600 Block of S. 10th St.

At the turn of the 20^th century, the 600 block of S. 10^th street was a thriving Jewish neighborhood, which is why the B’nai Yaakov congregation chose to build their synagogue here in 1924. As you walk down the sidewalks of this once bustling neighborhood it is possible to see the remnants of that era. The neighborhood is now dominated by the former synagogue (now home to Robidoux Resident Theater), which takes up the whole of the west side of the street; but in 1910 the block was entirely residential. Taking a large step backwards in time is a terrific way to get the feel for this neighborhood and the Jewish community that called it home. It would have had a very different feel and sound than it does today. Likely the primary language you would have heard was Russian and the residents were much more densely packed than is currently the case.

Taking a big step back in time to 1910 provides a rich insight into what the life of the immigrant community was like: Starting on the east side of the street:

602-608: Three of these four attached residences were occupied by Jewish families in 1910. On the corner in 602 lived the Agronsky family. Orlich (aged about 45 in 1910) and his wife Rebecca (aged 35) and their five children between the ages of 15 and 4 called this home. Both Orlich and Rebecca were born in Russia and had immigrated to the United States only five years earlier. Orlich worked as a butcher to support his family. Sharing the home were Harry and Lena Agron, Orlich’s nephew and niece [They had shortened their last name in an attempt to Americanize it] who both worked as clerks in clothing stores. Next door in 604 lived Abraham and Gertrude Abgenman and their two very small children. Abraham and Gertrude had immigrated from Russia in 1906 and they were a bit younger than the Agronskys – Abraham was 35 in 1910 and his wife was 28. Abraham worked as a tailor. Rose Farrell and her son James lived in 606 – they were Irish Catholics; one wonders if they felt very different from their neighbors or if the experience of being immigrants was enough common ground. In 608 were Frank (aged 23) and Frieda (aged 23) Agron; again, both were Russian immigrants; Frank came to this country in 1905 while Frieda had come over in 1903. Frank was a machine operator. In order to supplement their income, they had Samuel Kahingsky boarding with them. He had immigrated from Russia in 1906 and was working as a shoemaker in a factory.

610: In 1910 this house (minus its distinctive decorations – see below in background and context to learn more) was home to the Siegel family. The Siegels were of German background, though they all had been born in the United States. In 1910 the head of the family was Henrietta, the widow of David, and she shared the house with her adult son Lewis and the family servant Katie Reck. The family made their living in the clothing business. The Siegels played an important role in the Jewish community.

620: The extended family of Ben (aged 24) and Sarah (aged 23) Zurosky lived in 620 in 1910. Like many of their neighbors, the family had come from Russia, immigrating in 1906. Ben worked as a clerk at handler Brothers Distilling while Sarah took care of their three children all aged three and under. Sharing the home was Ben’s brother Dave (aged 21) who was a laborer in a shoe factory and Ben’s nephew Max Medoff, a clerk in a furniture store.

Next door to the Zuroskys was the duplex at 624/626 (no longer standing). These two residences had rather a staggering number of people living in them. Meyer Dolginoff (aged 47) and his wife Louise Agronsky Dolginoff (aged 46) had their large family in 624. Myer immigrated from Russia in 1904; in 1910 he was the proprietor of Silvar Ladies Fine Tailoring at 509 Francis Street. Louise came to the United States the year after her husband, bringing with her their seven children (four of whom lived with their parents in 624). Their eldest son Jake (aged 19) worked at the Johnston-Woodbury Hat Co. at 112-118 N. 4^th Street. Sharing the home with Meyer and Louise were Louise’s parents, Jake and Hoda Agronsky. They also had two boarders living with them, Ida Ruskin a Russian-born seamstress at the Wheeler & Motter Mercantile Company and Julius Seleznoff, a laborer in a packing house who had come from Russia just the year before. On the other side of the common wall lived the Borofsky family at 626. Hyman and Hannah were both born in Russia and had immigrated in 1891 and 1892. Hyman was a Rabbi. Their 21-year old daughter Jennie, who had immigrated with her mother, was working as a clerk. The younger four children, between the ages of 10 and 15 were all students.

In 628 another family named Zurosky lived (it is unclear if they are related to their neighbors). Nathan (aged 32) immigrated from Russia in 1905 and was working as a tinner for H. Ehrlich & Sons, and his wife Eva (aged 27) followed him the next year. They had two very small daughters. The 1911 City Directory lists an Anna Zurosky at this address as well, she was a seamstress for Meyer Dolginoff in his shop on Francis St.

South from 630 the rest of the block had non-Jewish residents in 1910. 630 was home to the Theisen family: Joseph was a German-born bartender; his wife Pheba and their three teen-aged children as well as Pheba’s mother lived here. The family of George P. Swearingen, a streetcar conductor, lived at 632. 634 housed the all-female blended household of Annie Schmidt and Meta Sharpe. Anna, who was born in Germany, was a widow whose only surviving child, also named Anna lived with her. The younger Anna was a clerk in an insurance office. Meta Sharpe immigrated from England and made her living as a music teacher. Her daughter Selena, a school teacher, shared the house as did another teacher, Mary E. Raines.

The east side of the street bears no resemblance to what it was in 1910; when the B’nai Yaakov synagogue was built, the residential structures were demolished. But in 1910, this side of the street was residential in nature. Crossing the street from the now empty corner where 632 and 634 stood and walking to the north:

The single-family brick residence at 631 was home of William A. Scott, a paper hanger for the Henry Voss Wall paper company, and Walter Lanham who worked as a clerk at the Union News and Railway Company.

The duplex at 625/623 had a lot of people living there. Isaac and Mamie Gordon lived at 625 with their six children and two servants. Both Isaac and Mamie, as well as their son Joseph, had been born in Russia. Isaac was the proprietor of Gordon & Rosen, a millinery store located at 325 Felix Street; Mamie and their daughter Gussie both worked as clerks in the store. The two oldest sons, Joseph and Meyer were both travelling salesmen. The two servants, Tina Seymoicek and Katie Ratch were recent German immigrants. In 1910, two employees of National Life and Accident Insurance were living in 623. James T. Horn and John L. Stark were among the few residents of the block who were not part of the Russian Jewish community there.

The double house at 621/619 had some of the most colorful characters on the block. Samuel Weinberg, a 29-year-old clothing merchant lived at 621 with his wife Pauline’s family, the Plotells. Samuel and Pauline had a small daughter, Calin. Pauline’s mother Hannah Plotell and her brothers Samuel and Harry as well as her sister Bertha [Rositzky] and Bertha’s husband Samuel Rositzky all shared the small brick dwelling. All of the adults except for Samuel Rositzky had been born in Russia and most had come to the United States in 1892. Samuel Plotell became known as a particularly aggressive bantam-weight boxer. Later the Plotell brothers became involved in corrupt politics and gambling with men they met on this block – members of the Gordon family. Members of the extended Rositzky family lived at 619. Isaac Rositzky and his wife Minnie, along with their two small children shared the residence with Minnie’s mother Pearl. Isaac and Pearl had been born in Russia. Isaac was in the wholesale dry goods business in 1910; he went on to be one of the most prominent figures in the retail clothing business in St. Joseph, operating the United Department Store (for further information see the entry under the Felix Street Businesses on this tour].

The single-family houses on large lots at 609 and 601 were not occupied by members of the Jewish community in 1910. The brick house at 609 was occupied by the widowed dressmaker, Hattie Wylie Gallup, whose father had been sheriff of Buchanan County. Another widow, Mary Zumwalt, lived at 601.

Over the years, the 600 block of South 10^th Street was home to a whole cast of colorful characters and witnessed a great deal of change. Much of this life centered around the evolving Jewish community that lived here until the mid-20^th century. The most dramatic change came in 1924, when the residences on the east side of the street were razed and B’nai Yaakov Synagogue was built (see separate entry on this tour).

Some of the most striking incidents:

The structure as 602-604 is perhaps best remembered as the E.R. Sidenfaden Funeral Home in the 1920s. Much earlier, in 1889, 602 was home to Herman Rosenblatt, who is famous for forming the first band in St. Joseph. In 1900, 604 was a boarding house operated by Mary Garrett.

In 1895, Edward Farrell died at his home at 606; he was one of St. Joseph’s first carriage makers. Doris Kilgore and her seven-year-old son Larry were injured when a race car left the track and plowed into the bleachers during a race at the Beverly Speedway in June 1959. Both Kilgores, who lived at 608, sustained significant injuries but recovered.

The folk-art houses at 610 and 620 are perhaps the most distinctive on the block. In 1916, Eleanor Siegel Block, whose mother and brother owned 610, died unexpectedly. In her honor the family donated the house to the Associated Jewish Charities to be used as a settlement home, where recent Jewish immigrants would receive assistance assimilating into the United States. . The Lollie Siegel House remained an important asset as the community around it began to change. Most of the Jewish community in St. Joseph had left the city by the mid-20^th century and the expense of maintaining the property was more than the Federated Jewish Charities felt that they could bear; they sold the property in 1965. In 1969, local mason Bobby Bohot, who had purchased 610 also bought 620 and set about putting his distinctive mark on the properties. Because of Bohot’s obsessiveness with the décor and storytelling of his embellishments, he should be considered an “outsider artist” – one who created art in its most raw and uninhibited form and was seen to exist outside the established culture and society. It is unclear if Bobby G. Bohot considered himself an artist; however, his works are not only well-known locally, but caught national attention as well.

On September 22, 1905 a burglar broke into Sam Toub’s home at 624 in the night. While Sam and his wife were sleeping the gutsy intruder stole money from below Mrs. Toub’s pillow and went through the pockets of Sam’s trousers; the robber got away with $83.60.

Like so many in the city, the young men of this neighborhood answered the call to serve their nation in both World Wars. In 1945, Private First Class Harry Vegder, who lived at 626 was killed while crossing the Ruhr River in Germany. His body was returned to St. Joseph in 1949 for burial at Shaare Sholem Cemetery.

George Silberman, 628 S. 10^th, worked as a travelling salesman for the clothing company Meyer & Meyers in the 1880s. His job took him throughout the Midwest.

In 1899, Justice Warburton issued a warrant permitting Sarah E. Beal to search the home of Mrs. Siebert at 630 S. 10^th. According to the Gazette, Mrs. Beal “had reason to believe that Mrs. Siebert was unlawfully detaining a trunk containing clothing, a watch, a diamond ring, and other valuable household ornaments.” The search did not turn up Mrs. Beal’s possessions.

In 1894, the owner of 632 advertised it for rent: “Six-room house; modern conveniences; newly papered and painted.”

Mr. and Mrs. George Sprengle celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with a breakfast after mass at their home at 634.

As you cross the street, all of the residences that were once here have been demolished to make way for Shaare Sholem synagogue (now the Ruby Theater). But before that happened, people lived rich lives in the houses.

A short-lived marriage proved quite profitable for Mattie M. Payne, 631 S. 10^th. In 1912, she received $25,000 worth of property in Holt County as a result of a lawsuit against her former husband James B. Payne to whom she was married for a year in 1909. Prior to the wedding the couple signed a contract in which James agreed to give Mattie one-third of his property. Following the divorce, Mrs. Payne sued to recover the promised property and the court saw it her way.

In 1896, the City of St. Joseph passed a curfew ordinance mandating that all “youth” be off the streets by 9:00 p.m. The first people cited for violating the new ordinance were Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Gordon of 625. The couple refused to pay the fine and insisted that the case go to court as a protest against what they saw as an unjust law.

In 1956 a fight broke out in the neighborhood; Elmer Justus, 623, and Richard Brumback, 626, were arrested “after a neighborhood altercation.”

In January 1904 Bertha Lynch and Anna Scotch were arrested for robbing the home of Maurice Mayer at 621. The robbery and arrest were not particularly noteworthy, but the hair pulling fight that the prisoners indulged in while being held at the county jail garnered a fair amount of press attention.

The north part of the brick duplex at 619 was home to music in the 1920s. The violin virtuoso Sherman Kalis lived here with his family, including his mother Esther, before he left to teach at the New York Institute of the Violin in Wichita Falls, TX.

If there was music at 619, there was dancing at 609. From 1900-1904, this was home to the Prinz family; the most famous of whom was the Hollywood choreographer LeRoy Prinz. It was LeRoy’s grandparents, Peter and Caroline and their children who lived on S. 10^th Street. Their son Edward opened a famous dance studio in St. Joseph where he taught generations of young people.

In 1915, Charles Patterson, a carpenter living at 601 took his five year old son with him to the cellar and after giving the boy his watch, slashed his own throat. 

St. Joseph City Directories

U.S. Census

“Rosenblatt,” St. Joseph Herald, Feb. 24, 1891, pg. 3.

Advertisement, St. Joseph Herald, April 24, 1894, pg. 7.

“Curfew Not Heeded,” St. Joseph Herald, June 16, 1896, pg. 5.

Untitled, St. Joseph Gazette, June 1, 1899, pg. 5.

Untitled, St. Joseph News-Press, Sept. 23, 1905, pg. 6.

“’Buck’ Plotell Quits St. Joseph,” St. Joseph Gazette, Feb. 6, 1906, pg. 2.

“Plotell Arrested on Gambling Charge,” St. Joseph Gazette, Sept. 5, 1909, pg. 11.

“Son, 5, Looks on as Father Whets Knife and Cuts His Throat,” St. Joseph Gazette, April 8, 1915, pg. 1.

“Women Pull Hair in County Jail,” St. Joseph News-Press, Jan. 25, 1904, pg. 1.

“Mrs. Payne Gets Big Slice of Property,” St. Joseph Gazette, Jan. 11, 1912, pg. 4.

“Mr. and Mrs. Peter Prinz Celebrate Golden Wedding,” Catholic Tribune, Feb. 12, 1916, pg. 8.

“Fifth Ward ‘Stuffed’ Candidates Complain,” St. Joseph Gazette, July 27, 1920, pg. 1.

“4 Men Arrested After Two Fights,” St. Joseph News-Press, Sept. 2, 1956, pg. 5.

“Racing Car Dives Into Bleachers After Collision,” St. Joseph News-Press, June 6, 1959, pg. 1.