC Temple Beth Elohim, Corner Screven and Highmarket Streets, Georgetown, SC Temple of Israel, 400 Spring Forest Road, Greenville, SC Congregation Beth Yam, Box 22973, 4501 Meeting Street, Hilton Head Island, SC Temple Shalom, 767 Oxbow Drive, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579 Temple B'nai Israel, 146 Heywood Avenue, Spartanburg, SC Congregation Sinai, 11 Church Street, Sumter, SC CONSERVATIVE ORTHODOX LUBAVITCH RECONSTRUCTIONIST |