Interview with Sadie Baer, July 30, 1978

Interviewer:

So first I have to ... This is [inaudible 00:00:06] of the oral history project. The interview for today is Sadie Baer. What we'll probably start off with is your recollections of old Louisville or Lowe, as you were growing up.

Sadie Baer:

Well, I think my memories will go back about- my vivid memories will go back about 70 years. And I was born in and grew up in a neighborhood that would have been meat for a man like [Shaw Malack 00:00:43]. It was a real Jewish neighborhood. A Yiddish shtetl. It was Seventh Street and from Chestnut to Market on both sides, especially between Walnut and Market. There were a few on the other block. It was, I imagine about 75% Jewish. They had the Jewish 1:00merchants of every type, [inaudible 00:01:11] the butcher. Everything that a person could want, it was just a small community and it branched into Walnut and Jefferson and Market, people living along those streets.

Sadie Baer:

The house that I lived in was quite significant. Was born at 529 South Seventh. It was an old home, probably wealthy people that lived there before. And it was a custom in those times, the ground floor apartments were servants quarters. So the first floor was really one flight up, and I, to think of the fact that we had an integrated neighborhood. I was born in a house where black people lived in the basement. We thought nothing of it. The basement flat, the ground floor 2:00flat, we thought nothing of it. The next door had the same thing. But the significant thing about this house at 529 South Seventh was that the first floor, which was one flight up, had two large rooms and a kitchen. On Friday night, Saturday, and Jewish holidays it was a shul. During the week it was the educational alliance where young people came.

Sadie Baer:

We had basket weaving classes and knitting classes, and sewing classes and candy pulling parties where we made taffy and pulled it and really had a good environment for social life. And I remember that some of the ladies that were 3:00the heart of the organization. I don't know who was responsible or which Jewish organization was, but I remember two ladies, the Mrs. Bamberger. There was no Jewish family here, and Ms. Barbara Goodman came there- Mrs. Barbara Goodman, Dr. Solomon's sister, and quite a number of other ... Miss Amy Dreyfus Washer and Mrs. JB Judah, who was really an outstanding woman in the Jewish community, and leader.

Sadie Baer:

Because of Ms. Judah, I wonder whether the council may have been responsible. I don't know. She was active as a council Jewish woman member. Ms. Barbara Goodman 4:00was active at the Adath Israel sisterhood. So I don't know who, but we had a marvelous life down there. The shul, I don't know, as of now, the name of it. I may find it out and let you know. Whether that was a predecessor of that good [foreign language 00:04:24] or Anshei Sfard I don't know. But an old gentleman by the name of Spudac and Mr. Runnegar, and Mr. Tarvus remain in my mind as the active kids of this shul. And I can remember that of course the shul was not for young people then, like today, the synagogues, were not.

Sadie Baer:

And I remember particularly Purim. As it happens, the stairway to the second 5:00floor where we lived did not come up from the front of the hall. It came up from the back of the hall, and you could look into these two rooms from the stairway. So we children would gather on this stairway to watch them dance and sing on Purim night, these older men. They were a little happy, they had few drinks, many drinks perhaps, the Schnapps was [inaudible 00:05:37]. And when they danced and we sat there and watched. And we had on Gregors that resounded when we heard the name of Haman. I remember too that we didn't have electricity.

Sadie Baer:

So my mother kept the coal oil, or kerosene rather, lamp, took care of it for the hall downstairs and Mrs. Judah wanted to pay her for the kerosene and for 6:00keeping it clean. And, oh, she said, "No, my children enjoy the place too. And that's my contribution." So for Hanukkah, Mrs. Judah sent her from the old Kaufman Strauss on Fourth Street where her husband was an official, a picture. And she was very proud of it. We had a good life, a community life. Everybody shared in everybody's problems. We children didn't have any playground in the neighborhood, so we gathered down on the streets at night. There was no TV or radio to keep us inside, no air conditioning to keep the windows closed. So we played outside, [rain 00:06:49] games, sang all the old songs. We had a very happy, enchanted life, and a real disciplined one too.

Sadie Baer:

Now I remember, too, that in the summer they took us on expeditions somewhere. I remember one in particular, Mrs. Goodman was the leader, and we all dressed up in our starched little dresses and all. And I don't remember how we got over to the [inter-urban 00:07:21] car, but we got there, whether we walked over or we were taken over on the street car. We didn't have buses, but we got to [inter-urban 00:07:30] and we went to a farm out in Pleasure Ridge Park. Who owned it? I don't know. Whether there was a Jewish man, and I don't know, but we watched, we saw farm life, we watched them milk the cows. That was something new to us. We only knew milk as it came in a bottle. And gave us the fresh milk and big slabs of pumpernickel bread loaded with apple butter jam. So they tried in 8:00every way to make us part.

Sadie Baer:

We were first generation in this country. Our parents, my parents in particular, came in 1893 and 1895. There was hardly a week there wasn't a newcomer from one of the Eastern European countries and they usually found a flat, we didn't call them apartments. They were flats. In a house that was called the Castle Garden. It was on the corner of Seventh and Cedar. A lot of flats upstairs. And they usually found them one and that's where they stayed till they found work, until they learned a little English, until they were able to better themself and move. But it was nicknamed the Castle Garden for that reason.

Sadie Baer:

And one of those flats in that particular house, there lived a Ms. Fehr, F-E-H-R. And she had a restaurant. I played with the daughter, Ida, and I marveled at that big room with so many tables and so many oil cloth covers on the tables. But she had a Jewish kosher, a Jewish restaurant. This is back prior to 1910 because we moved away in 1910 from that neighborhood. And we went to another Jewish community that was up Preston Street. We were- lived on the 500 block of East Madison, Madison Street towards the Jewish hospital and it's now called Flexner Way. But then it was Madison from Brook, east and we lived there 10:00for two years. And of course Preston Street was the center again, from Chestnut to Market and mostly from Madison, north to Market.

Sadie Baer:

There was every type of Jewish business that you would want. Delicatessens, milkmen, bakers, butchers, several Jewish butchers. Mr. Strager, Mr. Snyder, that I remember. [Gorbich 00:10:35] was on Seventh Street, Jewish butcher. But there were at times five and six Jewish butchers in Louisville which is in a much smaller Jewish community. I remember there were several Jewish bakers at that time. Plegle, and Diamond, Linker, Lader, Goldberg. And you had real traditional Jewish bakery goods. And there were several Jewish milkmen, Marcus 11:00on First Street. There was [inaudible 00:11:13] on Preston Street, a Goldstein on Jefferson Street.

Sadie Baer:

Oh I know, I'm omitting some. But you had abundance of Jewish life in every degree at that time. And of course on Jefferson Street, everybody went to Jefferson Street. There were Jewish people, the Wolfs had poultry. They were the predecessors of the current supermarkets, Bass, Klein, Belker, Paris, all of them had the cut-rates. They were called cut-rate markets. And of course there was a big hay market. And there was a [Betty Yankof 00:12:04] shul named Jacob 12:00on Jefferson Street. The Beth Hamedrash Hagodol on Preston and [inaudible 00:12:11]. The Anshei Sfard which was by then located on First just south of Walnut. But the abundance of Jewish life.

Sadie Baer:

We still didn't have the radios or the televisions to distract us all. We lived there for two years and then we moved into a real Jewish community and that was Madison Street between Brook and Floyd. By then the Jewish community had moved from West Market and from Seventh to Ninth and all, when they could up towards this eastern part of Louisville, Preston. Were moving out to South Louisville and we bought Barnett Linkers home at 235 East Madison because he had moved out 13:00to First and Ormsby. And we lived there from about 1911 or '12- 1912 till I moved away in '37. And if ever there was a close knit Jewish community, it was that street and the next one towards Preston.

Sadie Baer:

It was really wonderful. Everybody, Friday's, if you walked through that street, they were polishing their stone steps with dressing, making them white, painting the red brick walks, the old brick walks up to the house with red paint. Everything had to look beautiful for shoppers. And you didn't know whose Gefilte 14:00fish or chicken soup was smelling the best. It was a real life. And many of the present day people spread all through the city were there. I can name a few. The Berrings cross the way, the [inaudible 00:14:20], The Lipsens, Rabbi Klevansky, the Nathan Baer family.

Sadie Baer:

My brother's family, Ray Baer's father, Ray Baer grew up there. The Lipsens. I'm trying to remember all the way down. The Mensens on the other side, the Weinbergs, the Heislers, Spiegels, Alberts.

Interviewer:

This was on Preston Street?

Sadie Baer:

This was Madison Street between Brook and Floyd. And again, everybody shared everybody's life. At nights we sat out front in the summer time and there was gossip across the fences, iron fences that separate the houses and people. They 15:00were semi detached houses, two together. The whole row on both sides of the street with a few individual houses in between. The Landows. I'm just trying, it comes back to me, the various people that lived there. And again, Preston Street was our shopping area.

Interviewer:

Just out of curiosity, when did that migration to the Highlands start?

Sadie Baer:

It started late from First and Second street. Then they started moving up to the Highlands. I'm trying to remember just one. It was gradual. Now, in 1912 as I said, when we moved from Madison, they were moving out to Second and Third. It was- let me say, after the war years or so when people got a little more 16:00economically able to buy better homes, I think after World War I, and especially after World War II, I imagine, I don't know when because we never moved up there. And of course after the flood, especially after the '37 flood, we all ran up to the Highlands then. And a lot of people started buying homes up in the Highland then. But see, I can remember when it was Seventh, West Market, West Walnut. Welba Street, in my time, from Seventh down, as far as 16th or so was lined on both sides with Jewish groceries, Ninth Street, 10th Street, Cedar had groceries.

Sadie Baer:

Epsteins were on, I think 11th and Cedar, something like that. We visited there 17:00often. The Weisberg's had a grocery on West Market and down on West Walnut and then on Ninth Street and 10th Street were Jewish small businesses, tailors, shoemakers. Mr. Zieger had a- this was about in the '20s, had a shoemaker place down in West Walnut. That's the father of the young man today. And the Educational Alliance that was downstairs from us later moved on Seventh Street, on Jefferson, rather, just a few doors west of Seventh. And I went down there from East Madison when we lived up there. And the two lovely women, Mrs. Trost, Mrs. Fannie Trost, and her sister-in-law and Mrs. Meier taught us embroidery. I was 10 years old then and I was already embroidering. They tried to fill our 18:00lives with worthwhile things. They had classes for the newcomers in English and I'm just trying to remember some other things.

Sadie Baer:

The Anshei Sfard was on First Street just south of Walnut on the east side, right on the alley. And a few doors south of it was the old YMHA. It was distinctly a Young Men's Hebrew Association then. I mean, women had very little part in it. I went to some entertainments there as a child, Hanukkah and things. Then two doors south of that was a house in which the Jewish Welfare Federation had the downstairs flat and Mr. Charles Streul was head of it and that was the 19:00beginning of the Jewish Social Service here. I later worked for it in the early '30s as a social worker, and it was on Walnut between Brook and Floyd in the Social Service building. All of them. The nurses and all were in that one building.

Sadie Baer:

And when I went to work there, Ms. Krakauer was the head and later when she left Louisville, a Ms. Betty Rosenberg whose father was the Jewish undertaker here before Meyers, she became the head of it. But I had to leave in '37 and give up. Not '37, I'm sorry. This was earlier than '37. I gave up about '32 to take care 20:00of my mother, and I didn't have anything but part time work till '37 when she passed away. But that was, at that time, [inaudible 00:20:20]. I could remember a meeting, maybe I'm jumping around too much, I remember a meeting in the early '30s when Hitler was ravaging the Jewish people.

Sadie Baer:

And it was called at the old Keneseth Israel Synagogue on Floyd and College, which was then on Floyd and College, to make the campaign to Jewish for relief of those in Europe . And at the meeting they called me out of the audience to be the secretary of that night and take the names of those who were contributing 21:00monies. And Mr. Saul Levy, who was an outstanding leader in the community and a part of the Federation Jewish charity, was the treasurer.

Sadie Baer:

And every week that speaking and the appeal and the money was mailed to me, and I was living then at 235 East Madison. And I took it over daily with my list to Mr. Levy, who was at the Levy Company on East Jefferson Street, wholesale, paper goods, and other supplies of that nature. That was the start of beginning of the United Jewish Appeal and of course they joined with the Federation and all later.

Interviewer:

Which was I believe then the Conference of Jewish [crosstalk 00:21:55].

Sadie Baer:

Well, Charles W. Morris who was my Sunday school teacher in the early days. Now 22:00I've forgotten this, when I was about nine years old, and we had moved up on East Madison I heard that Adath Israel was opening a Sabbath school for nonmembers. The shuls didn't have any Sunday schools then. The [foreign language 00:22:22] were the only place where Jewish children could have the education- bible, biblical studies and all. And the temples did have them for their members, but the Adath Israel opened a Sabbath school Saturday afternoons. And I went there from my ninth year until I was 17. I went Saturday afternoon. We were really taught biblical history. Now of course, not the Jewish life as an Orthodox people observing.

Sadie Baer:

But Jewish history, all of our teachers were wonderful, dedicated people and Rabbi [inaudible 00:23:09] was the rabbi then, and later Rabbi Rauch came. And I really appreciated so very much because I learned Jewish history and learned it well. I could name almost all the teachers that I had. We had a beautifully disciplined school, and we had assembly in the- during the time- and some child was given the opportunity of giving the sermonette. And I led- the other day, I found one that I gave when I was 12 years old about the value and importance of little things. And I still have it. I gave it to Rabbi, well not long ago, a big 24:00box of memorabilia. The pamphlets that we were given that fitted into a binder, and the programs. I was in many of the program.

Sadie Baer:

Now we had joint programs with the Sunday school for Sukkahs and Shovuos. We had our own Saturday afternoon purim party and they had theirs Sunday. I don't remember about ... No, Hanukkah I think was in his temple, joint. But I'm very grateful to them for all that. When I finished all the classes Saturday afternoon Rabbi Rauch invited me to come on Sunday mornings and completed there. And I had such memories of my last year when I was senior in high school and 25:00Charles W. Morris was our teacher. We didn't have a textbook. It was discussion, and I stood the lone Zionist against a crowd, but it was worth it. It was a little argumentative and it was a little difficult at times, but I stood my grounds.

Sadie Baer:

It wasn't popular to be a Zionist then. I've been through that metamorphis too to became- Zion- became after Israel was established it became a little more pop- became more popular. But I was alone and Charlie [Morris? 00:25:45] was very kind and very lovely. I have something that he did for me that I'll never forget. The YMHA was very active then at Second and Jacob and was drawing in the 26:00women, women were becoming part of the board and women's groups were being organized. I worked there as bookkeeper.

Sadie Baer:

And there was a Junior Social and Literary Society. Sounds very big, doesn't it? And they sponsored two declamatory contests every year. One was for women- girls, and one were for boys. Young men, young ladies. In 1990, they asked me to become one of the participants. And I said to Mr. Morris, "I don't want to give one of these cut and dried speeches. If I had something worthwhile, I would." He said, "I'll write something for you." And he wrote a tribute to Jewish womanhood. Beautiful. And he coached me in it - I have my silver cup.

Sadie Baer:

It is as true today as it was in 1919, just have to change one word. Instead of Bolshevism you say communism. And the appeal to us to keep pure Jewish womanhood - it traced what Jewish women had contributed to Jewish life from the early days until that time. It's a very beautiful thing. I wish some way I could pass it on that it would be a memorial to Charlie Morris. He was a [inaudible 00:27:48] The reason he chose me to be his Queen Esther at that temple, he wrote the play in 1915, he wrote [inaudible 00:27:57] and so that's why he wanted me to be in this 28:00declamatory contest.

Interviewer:

I just want to check the progress on the tape for a second.