Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Jack Bloom
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- Title:
- Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Jack Bloom
- Date:
- 1997
- Interviewer:
- Rosengarten, Dale, 1948-;Rosenblum, Sandra Lee Kahn
- Interviewee:
- Bloom, Jack, 1920-2010
- Description:
- Jack Bloom describes growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, where his grandfather Harris Bloom, originally from Bialystok, Poland, established Bloom's Department Store around 1910. After serving in World War I, Jack's father, Julius, married Jennie Shatenstein, whose family lived for a time in a New Jersey agricultural settlement sponsored by the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Julius opened his own shop in Greenville, but later joined his father in business. The interviewee discusses his thoughts and current practices in regard to the laws of kashrut, and notes that his mother kept kosher but served classic southern cuisine. His family, including his brother, Melvin, and his sister, Shirley, celebrated all the Jewish holidays, and Julius, who closed his store on the High Holidays, was the cantor for their synagogue, Beth Israel. Jack recalls a few of the earlier Jewish families that settled in Greenville, and mentions several Jewish men, besides himself, who served in World War II. After discharge from the army, he attended Duke University Law School and returned home to open a practice. He married New Yorker Lillian Chernoff in 1963. Jack discusses his religious views and the history of Beth Israel, which, he notes, joined the Conservative Movement in the late 1940s. Note: the transcript includes comments added by the interviewee during proofing. For a related collection, the Julius H. Bloom papers, see Mss. 1034-012, Special Collections, College of Charleston.
- Collection Title:
- Jewish Heritage Collection Oral Histories
- Contributing Institution:
- College of Charleston Libraries
- Media Type:
- Oral Histories
- Preferred Citation:
- Jack Bloom, audio interview by Dale Rosengarten and Sandra Lee Kahn Rosenblum, 26 February 1997, Mss 1035-126, Special Collections, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
- Personal or Corporate Subject:
- Beth Israel (Greenville, S.C.)
- Topical Subject:
- Jews--South Carolina--Greenville--Interviews, Jewish merchants--South Carolina--Greenville--History, Jews--South Carolina--Greenville--Religious life, and Jewish cooking
- S.C. County:
- Greenville County (S.C.)
- Language:
- English
- Shelving Locator:
- Mss 1035-126
- Date Digital:
- 2012-04-11
- Digitization Specifications:
- Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival masters are wav files.
- Internet Media Type:
- audio/mpeg
- Copyright Status Statement:
- Copyright © College of Charleston Libraries.
- Access Statement:
- All rights reserved.
- Access Information:
- For more information contact Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424.
- Admin ID:
- 220699
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