November 22, 2005

Newsletter No. 12: Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History



Walk With Us Through Rose Canyon
Here's a chance to connect with early San Diego  history, learn a little about the native plants of San Diego, get some exercise, and help to build the Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History.  Please come join us at 2 p.m., Sunday, December 4th,  as we set off on a family hike from the parking lot of University City High School, 6949 Genesee Avenue.  Our naturalist, Rick Kamen, tells us the hike is a fairly easy one.  So is the price tag, only $5, in keeping with our policy to build a membership organization in which anyone can afford to participate.  Think of it, our membership costs only $36, and for that you get to honor one Jewish San Diegan on this website.  Additionally, our events, so far, have reflected our populist philosophy, with the prices thus far having been  $10 (picnic, including food), nothing (unveiling of a memorial to Henrietta Rose) and now $5 for a guided hike.  The only way such an organization can thrive is if we have participation, so please join us on a ramble through the land once owned by pioneer Louis Rose and still bearing his name. 


The tour is limited to the first 20 people who agree to make a minimum $5 donation to the Jewish Community Foundation/ Louis Rose Fund, and who sign the following insurance waiver and send it back to the Louis Rose Society, c/o Donald H. Harrison, PO Box 19363, San Diego, CA 92159, or fax it to me at (619) 265-0850.

(please cut out the form below)
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I, _______________________________, do hereby agree to donate a minimum $5 to the Jewish Community Foundation/ Louis Rose Fund and to assume full responsibility for any accident or injury that I may suffer during the Sunday, December 4, Rose Canyon nature walk sponsored by the Louis Rose Society. Furthermore,  by this instrument, I agree to hold harmless the Louis Rose Society, its officers, tour leaders and representatives for any mishap that may befall me.  In the event that I am a minor, my signature is countersigned below by that of my parent or guardian.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
(printed name)                                 (age)              (address)                                                                 (phone number)

__________________________________                               __________________________
(signature)                                                                                    (date)

____________________________________________       ______________________________________________
(If a minor, signature of parent or guardian here)                       (printed name of parent or guardian)

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Unveiling for Henrietta Rose's Gravestone an Uplifting Event
After nearly a half century of anonymity, Henrietta Rose—daughter of pioneer Louis Rose—now rests in a marked grave.  The Nov. 16 ceremony (click here for pictures) brought together representatives of the San Diego School Board, the San Diego Education Association, the Order of the Eastern Star, and, of course, our own Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History.  It was covered extensively by the news media, including a feature article the day of the event in the local section of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and follow up coverage on the Voice of San Diego, in an "About San Diego segment" by Ken Kramer on KNSD-TV (7/39) and in Hillquest, a web newspaper for the Hillcrest area.

Looking Ahead: Organizational Biographies and Oral Histories
We are pleased to report that several organizations have become interested in our Society helping them to recover their history through the posting of biographical source material from our archives about all their  past presidents. Once this program is underway, we will create a separate page on our website for each participating organization, with a list of the various honorees. Each name in turn will be linked to the honoree's own page on the web, where we will post stories from The Southwestern Jewish Press, The San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, and the San Diego Jewish Times, among other sources.  Anyone desiring to volunteer their time to index and transcribe old news articles will certainly be most welcome.  Please contact Don Harrison at (619) 265 0808 if you can make such a time commitment.  Another project, initiated by member Laurayne Ratner, is an oral history program, in which we tape record interviews with Louis Rose Society honorees and post them on our website. Laurayne already has recorded an interview with Richard C. Levi.  After the interview is transcribed, it will be sent to Richard for any additional information or corrections, then put up on the web. Once again, please contact Don  if you would like to participate as an interviewer in the Oral History program.

Membership News by Donald H. Harrison
We offer our heartfelt condolences to Teedy Appelbaum following the death of her husband, Irving Appelbaum, on November 20, at age 92. Irving always was a cheerful presence at every Jewish community event or cause that he and Teedy decided to support, and there were many of them indeed!  An obituary that ran in today's classified section of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Irving had been "a successful businessman in Decatur, Illinois, a WWII veteran and a lifelong benefactor to Jewish and civic causes."  It added, "Mr. Appelbaum was a pillar of his synagogue in Decatur and upon his retirement to La Jolla became a life member of Congregation Beth El."  Irving was buried at El Camino Cemetery....We are informed by Linda Neiman that her mother, San Diego Jewish Times columnist, Gert Thaler, is recovering nicely from the lung ailment that caused her hospitalization in Tel Aviv...Dr. Lawrence and Bonnie Baron celebrated the bar mitzvah of their son, Ari Isaac, Nov. 12, at Temple Emanu-El. Bonnie and Laurie, director of SDSU's Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, prepared a guide to the bar mitzvah service for non-Jewish attendees. It can be found on one of his pages on our website. We saw Gail & Okoronkwo Umeham at a reception in Old Town, where Eric Poliak (aka Eric Sands, the deejay) led Ari and friends through dances, games and general hilarity... .Jacob and Leslie Bercovitz celebrated the bar mitzvah of their son, Yaniv, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Saturday, Nov. 19.  Leslie serves as president of the Conservative congregation...Shimon Camiel is receiving a lot of positive feedback on his book about his late father, Zelig Camiel, entitled Zelig's Odyssey.  One review appears on this website....Jeanne Gold recently endowed the adult education program at Tifereth Israel Syangogue in honor of her late husband, Rabbi Aaron Gold. The endowment was announced during High Holiday services... Dana Greene, whose column on Jewish singles appears in Jewish newspapers around North America, has been retained by the Agency for Jewish Education to promote more involvement in the AJE by young adults.  She also is teaching some courses dealing with dating issues and other matters at the High School for Jewish Studies...He hasn't done so yet, but we're expecting Greg Smith, husband of steering committee member Arlette Smith, to soon announce for reelection for county Tax Assessor, Recorder and County Clerk.. Do you want to share news of your simchas with our members? Send me an email at sdheritage@cox.net, or a fax at (619) 265-0850.