Guide to the Hirsch Family Papers, 1942-1997
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Hirsch Family Papers
- Creator
- Hirsch Family
- Collection Number
- MSS 1030
- Extent
- .25 linear feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1942-1997
- Abstract
- Rubin and Fanny Wayne Hirsch immigrated from Russia and Lithuania, respectively, and settled in Donora, Pa. They, along with Esther and Isaac Myerson, purchased the Donora Furniture Company, which was sold about 1960. The Hirsches were involved with Congregation Ohav Sholom of Donora, Pa., and with B'nai B'rith. They had three sons, Arnold (AH), born in 1917, Wallace (WH), born in 1920, and David (DH), born in 1927. This collection consists of quality copies of identified photographs, transcribed letters from Wallace Hirsch to his family during World War II, and a history of the Donora Jewish community written by Arnold Hirsch.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Rubin and Fanny Wayne Hirsch immigrated from Russia and Lithuania, respectively, and settled in Donora, Pa. They, along with Esther and Isaac Myerson, purchased the Donora Furniture Company, which was sold about 1960. The Hirsches were involved with Congregation Ohav Sholom of Donora, Pa., and with B'nai B'rith. They had three sons, Arnold (AH), born in 1917, Wallace (WH), born in 1920, and David (DH), born in 1927.
AH graduated from Donora High School in 1933. During his last year as a student at the University of Pittsburgh law school in 1942, he was drafted into the Army where he reached the rank of first lieutenant and was wounded twice at Anzio. After his honorable discharge, he remained in the Army as a reservist and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. AH returned to Donora, Pa., after the war and established a law practice. He married Rena Fiedler, and had three children, Kevan, Rubin, and Susan.
WH graduated from Donora High School in 1937 and from the University of Pittsburgh in 1941. WH enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and attended U.S. Naval Midshipmen's School at Columbia University. Prior to shipping out to North Africa, he married Patricia Elman from New York. WH served on Landing Ship Tank (LST) #4029 in North Africa and in England. After returning to the United States, he and Elman divorced, and WH returned to Donora, Pa., to work at the Donora Furniture Company.
WH married Doris Kalmenson in 1948, and they moved to Pittsburgh. After selling the Donora Furniture Company about 1960, he invested in the Furnapco Company, a furniture and appliance store in Albany, NY. He and his family moved there in 1961 and stayed until 1964. WH then resigned from Furnapco Company and moved to Philadelphia where he worked as a sales representative for the Rosen Carpet Company. WH and Kalmenson divorced about 1965. They had four children, Steven, Robert, Janet, and Lynne. He married Ellen Falk in 1966.
WH made aliya in 1971 and remained in Israel until his death in 1975.
Scope and Content Notes
This collection consists of quality copies of identified photographs, transcribed letters transcribed letters from Wallace Hirsch to his family during World War II, and a history of the Donora Jewish community written by Arnold Hirsch. The copies of photographs were compiled by WH's third wife, Ellen Falk Hirsch (EFH), who wrote a timeline of WH's life, and captions for the photographs. EFH also transcribed and bound WH's letters to his family while he was at midshipmen's school and overseas during World War II. The volume is titled Letters Home, 1942-1945. EFH also edited Arnold Hirsch's short history, Remembering Donora's Jewish Community. The unedited and two copies of the edited versions are included in this collection. EFH included the edited version, along with photographs of Ohav Shalom Congregation and the sites of the Donora Furniture Company, in the collection of photograph copies.
The newsletter Sh'ma, and the unedited version of Remembering the Donora Jewish Community were originally cataloged as MFF 2044.
The compilation of photograph copies, and the edited version of Remembering the Donora Jewish Community were originally cataloged as Wallace Lee Hirsch, CS71 .H67 H67 1996 f.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Arnold Hirsch in 1995. Accession #1995.0135.
Gift of Arnold Hirsch in 1996. Accession #1996.0382.
Gift of Ellen Hirsch in 2014. Accession #2014.0051.
Preferred Citation
Hirsch Family Papers, 1942-1997, MSS 1030, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kelly J. Smith in June 2014.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Related Materials
Ohav Shalom Congregation Records MSS 16
Separated Materials
Correspondence, and the Ohav Shalom Congregation's constitution and by-laws were included in the Ohav Shalom Congregation Records MSS 16.
Subjects
- Ohav Shalom Congregation (Donora, Pa.)
- Arnold W. Hirsch
- Wallace L. Hirsch
- Jews--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
- Jews--Pennsylvania--Donora--History
- Jews--Pennsylvania--History
- United States, Navy
- World War, 1939-1945