newsletter
The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County
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| The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County |
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Winter 2007 |
Vol. 1, Issue 3 |
Tevet, 5768 |
The Flag Is Flying! A Message from the Co-Presidents Michael Berman and Jean Klerman Just west of Freehold Borough and the Raceway Mall entrance on Route 537 a new destination is taking shape. The faint sounds of hammers and saws can be heard at the corner of Wemrock Road and Route 537 across from the 18 th century watering hole known as Moore 's Tavern.
The location is now marked by Old Glory flying proud and true in front of the Center's historical sites area which is made up of the old Levi Solomon colonial farmhouse and early 19 th century barn. The barn's first floor is to be occupied by Patticakes, a home-style family eatery; the 3,000 square foot second floor of the barn will become the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County (JHMOMC). The Museum space is defined by a massive exposed ceiling illustrating the classic post and beam construction used to support this sturdy barn. The original cedar hand split shingle roof is still visible and the wooden pegs used to secure various structural joints are still in place. A large barrel |
shaped cistern holds a place of prominence above the JHMOMC performance space and all of the barn's exposed original surfaces wear the warm patina of age. The barn that houses the Museum also has a story to tell and that story will be included in a permanent exhibit highlighting the construction methods used to build this impressive structure. Construction of the Museum space's interior will be going on through the winter and is scheduled to be completed by early spring of 2008. Once completed, the interior will provide a modern museum space, one that will provide an interactive, flexible environment for musical and theatrical programming as well as speakers and multimedia exhibits. When finished, the Museum will give voice and vision to the remarkable story of the Jewish people of Monmouth County from their humble colonial beginnings to their current rich multifaceted community life. We need additional financial support to bring our dream of such a Museum into existence. If you haven't already done so, there is still time to join the JHMOMC as a Charter Member (membership classifications range from $15 to over $1000), see your name inscribed in our personalized brick flagpole courtyard ($118 a brick) or acknowledged on our “Genesis Garden” plaque ($350 and up), or become a major contributor to the “Building on Memory” capital fund drive. The flag is flying, the light is shining on the path ahead. As the year 2008 approaches, help us make “Next Year in the Museum” a reality. For more information on contribution opportunities for special projects call Michael Berman at 732-685-7377 or Email him at Michael.berman@cbmoves.com . Our best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!
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Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County A Wemrock Road and Route 537 A P.O. Box 7078 A Freehold, NJ 07728 |
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“MY STORY…” The General Store: The Center of Rural Monmouth County Communities By Beverly and Joel Stern During the late 1920s through the 1950s most of the general stores in western Monmouth were owned by members of the Stern and Shteir families or by their close relatives. Herman and Rose Stern Shteir acquired the Smithburg General Store in 1920. Married in 1919, the couple began as farmers on Hulses Corner Road in Howell Township . Mr. Shteir, who most customers called “Mr. Herman,” was a graduate of the famous Baron de Hirsh Agricultural School in Vineland . He quickly realized the pitfalls of raising chickens and purchased the store to ensure a more stable income. He and his wife bought a large house (previously the Smithburg Hotel) catty-corner from the store at the crossroads of Route 527 and Route 537. It was the junction of Manalapan, Millstone and Freehold Townships with the house in Millstone and the store across the road in Freehold Township . Herman and Rose Shteir raised five children, all of whom attended Freehold Borough High School and were expected to help in the store after school and during the summer. Son Leon Shteir remained in the business until 1982 when the store was closed.
The Smithburg Hotel, ca. 1902 Finding economic success in the general store, Herman Shteir, who later served 20 years as a member of the Millstone Township Committee (15 of those years as mayor), encouraged his brothers, brothers-in-law and cousins to purchase similar businesses. The Colts Neck General Store was owned by Louis and Jennie Stern Plotkin; the Holmdel General Store by Jacob and Anna Kruetner Stern; the Perrineville Store by Zimel and Mildred Stern Resnick and later by Sam and Mary Kruetner Schwartz; the Clarksburg Store by Estelle and Murray Kruetner and the Morganville Store by Abe |
Solomon. Similar stores were owned in Dutch Neck The Smithburg Store, ca. 1925 The Smithburg Store was the focal point of the rural community. Customers purchased groceries, meat, shoes, newspapers, tobacco product, hardware, dry goods including ladies bloomers, supplies for picking and canning fruits, gasoline, kerosene, oil, candy, ice cream in triple scoop cones and barrels of shredded cocoanut and cookies. Much of what was bought was “put on the books” which resulted in a huge accounts receivable journal. Many customers also came to seek advice and/or first aid and to discuss personal problems and politics. When the Shteirs first operated the store there were pool tables in the back which were very popular with the locals and required staying open late at night. Yet, the next morning, “Mr. Herman” opened the store at 5 AM to service people on their way to work. Most days, some of the neighborhood “old-timers' would hang out on benches on the store porch and reminisce about the good old days. In the 40's and 50's one of the local people would still arrive in a horse drawn cart while another proudly drove up in a hand-cranked model T Ford. Saturday night was usually an exciting time as more customers would gather on the porch and soon the sounds of a harmonica would fill the air, followed by much dancing and singing. The advent of supermarkets and credit cards was certainly a factor in the decline of the general store, but during the early and middle twentieth century, these stores, mostly owned and operated by the Askenazic Jewish immigrants served a vital purpose in unifying the community as a whole.
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Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County A Wemrock Road and Route 537 A P.O. Box 7078 A Freehold, NJ 07728 |
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Michael Berman A co-president's brief introduction…
I look forward to working with all of you as we enter this exciting phase of construction and ultimate opening of the Museum. I was asked to introduce myself by way of a little biographical information, but hope I get the chance to meet many of you in our new dynamic, museum space very soon… I have lived in Monmouth County for nearly forty years. My family moved to Roosevelt New Jersey in 1967 from my native Norwich Connecticut . As a family we moved to Freehold i 1974 where I have been ever since. I attended Temple University and received a B.A. in Communications in 1984. I then attended Cal Arts in Valencia California , where I studied Character Animation. I have had an interest in animation since childhood and developed skills in drawing early on. For many years, I owned and operated caricature concessions along with other arts and craft related businesses in theme parks including Six Flags Great Adventure. I am presently working in Real Estate, combining my interest in Historic Homes with a passion for Architecture. My interests are varied and combine a verve for Jazz, Classical music and Musical Theatre with interests in photography and Illustration. I play the Trumpet and Piano. I would like to thank the Board for their confidence in me and hope to help build the JHMOMC into a dynamic place to learn, share, educate and entertain our spiritual and geographical neighbors and friends. My hope is that the foundation we lay today will support future growth and give future generations a place to reflect and create new memories and history of their own. Animatedly, Michael Berman |
!! Back By Popular Demand!! THE STORY OF JERSEY HOMESTEADS PRESENTED BY DR. ARTHUR SHAPIRO
Those of you who missed Dr. Arthur Shapiro's computer slide show on Roosevelt, N.J. when he presented it at Rumson's Congregation B'Nai Israel this past November now have another opportunity to view this most entertaining and informative talk. On Thursday, February 7, 2008 Dr. Shapiro will appear at Temple Beth Ahm, 500 Lloyd Road , Aberdeen , NJ , from 11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
Dr. Arthur Shapiro , educator, author and historian, seen here at the Roosevelt program he presented at Rumson synagogue in November 2007
The JHMOMC and Temple Beth Ahm of Aberdeen are co-sponsoring Dr. Shapiro's presentation as part of the Temple 's “Learning and Lunch With the Rabbi” series of educational programs. A light lunch will be available at 11:30 A.M. to JHMOMC members for $4.00 ($6.00 for non-members). Please call Ellen Morgenstern of Temple Beth Ahm at 732-566-3562 or Gloria Berman, JHMOMC Program Chair at 732-780-1220 for further information or to register for the luncheon and talk.. Jersey Homesteads (later named Roosevelt) was a Federal Depression Era agricultural/ industrial cooperative carved out of western Monmouth County in the 1930's and populated by a majority of Jewish garment workers from New York City . It is one of those truly unique communities that make Monmouth County 's Jewish history so utterly fascinating.
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Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County A Wemrock Road and Route 537 A P.O. Box 7078 A Freehold, NJ 07728 |
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Local AZA Chapter Chooses JHMOMC To Receive Their Community Service Donation By Justin Kaabe* Over the summer the local AZA Chapter MS Manalapan AZA helped to carry books for the Association of University Women's annual book sale. In gratitude, the AAUW paid the AZA Chapter $120 for their services and the Chapter decided to donate the money earned to the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County to meet our community service requirements. The boys from the local AZA Chapter who participated were Justin Kaabe, Jonathan Wolf, Tyler Blum, and Cory Bolotsky. The reason we chose to give the money to the Jewish Museum was because we thought that it would be good to donate to an organization dedicated to educating the public on Jewish history, religion, and way of life. Since its establishment in 1924, AZA has provided Jewish and personal enrichment to hundreds of thousands of young men throughout the world. It's Hebrew letters – Aleph, Zadik, Aleph – stand for Ahava, Tzedakah, Ahdoot, which symbolize fraternal love, benevolence and harmony. For those of you who don't know, AZA is a Jewish fraternity for teenage boys. It was started in the 1920's after a group of Jewish boys looking for a college fraternity to join were turned down because they Jewish. So they started AZA which grew into the girls' and boys' organization BBYO (B'Nai B'rith Youth Organization) which has chapters of Jewish teens all around the world. We hope to help the Jewish Museum in other ways in the near future and look forward to the Museum opening in 2008. ( * Justin Kaabe is the son JHMOMC member Cheryl Ingerman.)
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Save the Date In celebration of the 60 th Anniversary of the State of Israel the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth will present a slide presentation on Zimmel Resnick and other Monmouth County residents who aided in the formation of the State of Israel. Join us for the exciting story of ZIMMEL RESNICK A ND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL,” at the Ruth Hyman JCC, 100 Grant Avenue, Deal, N.J. 07723, on TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2008 from 12:30-1:30 pm.. For more information on this upcoming program, please contact Gloria Berman, JHMOMC Program Chair at 732-780-1220. Want to make a difference? The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County is now able to accept gifts of stocks or securities. For details on how you contribute to the future success of the Museum's programs and educational resources, please direct your inquiries to Marjorie Kalman-Kutz at the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County, PO Box 7078 , Freehold, NJ 07728 Notice something new this issue? We have tried from the beginning to include at least one article of historical interest in Heritage Highlights . As part of the Museum's Oral History initiative, we invite you to tell your story about Jewish life in the Greater Monmouth County Area. In this issue, Joel and Beverly Stern shared their memories of the Jewish-owned general stores in Monmouth County . If you have a story to share that you think our readers might enjoy, please send it to us, care of the editor, or e-mail it to scott@latke.net . All stories submitted are eligible to be part of the Museum's permanent research collection. And you get the satisfaction of knowing that your story will be heard by future generations.
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Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County A Wemrock Road and Route 537 A P.O. Box 7078 A Freehold, NJ 07728 |
Just as the Museum space, itself, is taking shape, so too are the exhibits and education programs that will become the core of the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County. The Exhibits and Collections Committee has been meeting with a museum exhibit designer to plan the physical form of the Museum's permanent exhibit and flexible gallery space. A number of ideas and concepts have been discussed and a final conceptualization is expected by Spring. The exhibit will tell the story of the Jewish community of the Greater Monmouth County Area from the earliest Jewish settlers through the era of the Goldeneh Medinah in the late 19th century right up the present day. In-house educator and docent-led educational programs are being developed in conjunction with the master exhibit plan by a committee of professional educators and museum education experts. Outreach programs for children and adults are also being developed to bring the Museum into the community. Heritage Highlights will keep the Museum's membership updated as the design process progresses. Adam Klemons' Eagle Scout flag project for the Museum is almost finished. The project will be completed when the Museum flag is finished and added to the flagpole and Adam installs the benches and planters around flag. The flag should be ready to fly in about 4 to 6 weeks and the benches and planters should be in place by late January or early February. The Personalized Commemorative Bricks the Museum has been selling will be ready for installation by late May. There is stall space available for you to honor a loved one or commemorate a special occasion with a personalized brick , but don't delay. Space in the Flag Courtyard is limited and the final brick order will be made in April or May. Once the final order is placed, no more bricks will be available. So if you haven't done so already, or if you know someone who may be interested in supporting the Museum in this way, please get your order in soon. Use the handy coupon below to order your brick today! And thank you for your continued support of the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County. |
A right turn into the Mount's Corner Shopping Center will get you closer to the place where Jewish memory is being given a home and where Jewish history will come alive. After making your entrance into Mount's Corner you will pass the Walgreen's apothecary on your right and Panera's artisan breads on your left; the house of Dunkin and a number of other eating establishments will lead you to the back of the Center and your destination. Take care to park your horse and tie off the reins good and tight; then walk beyond the circular brick courtyard and you will reach the Museum. 
