On April 2, 1923, Congregation Anshe Emeth was dedicated at 320 Caldwell Street. Approximately 250 people, including many non-Jews, were estimated to have attended the ceremonies. At the time Piqua was home to around 25 Jewish families. Other members of the congregation came from Greenville, Sidney and Troy. It was reported by The Piqua Daily Call that Miami County was home to the smallest Jewish community in the United States to build a synagogue. Rabbi Samuel Mayerberg of Dayton was an ardent supporter of Anshe Emeth during the fundraising campaign for the new synagogue. He also officiated at the cornerstone laying ceremony for the synagogue in 1922, which was open to the public. Remarking on the event, Rabbi Mayerberg wrote in the Ohio Jewish Chronicle:
Rabbi Mayerberg’s insight into the members of Anshe Emeth stemmed from his ministerial work in Piqua, which began at least a few years before the building of the new synagogue. He visited Miami County monthly to teach adult Bible classes and met with students at the weekly Sunday School. Jewish religious services were held every Friday evening and on Sundays twice a month. All this activity led Mayerberg in one letter published in August 1922 to describe Anshe Emeth as “a model small town congregation.” It should also be noted that Rabbi Sidney Tedesche of Springfield also occasionally visited Piqua to lead religious services and speak to the Anshe Emeth Sunday School students. At the time, he was one of two rabbis in that city.
Building the new Anshe Emeth synagogue cost approximately $20,000. In 2021, this sum would be comparable to $320,400 after accounting for inflation. Half of the necessary funds were donated by Leo Flesh. The other $10,000 was raised by a wide collection of individuals including most notably the members of the Anshe Emeth Sisterhood, which was formerly known as the Jewish Ladies' Aid Society. Fundraisers for the construction project organized by the Sisterhood included four bake sales, four dinners, a series of rummage sales, and raffles. The efforts of the Sisterhood, which helped to ensure the new synagogue could be created free of debt, were recognized by similar organizations in other nearby Jewish communities. In 1922, Piqua was selected as the site of the district meeting for the Ohio State Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, drawing many people from Dayton and Springfield. Members of the Sisterhood, which in 1920 had 15 members, also continued to support the Anshe Emeth Sunday School. In 1922, two children were confirmed from the school. The students and teachers also led special Hanukkah and Passover services. By 1924, the Sisterhood had created a new library at Anshe Emeth for the Sunday School.
During this period in the Sisterhood’s history Fannie Louis, the wife of Meyer Louis, served as president of the organization. When the new Anshe Emeth synagogue was dedicated, Fannie was honored by being chosen to kindle the ner tamid, or eternal light found at the front of the sanctuary. A ner tamid is found in most synagogues near the Torah ark and it serves to remind congregants of the continuous presence of the divine. Interestingly, Fannie was a native of Delaware, Ohio, and her parents, Rachel and Samuel Stern, were likely among those who traveled significant distances in the late 1800s to attend Anshe Emeth on holidays. Rachel’s maiden name was Friedlich. The officers of Congregation Anshe Emeth in 1923 were as follows: Moses Flesh, president, Jacob Wendel, vice president, Meyer Louis, secretary, and Louis Ostertag treasurer. It is of note that Louis Ostertag served as treasurer of the congregation from 1918 up until 1947. In 1924, Raphael Louis took on the role of president of the congregation and retained this position until 1947, when he was succeeded by Joseph Kastner and elected honorary president for life. Raphael’s brother, Meyer, frequently served as a lay leader in the new synagogue. In some advertisements published in The Piqua Daily Call Meyer’s title is given as Reader.
Anshe Emeth was reincorporated with the State of Ohio in 1924. The signatories of the congregation’s new Articles of Incorporation were: Moses Flesh, Marcus A. Lebensburger, Leo Louis, Meyer Louis, and Louis Ostertag. The Jewish community of the Upper Miami Valley also continued to keep informed of events impacting their coreligionists abroad during this period. In 1926, the local Jewish families raised $4,721 to support Jews suffering in Europe. Local developments also included the arrival of several new Jewish families in the region. In Piqua newcomers included Frances and Robert F. Albright, David and Grace Hirsch, and Benjamin and Ray Kuppin. The Albright family came to Piqua after Robert, who more commonly went by his middle name Frank, became associated with the Rapp’s Clothing Store. David Hirsch moved to Piqua with his wife and son, Allen, in 1925 to take a position with the Cottage Baking Company. The family remained in Piqua until 1934 but maintained close connections with the Columbus Jewish community. In 1931, Allen had his bar mitzvah at Congregation Agudas Achim in Columbus. Benjamin and Ray Kuppin were living in Piqua by 1920, and by 1930 Ben was running the Eagle Billiard Hall. The couple also had at least four children, Bertram, Frank, Hannah and Herbert. All of these children moved away from Piqua as adults.
Jews also continued to move into Greenville, Sidney and Troy. New residents included Simon Brotkin, Freda and Harris Harbor, Minnie and Morris Jaffe, Morris and Rose Kaufman and Abraham and Lena Rokoff. Simon, who was nicknamed Si, moved to Greenville from Massachusetts in the late 1920s to work with the Greenville Iron and Metal Company, which was owned by an uncle. Later, in 1937, he opened The Smart Shop, which was located along South Broadway. This store sold women’s clothing, and later children’s wear. In time, Simon helped his brother, Isidore, open a branch of The Smart Shop in Sidney, and a branch was also opened in Piqua, where Simon moved following his marriage to Sara Rosenblatt. Sara was from Tiffin, Ohio. Max Brotkin, the father of Simon, also moved to Greenville to help run the store there. He was joined by Ida, his wife.
Both the Harbors in Troy and the Jaffes in Greenville were active in the scrap metal industry. Much like the clothing industry for earlier Jewish immigrants, the disproportionate presence of Jews in the scrap metal industry was due to the recent development of the trade and its accessibility to immigrants at a time when discrimination closed many other professional avenues. Operating a scrap yard was also particularly attainable for many Jewish immigrants because of its low startup cost and scalability. Religious entrepreneurs could also create their own work schedules around holidays and other observances which would not have been permitted in larger factories. By 1930 Fortune magazine estimated that 90 percent of scrap metal yards in the United States were owned by Jews. Harris Harbor’s business was known as Harris Harbor Recycling while Morris Jaffe’s enterprise was called Greenville Iron & Metal Company. Morris Kaufman of Sidney and Abraham Rokoff of Troy worked as clothiers. The tradition of enterprise within the local Jewish community would continue into the 1930s, but challenges would impact more than one family.