Jews of Springfield in the Ozarks (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780738590943)

Jews arrived to the bustling town of Springfield shortly after its founding in 1838, only five years after the birth of the state of Missouri. The first Jews to live in Springfield were Victor and Bertha Sommers with her brother Ferdinand Bakrow. They opened Victor Sommers & Co., a dry goods store in 1860. The Jewish community grew as merchants brought their families, tying Springfield to other towns along the Mississippi River through marriages. The first congregation was founded in 1893 by the German Reform Jews. In 1918, the Eastern European Jews founded their Orthodox congregation. In the 1940s, the two merged. Unlike other small Jewish communities that have slowly perished because of their children's migration to larger Jewish communities where they could use their education, this Jewish community in the Ozarks continues to thrive because of the universities and hospitals in the region.

Author: Mara W. Cohen Ioannides, M. Rachel Gholson Phd
ISBN-10: 0738590940
ISBN-13: 9780738590943
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
Language: English
Published: 02/18/2013
Pages: 128
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.60w x 0.50d