Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Sarah Belle Levy
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- Title:
- Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Sarah Belle Levy
- Date:
- 2015
- Interviewer:
- Rosengarten, Dale, 1948-;Rosenblum, Sandra Lee Kahn
- Interviewee:
- Levy, Sarah Belle, 1923-2020
- Description:
- Sarah Belle Levy was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1923, the fourth of six children of Annie Blumenthal and Israel Levy. Israel, a Lithuanian immigrant who became a naturalized citizen in New York in 1904, likely followed his sister Anna Levy Goldberg to Charleston, where he peddled before opening a grocery store at Line Street and Ashley Avenue. Annie Blumenthal, born in Poland, came to the United States with her aunt and uncle Rachel and Abraham Addlestone. Sarah talks about her siblings, Alexander, Sidney, Lillie, Doris, and Jeanette, and growing up in Charleston. They all pitched in at the store and did what they could to bring in additional dollars. She describes how the family helped Alexander make, bottle, and sell insecticide, while her mother made and sold matzoh. Sarah joined Girl Scout Troop 14 and Junior Hadassah, and when she was in high school, she worked at Edward's Five and Ten Cent Store, owned and operated by the Kronsbergs. She attended one year of Rice Business College, then worked for Sarah Bielsky Ellison, acting as a "girl Friday" in the office of Ellison's Shoe Store on upper King Street. Levy recalls Bob Ellis Shoes, run initially by Sarah Ellison's brother Sammy Bielsky, later purchased by Morris Kalinsky of Holly Hill. In 1959, Sarah Belle ventured west to Los Angeles to help her sister Jeanette, who was about to give birth. She ended up staying in California for nearly fifty years. She shares memories of her activities as a member of an outdoor club in which she and other Jewish adults toured parks and natural sites in the West. Sarah returned to Charleston after she retired to be near family.
- Collection Title:
- Jewish Heritage Collection Oral Histories
- Contributing Institution:
- College of Charleston Libraries
- Media Type:
- Oral Histories
- Topical Subject:
- Jewish merchants--South Carolina--Charleston--History, Jews--South Carolina--Charleston--Interviews, Jews--South Carolina--Charleston--Social life and customs, Ecotourism
- S.C. County:
- Charleston County (S.C.)
- Language:
- English
- Shelving Locator:
- MSS 1035-413
- Date Digital:
- 2015-02-12
- Digitization Specifications:
- Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival masters are wav files.
- Format:
- audio/mpeg
- Copyright Status Statement:
- Copyright © Jewish Heritage Collection
- Access Statement:
- All rights reserved.
- Access Information:
- For more information, contact Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries, 66 George Street, Charleston SC 29424.
- Admin ID:
- 263072
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