Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Benedict "Dick" Rosen
Date:
2021
Interviewer:
Rosengarten, Dale, 1948-
Interviewee:
Rosen, Benedict, 1936-
Description:
In this second of three interviews, Benedict "Dick" Rosen continues a discussion about intermarriage. When he was growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina, his family was strongly tied to its Jewish identity. The Rosens were members of Beth Elohim in Georgetown, and Dick took Hebrew lessons from Rabbi Allan Tarshish of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston. His family observed the holidays to some degree. Dick discusses why he doesn't go to synagogue services anymore, with the exception of Yom Kippur. He and his wife, Brenda, nevertheless donate to two synagogues: Beth Elohim in Georgetown, "for Mom and Dad," and Temple Emanu-El in Myrtle Beach. One gift went toward Emanu-El's Rosen Education Center, completed in 2002. Dick talks about meeting his wife, Brenda Wekstein, while he was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They married in 1958 in Boston. Interviewer Dale Rosengarten mentions the role Sumter native Elizabeth Moses played in reviving the Georgetown congregation in 2004. Rosen outlines his career in engineering, starting at Sprague Electric in Massachusetts designing capacitors. Then he joined AVX, first in Massachusetts, then Myrtle Beach. Ultimately, he became CEO of AVX. Dick recalls his travels while in management at AVX. The company built factories all over the world and, when Kyocera bought AVX, he became their representative director. He mentions AVX CEO Marshall Butler and briefly describes the trichloroethylene lawsuits filed against the company. For a related interview, see Sylvan and Meyer Rosen, Mss. 1035-035.
