NEW BETHLEHEM – The often-overlooked history of New Bethlehem’s past Jewish community came to the forefront on Tuesday, as the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives of the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh visited the Redbank Valley History Center.
“Even though we knew the names, we weren’t putting it all together as Jewish heritage,” Redbank Valley Historical Society president Brenda Shilling said as she talked about a handful of New Bethlehem’s Jewish residents and business owners from years past.
Rauh director Eric Lidji said that the Heinz History Center began documenting small town Jewish life in 2014, and the project has grown to encompass all 26 counties in Western Pennsylvania.
His visit to New Bethlehem on Jan. 3 was part of a larger, grant-funded research project to document Jewish heritage in Clarion, Jefferson, Venango, Forest and Clearfield counties. He visited the Clarion County Historical Society earlier in the day on Tuesday.
Lidji said the ultimate goal was to bring all of the information together at one place to make it easier for researchers in the future.
After looking over the Heinz History Center’s small collection of items from the Krouse and Harris families from New Bethlehem, he reached out to the local historical society to provide any information it could.
Brenda Shilling said that her husband, Don, compiled details about local Jewish families and businesses from past society publications, many of which gleaned their information from The Leader-Vindicator columns of past L-V owner and publisher Tom T. Andrews Jr.
The local history group offered insight into the Pokempner family, starting with Morris Pokempner, who was born in 1893 in Lithuania. He came to America in 1915, and made his way to New Bethlehem, where he shortened the family name and opened the Kempner clothing store at 234 Broad Street around 1922. His wife, Eleanor (Ossar) — who was born in Dayton and served as a school teacher in Punxsutawney before she was married — opened a millinery store in New Bethlehem around 1926.
Morris Kempner died in 1947, after selling his store to his employee, Charles Krutzel, in 1945, and moving from the area.
That led into a discussion about the Krutzel family, with Brenda Shilling noting that Charles Krutzel was born in Poland in 1879, and came to America in 1912.
After living in the New York City area for a number of years, Krutzel moved to New Bethlehem, where he worked at the Kempner store.
During his time in New Bethlehem, Krutzel was heavily involved in the community, including the New Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, Redbank Valley Assistance Committee and the New Bethlehem Retail Association.
He operated the store in New Bethlehem until his death on April 7, 1979.
Moving on, Shilling talked about Morris Harris, who owned and operated a men’s clothing store along Broad Street in New Bethlehem from 1921 to 1956, often called “The Hub.”
Born in Pittsburgh in 1897, Morris and his wife, Sara, came to New Bethlehem and operated the store for decades, before selling the business in 1956 and moving to Johnstown. He died in October 1977.
Dr. Stanley P. Weiss was the next topic, with Shilling noting that Weiss was born in New York City on March 30, 1923.
After serving in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater of World War II, Weiss earned a degree from Northern Illinois College of Optometry. He and his wife, Eleanor, moved to New Bethlehem in 1951, where he spent 11 years operating eye care offices in New Bethlehem and Rimersburg.
While in the area, Weiss was very active in the community, serving on the Clarion County Planning Commission, the New Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club. He was also involved with local Boy Scouts program, as well as serving on the finance committee for the Farmers and Merchants Picnic, the precursor for today’s Clarion County Fair.
In 1962, Weiss moved to Chicago, passing away in October 2011.
The final local Jewish family discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, was the Krouse family.
Abraham and Ida Krouse, both originally from Russia, came to America in 1906, settling in New Bethlehem in 1912. Abraham was a scrap metal dealer.
Their son, Isadore Krouse, was born on April 16, 1917. After attending New Bethlehem schools, he served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1945, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
His first wife, Lilyan, served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1945. They married in 1950. Isadore remarried in 1957 to Shirley Ann Gordon.
On July 20, 1950, Isadore Krouse opened an auto parts store at 441 Broad Street in New Bethlehem, where the food pantry is today. After returning in 1982, Krouse’s son, Allan, ran the store until it closed a decade ago.
Isadore Krouse was also very active in the New Bethlehem community, serving on the Redbank Valley School Board, the New Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, the local Lions Club, New Bethlehem Borough Council, and as president of the New Bethlehem Library Board, among many other local activities. He died on Nov. 2, 1992.
Another local Jewish resident mentioned on Tuesday was Sgt. David Goodman, who was born Sept. 13, 1822, and served in the Civil War with the 78th Pennsylvania Infantry. He died at the age of 71 in July 1916, and is buried in the Middle Run Cemetery in Alcola.
Lidji said he was very grateful for the information provided by the local historical society, adding that much of the information provided was previously unknown to the Heinz History Center.