This page contains the entire Jewish Tour of the Carolinas website on one page,
for those who wish to have a printed version of the site.

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.

His sense of history takes him to the nearest synagogue, where he looks for familiar names on the memorial plaques. His optimism shows when he sits down in a kosher restaurant and hopes to bump into a friend of a friend.

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.

charlotte charleston
coastal corridor raleigh/winston-salem
mountain corridor other areas
houses of worship the hillel experience
glatt kosher restaurants feedback and updates

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.

There are unbelievable stories (try "Jewish Refugee Farmers in Van Eeden"), touching spots (try "Small Towns, Big Hearts"), surprises (try "Duke University Under Terry Sanford") and oddities (try "Palestine, Jerusalem and Jews Quarter Island"). You can find places where Jews gave to the communities they loved and places where communities honored the Jews they loved.

When you opt to see all or most of these destinations, think about at least two days each in Charlotte and Charleston. Then drive the corridors from Charleston to Wilmington and from Raleigh to Winston-Salem. Finally, cover the mountains from Blowing Rock to Asheville and on to the Spartanburg area.

Many Jewish travelers collect temples. They do not feel complete unless they look inside the houses of worship in the cities they are visiting. They would do well in the Carolinas. For the first time all Carolina synagogues are listed together here, and all are worth a visit any day of the week. They contain religious, historic, sentimental, educational and art objects to delight the soul.

And friends.

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Charlotte





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.

He succeeded another historically great Jew, Alan Greenspan, in the vital work of decision-making and economic leadership of the leading nation of the world.

Arthur Riemer of Myrtle Beach remembers him well. “Would you believe I taught that kid in Sunday School at Ohav Shalom Congregation in Dillon a million years ago!”

Today pundits identify Bernanke as the second most powerful American. Unlike many US presidents, he is universally respected for his wisdom.

He, his brother Seth and sister Sharon, were lovingly raised by parents Philip and Edna Friedman Bernanke in Dillon, South Carolina. At 11 he was a spelling champion. Wrote a novel about an integrated football team. Played sax in marching band. Waited tables at South of the Border (see story). Graduated Harvard with honors. With wife Anna, grown children Alyssa and Joel, he lives in the DC area.

Pictured here are his past family home in Dillon and parents' present home in Charlotte. They keep the faith at Temple Israel and keep kosher everywhere.

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.

At least one is safe today in the Carolinas. It can be viewed in the permanent exhibit, "Treasures of Temple Beth El." It came from a synagogue in Brno or Namest in Bohemia. Rabbi Robert Siegel said it was the oldest Torah he had ever seen.

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.

The bell marks Charlotte as the first focus of freedom from Britain with its Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence publicly signed 14 months before the Philadelphia document.

You can personally let freedom ring at AmericanFreedomBell.org and hearing it ring any time you wish.

You can see and touch the actual bell at 3500 Shamrock Drive. Free admission to the bell which is accessible at all times.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Charlotte’s 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 Goodman’s 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.

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.

Another plaque nearby at 700 North Tryon Street marks the house where President Jefferson Davis, Judah Benjamin and the Confederate cabinet held one of their final meetings April 22-26, 1865.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BLUMENTHAL CANCER CENTER

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.

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.

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.

$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.

$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.

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.

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.

He and his family were long-time and early members of Temple Beth El in Charlotte. It was there he became a hero when asked to stop flooding of temple schoolrooms. His budget: $300. And he did it.

His precious documents and artifacts form the Nabow Museum in Charlotte. Engineers of today still use his tech books, journals, microfilms, microfiches and professional documents. His trusty 20-inch sliderule is there, too, in this 6,000-square-foot display on the 6th floor of the Energy Building on Church Street between First and Stonewall. Security clearance required.

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.

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..."

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.

And that was just Charlotte. Herman Meiselman and his family grew a chain of movie theaters spanning 70 years in the Carolinas and Florida. Eastern Federal generated 22 multi-screen theaters with 238 screens.

Experience the Visulite at 1615 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, still open for entertainment.

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Charleston

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Reuben Morris Greenberg comes from Russian Jewish lineage. He was introduced to Judaism and police work by the civil rights movement when he joined picket lines comprised of 80% blacks and 20% Jews. He earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology at San Francisco State and two UC Masters degrees. He taught at Cal State, UNC Chapel Hill, and Florida International State.

His law enforcement success brought him before 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, and McNeil/Lehrer News Hour cameras. He has written books and articles, won many awards and spoken to many audiences.

And he is a practicing Conservative Jew. After a long and brilliant career, he has retired from police headquarters at 180 Lockwood Boulevard.

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Coastal Corridor

AS YOU DRIVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE

Noted Jewish citizens are recognized on Carolina highways and bridges. As you motor on I-77 near Columbia you see interchanges named for Hyman Rubin and Isadore Lurie. And as you enter Georgetown from the south, you cross a great bridge named for Sylvan Rosen. In Charleston Raoul Wallenberg Boulevard honors the Swedish diplomat who rescued more Jews than any other individual or institution in Nazi-occupied Europe.

BERNARD BARUCH'S HOME

Bernard Baruch, adviser to all American presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt, owned the 17,500-acre Hobcaw Barony as his winter home from 1907 to 1965. Here he entertained President Franklin and Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General George Marshall, authors Jack London and H. G. Wells, LIFE publishers Henry and Clare Luce, and many other world-famous dignitaries. Visitor Center is 1 mile north of Georgetown, SC, on US 17. Museum open free Monday-Friday 10am-5pm. Children love saltwater touch tank and hands-on table of treasures. Three-hour $15 tours by reservation. Phone 843-546-3623.

SC NATURAL RESOURCES GET INCREDIBLE BOOST FROM BARUCH RESEARCH LEGACY

The 17,500 acre coastal estate left by Bernard Baruch and his daughter Belle is being put to priceless work by two SC universities — Clemson and USC. Hobcaw Barony is now an internationally recognized wildlife refuge used for research in forestry, marine biology, ocean environments, and propagation of wildlife, flora, and fauna. It's called the Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science. You can visit the field lab by phoning the Baruch Marine Lab at 843-546-5219 or the Belle Baruch Institute at 843-546-1013.

KAMINSKI HOUSE MUSEUM

The Kaminski House Museum is a gorgeous pre-revolutionary landmark at 1003 Front street in Historic Georgetown, SC. It was named for Harold Kaminski, former owner of the home and mayor who served in both world wars. It houses a collection of fine antiques dating from the 15th century. Tours Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm. Adult $5, children 2-6 $2, younger children free.

A LOVELY OLD CEMETERY

The second oldest Jewish cemetery in SC is Beth Elohim at the corner of Broad and Duke Streets in the Historic Georgetown section. Great old live oaks and palmetto trees soar over the graves of three of the town's six Jewish mayors: Louis Ehrlich, Harold Kaminsky and Sylvan Rosen.

THE HEART OF MYRTLE BEACH WAS OWNED
BY A JEWISH SPINSTER NAMED KLEIN

Hundreds of millions of dollars of today's oceanfront property in Myrtle Beach was once owned by a spinster Jewish woman named Margaret A. Klein. She was an author, teacher and New York World columnist, born in Walterboro, SC, in 1864 and died there in 1941. Cassandra Lane today runs through those 143 acres, called Hurl Rock Beach Development in the 1930s. Then Cassandra Lane was called Klein Street. The property joins Kings Highway with Ocean Drive from 19th to 23rd streets in the shape of a parallelogram.

MYRTLE BEACH THANKS LAMBO FOR ITS NEW CONVENTION CENTER

When Lambert Schwartz moved from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, things got better at the beach. This plaque dedicating the huge city exhibition hall to him says it all:

THE J. LAMBERT SCHWARTZ EXHIBITION HALL
Dedicated to the Memory of J. Lambert "Lambo" Schwartz
“In grateful appreciation for his energy, for his dedication and love for family and community, for his steadfast belief in the character-building attributes of competitive sporting events, and for his leadership and vision in tirelessly advancing the cause for a new, larger, and finer Myrtle Beach Convention Center. October 22, 1994”

Situated at 2101 Oak Street. You can't miss it.

UNIQUE JEWISH-MASONIC FRESCO IN EARLY NC MASONIC LODGE

Right over the entry door to the meeting room is a large fresco painting of a Star of David framing two right hands in a Masonic grip.

You are in the famous St. John’s #3 lodge at 516 Hancock Street in the historic section of New Bern, NC. The upper walls of the room are filled with dramatic, hand-painted frescoes. They are used as illustrations for lectures in the first three degrees of Freemasonry—ceremonies other lodges perform with modest projected or printed images.
 
These frescoes were painted in 1857 and are now being restored to original beauty. This lodge was meeting even before 1755. Its most famous early Jewish member was Jacob Henry (see story of his house below). Others were Abraham Cutten, Samuel Hart and Jacob Sabiston.

Why this combined symbol of Masonry and Judaism, unseen anywhere else? Today’s brethren believe it was painted to honor God’s people of the Bible and their heritage that is closely woven into Masonic ritual.

Public welcome 8am to 4pm daily. Buildings owned and administered by Scottish Rite Valley of New Bern. Phone 252-638-4031.

JACOB HENRY, 1808 JEWISH HERO

Facing the ocean in Beaufort, NC, near Morehead City, the charming 1802 saltbox home of Jacob Henry still stands at 229 Front Street. Henry was North Carolina’s first Jewish legislator. He was elected to the general assembly in 1808. But the state constitution had a religious test for office. He was asked to take his oath on the New Testament or suffer expulsion from office. Henry refused. He then delivered a speech in defense of full religious liberty for all Americans. He was permitted to take his seat.

OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN NORTH CAROLlNA

Historic Temple of Israel was established in 1872 as the state's first Jewish house of worship when Wilmington was its largest city. The structure was built in 1875, featuring Moorish style and twin towers painted gold. On Southeast corner of Market and 4th streets. Services 8pm Fridays.


Photo © UNC

JEWISH REFUGEE FARMERS IN VAN EEDEN

The incredible story is true: a Wilmington Episcopalian, Hugh MacRae, and a Nyack, NY, Jew, Dr. Alvin Johnson, partnered to save European Jews in 1939. They obligated themselves to give North Carolina farming jobs to all the Jews they could save. When visas were halted, the flow ended. But 50 to 60 adults and children made it safely. They attended Reform services faithfully in Wilmington. Most survive today. Winslow Wilkings and his son John farm the land now. They live in a new house to which two of the original Jewish houses have been appended. Van Eeden lies 4 miles north of Burgaw in Pender County, NC. From Burgaw take US 117 north, left on #1347, right on #1315. (Factual details may be found in the book “Van Eeden” by Susan Taylor Block.)



THE WEILS OF GOLDSBORO

The pre-eminent Jewish name in Goldsboro, NC, was and is Weil (pronounced wheel). Two German brothers, Henry and Solomon Weil, were among the first Jews to settle in Goldsboro.

They lived to lead in business and civic affairs for several decades and generated a formidable family which continues today.

The twin Weil houses were built for them in 1875 at 200 and 204 West Chestnut Street. They were saved from demolition by a coalition of preservationists and are a nationally recognized treasure.

Gertrude Weil (1879-1971) gained fame for advocating extension of voting rights to women. She was an activist in labor, race, and Jewish causes. She lived in Henry’s blue-and-white corner house. Solomon's brown house next door is today an exquisite place for the public to dine amid hundreds of museum pieces.

THANK LIONEL WEIL FOR CLIFFS OF THE NEUSE STATE PARK

In 1944 Lionel Weil proposed the cliffs area along the Neuse River be developed as a NC state park. Within a year Weil and others donated the first of 751 acres along spectacular cliffs rising 90 feet above the river’s south bank.

These were once Tuscarora and Saponi Indian ceremonial and hunting grounds.

Today the public enjoys great views, the lake, fishing, hiking trails, museum, ranger-guided exploration, plants and animals, swimming, camping, picnicking, amphitheater and boat rentals.

Drive 15 miles southeast of Goldsboro on US 70 and NC 111 near Seven Springs. Free admission. Open year-around at 8am. Closes anywhere from 6 to 9pm depending on season.

A simple plaque beside the cliffs-area parking lot honors Weil’s priceless contribution.
THE BRODY FAMILY GAVE ECU ITS BRODY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

In the 1960s East Carolina University President Leo Jenkins asked the Brody family of Greenville to help create a new four-year medical school. They warmly agreed, giving $22 million over four decades.

Funds came from the NC legislature and from Sammy, Morris, Leo, Hyman and David Brody to make reality of Jenkins' dream. Those gifts killed Charlotte's hopes for a medical school in the state's largest city but brought excellence and importance to medical facilities, practice, research and education in Eastern NC. At 600 Moye Boulevard in Greenville.

SYMBOL OF FAITH IN GEORGETOWN

In the 1760s a handful of Jews in Georgetown established a thriving community second only to Charleston's. By 1800 the Jews of Georgetown were dominating the city's civic life. In 1904 they organized Congregation Beth Elohim. This sanctuary, situated at the corner of Screven and Highmarket Streets, was built in 1950.

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Raleigh/Greensboro/Winston-Salem

ZEB VANCE STANDS IN FRONT OF THE CAPITOL

A massive monument and statue of Zebulon Baird Vance, the governor who championed the Jewish people, greets visitors to the North Carolina state capitol in the center of downtown Raleigh.

JUDAIC ART COLLECTION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART

The NC state art museum has assembled an array of historic and contemporary pulpit, life cycle and holiday objects funded by Carolina Jewish and non-Jewish families, businesses and institutions. Free admission. Wednesday-Saturday 9-5, Sunday 10-5, closed Monday and Tuesday. 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh.

THE MORDECAI PLANTATION

Strangely the Raleigh Jewish community came to life because of a family that had abandoned its faith.

In 1869 the tiny Raleigh Jewish population approached George Washington Mordecai to buy land in Oakwood Cemetery, hoping he would not forget his heritage. For $218.75 they obtained a 35 by 125 foot plot to bury their dead.

A century earlier Moses Mordecai had moved to the Colonies from Germany in 1760, one of the first 300 Jews in America. His son Jacob was a leading American Jewish scholar living in Warrenton, NC. Jacob's oldest son, another Moses, married the granddaughter of the founder of Raleigh. From then on the family were active Episcopalians.

Today Mordecai Plantation includes the 1785 family mansion, President Andrew Johnson's 1797 birthplace and other historic buildings. From the NC capitol building in Raleigh drive north on Person street which becomes Wake Forest Road. Turn left oin Mimosa street. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4. Adults $6, children $4.

DUKE UNIVERSITY UNDER TERRY SANFORD

When Terry Sanford became its president, Duke University wiped out its Jewish admissions quota and its Jewish enrollment increased from a handful to one-third of the student body. Sanford is buried in Duke Chapel. Duke hosts a chair in Jewish studies and maintains Jewish archives. East and west campuses are both near Main Street, US business route 70, in downtown Durham.

LEON LEVINE SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

$80 million from Leon Levine and the late Doris Duke went into these 520,000 square feet of laboratories, classrooms, conference rooms, the 300-seat Love Family Auditorium and the dining commons. The center houses the Nicholas School of Environment, the Medical Center Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, the Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology group of the Trinity College department of botany and zoology and other new facilities that keep Duke University in the forefront of science in the South.

NORTH AMERICA'S ONLY COED JEWISH BOARDING HIGH SCHOOL

Insurance magnate Maurice Sabbath is personally pouring $100 million into the new American Hebrew Academy at its 100-acre Greensboro campus. He explains, "I'm teaching the future leaders of the Jewish community across the United States and elsewhere." Construction continues on the school which opened in 2000 for an eventual enrollment of 800 students. Architect is Aaron Green, protege of Frank Lloyd Wright. Recruitment will intensify in North and South America. Seventy students are now enrolled in grades 9-11 taught by faculty drawn from Greensboro's top high schools, the U.S. and Israel. Students pray with their own choice of Reform, Conservative or Orthodox prayer books. At the junction of Hobbs and Jefferson roads.

WORLD TEXTILE LEADER

The world's largest maker of denim textiles for blue jeans is Cone Mills, founded in 1891 by Moses and Ceasar (sic) Cone in New York. They invested in three mills in Greensboro and soon controlled a large share of the Southem cotton industry. At their peak they employed 6,016 in the Carolinas making denim for all the famous jeans brands. During World War II Herman Cone leased 512 acres in Greensboro to the U.S. that became the Overseas Replacement Depot with 30,000 soldiers, many of whom settled here. Visit the stunning new Cone Mills world headquarters at 3101 North Elm street in Greensboro.

THREE MOSES CONE HOSPlTALS

The Moses Cone Health System has built a world reputation in oncology, cardiology, neuroscience, trauma, primary angioplasty and women's care. Its cluster of three hospitals at 1200 Elm street in Greensboro contains 986 beds. A gift from Bertha Cone to honor her husband.

BLUMENTHAL JEWISH NURSING AND REHAB CENTER

The new 64,000-square-foot Blumenthal Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is the pride of Greensboro-region professionals and families. The 154-bed facility offers 134 nursing beds and 20 assisted living accommodations. Situated on its seven-acre site at 3724 Wireless Drive, it continues the dream of Dick Blumenthal who founded the original facility.

A synagogue in the front serves 50 persons. The kitchen is kosher.

IT ALL BEGAN IN THIS GREENSBORO HOUSE

Sally and Max ”Mack” Sands lived in this Greensboro home while their only son Marvin attended UNC Chapel Hill. After WWII Marvin founded Canandaigua Industries to sell bulk wine to bottlers in the East. To meet demand for table wines, he bought two NC scuppernong wineries in Onslow County and Manteo, NC, and added Tenner Brothers operations in Patrick, SC, in 1965. One thing led to another. Today big-board Constellation Brands is the world’s largest wine company doing $3.5 billion a year worldwide out of Fairport, NY. Son Richard Sands runs the show. Their wine, whisky and water brands include Manischewitz. 3300 Starmount Drive, corner Beverly Place.



PAYBACK TO GREENSBORO: PINEY LAKE CAMP

Abe Blumenthal opened his working class ready-to-wear store at 358 South Elm Street in Greensboro in 1926. It's still there, thank you, with son Bob running it. They did well, building a home on their 48-acre spread south of the city. They named it Piney Lake and donated it all to UNC Greensboro. Now it's UNCG Piney Lake Summer Camp where K-5 youngsters study outdoor environment. At 4016 Blumenthal Road that runs from Pleasant Garden Road to US 421.

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Mountain Corridor
JEWISH BENEFACTOR TURNED THOMAS WOLFE HOME INTO TOURIST DREAM

Funds volunteered by Asheville civic leader Harry Blumberg restored the childhood home of Thomas Wolfe in 1949. In his Look Homeward, Angel, Wolfe described his boyhood home as "Dixieland". Blumberg's funds made a popular museum out of the 29-room storehouse of memories. Center City at 52 North market St. Admission: adults $1, children 50¢. Open April-October 9AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM. November-March 10AM-4PM, Sunday 1-4PM, closed Mondays .

THE 3,500 ACRE CONE GIFT TO THE NATIONAL PARKS

Moses H. Cone Memorial Park includes 3,500 acres of gorgeous mountain property. On it are 25 miles of trails and the original Cone mansion containing exhibits of mountain crafts assembled by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. You can watch live demonstrations by mountain crafts people. Admission free. Open 7 days a week 9am-6pm May-October, 9am-4pm April, November December. At milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC.

WILDACRES RETREAT

Created by the Blumenthal family of Charlotte, Wildacres mountaintop retreat is devoted to interfaith and Jewish events in a stunning setting. Site of countless annual assemblies of religious and professional groups with nationally known guest speakers. Campus includes theater, dormitory, lounge, art and mineral exhibits, trails, dining hall, recreation facilities. Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Little Switzerland. NC near Gooch Gap and Wildacres Tunnel. Visitors welcome; advance notice needed.

TWO MONUMENTS TO THE JEWS' BEST FRIEND

The center of Asheville, NC, is dominated by an immense monument to Zebulon Baird Vance, NC governor, Freemason, U.S. senator and Charlotte attorney. Considered best friend of Jewish people in Carolinas in l9th century. Wrote and delivered his lecture, The Scattered Nation, praising the Jewish people and their faith to national audiences over many years. For decades B'nai B'rith and United Daughters of the Confederacy conducted annual services at this monument. Broadway and Patton Avenue.

Vance's birthplace is now a NC State historic park displaying the reconstructed pioneer homestead where he grew up. Outbuildings include loom house, spring house, toolshed, smokehouse, corn crib and slave cabin. You can see the desk where Vance wrote The Scattered Nation about the Jewish people, and the gold-handled cane given him by the Jewish youth of Wilmington, NC in 1874. Picnic facilities on grounds. From Asheville drive 12 miles on US 23 north to Weaverville and then to 911 Reams Creek Road. April-October: Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 1-5pm. November-March: Tuesday-Saturday 9am-4pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Free admission.
ASHEVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

This mountain city calls itself the smallest in the U.S. to support a JCC. The new 18,000 square foot facility includes social hall-gymnasium, 25-meter outdoor pool, kitchen, pre-school wing and multi-purpose rooms. A van brings children from four schools daily. Programs serve all ages with religious, social, sports, educational and arts activities. Just north of downtown on corner of Charlotte and Hillside streets.

CAMP JUDAEA

Five hundred Jewish children 8 to 17 enjoy fun and experiential education each summer at this Hadassah-owned mountain camp. Cabins, dining hall, softball, soccer, lake, 25-meter pool, roller hockey rink, horses/stables and auditorium. Open daily mid-June to August. 4 miles from Hendersonville, NC, on US 23 east.

HINDA HONIGMAN MUSIC LIBRARY

Brevard Music Center offers visitors a delightful music camp in the NC mountains with frequent concerts, noted guest artists and fine musicians. The music library contains orchestra, band and opera scores, and archives of performances dating from 1960. Named to honor Hinda Honigman, past president of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Free admission to visitors; small fees for concerts. Open late June to mid-August. 1000 Probart street, Brevard, NC.


SMALL TOWNS, BIG HEARTS

Possibly the thing the Carolina traveler will remember best is the way Jewish families in small communities contribute to the welfare of their non-Jewish neighbors. In Liberty, SC, population 4,000, a department store owner and accountant named Ralph Sarlin has given his home town its library, public park, post office building and free-loan equipment pool for the disabled. 19 miles west of Greenville, SC, on US 123.

WORLD'S LARGEST TEN COMMANDMENTS

Imagine a torah five feet tall — human size. Now imagine the Ten Commandments where each letter is five feet tall. That is the eye-feast awaiting you on a mountainside 18 miles west of Murphy, NC, on NC 294 near the Tennessee line. A century ago Ambrose Tomlinson came from Indiana to the NC mountains to found a new church, now 300 thousand strong in 86 counties. The church bought 210 acres including the mountain where Tomlinson prayed for guidance — a holy place like the one where Jacob beheld his ladder to heaven. There he created his Ten Commandments of lime, later in painted concrete — two giant tablets in English. Later several huge Christian symbols were added. It's called Fields of the Wood. Open daily year round. Picnic areas; no admission charge.



TRIBUTE TO VANCE AND JEWISH PEOPLE ON GROUNDS OF FAMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Next to a great church in little Fletcher, in the North Carolina mountains, stands this bronze and stone memorial. It reads, "In loving memory, Zebulon Baird Vance, Friend, Patriot, Philanthropist, Scholar, Orator, Statesman—Loyal friend to the Jewish people whom he honored in his classic lecture 'The Scattered Nation.'"

"Born near Asheville, NC, May 13 1830, elected Governor of North Carolina 1862-1864-1876, Senator from North Carolina 1879-1894, died in Washington, DC April 15, 1894, his body is interred in Riverside Cemetery, Asheville, NC"

It stands in a group of matching memorials outside Fletcher's historic Calvary Episcopal Church on US 25.

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Other Areas

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.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

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.

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.

In the old days Jews from Latvia with a knowledge of horses came to open four livery stables—not to care for show horses as in nearby Camden but mules that worked 100 thousand acres of cotton. The immigrants also got into retailing to help Bishopville grow.

When Rabbi Hector moved from Pueblo, Colorado, to become the first full-time professional, area Jews assembled to worship above Barodi’s Candy Kitchen and the Masonic Temple. “Rabbi” Karesh would come by bus to butcher cows at the ice house.

But the children grew up, never to come back home, and today only five Jews remain.

One superb artifact lives on, worthy of your visit. The SC Cotton Museum—shown here--occupies one of the former stables at 121 West Cedar Lane. E-mail sccottonmus@ftc-i-net for hours. The garden outside was designed by a noted SC Jewish sculptor and Bishopville native, Allan J. Sindler.





THE CAMDEN COMMUNITY

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.

At 1314 Broad Street are the Camden Archives and Museum. You can see personal letters, photos and documents of Bernard Baruch. Portraits of Bernard and famed father Simon Baruch are displayed. Graves of Camden's great old Jewish families can be seen at Beth El Cemetery.  Baruch. Wittkowsky. Wolfe. Hirsch. Heyman. Rich. Block. Geisenheimer. And a monument in memory of Marcus Baum, aide to Confederate General Joseph Kershaw. Drive to end of Meeting Street, turn right on Campbell Street, pass the Beth El Cemetery sign and enter the last gate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


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 Tenner’s 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 Tenner’s 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.

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.

 

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 region’s 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 congregation’s 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

That expertise led him to co-found the Palmetto Pigeon Plant that grew to become the largest squab farm in the world. His twin children, Wendell, Jr., and Patty Levy Barnett, developed it after him and in 1998 the Southern States feed co-op took over.

Today it breeds, raises, processes, packages and ships 14,000 squabs, pouissin (little chickens) and quail weekly. 85 West Wesmark Boulevard in Sumter.



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.

The Sindler home in situated at 2006 North Brailsford Road in Camden.

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.

The Army has honored his memory there by naming its new rec center the MG Robert K. Solomon Center. Get directions at the gate.

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Congregations in the Carolinas
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
North Carolina
Beth Israel Synagogue, 229 Murdoch Avenue, Asheville, NC
Temple Israel, 4901 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC
Beth El, 1004 Watts Street, Durham, NC
Beth El Conservative Synagogue, 1108 Monmouth Avenue, Durham, NC
Beth Israel, 2204 Morganton Road, Fayetteville, NC
Mountain Synagogue, c/o St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, Roller Mill Road, Franklin, NC
Beth David Synagogue, 804 Winview Drive, Greensboro, NC
Congregation Bayt Shalom, Box 2713, Greenville, NC
Beth Shalom of Lake Norman, P.O. Box 4345, Mooresville, NC 28117

Beth Meyer Synagogue, 504 Newton Road, Raleigh, NC
Temple Beth El, 580 West New Hampshire Avenue, Southem Pines, NC
Congregation Emanuel, 206 North Kelly Street, Statesville, NC
Beth-Israel Center, North Street, Whiteville, NC
B'nai Israel Synagogue, 2601 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, NC

South Carolina
Congregation Beth Israel, 401 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC
Synagogue Emanu-El, 5 Windsor Drive, Charleston, SC
Synagogue Beth Shalom, 5827 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC
Congregation Beth Israel, 425 Summit Drive, Greenville, SC
Temple Emanu-el, 406 65th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach, SC


ORTHODOX
North Carolina
Charlotte Torah Center, 5900 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC
Ohr Hatorah, 6619 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC
Beth El Orthodox Kehilla, 1004 Watts Street, Durham, NC (Orthodox Minyan downstairs in Conservative shul)
Congregation Ohr Torah, 1006 Lamond Avenue, Durham, NC
The Jewish Learning Experience, 903A Monmouth Avenue, Durham, NC (Sponsors Torah study in Durham-Chapel Hill area)

South Carolina
Brith Sholom-Beth Israel Congregation, 182 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC
Beth El, North Kings Highway and Calhoun Drive, Myrtle Beach, SC


LUBAVITCH
North Carolina
Ohr Hatorah, 6619 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC
Congregation Shaari Israel Lubavitch, 7400 Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh, NC 27615
Chabad House at Duke, 1109 Englewood Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
Chabad of Wilmington, Rabbi Moshe Lieblich, 2509 Battery Place, Wilmington, NC 28403, 910-343-4714

South Carolina
Chabad House, 6338 Goldbranch Road, Columbia, SC
Chabad House, 2803 North Oak Street, Myrtle Beach, SC


RECONSTRUCTIONIST
North Carolina
Chapel Hill Kehillah 1200 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, 919-942-8914.
Havurat Tikvah, c/o Jessica Saxe, 704-333-9106, Charlotte, NC