The Depression & War Years: Jewish Life in the Upper Miami Valley in the ‘30s and ‘40s

On January 29, 1930, the three-story Mickler Department Store on Main Street experienced a major fire that began in the basement. The damages were estimated to be $200,000. This sum would be comparable to over $3,200,000 in losses in 2021. In addition to the Mickler store, Ostertag Brothers, located next door, was also impacted. At the time, Kenneth Shofstall, a reporter for The Piqua Daily Call, reported that the blaze was, “one of the most disastrous fires in the history of the city." Within three weeks Bert and Louis Ostertag made plans to relocate to a space in the Piqua National Bank building with a new stock of merchandise. Harry Mickler was able to rebuild his store, but in 1935 he declared bankruptcy. He departed Piqua for Columbus by 1938.

It appears that Harry was not the only Jew to leave the Upper Miami Valley during the 1930s. In 1930, the American Jewish Yearbook, which continues to be printed annually by the Jewish Publication Society, estimated that the Piqua area was home to 90 Jews. By 1941 this estimate had fallen to 75. The adult Jewish population within Piqua alone was estimated to number 20 in 1937. It should be noted, however, that these population estimates are useful only for providing a general sense of the Jewish community’s size. It is likely, however, that the estimates are not entirely accurate since determining the size of any religious community in the United States is a challenge due to the lack of official data on the subject. It is even more difficult to accurately assess the size of a minority religious community whose members may feel hesitant to answer questionnaires or publicly affiliate.

While undoubtedly modest in size, the Jewish community participated actively in interfaith activities in Piqua. By the late 1930s, an Inter-Church Council existed which included Anshe Emeth as a member. Non-Jewish ministers were also invited to speak at Anshe Emeth. Similarly, rabbis were invited to address primarily non-Jewish audiences on occasion. For example, in 1932 Rabbi Jacob Tarshish of Columbus spoke at the graduation exercises for Piqua High School. While religious tolerance generally was practiced, there were contemporary examples of anti-Jewish sentiment in the region. Clara Ziment, who grew up in Piqua during the 1920s and 1930s, wrote in a 2012 essay on her spiritual journey that Jewish children in Piqua were sometimes harassed and hit by Catholic school students who were taught at the time that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Clara also wrote that she experienced some indirect comments in the local public schools about her difference as a Jew. Clara is the daughter of Dina and Samuel Kastner and, after graduating from Piqua High School, she attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati and later the Pratt Institute in New York City. She had a successful career as a cartoon artist.

Congregation Anshe Emeth continued to be a center for Jewish life, attracting members from across Miami County and surrounding areas. By the mid-1930s, some congregants were coming from Urbana to the east. The Sisterhood worked to support congregational activities by organizing card parties, the occasional rummage sale and other fundraisers. Its members also continued to support the Sunday School and its confirmation classes. In 1941, two children were confirmed at Anshe Emeth, Bertram Kuppin and Mildred Murstein. No record of a local Jewish men’s organization exists, however, until April 13, 1944. On this day the Anshe Emeth Lodge, also known as Lodge 1523, of B’nai B’rith was formed. Representatives from the Zion Lodge in Columbus assisted with the installation ceremony. Early members came from Covington, Greenville, Piqua, Sidney, St. Paris, Troy, Urbana, and Versailles. By 1951, the lodge had around 25 members. By 1945, a Women’s Auxiliary was also formed to complement the activities of the men’s lodge.

A number of Jewish families are known to have moved to the Piqua area in the 1930s. Included among them are the Bettmann, Brateman, Fishel, Gilfer, Lee, Murstein, Perlis, Solomon, and Sussman households. Jacob and Helen Bettmann lived in Piqua only for a short time after Jacob relocated in 1933 or 1934 due to his work with the Favorite Stove and Range Company. Prior to this move, the couple had lived in Cincinnati. It should also be noted that Jacob, who was a longtime member of the Favorite Stove board of directors, likely lived in Piqua for a brief period in the early 1900s. For many years, Favorite Stove, which was originally based in Cincinnati before moving to Piqua in 1887, was the city’s largest manufacturer. The Depression severely impacted the company, however, and in 1935 the firm was liquidated. Most of its former assets were purchased by the Foster Stove Company out of Ironton, Ohio. Jacob died that same year at the age of 70. Helen, who had lived in St. Joseph, Missouri, before her marriage in 1895 appears to have left the Piqua area after her husband’s death.

Herman Brateman, Trina Fishel, and Harry Gilfer all worked in the accessory or clothing business. Brateman's, a women’s and children's clothing store located on South Broadway in Greenville, was opened between 1939 and 1942. Trina worked at dress shops in both Piqua and Sindey beginning in the mid-1930s before moving to Cleveland in 1951 to take a position with Glanz Furs. Harry owned a men's clothing and tailoring shop along North Main Avenue in Sidney by 1936. Other recent arrivals in the area engaged in various kinds of work. Harry and Jennie Lee, who lived in Covington by 1937 operated the Cove Theater in that town. Joseph, the son of Harry and Jennie, also helped to manage the theater. Joe was active in the local community. From 1945 to 1946 he served as the second president of the Anshe Emeth Lodge, and his wife, Ruby, was active with the B'nai B'rith Woman’s Auxiliary. Joe was also the co-owner and editor of Stillwater Valley News, a Covington newspaper. Elliott and Libbie Murstein opened the Elliott Furniture Store in 1934 at the corner of West Ash and North Wayne Street. This business continued in Piqua through the 1960s. In 1951, Louis and Mildred Berman moved to Piqua from Cleveland to help run Elliott’s Furniture. Mildred was the daughter of Elliott and Libbie. A few years later, Louis opened Elmur’s Furniture Store at the corner of East High and Harrison Street, which he operated through 1963. Louis’ life was cut short in 1967 at the age of 43 due to an auto accident on Interstate-75. At the time Louis was planning to open a store in Dayton.

Dorothy and Seymour Perlis moved to Piqua from Toledo in 1938 to open a cleaning business under the name XL Cleaners. In addition to his involvement with Anshe Emeth, Seymour was also an early member of the Piqua Kiwanis Club, which was chartered in 1936. Both Leonard Solomon and Harry Sussman were involved in the scrap metal industry. Leonard, who was born in New Jersey, owned East Side Iron and Wrecking in Sidney. Later he also opened another business, Leonard's Auto Parts. Both Leonard and his wife, Sarah, were members of Anshe Emeth. Sarah was also active with the B'nai B'rith Woman’s Auxiliary, while Leonard volunteered with the Boy Scouts and the Sidney Lions Club. Harry Sussman moved to Piqua in 1931 with his wife, Bessie, after spending seven years in Sidney. The couple relocated so that Harry could take ownership of the Ohio Scrap Iron & Metal Company, which had been founded by Solomon Dagan over 15 years prior. While residents of Piqua, it appears that Bessie and Harry chose to attend Beth Abraham, a synagogue in Dayton, rather than Anshe Emeth. Until 1943 Beth Abraham was an Orthodox synagogue. The Sussman’s decision to attend Beth Abraham rather than a local synagogue demonstrates how many of the more orthodox Jewish households in the Upper Miami Valley continued to look to Dayton for communal religious life.

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and soon millions of Americans were called upon to enter the armed forces. Families, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in the Upper Miami Valley, lent their efforts to support the war effort. Of the local servicemen, at least 11 were Jewish. Their names were: Herman Barr, Herman Brateman, Daniel Garfield, Marvin Halverstein, Erving Kastner, Norman Kastner, Sanford Kastner, Bertram Kuppin, Frank Kuppin, Joseph Shuchat, and Benjamin Taubman. It should also be noted that shortly after the end of World War II two other Jewish veterans, Charles Bailen and Louis Berman, relocated to Troy and Piqua, respectively. Louis was an ensign in the United States Navy. Additionally, Alfred Flesh Jr. and Henry Flesh, the grandsons of Leo and Gertrude Flesh, served during the war. Alfred Jr. was killed in action, and to honor his memory Alfred Flesh Sr. established the Alfred L. Flesh Jr. Memorial Trust in 1946 to benefit local community projects and civic institutions. Alfred Jr. fought in the Pacific Theater.

Other local Jewish servicemen saw action in the European Theater. Bertram Kuppin was among these men. In 1945, Bertram was captured by the Nazis and held as a prisoner of war for five months near Czechoslovakia before being released. By the war’s end, both of Bertram’s parents had died and, shortly after returning to the United States he, along with his other siblings, left Piqua. The Nazi’s rise to power 12 years earlier prompted a wave of emigration from Germany. Yet, the United States, along with most other countries at the time, allowed only a modest number of refugees to enter the country. After the outbreak of World War II, this number further decreased. Two of the fortunate people granted admittance into the United States were Arthur and Margaret Werner, who settled in Piqua in 1939. For many years in Germany Arthur managed a chain of stores. By November 1938, however, the Nazis confiscated all remaining Jewish-owned businesses in Germany. Arthur was imprisoned for three weeks in the Buchenwald concentration camp in the same year. On April 20, 1945, The Piqua Daily Call published a letter from Arthur reflecting on his experiences and responding to those who believed that reports coming out of Europe about the concentration camps were exaggerated. He wrote:

It is likely that Arthur and Margaret found their way to Piqua due to the support and sponsorship of individuals from the local Jewish community. One group working to support Jewish refugees at the time was the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Leo Flesh and Emanuel Kahn were two residents of Piqua who were active with the JDC. In 1942, each was elected to the organization’s National Council. It was also reported in the obituary of Dina Kastner, written in 1990, that she assisted in the resettlement of two Jewish refugee families from Germany. No contemporary sources, however, reference the existence of a refugee family in Piqua aside from the Werners. Evident in Arthur’s letter to The Piqua Daily Call, is the responsibility he took upon himself to bear witness to the atrocities committed by the Nazis in Europe. Shortly after his letter was printed, Arthur spoke to a Lions Club meeting about his experiences. Margaret also worked to educate others on what was happening in Europe. As early as 1942 she was speaking to organizations about her experiences. When Arthur and Margaret arrived in Piqua, they were 56 and 47 years old respectively. Arthur at first secured employment with the Orr Felt and Blanket Company and later he went to work at Yieldmor Feeds until his retirement in 1965. Margaret had died six years prior.

During the late 1940s to mid-1960s, the Jewish population of the Upper Miami Valley reached its largest size. According to the American Jewish Yearbook, by 1959 the local Jewish community may have numbered as high as 225 people. This number, however, was likely an overestimation. A figure of 170 to 175, which is cited in other years, was likely closer to reality. Families who arrived in Piqua between 1945 and 1950 included Charles and Zena Bailen, Edward and Tillie Bailen, Elizabeth and Isaac Harrison, Bernice and Joe Klasman, and Bernice and Maurice Schapiro. Charles and Edward Bailen did business together in Tory under the name United Scrap Lead Company. Edward created the business and was later joined by his brother. Elizabeth and Isaac Harrison, who were both natives of Cincinnati, moved to Piqua in 1947 after Isaac began a new business venture, Barclay's Menswear. In 1949, Stanley joined his father in the business. The enterprise enjoyed continued growth and by the 1980s Barclay’s began to offer women’s apparel and accessories. As of 2021, Barclay’s Men’s & Women’s Clothiers is the largest independent family-owned clothing store in the Miami Valley.

Bernice and Joe Klasman also arrived in Piqua in 1947. The couple was brought to Miami County after Joe took a position as city editor with The Piqua Daily Call. Before writing in Piqua, Joe had experience reporting in East St. Louis, Huntington, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. His early assignments in East St. Louis included covering gang violence and executions. He would serve as the city editor for 28 years before retiring. Like Joe, Maurice Schapiro worked as a newspaper reporter. He came to Miami County to take a position as the Troy correspondent for the Dayton Daily News. Bernice and Maurice lived in Troy by 1947 and they were involved in both Anshe Emeth and B’nai B’rith. Both organizations would see new levels of activity during the 1950s and 1960s.