The Story of Samuel "Nails" Morton - The Chicago Jewish Historical

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FORMERLYSOCIETY NEWS
volumexiii.no.l.Oclober.
1989
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TheStoryof Samuel"Nails"Morton:A
20thGenturyChicagoGolem?
FreakAccidentCutsShortthe Lfe Of A Controversial
Character
by WalterRoth
alesof a mythicalclay creature,the "Golem." createdin the middle
agesby the famousRabbi Ldw (known as the "Maharal"),in part to
protectlhe Jewsof Pragueagainsttheir enemies,havelong beenpart
of Jewishfolklore.In keepingwith that lore, Jewshaveofterrromanticized
personswho havesteppedforth to protectthem from their enemies.
Many of theseindividualswere renownetland estecmedleadcrs,
philanthropists
or learncdscholars,wcll known to all. Bu( in the historyol'
the Jews in Chicgo there have been a number of personswho were
"gallant" defendersof their people,a la the "Golem," but who weresuspect
as far as some Jews and the secularauthoritieswere concerned. These
personshavefor lhe mosl part beenquietly forgotten,but lheir livescontain
bits of historyfascinatingin their retelling.
ti
il
A Golent Called "Nails" ?
One such personwho lived and died in Chicago in the early part
of this centurywas SamuelJ. Morton,who went by the nickname"Nails."
While some historianssay that Samuelwas bom in the old ghettoof the
Maxwell SIreetarea,he was in fact born on July 3, 1893,in New York City.
His parents,SarahGoodman and Frank Morton, were immigrants from
Russia. Samuel,the oldestof sevenchildren,came to Chicagoat an early
age with his father and stepmolherand was raisedin the Maxwell Street
ghettoareaat the turn of the cen(ury. His mother had died in New York
when he was very young,and his fatherhad remarriedby the time he came
to Chicago.
Sanruclgrew up in an area of rickety frame houses,one built on
top of another,without adequatesanitation,teemingwilh lhousandsof poor
EasternEuropeaninrmigrantsstrugglingto make a living. He inevitably
becanreacquaintedwith and was the productof the area'ssweatshops,
pushcartsand rag ancljunk dealers,atrd also ol'its vice and crir.ne.
Surrounding the Jewish ghelto were other immigrants of every
(trtltrtr?rl
olt t,l!?
h
November12
MeetingLooksat
YiddishTheater
in Chicago
SocietyWill Hear
Daruty Newnrunat
Ennnuel Congrcgation
backw ard l ook at t he Yiddish
l hcater i n C hi cr go will hc lhe
hi ghl i ghl ol ' Ihe Socict y's ncx(
meelingon Sundayafternoon.November
12, al Templ e E manuel. The f eat ur ed
spcakerwill be Danny Newman.public
relationsguru of cultureir Chicago and
the U.S.
The meeti ngwill begin wit h a
strcialhour and refreshnrentsat I PM wilh
the speaker's
address
scheduled
for 2 PM.
lt will be chairedby lhe Society'scurrcnl
president.WalterRoth. A brief quesrion
and answerperiodwill follow. As is Ihe
casewith moslSocietyevents.the mceting
t
ti nrc d
td\( 2
In his time-the early yearsof
this century*"Nails"Morton was popular.
nol ori ousand seemi nglyalways in lhe
news.SomeJewswereproudof him: some
were not. SocietyPresidentWalter Roth, a
studenlof unusualChicagoJews,rclirtes
the life and untimelydeathof lhis almost
forgotten character wit houl t r ying t o
answ erthe ol d quesl i on:Was he r eally
good for the Jews?
of generati ons of E ast er n Eur opean
immigrants.
Bus Service,Parking Availahle
LookingBack
WithGratitude
As Wellas Ahead
he end of t h i s J e w i s h y e a r 5 7 4 9
providesan opportunityto thank
our B oar d me mb e rs fo r th e i r
endeavorson behalf of the ChicagoJewish
HistoricalStrcictyduringthe currenlyear.
Sp a c edoes not pe rmi t m e to s i n g l eo u t
each direclor for his or her contribution,so
I us e t his oc c a s i o n l o l h a n k l h e m
co l lec liv ely on b e h a l f o f th e e n ti r€
membcrshipof the Society. In addition,I
woukl like lo lhank a numberof our busy
chairmenfor their specialacliviliesduring
th e pas t y ear : B u rt R o b i n , P ro g ra m
ChairmaniDr. Irwin Suloway,editor of this
quarterly;his wife Elaine,our Secretary
and office managcr:PastPresidcntNorman
Schwartz,for his researchaclivities par
e xc ellenc e; and H e rm a n D ra z n i n , o u r
Treasurer.
Our threesummerlourswerewell
a tte ndedand high l y s u c c e s s fu lT. h e s e
tours were underlhe able direclionof Leah
Axelrod and were led by Dr lrving Cutler,
Norman Schwartz,Mark Mandle and Dr.
JessicaYoung.My (hanksto all of them.
P..sldenl
Waltrr Rolh
Temple Emanuel is located al
5959 North Sheridan Road and can be
rcachcdvia CTA buses.which slop al the
door.Parkingis availablein an adjoining
lot.
The program was arrangedby
Burl Robin, Society vice-presidenland
programchairman,who will introducethe
speaker, S hi rl ey S orkin, hospit llit y
is in chargeof lhe socialhour.U
chairman.
my story on Samuel
summerresearching
"Nails" Morton aboul whom you can read
in anotherpart of this periodical. I also had
with a
lhe occasionto b€comeacquainled
m o s l fasci n{l i ng person, A l bcrt
" W a l l paper"W ol ff, a nal i ve C hi cagoan
w h o is the onl y member of " 1' he
(led by Elliol Ness)who is La ndsma n.sc haftc,t D i sp Id
Untouchables"
)'
still alive.He grew up at the sametime as
" N a i l s " Morton, but unl i ke " N ai l s," At SDertus Starts Next Motttlt
"Wallp{pcr" becamean undercoverlgcnl
in theearlydaysof lhe FBl. We hopelo be
he l argest and mosl am bilious
able lo carry his story in a later issueof
hi stori cal exhi bi ( ever m ount ed
ChicagoJeu'ishH istory.
sol el y by the S ociet y will be on
I look forwardto seeingeachof di spl ay at S pertusC ol lege of Jut iaica
y o u a l our future programsand shari ng starti ngN ovemberl . Me m ber s in good
with you storiesof our pastwhich add so slandingwill receivespecialinvitationsto
muchsparkleto our lives in lhe present.In attendl he recepl i onmar kingt he f or m al
the meantime,my besl wishesto you for openingon Wednesdayevening,Novernber
holidayand a healthy, 15,at 5:30PM at theCollege.
lhe Rosh Hashanah
prosperous
and happy New Yearto all of
To be held on the secondfloor of
year
you
5750.
for
lhe
College,
the openingwill include
Spertus
Preparing a Major Exhibit
Walter
Roth,
President
E
lighl
refreshments
and brief informaltalks
process
The Societyis now in the
aboutthemountingof lheexhibil.
o f planning an imp o rta n t e x h i b i t o n
The exhi bi t
deals wi( h
in Chicago.This exhibit
Landsmanschaften
l andsnranschaften,
the fr iendly societ ies
is fundedin part by a grantby the lllinois
formedby Jew i shi mmi g r ant sdur ing t he
H um ani( iesCounc i l a n d w i l l b e h e l d a t
fi rst century of Jew i sh set llem enl r n
w
i
th
l
h
e
o
p
€
n
i
n
g
M
us
eum.
Sp er t us
C
hi cago.Thesesoci eti est ypically wer e
scheduledf or Nov e m b e r 1 5 , 1 9 8 9 .C o Contit ted [,ont lirst |dse
formedby individuaiswho had come frotn
of this eventJanetHagerup, will be opento all wilhoutcharge.
Chairpersons
the sameEuropeanregion.often a shlcll.
Dr. Adele Hast and Sidney Sorkin have
andwho bandedlogethcrto providemuluirl
we
and
summer
on
the
exhibil
sp€nta busy
SpeakerHas Urtusual
aid to eachotherin a strangeland. Helpfor
a re gr at ef ul f or t h e i r p e rs i s te n c ea n d
the needyand medicaland burialaid werc
QualiJications
enthusiasm.
AlthoughDannyNewmanis b€sl their primary original purposesalthough
Lim it ati o n s o f s p a c e p re v e n t
menlioning by name the many members k n o w n for hi s w ork i n bui l di ng a suc- l ater. as some grew and pr osper ed.I lr c
ofl en assunr edolher
who hav e ac t iv el y c o n l ri b u te dto s u c h cessfulsubscriptionbaselo help finance l andsmanschaften
rol es: soci al . rel i gi ous and polit ical.
ongoingactivitiesas our oral hislory and Lyric Operaand for his popularguidek)
hc hashada lonS and S everal founded ce m et er ies iln( l
c a tn p a i g n , culturalfundraising.
a rc hiv e pr ojec ls .m e m b e rs h i p
manyof whichsurviveloday.
(onnccti{rn
with
Yitili.h thcatcritt its synagogues.
hospitalilyaclivitiesand the Doris Minsky close
lale
years
was
lhe
husband
of
the
m
u
l
ti
fa
c
e
te
d
later
and
f
und
.
Ou
r
mo noglaph
a chiev em entin
s lh e b y w a y so f C h i c a S o DinaHalperin,one of theYiddishtheater's On Di.rplav Through.lanuu't,
Jewishhistorydependuponlhe unseenand lastgreatslars.
The exhi bi r. which will be on
laborof scoresof
too often unrecognized
H i s speech i s expected Io
displaylhroughJanuary,I990. includcsa
varieddisplayof memenlos.
maps,pholos.
indivicluals.
e mp hasi zethe mul l i facetedrol e of l he
past
lhe
in
Chicago
during
list
s an( l audio
thealer
rul
e
books,
membersh
ip
Yiddish
for
lhe
enle
ainment.
places
a
vehicle
lt
inevilably
major
enrphasrs
century
as
tapes.
of
Research
A Sunnter
development
I
he
lar gest
and
emotional
soci
el
i
es
formed
by
acculturalion
upon
o
f
th
e
s
Pe
n
t
I . m y s e l f,
Pa rt
CJHSMembers
WillGetlnvitations
To ExhibitOpening
NextMeeting
November12
immigrant component,Jews from Eastem
Europe.But evidencelhal such socielies
were formed also by CermanJews as well
as by non-Jewishimmigrantsfrom all over
Europeis alsoexpectedto be included,
T he dis pl a y w i l l c o n ta i n i te ms
friendlysocieliesas
relaringto non-Jewish
,a resultof the participation
in theexhibitof
th e Cz ec hos lov a kH e ri ta g eMu s e u mo f
Be r wy n. T he en l i re e x h i b i t i s ma d e
possiblein part by a grant providedby lhe
Il l inois Hum anit i e s C o u n c i l a n d th e
NationalEndowmentfor the Humanities.
Meeting Relatedto Exhibit
with thedisplay,the
In connection
So c iet y will be ho l d i n g i ts J a n u a ry l 4
meeting in BedermanHall, which adjoins
the exhibitareaat SperlusCollege. It will
fe a t ur e a panel d i s c u s s i o n o n th e
to the
contributionsof landsmanschaften
a cc ult ur alionof J e w i s h i m m i g ra n ts to
America. Detailsof the Januaryprogram
will appearin the next issueof Chicago
JewishHistory
Changing c o n d i ti o n s , th e
proliferationof govemment-provided
social
se r v ic es and ihe c u t-o ff o f J e w i s h
immigrationin and afler the yearsbelween
the world wars have resultedin a dramalic
d e c line in t he numb e r a n d a c ti v i ti e so f
in lhe Chicagoarea.
landsmanschaften
Dfficult To Assentble
Cons equ e n l l y , th e e xh i b i t
co m m it t ee lr ad lo s c ra m b l e to l o c a te
appropriatematerialsfor lhe projecl. Aided
p rim ar ily by S id n e y S o rk i n , a C J tIS
boardmemberwho has been researching
for several
Chicagoarea landsmanschaften
yearsand is an authorityon the subjecl,CoChairmenJanel Hagerupand Dr. Adele
Hast have beenassemblingmaterialsand
lechnicaltalentto mount the show for more
than a year.Their efforts have beenhelped
frorn Cecile Marguliesand
by assislance
also by Olga Weissof SpertusCollegeof
Judaica.
delailshaveneeded
"lnnumerable
attention."said Ms. Hagerup."ln addition
to loc at ing, c olle c ti n g , s e l e c (i n g a n d
d i s play ing niale ri a l s , w e h a v e h a d to
a rr ange f or s uc h th i n g s a s l e a fl e ts fo r
d i s t r ibut ion at lh e e x h i b i t, p u b l i c i ty ,
antl printing.Yet l nt certain
refreshmenls
that the end resull will be well worth the
immenseeffo[ involved."
The exhibitcan be visitedduring
week day sand ev e n i n g s(e x c e p lF ri d a y s )
andon Sundayaiernoons.lt will be in the
se c ondf loor gr llc ry o l S p e rl u sC o l l c g c .
6 1 8 S oulhM ic hig a nA v c n u eT. h c rcw i l l b e
U
no chargefor admission.
A slrln.d el!r! wlndow
!l lh. old Chlclgo Slnll
Cong1.g!llonbulldlng
vllllrd on onr of thc
lummar loulr. Thr
alruclura !t Forty-Shlh
SlrG.t md Klng Drlve
(tolmcrlyGllnd Blvd.)l.
now till. Pl!0!h Church
Pnob bt hxlb
SummerTours
OnceMoreProve
To Be Popular
Attractions
MembersFind Bus Trips
Enjoyableond Rewarding
he C hi cago rew i sh H i stori cal
S oci ety ended one of i ts most
on
successful
summerlour seasons
S u n d ay.A ugust 20 w i l h a new tout of
buildings,
significanlSoulhSidesynagogue
accordingto S<rcietyTours ChairmanLclh
Axelrod. That lour, led by Mark Mandle
and Dr. JessicaYoung.was one of lwo new
b u s tours on thi s summer' s three-tour
schedule.
The other new tour. a qutck
s e l l o ul , w as an al l -day one on Jul y l ()
e x p l o ri ngJew i shcommuni ti esi n the l ar
Kenosha
North Shorecitiesof Waukegan,
anrlRacine.ll wasled by Mrs.Axelrodand
NormanSchwartz.includedlunchen roule
a n d al so l eatured bri ef tal ks by Iocal
in threecities.
speakers
The third buslrip wasa rcpealon
"besl
July9 of Dr. IrvingCullcr'spcrerrnial
scllcr. ChicagoJcwishRoots.o k)urol lllc
s l hc W cst
o l d J ew i sh nei S hborhoo(lon
Sidc.lhc NorthwestSideand RogcrsPark.
SchrrE
It too wasa quick sell-oui.
Unable To At'commodateAII
"We are sorry that we are not able
1o accommodateall who would like to go
on our tours,"said Mrs. Axelrod,"butwe
are l i mi l ed by bus ca pacily and t he
all of whom
availabilityof our lour leaders,
donale their services."She promisedto
themostpirpulartoursin
considerrepeating
future summersand l o conlinuet o give
membersfirst noticeas toursare scheduled.
Members alsoget lower rates.
During lh€ dozen yearsthat Mrs.
Axelrod hasdirectedsummerSundaylours
for the Sociely,over lhirty-five deparlures
on half- and whole-dayexcursionshave
beenmade.While mosl of the (ourshave
beento variouspartsof Chicagoand its
nearbysuhurbs.hi B hl y successf ult r ips
have been made to placesas far afield as
M i l w aukee. W i sconsi n and Ligonier .
Indiana.
"We are most fortunateto have
Leah di recti ngour tour pr ogr am . "said
walterRolh."Any membcr
CJHSPresident
who hasever beenon a Socielyiour will
tour
atteslto that. As both a professional
guide and a local Jewishhostorian,Leah
providesour memebersand their friends
with truly nremorable
experiences."
i ons for possiblelour s
S uggest
ncxt year w i l l bc w elconr cd by M r s.
who cnnbe reached
al 412-7(X)-1.
Axclro(1.
I.J.S.Ll
3
A GrandsonRecollects:
An
Inter-Generational
Memoir
that had no sonsi or if no family without a son could be
found in their shtetl or in neighboringshtetls,some time
before call-up a son put his right forefingeron a butcher
block and-whanr!, just below the knucklehe had no more
trigger finger. (Southpawshad not been invented yet. lt
took American baseballto createthem. Well, all right,
Conflict Not Inevitable
maybe they were invented.but they weren't recognized.)
My father'scousin,Abe Kagan, had a missing forefinger
Betn,eenYoungand ]ld
like that. It chilled-and thrilled-me when I noricedir ar
age
nine or ten andmy fatherexplainedit to me.
by Mike Hecht
Well, my grandfatherwasone of nine children,four
n 1840,Abe Lincoln was a Congressmanfrom the
of
them
boys. The last-bornboy, he was borrowed or
Stateof Illinois. The City of Chicagowas threeyears
"adopted"by a childlessfamily narnedEcht or Hecht.What
old. Texas was still a oart of Mexico. American
(noble) or Hecht (pike) doing in
Indians still roamed the weslern plains, chasing the was a GermanicEcht
plentiful buffalo and the wagon trains of the white eastemEurope?Who knows?Probablyfarblonget.
Some time after the lurn of the present
who had come to steal their lands and put the
trespassers
century-when
the War To End All Wars was to be fought,
buffalo on the nickel. The California gold rush and the
and
the
world
nrade
safe for democracy,and hunger and
national revolu(ionsof 1848 in Europe were eight years
want
pain
and
maybe
too were lo disappearfrom the earlh,
away. The British Empire was growing wider still and
and
man
was
to
become
brother to man the universe
wider, unmindful of the White Man's Burden it was to
part
around-as
of
the
Great
Exodus from Russia ihat
create. Louis Pasteur had not yet made his great
began
after
the
Kishinev
massacre
of the Jews in the early
immunizationdiscoveries,and lgnaz Semmelweishad not
grandfather
1880s,
my
emigrated
to
Americaand settledin
yet been houndedto madnessand deathby the dociorsof
Chicago.
South
to
exact.
He ran a kosher
Chicago,
be
Vienna for informing them that they were killing mothers
butcher
shop
on
Commercial
Avenue.
Plucked
chickens.
and babies in childbirlh by nol washingtheir hands.And
Cut
meat.
Gave
honest
measure.
Kept
his
thumb
off lhe
my father's father, Aaron Echt, was bom to Velvel Garber
you,
when
wasn't
scale.
All
this,
mind
he
in
schul,
the
of Marinke and his wife Chaya Rachelin that portion of
Bikur
Cholim
Houston
Synagogue
on
Avenue,
davenning
Eastern Europe which periodically wandered back and
forth between Russia and Poland even though the land or studying. The building still stands at 8927 South
itself nevermoved.Excepttenestially,that is. How doesa Hou ston. the oldest building in continuous use as a
man whosefather'slast name is Garberwind uo an Echt? synagoguein Chicagoand known as "ihe congregationthat
would not die."
Or a Hecht?
My first memory of him was at our family club
ln thosedaysof CzaristRussia,therewas universal
(Rivke Family Verbang)partyon a Sundayeveningin 1923
military conscription...except,
that is, for only sons or for
sonswith no triggerfinger.Mindful of the admonition,"lf at the old JewishPeople'slnstitute,thenon TaylorStreeton
you're gonna fight, fight for somethingworthwhile," Chicago's Near West side, around the corner from Jane
cognizantof the fact that the Czar of all the Russiashad no Addams' Hull Houseon Halsted,to celebratehis and nry
grandmotherSarahMalkah'ssixtiethweddinganniversary.
use for Jewsexceptto kill them when it becameexpedient
to divert the attentionof the Russianpopulacefrom their You understand,in those days people who got married
hungerand rotten living conditions;and awareof the facl tended to stay that way. He was eighty-three. My
grandmotlrer,
who was also his niece,was eighty-four.I
that being Jewishwas not permitted in the Czar'sanny (a
was
fbur.
soldier had to eai treyf, he couldn't say his prayers,they
I see him still: not tall,five feet six, maybe seven,
wouldn't let him study the Hebrew religious texts-a
Jewish boy could leavethe army, if alive, a goy), Jewish but proud and erect. Dignified. Full beard slreakedwith
families with multiple sonstook advantageof one or boih gray. Black yarmulke on his head. Twinkling eyes. A
cheerfulexpression,
and lief as not, a smile on his face.A
of the exemptions.
pleasant
thoroughly
man.
Outgoing.A man who enrbraced
Sons were farmedout, in name that is, to families
humankind.
All us kids got some kind of presentfor heing at
While this articleby Mike Hechtis morea personal that celebration.Mine was a flaming red hook-and-ladder
memoir than our usualpieceson local Jewishhistory,the fire engine.That presentalso becamemy inlroductionto
recounted one of the sad truthsof life: thal pleasurecan get mixed up
editorsfeel that the incidentsand relationships
will recallfor manya way of Jewishfamily living in with pain:that losscan follow hardupongain.
Chicagowhichwasoncequitecommonbut is now,alas,
We lived, my fatherChayim and nry motherRivke.
quite vanished.We defy you to readit and not be moved. in the first floor rear apartmentof a wooden,cold water
Mr. Hecht,thoughnow a seniorcitizen,is still activein four-flat on MaplewoodAvenue,a half block south of
and writesfor trade North Avenuc,on Chicago'sNear Northwestside. Living
chemicalengineering
as a consultant
publication3.
He is a longtimeresidentof Deerfield.
with us was one of nry father'snephews,Henry,thcn in his
{,'
,t ,'-
tr
The grandfather and his protege: 1933
Note the Yiddlsh "Forward" ln hl3
pocket at age nlnaty-lhrse.
eally twenties,
and who sanq
the most marveloussongs,like "Oh! It Ain't Gonna Rain
No More No More" and "You Can't Get to Heaven in an
Old Ford Car." We had moved to Maplewood Avenue
earlierthat year from Watseka,a little countrytown of five
or six thousandin eastcenlralIllinois, my parentsand I and
nry favorite possession,a Iow-slung tricycle with a flat,
broad wooden seat.The tricycle was stored outside our
backdoor underthe porchof the secondfloor
I'd slepton my father'slap on the streetcars
going
gala, huggingmy new fire
home from my grandfather's
engine treasureto my bosom. I woke as we got off the
Nonh Avenuetrolley,and the block and a half walk to our
househaclnre all awake.When we got to lhe back door, I
saw my belovedtricycle was gone.Somcbody-obviously
an anti-Sernite,
rnay he rot in hell-had stolenil wlrile we
werecelebratingZadie'ssirlcha. I neversaw it again. The
fire enginewas nice, in fact a darb,but it didn't compareto
my tricycle. How could it? No possessionin my whole
Iife ever was so dearto rne. I criedmyselfto sleep.
Eight or nine years later,at age ninely-two,and
now a widower and retiretl. Zadie nroved from South
Chicagolo Albany Park, on Chicago'sNorthweslside, to
Iive wilh his son, my Uncle Max, and his wife, nly Aunt
Libby, who if she were Catholic would be enshrincdas a
saint,in a big brick apartmenlbuildingon Lawndaleand
Leland. I was now twelve.a secondsemeslerfreshntanat
Roosevell(Theodore,that is) High School. My maternal
grandfather,who
had bcen living with us, had died some
monlhs before, and we had then moved to another
apartmentin the neighborhoodon Sawyer and Wilson,
preciselya mile from whereZadie was now living. In May
I wasto be bar mitzvah.
Of course,I was chederbochcr at Beth Yitzchok,
The Drake Avenue Synagogue(Orthodox,what else!),
fortuitouslypositionedbetweenZadieand me, and easyfor
him to be there the three times a day
assemblein a minyan to pray, and betweentinle to study
Chumash and "lerrn a blatt" Gemorrah. Of course my
father.mv Uncle Max andZadiewereall members.
By this time I had come lo know my zadie.cnd I
respecledhim and liked him-and loved him. He was
cheerful,always had a smile, a quip, a heartygreeting,a
hug, a kiss-he was alive and vibrant and aware of the
world aroundhim. The truth is, howevershamefulil may
be, that I lovedhim evenmorethan I lovedmy parents.Ile
was the first person in my life-and I am among the
blessedof nrankind:therelravebeemothers;-hadhe saitl,
"Walk on water!",I would havealtemptedit without asking
how deep, how far, how cold. will I make it to the other
side.
My last chederteacher,"Doc"Levy, was a vcry
capablepedagogue.What am I talking,capable:I leame(l
more in nry one year with him and was inspircdlo nrorc
leamingthan in all my sevenchederyearsbefore. And ol'
courseZadiewasalso in the neighborhood.But nry parents
decidedI should be preparedfor my bar mitzvah hy nry
motlrer'sbrolher-in-law,Uncle Henry Crystal.in Soulh
Shore. And oh! did he prepareme! Bul thal'sanotherstory.
Anyhow, al my bar mitzvah that Shabbosin the
Drake Schul, Rabbi Siegelwas unableto locale thc har
mitzvah pin and cusscd up a blue streak under his
breath-l'd neverhcardsuchpurpleprosein nry lil'eheforc
and seldomafter. The famedchazanTevcleCohensangup
a storm and was hc good! The Montlay nrorningafler.
Zadieshowedup at my home,a[ sevena.m.mind you. with
a oair of tfillirn and announcedthat since I was now
officially a man, in the Judaicsenseof course,I could start
behavinglike one. That is to say,beforegoingolTto school
I couldput on my tallis."leg" tlillim anddavcnSchachriss.
This I neededlike a hole in thc head. Bul I so
o,tti
trcl trt |tu<( 9
5
"Nails"MortonStory
n
tiut?tl J) oDt lirst paRc
kind-ltalians, Irish, Germans,Polesand Greeks---quite
as
poor as the Jews and often engagedin gang warfarewith
them.
A Produrt tf the Ma.tn ell Strcet Atea
The Twentieth Ward districi, which included the
Jewish ghetto and its thoroughfareMaxwell Street, was
often referredto as the "Bloody Twentieth." As one writer
describedthe Twentieth Ward in 1906."Murderers. robbers
and thievesof the worst kind were bom, rearedand grew to
maturity in numbersthat far excel the recordof any similar
districtanywherein the world....FromMaxwell camesome
of the worst murderers,if not actually the worst, th t
Chicagohasever seen." Certainlyan exaggeration,
but one
containingsomeelementsof truth.
Samuel's father, Frank, was a tailor: and the
original family abodewas on JohnsonStreet,a few blocks
from Maxwell Street.They were apparentlyYiddishspeakingOrthodox Jews like most of their neighbors.
Samueland his brother,Paul.appearto have worked at an
early agefor a local whiskeydistributor,Hannahand Hogg,
and one of their bosses was a man named Morton.
Whatever (he reason,sometimein theseearly years (he
fatherchangedthe family namefrom Marcovitzto Morton.
on him he beggedfor lhe privilegeof returning
at
onceto his command.Thiswasrefused.Thc
incident
lalcrbrought
hisofficialrecognition
by the
Frenchgovernnrent.
Whendischarged
from a basehospital.
Sergeant
Mortonwar sentto an officers'lraining
schoolin Franceandtherewon his comnrission
asa
secondlieutenant.L{ter he waspromoted
and
returned
to Chicagoa firstlieulenanl.
His farneas a war hero won him wide acclainrin
the Jewish communiiy. Meites' Hi.slory of the .leu's of
Chirugo, published in 1924,containsa paragraphabout
SamuelMorton,his war medalsand his statusas a war hero
and lists hirn on an Honor Pageof ChicagoJewishheroes
of World War I.
Afler the war ended,Ihe victoriousl32nd Inlirntry
returnedto Chicagoand paradedthroughChicagoslrectsto
the Coliseum.with First LieutenantSamuel J. Morlon
leading one group as his parentsand siblings proudly
lookedon.
Ftont Gantblirtg to Boolleggitrg
Nails now retumedto his old hauntsand wen( to
work as a gamblerand the operatorof a "hot car" garage.
One reporlerwrote:"His willingnessto acceptalmostany
kind of odds offeredquickly won for him a start of his
fortune. He becane proprietorof severalwell-known
gambling houses,and his fortune mounted rapidly." By
1920,with the onset of Prohibition,Nails had become
Hou' He Got His Nit'knante
involved in the bootleg whiskey trade "which
It was at this lime that Samuelas a young lad won honeycombed
the city and state."
his nicknameo[ "Nails" in gang fights. How he ran afoul
He also becamea fanriliarringsidefigure at the
of the law in this early part of his life is not clear.but principalboxing matchesin Chicagoand elsewherewhere
accordingto policereportshe was in frequenttrouble. Bill his "Bct five grandon the man in nly corner" marlehinr a
Reilly, a Chicagowriter who has made the li[e of Nails cclebrily. Betsof $5,(XX)to $ 10,0U)cachwere"mallcrsof
Morton one of his specialties,suggeststhat he rose to the commonoccurrcncewith him." Hc owned a nunber of
leadershipof local Jewish gangsand becanrepart of the prizefightels.
West Side gambling and sporls crowd. in which prizelle was a fancy dresser and a favoritc al the
fightingwasan aclivilygreatlyadmired.
nightclubsand was saidlo be a "culturctlgenllcnrarr"
u ho
Thcsc Jewishgangsprolectedtheir neighborhoods fronledfor the mob.
againstincursionsby non-Jcwishgangs. Nails was arresie(l
Wonren fought for his attcrrlionarrd "lrcqucnl
during one cnglgementwhen he and somefricndslook on clashcs"bctweenthcsecnlertainers
ovcr the atlenlionsof
some Polesaflcr a Jewishboy was atlackedin Hunrbokll Nuils wcrc recordetl.Hc was frequcnlly sccn in Sorrth
Park. Whcn he wts hroughlup lbr scntencing.lcgerrdhns IIavcn. Michigan.whcre his lanrily ou,ncdil coltlgc iln(l
it that a locirljudgc oflcrc<lMorlon lhc oplion of going lo wherc rrrarryol his Chicago bLrddicswcnt to rcilx lur(l
juil or.jorninglhe AnrcricanArnry.Morlon enlisted in lhc watchtheir I'ightcrs
llain for the boxingnratchcs
1olrc hcld
U.S. Army, the l32nd Intantry.the "Dandy First" lllinois irrChicago.
regiment which became part of the fanrous Rainbow
Division afterAmericaenteredWorld War I in l9 I 7.
Urtdaru'orId Cotrle(ti( .1
Nails roseto lhe mnk of sergcantand bccanc a wtr
Nails also bccarncinvrrlverlrvith sorrrclt-gcrrrlrrr'1,
hcro.Thc Chie.qo llaruld f',rrnrllrc,tclls it lhis rvay:
.lcwislrurrdcluorl(lchilrirclcts
of thc -Iu'c nticllr
Wirltl.srrclr
In Fr ncc he won a french war cross uhcrr
as Bcnjanrin"Buddy" and Sarruel"thc Glccnic"Jacobsorr.
hc bcgged lor the privilcge ol rcioining his cornpany
llershieand Max Miller. Maxie Eiscn,I sadore"Niggcr"
aftcr hc had been lwice woundcd in lcading a parry
Goldbergand David Elnan. Hcrshicand Max Millcr wcre
of conrratjcs"over lhe lop." He hrd gonc out lt thc
brothersof Davey Miller, a l-riendo[ Nails who uwrrcria
heaclof a small raiding squad. Hc was the only onc
West Side restaurantand oool hall and later bccanrca
of thc party to return.
larnousliglrt rel-eree
and "protector"ol Jews in his own
llc was rushcd lo a field hosnital. uhcre a
right.
hLrllctwound in ln anr and a shrapnelwound in a lcg
But Nails antl his lricndscuuld nnt conroctewith
wcrc drcsscd.As lhe surgeonscornpletctllhcir work
6
battlein the noloriousPekinBeauxArts Cafe
at 2700 SouthStateStreet. Bill Reilly claims
that his research indicates that the two
detectives had tried to "shake Nails and
Hershie down," and when they refusedthe
delectives made anti-Semitic rem ark s.
causingNails and Hershieto reach for their
guns.
Nails claimedhe was innocent,and in
two trials borh Hershie and Nails were
acquitted by juries, amidst allegationsof
bribery and threats to witnesses. A Chicago
historianput it this way: "By spreadinga little
money around, and by virtue of the faci that
his gang regularlydeliveredlhe vote for the
Jewishpoliticiansof the WestSide,he [Nailsl
got off on a plea of self-defense."
l
I
I
- Becomesa Public Fipurz
"Nails" Morton on hls horse, possibly ihe tatal one
The Chicago papers wrote a great
deal about Morton's popularity,his power and
his friends. They also reveal that he was
arrested on numerous occasions and
questioned concerning various liq uor
hijackingsand killings. He obviouslywas an
living high
elegantandglamorouspersonality,
in the ruzzle-dazzleof the early Prohibition
years.At the sametime, storiesspreadof how
his gangs also protected Jews whenever
, Polish and other gangs threatenedJewish
neiehborhoods.
ln his classic work, T,lreGung- A
Sturll, of I ,3 l3 Gangs in Chicago, Dr.
FredericM. Thrasherof the University of
Chicagowritesthat in the winterof 1920-2I
greattensionarosein Chicagoover Russian-
From
!n ordPhoroe.ph
Jewish massacres then occurrinq in Europe.
the gangsof non-Jcwslhal surroundedthe TwcnliclhWard.
C)nlhe onc sidc wcre the lbrccs of Dion O'Banion. Bugs
Moran and Hynie Weiss (who was Polish,not Jewish);on
the other side were the gangs of Johnny Torrio and a
ncwconrcr.AI Capone. Cauglllhetweenlhesenrobs.lhc
Jcws pickcdsitlcs. Nails choscan old lriend.lhc robslcr
Dion O Banion, rrr lrislttnan wlro. in lttidrtiott lo his
bootl egging,
laborracketcering
anil bankrobbcryaclivilies
ran Scholieltls lloli st shopopposilelkrly NanreCathedral
at 738 Norlh StatcStrcet.Morton was said also to have
hadan interestin thc shop.
On thc lanrily side, Nails sccn'rs1o havc bccn a
paragonol virtuc. fic bouglrta two-llar buildingal ]10-5
Augustal]oulevaldlbr his parenlsandhis siblings,andwas
generallyknown as a gencrousrran who gavemany gifis to
lriendsantl fanrily nrcmbcrs.
Chargetlv'ilh Killittg
Nails hit the big Chicago hc:rdlinesin August.
1920. when he was arrestedwith Hcrshie Miller and
accuscdof havingshot and killcd lwo dclcclivcsin a gun
The Polcsproposcda paradeclownDivision Slreetthrough
Jcwishneighborhoods.
A gangof youngJews,seventeen
lo
twenly-threeyearsof age, tlren took the rniltterinto their
own hands. They armedthemselves
with gunsand barrcd
thc way of the parade,which then clrosca Milwaukee
wtitcs.
Avcnucn)Utcinstead.A lcw rnonlhslatcr.'l'hatchcr
*'hen
i[ was runroredthatJcwishboyshad becrrassaulted
passingthrougha Polishconrmunity.
l h e r e u p o n a g a n g o f y o u n g Je w s
(consrdercdsluggcrsin lhc ncighborhood)asscnrblcd
and. lcd by "Nails." nraclefor the Polish district lo
s c c k r r p o l o g i c s . T h e y w e r ) l l ( ) l h e s l r e c l co r n cr s
i u d i c a t c t l b y t h c b o y s *h o h a r l b c c n a t t i r ckcd a n tl
stitrtcda lrcc-li)r-lll fi8ht. Alter a sullicicnl anroLrnl
ol-physical punishnrcnlhad been administcrcd.they
wilhdrcw.
Thc clashesconlinucdfrcquentlyduringthis tirne.
One Saturtlaya garrgof Jcwishboys playingbaseballin
l)ouglasPalk was atlackedby about thirty Polish boys.
Thc ncws ol lhc attack reachedthe Jewish poolroonrs.
lhalcherwritcs:
A man like "Nails".wentinto the fight for
revenge.A goodmanyothers,includinghigh-school
boys,amateurprize fightersand hangers-on
of the
poolroomswere eagerfor the fun of "helping the
Hebeshidelhe Pollocks."Their sloganwas"Wallop
lhe Pollocks" and they rushedfifty strong lo lhe
sc€neof the battle. Finally. policemendispersed
whatwasleftof thePolishgang.
lhe ci(y. slateand federalgovernment
attended.
Hundreds
of dollarsworlhof flowersweresenlto the
chapelby friends.
Recordsshow that Rabbi Felix Levy of Temple
Emanuelofficiatedat the servicesheld at Piser'sand not
JuliusLevi. as the abovearticleindicated.
The Chicago Sentinel carried a simple obituary
announcingMorton's death with no mention of heroic or
criminal fame. The ChicagoJeu'ishCourier (Yiddish)
Reputatiotr as Dafender 0f Jey's
It was alongthe frontiersof Humboldtand Douglas carried Nails'death announcementunder the headline,
"Nails Morton Killed From Horse While Riding." The
Parks that Nails Morton's reputationgrew as defenderof
Courier reported that Nails had amasseda [ortune,
the Jews. Thatcher'sresearchindicatedthat there were
especially
sinceProhibition.It notedthat he wasone of the
about twenty Jewish gangsin Chicagoin the early 1920's,
first
in
Chicago
to enlist when the United Stalesenlered
about two pcrcent of all the gangs that he counted in
World
War
I
and
that he had distinguishedhirnselfby his
Chicago. Another gang to which Morton was said to
heroismin battle.
belong,the WWW's, had Jewishand non-Jewishmembers
who excelledin pugilism.
The " Fortarc" Vanishcs
Thatcher writes that the WWW's "s uccessfully
Nails left a will datedDecember31, 1921,which
stemmedan invasionof Lawndalefrom the southwestby
was duly probatedin the ProbateCourt of Cook County
Polish gangs inlent on following the example of their
wilh thenJudgeHenry Hornerpresiding.It lelt bequestsof
countrymcn acrosslhe scas and holding a pogronr in lhe
to $3,000to his brolhersand sistcrsand $.5.fiX)to
$2,500
Jewishresidentialarea."
charitiesto be chosenby the Executor(his brotherPaul),a
trust fund of $20,m0 for the benefitof his fatherand any
His Sutlclen Death
residueoutright to his father.His stepmother,Bessie,was
On the moming of May | 3, 1923,Morton, by now
not mentionedin the will.
an experiencedhorseman,went horsebackriding with his
The inventoryof his estatelistedonly two accounts
friend Dion O'Banion and Dion's wife in Lincoln Park. He
receivable,
valued at approximately$15,000. The estate
was dressedin an "immaculategreen sportscoat, cream
was closedin 1927,an unusuallylong time for the proba(e
coloredriding trousersand riding boots."The horse,which
of a small estate,by which time, the court recordsindicate,
Morton had recently purchased,bolted when the stirrup
Nails' fatherhaddied.
strap broke. Morton lost his balanceand fell. The horse
If Nails died a rich man, no parl of it ever canreto
becamefrightenedand kicked Morton, cracking his skull
the
attenlion
of the ProbaleCourt. A lotal of $12,{XX)in
and killing hirr. He was not yet thirly yearsold.
assetswas located.meaningthat only proratcdsumscould
Morton's body was taken to Piser's at 4936
be distributedto the legatees.
No recordhasyet beenlound
Broadway,thoughthe actualfuneralwas heltl tlre next day
of the "fortune" which Nails was said to haveamassecl.In
at Piser's Roosevelt Road Chapel, with interment at
fact. the court recordsconlain a recitationthat his brothcrWaldheim cemetery. His death certificate lists his
Paul had to donate $2.-500out of his own I'unds lo
occupationas a florist.
CongregationAnshe Kanesses
Israel,then locatedat 34lll9 Douglas Boulevard, in dischargeof the charilable
Ttibute at Funerul
bequcstcontainedin SamuelMorlon's will.
The funeral was reportedby the ChicagoHrrzrltl
E-ranlinel as follows:
.l eu'ish Esrabl i shnrcntN ot Il dlrpy
Tributc trt "Nail.r" Morton. Fiye Thousand
There was a grea{deal of unhappiness
on thc part
.lcrllishPcoplc Attctld thc Funerul Attlaining Hinr
of
certain
leaders
Jewish
communal
over
the
cmotional
Pt otcttor
response
of
the
Jewish
masses
to
Nails'
tleath.
One year
F un e ra ls e rv i c e sth i s a fte rn o o nb r oughl
aftcr his death, an anniversarynrenrorialservicc was
dr.maricallyto light a phaseo[ the gangchieftain's
apparentlycancelledat the behestof GeneralAbel Davis,
knewwhilc he wasalive.
clraracter
thatfew outsiders
who had bccn Morton'scommandingofficcr in France.Thc
Fivethousand
JewsDridlributeto Mortonas lhc man
who trradetlrewestsidesafefor his racc. As a young
Chicogo Daily Nex'irwrote:
societyto drive 'Jew
manhe hadorganized
a defense
"thcyaremaking
Davissaidlhathethought
bailers' from the wesl side. Srreake.sat the brief
a mistake
in flaunting
a man'srecordin thcfaccsof
servicesextolledMorton for his work for his race
decent
citizens".
Theincongruous
associations
in the
and for his gallantryin the world War. The olher
mcmbership
list of thc proposed
associirtion
suggcsl
sideof lhc carcerthatcn(ledwasnol mentioned.
lhe lifc that Morton lived. To onc sct of
Therewerereligious.fraternal,
andnrililary
hewasa gallanlsoldier,
acquaintances
lo anothcr
sel
s er v ic es ,wil h R a b b i J u l i u s L e v i , th c El k s. and
M or t on' s f or me r " b u d d i e s "o f l h e O n e H undred
Twenty-lhirdIsicl Infantryofficiating.Officialsof
8
a dauntlessdefenderof Jewry.and lo lhe police a
gangsler
with theslayingof two ;xrlicemen
notorious
chargcdagainsthinr.
,w a s a
former Cook County Recorder. He was active in military and maybe, maybeeven passit on to my children and, who
circles and had receivedthe DistinguishedServiceCross. knows,if I lived long enough,1otheirs.
Morton was one of six ChicagoJewish soldierswho had
So it was no contest.Without an argumentor a
received awards for valor while serving under Davis in protestor even a demurrerfrom me, we sat down at the
France.After World War I, Davis was very activein Jewish dining room table, Zadie and I, and began:"Mah Tovu,
Yisroel...." (How
communalaflairs,includingthc local War Relief effort. In OhalechahYacob,mishcanosechaw
privatelife, he becamean officer at the ChicagoTitle and goodly are thy ients, O Jacob,thy dwelling places,O
Israel....)
TrustCompany.)
And that aftemoon, when I got home from school,
Few people rememberSamuel "Nails" Morton
today.His "Golem" activitiesreferredto by the newspapers eager to change clolhes and get outside to play ball,
at the time of his funeral are nowherememorialized.But imagine my surprise,what am I talking about, my lotal
my constemation,
therewas my zadieal the
oral historiesindicatethat he and his gangswere oflen on astonishment,
handto protectthe Jewsof lhe WestSide when non-Jewish dining roorntable,sidduropento ihe firsl pageof Musaf.
gangs threatenedto invade Jewish turf. He was their
From May, 1932 through June, 1935 when I
defenderagainstthe incursionsof enemies.A few years graduated from Roosevelt High (we pronounced it
after Nails'death his friend, Davey Miller, succeededto Roozeveltto rhyme with Jewsvelt,not Roseveltas it
this role.
becamefashionableto do when FranklinD. cameupon the
Whether Morton's feats as the Chicago "Golem" scene)six momings a week at sevenand six aftemoonsa
merit continuingremembranceby the Jewish community, week at one or two or three or whenever it was that I got
like the honragepaid to him at the time of his death,is, of home from school-mind you, he learnedmy school
course,an interestingquestionworthy of additionalstudy scheduleand timed his arrival to coincidewith it----every
and debate.The opinion of Abel Davis one year after the day but Shabbosand Jewish holidays, whatever the
deathof Nails was not necessarilythe prevailingview of Chicagoweather,ninety-fivein the broilingsun of sumnrer
the averageChicagoJew living on Chicago'sWestSide in or twenty below and blizzardy in winter, there was my
zadie at ageninety{hree, ninety-four, ninety-five, with his
the early 1920's.
cane,walking thosetwo miles to and from my home twice
Revenge-of o Sort
a day.Like the U.S. mailmanmakinghis appointedrounds,
Other detailsmight be mentionedto completethe undeterredby the weather,the social scene,the economic
sagaof Nails Morton. His friend Dion O'Banion was situation, the political climate, the sports standings.
gunneddown in his florist shop in 1924,some say by Al Mussolini, Hitler, Hirohito, Depression,Babe Ruth,
Capone;and Dion's funeral was even more noted for its BroncoNagurski,therewasmy zadie.
splendorand flowers.
In spring and during summer vacalion and early
As far as the horsethat killed Nails is concerned, fall, when my sixteen-inch softball teammateswere
oldtime historianstell the storythat Dion O'Banion and his outside, and the fever of bat and ball and basesand
fellow gangsters,"at a loss to expresstheir feelings except diamond ran through my blood, so eagerto join them that I
through revenge, kidnapped the horse and solemnly couldn't delay anothermoment,not anothermoment,I'd
'bumped him off'." The actual assassinof the horsewas begin to abandonthe traditionalchantingof the prayers
saidto be "Two Gun" Alterie,a friend of Nails, who owned and starl to race through them. My abiding image of
a ranchin ColoradowhereNails had leamedto ride horses. him-he alwayssaton nry right-is his left hand,full palm
The storyof the horsethat killed Nails becomeone facedown acrossthe siddurpage(as if I didn't know il all
of Chicago's great "Roaring Twenties" legends,later by heartanyhowl),right handon my right forearm,saying
depictedin the movie "Public Enemy" starring James in Yiddish (friendly like), "Don't rush, Mike. The
Cagney. So far that is Nails' only (direct or indirect) ballgamewon't run away from you." (Commanding),
appearance
in Hollywood. Perhapsin the future therewill "Chantit! Chantit!!"
be a movie aboutthis young Golem from Chicagocoming
And slow down I would and chant it I did. And
to the rescueof his brethrenon Chicaso'sold WestSide. B therewere times,occasions,
when I was in good voice and
making like a chazan,he'd be so taken with my chanting,
so moved, so stirred, he would pick up my right hand,
bring it to his lips and kiss nry fingers.
Are there, have there been any lover's kisses
n,ttimrcd fturr puge 5
on my lips than nry
sweeler,
more fervent,nrorepassionale
loved my zadie-so deeply and so without questionor
my
fingers?
zadie's
on
reserve-that despite the ignorant adolescentI was,
He died thatsummerof '35 a few monthsafternry
somehow,albeit dimly, I perceivedthat this man was not
going to live forever; that perhaps his years were sixteenthbirthday,at age ninety-five,a few tnonlhsafler
numberedland I understood,howevervaguely,that I was my mother.
"Mah tovu, ohalechawYacov,mislrcanosechaw
my zadie'slast hope: dead though he would be, I, Mayer
L]
Hersch,his einickle,would carry on the Judaictraditionas Yisroel...."
A GrandsonRecollects
A social hour and rcfrcshmcnts
precededthe speaker,who was introduced
b y CJH S B oard Member D ani el
Beederman.PresidentWalter Roth chaired
the meeting.The programwas arranged,as
usual,by Vice PresidentBurt Robin and
refreshmenlswere provided by Hospitality
ChairmanShirleySorkin.
O
P l case w ri tc I o him l llr c
D€partmentof Rural Sociology,S<rciology
B ui l di ng R oom 108, Univer sily of
Mi ssouri ,C ol umbi a,Mi ssour i65211;his
phonenumberis (314)882-0tt6l.
Ll
Farmers
si zabl egroup of new m em ber s.
The individualslistcd below have
chosen.like so many beforelhem.lo help
prcservalion
insurethal lhe discovery,
and
di ssemi nal i on
of i nformat ionconccr ning
C hi cago' s Jew i sh pas t will cont inue
unabated.
20 NewMembers
SeeksInformation Aid Society'sWork
On Jewish
he Society welcomesyet another
'"1:,: rt:: "|
..r:;.r,
Justlc. ScymourSlmonaddregllngth.
S.ptrmb"r mcrllng at Tampl. Sholom
Piolo bt
ox|l. &nr.rE
JusticeSimonTells
Of PoliticalCareer
At FallMeeting
us t ic e S ey mo u rSi m o n re c o u n te d
memoriesof his yearsas an elected
public official al the Septemberl0
meetingof the ChicagoJewishHistorical
Society. A largecrowd of membersand
friends were presentfor lhe lalk at Temple
Sholom.
The now retiredjustice discussed
h i s c ar eer as a C h i c a g o a l d e rm a n , a
memberand presidentof the Cook County
Board.AppellateCourt Judgeand Justice
of the lllinoisSupremeCourt.Duringthose
many years.he continuouslyservedas a
gadfly,opposingthe excesses
of entrenched
politicalpowerwhile eamingthe respectif
nor lhe love of polilical bosses.
Thc Soclely'3 Board members and spouses
mix buslness wilh pl6a3ure at ils August
meetlng at lhe Mlchlgan summer home of
Pre3ident Walter Rolh .nd his wite Chaya
(secbnd and lhird lrom lett in tront row).
OlheB Includer lront low (1.to t,), Ruth
Brandzel and Moselle Schwartz; back low
(1.lo r,), ilarlan 8nd lrving Cuiler, Sol
Branduel, Daniel Alederman, Ethel and
Mllton Shulman, Janet Hagerup, Leslie tnd
Leah Axahod, Norman Schwartz, Mytna
Mazur. Flo.ence and Herman Draznln.
Present but mlsslng (he took the plclure)
was Edward Mazur.
10
r. J. S anford R i koon of the
Universityof M issouri-Columbia
is Irying to establishcontactwith
individualswhosefamilieshaveeverlived
on farms in the Midwesl or Creal Plains
rc g i rr ns.H e i s rcsc rchi ng thi s l opi c i tr
order lo write a book aboutthis overlookcd
hislory.The
chapterin Jewish-American
urea coveredinclutlesfarming cllbrts in
O h i o . Mi chi gan. W i sconsi n. I ndi ana.
Illinois,North and SouthDakota,Kansas,
Iowa,MissouriandMinnesota.
Nebraska,
D r. R i koon w oul d l i ke to hear
from anyonewho either lived on a famr or
w h o separentsor grandparenl sbecame
farmersin thosestales.even if only for a
few years.lf appropriate,he would like to
interview or correspondwith you in order
to leam moreof your family'shistoryand
This is a scholarlyprojectand
experiences.
a l l requestsfor confi denl i al i ty w i l l be
honored.Also, he would like you lo send
(if possible)of
the namesand addresses
o th e r fami l y nembers. fri ends or
you thinkhe shouldcontact.
acquaintances
llr!. Leslle 8e4rk
llra. Elllc Bmv.trrun
Sarrh Cohen
Gana Davl!
Mr3. Anne Frladman
Slewrrl Hlll
Donnt W. Krhan
Leurlc Krplrn
Suarn Kclslcr
naa Ku!hnar
Helcn lrenche!
DGborahJ. Mlll3
nul h H . l l l s
Adclc lllshkln
Jcrry Noblc
llB. Anhur Robln3on
illch..l & Elr S.nders
Itrbarr Schanlcl
Eleln€ & Rlchtrd Snorv
John N. Stcrn
D o you know t hc nam es ( and
addresses)
of personswho oughtlo becume
Mail themto us an(lwe
Socielymembers?
w i l l send them an attract ive br ochur e
whichshouldencourage
lhemto join in our
efforts. Your nanrewill be mentionedif
you wish.Or betteryet.bringthosepersons
to our Novemtrerl2 meetingas your and
our guests,
-Marian Cutler
Chairman0
Menrbership
SocietyPlans
of
Re-Publication
RareJewish
HistoryBook
Family MakesNew Edition
Of Meites VolumePossible
ilh the generouscooperationand
f inanc ial a s s i s ta n c e o f th e
Meites family, the Societyhas
embarkedupon the projectof publishing
a n d dis t r ibut inga n e w e d i ti o n o f H . L .
Meites' monumentalHistd \ (tf lhe .leu's
tf Chiago. Originally publishedin 1924
a n d long out of p ri n l . c o p i e s i n a n y
co ndit ion ar e c u rre n tl y v i rtu a l l y
unobtainable.
PlanlstJerry Preskllland Slng€rElleenBermanenterlslnodal lhr Soclety'3annual
lavishlyillustraled
The oversized,
Phoio by [o..lL
llchnrlt
member!'
brunchIn June
volume ol many hundredpagesis both a
Further informationconcerning other i mmi grantsacqui rededucat ional.
runninghisloryof the Jewisherperiencein
C h i c agoand an im p o rta n tc o l l e c ti o no f l h i s m a j or publ i shi ng venture by l he vocati onal .soci al and cu lt ur al t r aininS
of Jewish S o c i e l y w i l l appeari n ful ure i ssuesof through i ts vari ed progra m s.Ever yone
severalhundredbriefbiographies
who
made ChicogoJcu ish ltistruy,
and
lhose
knowsthal musicianBennyGoodman,for
leaders
conrmunily
t.J.s.
o example.leamedlo plflyat Hull I lousc.
th e i r m ar k s in v ar i o u s b u s i n e s s e sa n d
professions
century
duringthe nineteenth
Of parti cul ar i nl er estt o CJHS
and lhe first quarterof lhe preserrtcentury.
me| nbersw i l l be a l arge Phot ogr r phic
exhibitcurrentlyon displayin which somc
memberhave al readyfound piclur esol'
CopiesComnnnd High Prices
theiranccslorsandfilnrsaboutimmiSrflnls,
A c opy of th e o ri g i n a l e d i ti o n ,
the grow th of l ocal uni ons.t he Chicago
basicallya laborof loveby Meites.himsell'
Materni tyC cnterand the ear ly wom er 's
a printerof note,sellsfor $ 150on lhe rare
conttntrcs
Thc observatcc
rightsnlovemenl.
o cc as ionwhen one a p p e a rsi n l h e u s e d
sclrc(lulc
A
conrplclc
gh
Mly
ol
l99{).
rhr(
ol
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fkcl.
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hc
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tl
i
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b(x)k
usc Muscrtrl
progranrs
can
be
oblaincd
by
of
ccntcnnial
w
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i
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C
hi
cago
at
"l)ctailsconcerning
thc marketing
.i oi n
4l 3-5354.
vi de i n l 9l t9-90 i n a ycar-l ong phoni ng
o f thc nc w c dilion a rrdi ts \i tl c \ p ri c c to
andothcrshaveyet to bc celebration of lhe founding of the worldSocietymcnrbers
Part of .lcu,ishllistory
workedout." srid PresidentWallcr Rotlr: renowncdsocial setllcnlenl.llull House.
played
Foundedon Seplember18, 1889,
the
uniquc
role
Becauseof
"however.we are indecdgratefulto Board
memberTom Meiteswho with his family by Hul l l l o u s e i n l l r e e d u c a l i o n a n d H ul l H orrsel ed and f' rr licipit t cd in n
h a sm ader epublica ti oonf th i s i n v a l u a b l e accullurrti,'n of irnmigranl Jew'' rJuring ils staggeri ng vari ety of pr ogr am s an( l
resourcepossible.Jerry Meiles has also first lilrly years, Socicly members will be acti vi ti esaffecl i ng thc rlevelopr nenlof
par t ic u l a r l y i n l e r e s t e d i n m a n y o f l h c rnirny rc:rsof Ameriearrli[e. Infltrcrrtirrp
beenhelpfulin thisproject."
thc courscof hoth Chicagoitnd nirliornirl
lit c r ally d o z c n s ( , 1 - l r c c i t c ( i v i t i c s l o t l k c
llullin
or
near
tlre
hi story, H ul l H ousedevelopedPioncer
cantpus
pl
cc
on
thc
Book
Intcrcsl
in
New
proS ranrsi n soci al w cl far e. ct lucit t ion.
a
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e
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a
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t
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I
n
its
or
iginal
Since
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h
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recrcati on, publ i c heal t h. social and
pl
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e
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1924 by th e Je wish His lor ic al Soc iely ol t r r lls .
i n(l u\t ri a I rcl orm. l ab or r claliot r s.
IIlinois, fl CJItS prcdccessorwhich b€carne
i | nmi grrl i on. the sl al u s ol wonlen.
Area.
i
n
.l
cu'ish
Started
a victim of lhc Grcal Depressionof 1929.
p€accandlhe itrls.
internalional
a
v
a
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a
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l
e
l
,
r
c
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t
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a
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r
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r
u
c
h
wo
rk
a
ha
s
bec
om
c
Meilcs'
yearsli)lk)wing World War
ln
the
sourcebookfor information on local Jewish for a selllcmenthouse in l8li9 happenecllo
and tlrecul-()ll
a
charrging
neighborhood
l,
history during ils first seventy-five years. be srnack in Ihc the middle of the area of
U.S. reduccd
imnrigration
lo
lhe
mass
of
n
e
a
r
s
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
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l
"r
ools
"
J
e
w
i
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h
and in m ajor i n r m i g r a n t
Rec en t inlcrcst in fam ily
the numberof Jewsreachcd
genealogy has rencwed the appeal of ils M ax we l l S t r e e t . J e w s w e r e p e r h a p s l h e tremendously
biog rap hie s, u ne qualet i by any ot her gr oup w h i c h n r a d e l h c I n o s t i n i l i a l u s e o l di.eclly by lhe settlemcnthousc.Yet llrc
s
colleclion . Il is. in ef f ec t . llr c r ec or t l of t hc f aci l i t y f o u n d c d b y J a n c A d d a n r s inrplct ol llull liouse <tnChicago Jcws
local
el
e
nr
ent
of
an
i
nrportanl
remai
ns
m
a
n
y
a
n
d
.
l
a
l
c
r
.
hund rcd s clf lo ca l J c wis lr hm ilic s f r onl alt houg h l l a l i a n s , S l a v s
history.
J€wish
e
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
,
im
m
i
S
r
a
n
t
s
a
c
q
u
i
r
e
d
ot
her
thcir earliestChicago beginnings.
SeveralEvents
MarkHullHouse
Centennial
t1