Monticello Live

I have to share that I have a soft spot in my heart that grieves for the historic Jewish temple in McGehee, Arkansas.  Several newspapers  have carried stories about the history of the building.  I just want to add the story of my personal relationship with the temple.

Many readers know we moved to Drew County from McGehee in 1969.  Drew County is home but I still have tender feelings for McGehee.   Perhaps that’s because I started my teaching career in McGehee.  Here are my memories and perspective for the old Meir Chayim Temple.

At one time there were many Jewish families residing in the McGehee, Dumas, Dermott, Arkansas City area.  Together they built the temple in 1947.  Their names marked ownership of many storefronts and businesses in southeast Arkansas.   There were Fleisigs, Ruskins, Wolchanskys, Dantes, Tannenbaums, Hamburgers, Levys,  Dreyfuses, Cannons, Wolffs, Smalls, Simbergs, Abrams, Marcuses, and so many others.    

I can still see Wolchanskys with their yellow film on the storefront windows to keep the sun from fading the merchandise displayed and their shelves filled with mysterious little boxes containing ladies underwear, gowns, slips, delicately embroidered handkerchiefs, hose (nylons) and such for fashionable ladies.  They carried high fashion clothing too.

I was fascinated by Ruskin’s 5 & 10 too.  It sat in the area where the railroad car sits now.  Oh, the joy in those bins for children with a few coins to spend!  Later we moved to Dumas and Mr. Ruskin moved his store there too.  I even worked for them on Saturdays as a young teen.  I remember their children, Phyllis and Joe, and wonder where they are and how they’ve fared in life.

I remember a Mr. Hamburger.  He had gotten out of Germany before WWII and had many stories to share.

I also remember the Seymour Fleisigs.  They too had a wondrous clothing store that kept the citizens in fine fashion.  The Fleisigs also had at least two children – Howard and Lisa.  All are long gone from McGehee.  About 6 years ago we were in the Atlanta airport and looked across the aisles and there sat a man who looked exactly like Seymour Fleisig!  We couldn’t resist so Damon walked over and introduced himself.  Sure enough, the man was Howard Fleisig!  He is the “spittin’ image” of his late father and is the head of public housing in Atlanta.  (We had to catch a plane so I didn’t get to ask about Lisa.)

There were so many other families then, but Lisa Fleisig introduced me to the Meir Chayin Temple.  We were familiar with the temple as a child with its prominent site on North Fourth and Holly Streets, but it held a mysterious aura to my young mind with its décor, stained glass windows and “different” traditions.  I’d say I viewed it with mystery and awe.

All that changed the year I had Lisa Fleisig in my 6^th grade class.  Lisa invited the entire class on a field trip to the temple.  We were introduced to the beautiful symbols and fixtures of the temple in such a beautiful and simplistic way that teacher and students were thoroughly impressed.  I recall a gentleman (possibly a rabbi) was there and he showed us their magnificent Torah.  I was filled with awe.   (The closest I’ve ever felt to that emotion happened at the Alamo one Christmas as a choir sang “We are standing on Hallowed Ground”.)

Time is constantly changing; nothing ever stands still.  So it is with McGehee and the Delta.  Good jobs and opportunities have left as has the Jewish population and many others.  Yet I thought the temple would remain.

When I heard it would be abandoned and sold, I was dismayed.  I thought it would make an excellent museum of the history of the Jewish community in southeast Arkansas.  If I had the funds and the vigor of youth, I’d buy it and restore it to that end.  I can just visualize little storefronts of the businesses the Jewish people fostered in the area, but that will never happen; too much time has passed for all of us.

So this upcoming Friday night the last service will be conducted at Meir Chayim Temple.  The public is invited.  I’d go, but it might be too crowded if former members do return.  I hope they do.

I also hope the building is treasured and loved for years to come.  I’d enjoy hearing from any of those former members.  Farewell to Meir Chayim Temple.                               

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2016 at 6:41 am and is filed under Letters to the Editor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.