DAYTON
THE DAYTON
OBSERVER daytonjewishobserver.org Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Contributors Candace R. Kwiatek Advertising Sales Executive Patty Caruso, plhc69@gmail.com Administrative Assistant Samantha Daniel, sdaniel@jfgd.net 937-610-1555
Austin Reid says Greene County has a long tradition of Jewish academics, particularly connected to Antioch College in Yellow Springs.
Histories
Continued from Page Three something to keep my mind off the news, and so I really picked up the project more intensely."
The Upper Miami Valley
Embrace all aspects of Black Culture with art, illustration, poetry, movies, performances, workshops, and panel discussion programs. All at the Dayton Metro Library! For details, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org/ blackculture.
PAGE 4
and St. Mary's had some families that would come down occasionally. It's really always been a regional congregation. And even today, I think only one member lives in Piqua." He admires Anshe Emeth's generations of hard work and leadership to maintain itself. "I'm sure it would have just been easier to not really spend the resources to have a Jewish community, and especially now, it's so easy to travel to Dayton from Piqua," he says. "And in some of these communities, that's what happened."
He learned about Piqua and the Jewish community of the Upper Miami Valley through his research on Chillicothe, because of historical family ties between the two Jewish communities. "Piqua is a fascinating community to me because it is among the older Greene County Jewish communities in Ohio and Reid came to research Greene has had a continuous presence there since 1858," he says. "Jewish families County after he saw an article in Cincinnati's American Israelite newspaper were living in the Piqua area before 1858, but 1858 is when the congrega- in 2017 about the Arnovitz family and their store in Xenia, Sol's Store, which tion was founded." was in business from 1931 to 1998. Through Temple Anshe Emeth in He says Greene County has a Piqua, Reid connected with longtime congregant, Greenville resident long tradition of Jewish academics, Eileen Litchfield. LOC particularly connected to Antioch College. "She was really "Even in the 1920s, enthusiastic about the Antioch College had project and helped me some prominent Jewish connect with other faculty members. There local people to polish was Rudolph Broda, a up the history and social sciences professor have that buy-in from starting around 1928. the local community, And his wife, Erna, which was exciting." she was professor of Litchfield describes German. And William Reid's work for Anshe Leiserson, an economics Emeth as a true gift. professor from 1926 to "There aren't 1933. His work on labor enough adjectives to Antioch College Prof. William Leiserson was a labor mediator relations is still infludescribe my delight ential today, because in in getting this accom- and arbitrator. plished for temple," she says. "I have 1933, the Roosevelt administration been collecting history, randomly, for asked him to come to D.C. One of the things he worked on was the Railway 20 years, and his research blew that out of the water in a minute. I cannot Labor Act of 1934, and that still governs some of the labor relations and tell you how ecstatic I am for his airlines and railroads today." volunteering to do this." In his history of Greene County, Litchfield added she was amazed Reid identifies the earliest known Jew to learn there were Jews living in there as Benjamin Bruel of England, Greenville in the 1850s. who was living in Xenia by 1870. He "It was never a very large community," Reid says of Piqua. "But it's operated a clothing store there until 1873. always drawn from several comReid's history of Jewish Greene munities for its members. So Troy, but also Greenville and Wapakoneta County comes up to the present, with
Billing Sheila Myers, smyers@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Proofreaders Rachel Haug Gilbert, Pamela Schwartz Observer Advisor Martin Gottlieb Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Mary Rita Weissman President Dan Sweeny President Elect Marni Flagel Secretary Neil Friedman Treasurer Ben Mazer VP Personnel Teddy Goldenberg VP Resource Dev. Dr. Heath Gilbert Immediate Past Pres. Cathy Gardner CEO The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 27, No. 6. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459. Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. Acceptance of advertising neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut. The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement To support, strengthen and champion the Dayton Jewish community by providing a forum and resource for Jewish community interests. Goals • To encourage affiliation, involvement and communication. • To provide announcements, news, opinions and analysis of local, national and international activities and issues affecting Jews and the Jewish community. • To build community across institutional, organizational and denominational lines. • To advance causes important to the strength of our Jewish community including support of Federation agencies, its annual campaign, synagogue affiliation, Jewish education and participation in Jewish and general community affairs. • To provide an historic record of Dayton Jewish life. The Dayton Jewish Observer
Please recycle this newspaper.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • FEBRUARY 2023