U of Oklahoma Holdings

FASCINATING JEWISH HOLDINGS IN THE
WESTERN HISTORY COLLECTIONS,
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

The Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma offers researchers diverse material relating to many aspects of the history and culture of the American West. The resources are extensive for work concerning Native Americans and early settlers, especially those in Indian Territory and Oklahoma, Although not recognized as a major repository of western Jewish history, the Western History Collections does offer valuable information on Oklahoma Jewish studies,

The Western History Collections currently consists of three separate divisions. The Manuscript Division contains over 2,000 manuscript collections ranging in size from less than one to several hundred cubic feet. There are also more than 1,000 sound recordings and a superb collection of over 5,000 maps. The library consists of 60,000 volumes and 20,000 microforms with eleven private libraries and book collections. Finally, the Photographic Archives consists of nearly 250,000 prints and negatives. As well as the three divisions, the Western History Collections serves as the archives for the University of Oklahoma's administrative records .¹

There are several manuscript collections which can assist researchers interested in the Jewish contribution to Oklahoma history, The Religious Bodies of Oklahoma Collection contains publications of various religious denominations and individual churches in Oklahoma. The material includes church bulletins and pamphlets, and various conference proceedings from 1895-1950; it is 2.33 cubic feet and there is a non-published finding aid available. Included in the collection is information on the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation at the University of Oklahoma. A folder highlights the religious, cultural, social, educational, and inter-faith activities of the Foundation in 1943-44. There is also a booklet from the national Hillel Foundation for 1945, discussing objectives, leaders, courses, discussion groups and fellowship.

The Abraham Zweigel Manuscript Collection provides information on business in early Oklahoma. The collection is 67 cubic feet and covers the years 1904-1938. Abraham Zweigel, born in Washnes, Austria in 1875, came to Atoka, Indian Territory, when he was twenty-six years old. He opened a hardware store in Atoka and became a successful merchant and investor. Zweigel expanded his business endeavors to include funeral services, oil leasing and real estate. He contributed significantly to Jewish charities. His collection includes correspondences, financial papers, accounts and receipts, and oil and gas leases in Indian lands.

Leo Meyer was an early settler to Oklahoma and eventually a politician in the state.² His manuscript collection is 25 cubic feet and covers the years 1906-1939. Included in the collection is a tribute to Meyer from B'nai B'rith of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a life membership certificate for Temple Israel of Tulsa and two certificates regarding Meyer's nomination and election as State Auditor.

Henry Jack Tobias is a well-known scholar on western Jewish studies. He has authored several books, including A History of the Jews in New Mexico, The Jews in Oklahoma, The Jewish Bund in Russia From Its Origins to 1905, and Minorities and Politics. Tobias also served as a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma.

Tobias' manuscript collection is a valuable source for Jewish history in Oklahoma. The collection is .10 cubic feet and the material covers the years 1871-1974. It contains a rabbinical thesis by Randall M. Falk from 1946, "A History of the Jews in Oklahoma with Special Emphasis on the Tulsa Jewish Community," as well as a synopsis of the thesis. There is a monograph entitled, "The Story of Oklahoma Jewry," written by Rabbi Joseph Levenson and photocopies of biographical sketches of prevalent members of the Oklahoma Jewish community from 1928-1930.

The collection also includes a photocopy of the Guthrie Daily Leader from November 1, 1912. The headline reads, "Shylocks of Oklahoma City Have State by the Throat." A transcript of a speech given by Martin I. Zofness in 1974 before the Washington County Historical Society is included with copies of two letters from Zofness; one to Richard M. Bernard, dated October 2, 1978, regarding the above speech, and the other of March 26, 1975 to Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, George Nigh, concerning the promotion of the northeastern part of the state. The Tobias Collection also contains an almost complete run, from 1929 through 1980, of the Oklahoma Jewish Chronicle, later published as the Jewish Chronicle and then the Southwest Jewish Chronicle.

Complementing the Tobias material are two collections that also contain information on the history of Jewry in Oklahoma. The Sound Recordings Collection contains the Oklahoma Image Series which includes four tape recordings entitled "Jews in Oklahoma." The "Indian-Pioneer Papers," a 1930s Works Projects Administration undertaking consists of interviews with early settlers of Oklahoma.

The "Indian-Pioneer Papers" offer unique information on the experience of the early Oklahomans, including several Jewish pioneers. The entire collection contains 113 volumes portraying the diversity of frontier life in Oklahoma, For example, there is the interview of S.E. Sterling Byers. Born in Survolk, Poland, Byers moved to Atoka, Indian Territory, in 1891. Working as a dry goods merchant in the coal mining town of Lehigh, he learned to speak Italian, Creek and Choctaw. He ran a successful business, raised six children, lost $40,000 in the stock market crash and yet "never regretted leaving the old country and coming to a country of much freedom and many opportunities."³

There are several other interviews with Jewish settlers such as Jake A. Bodovitz. Born in Poland, Bodovitz moved to Ardmore from New York because of health problems. As a merchant and trader, Bodovitz was threatened with eviction from Indian Territory because he was "an undesirable citizen among the Indians.⁴

The stories of these early Oklahoma Jewish settlers and many others, collected in the Indian-Pioneer Papers, offer a vivid ac-count of early life on the Oklahoma frontier.

The Photographic Archives has three collections of interest, Two of these were donated by a father and a daughter, George W. Levite and Molly Levite Griffis. These two collections provide a photographic record of the Levite family of Apache, Oklahoma. Peter M. Levite, the father of George Levite, came to Apache in 1901. An immigrant from Bessarabia, the senior Levite opened a store in the new frontier town,

The Levite family collections include photographs of Peter Levite and his store, both interior and exterior views. There are also images of Levite family members, including studio portraits and less formal family pictures, Other scenes include George Levite with his Apache, Oklahoma, baseball team and as a soldier at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during World War I.

The Irwin Frank Collection includes photographs of Leo Meyer, and serves as an excellent supplement to the Meyer Manuscript Collection. The collection also features photographs of the Charles Frank family. Charles Frank was the husband of Leo Meyer's daughter, and Irwin Frank was Leo Meyer's grandson, The Meyer and Frank family images are of family gatherings including vacation scenes and group images, Also within the collection are formal family portraits and pictures of Charles Frank at his store in Erick, Oklahoma. These images help represent the experience of Jewish families in early Oklahoma.

Although not recognized for its holdings on Jewish history in the West, the Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma can provide the discerning researcher with valuable material on the Jewish experience in Oklahoma. The manuscript collections can provide interesting insight into life on the Oklahoma frontier as well as early business ventures by several Jewish families, The photographs bring a visual reality to the early Oklahoma,

In Appendix 1 are the listings of each collection relating to Oklahoma Jewry, both manuscript and photographic, contained at the Western History Collections. The Collections are open Monday through Friday, 8:00am until 5:00pm. During the school year, the Collections are also open Saturdays from 8:00am until 12:00noon. Researchers are encouraged to inform the repository of visits, including arrival dates and research topics, in advance.

Inquiries should be sent to the Western History Collections, Room 452, Monnet Hall, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072.

1. There are several published guides to the Western History Collections: Donald L. DeWitt, Guide to Manuscript Collections, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1994), John R. Lovett and Donald L. DeWitt, Guide to Photographs, Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK: The Associates of the Western History Collections, 1993) and Donald L. DeWitt, ed, American Indian Resource Material in the Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990), The holdings at the Western History Collections are available through OLIN at the University of Oklahoma Libraries' homepage (http://www-lib.uoknor.edu).

2. For more on Leo Meyer, see John R. Lovett, "Leo Meyer: Texas and Oklahoma Settler and Politician," Western States Jewish History v. 26, n.1, (October 1993): 55-63.

3. Works Progress Administration, "Indian-Pioneer Papers," Western History Collections, The University of Oklahoma, v. 14, p. 294.

5. Manuscript entries are from DeWitt, Guide To Manuscript Collections, Photograph entries are from Lovett and DeWitt, Guide To Photographs, Motion Pictures, and Sound Recordings.

Oral history Collection. Typescripts of interviews conducted during the 1930s by government workers with thousands of Oklahomans regarding the settlement of Oklahoma and Indian territories, as well as the condition and conduct of life there. Consisting of approximately 80,000 entries, the index to this collection may be accessed by personal name, place name or subject.

State Auditor, A Tribute to Leo Meyer, B'nai B'rith, Tulsa, Oklahoma (1939); Rules of the House and Senate of Oklahoma; and a copy of the Oklahoma State Constitution.

Subject Collection, Publications (1895-1950) of several religious denominations and individual churches in Oklahoma, including Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Jews, Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, and Presbyterians. These printed materials include church bulletins, directories, conference proceedings and church pamphlets.

Various formats of sound recordings, including sound discs, cassettes, and reel-to reel tapes, regarding American, Oklahoman and North American Indian oral history, including the songs, music, dances and legends of numerous Indian tribes; histories of Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma and of prominent Oklahomans.

Professor. A typescript (n.d.) regarding the history of Poles in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Martin I. Zofness; a photocopy of a thesis (1946) by Randall Falk regarding Jewry in Oklahoma; a photocopy of a report entitled "The Story of Oklahoma Jewry," along with photocopies and original issues of Jewish newspapers (1913-1980) published in Oklahoma. The collection also includes photocopies of published biographies of prominent Oklahoma Jews and a letter (1975) by Lt. Governor George Nigh to Zofness regarding Zofness' suggestion for promoting tourism in Oklahoma.

General store. General correspondences (1912-1930); bills of lading (1911-1921); account ledgers (1904-1928); and orders (1914-1924) of the Zweigel Mercantile Company of Atoka, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma. The collection also includes oil, gas, and mining leases (1935) to Choctaw Indian lands.

Black and white copy prints of Leo Meyer, early twentieth century Oklahoma politician, and of members of the Frank and Meyer families on vacation and at family gatherings. Also included are photographs of Elk City, Erick, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Tulsa Jewish Community Council.

Black and white copy prints of the Levite family and Apache, Oklahoma. The collection includes photographs of school children, street scenes, and Levite' s store in Apache.

Black and white copy prints of Apache, Oklahoma Territory and state. Included are images of the Levite family; businesses; and football, baseball, and basketball teams.

About the Authors:
John R. Lovett is Librarian at the Western History Collections.

Carlton L. Bonilla is Graduate Research Assistant at the Collections and has recently finished his M.A. in Early American History.

Catholic Bishop Addresses Jews for First Time

Following the example of Bishop Shaughnessy of Seattle, Washington, who created a precedent by recently addressing a Jewish gathering under the auspices of the Seattle B'nai B'rith, the Most Rev. Ralph Leo Hayes, Bishop of Helena, Montana, addressed the Jews of Butte today at a banquet held at the Finlen Hotel.

Rabbi Emanuel Sternheim of Congregation B'nai Israel, who is President of Baron de Hirsch Lodge No. 420, B'nai B'rith of Butte, was toastmaster.

Taken from the American Hebrew and Jewish Tribune,
—June 15, 1934, p. 97.