Marilyn and Bernard Caplan Family Papers and Photographs, c1910-c2004
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Marilyn and Bernard Caplan Family Papers and Photographs
- source
- Caplan, Marilyn.
- Creator
- Caplan, Bernard.
- Creator
- Caplan, Marilyn.
- Collection Number
- MSS 1227
- Extent
- 3.5 Linear Feet 1 box and 2 oversize folders
- Date
- c1910-c2004
- Abstract
- Marilyn and Bernard Caplan were active in several small-town Jewish communities in the tristate area and around Pittsburgh throughout the 20th century. The Marilyn and Bernard Caplan Family Collection consists of photographs of the Caplan family including Irving and Rebecca Caplan, their son Philip Caplan, and his general store.
- Language
- English , Hebrew .
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical / Historical
Marilyn and Bernard Caplan were active in several small-town Jewish communities in the tristate area and around Pittsburgh throughout the 20th century.
Philip Caplan and Cernie Levine Caplan immigrated to Rochester, Pa., from Lithuania in the early 20th century and had four children, Dorothy, Maril, Rueben, and Bernard. Philip Caplan was the son of Izaak Baer "Irving" Caplan and Riva "Rebecca" Volpe Caplan. He operated Philip Caplan General Store in the Rochester area. He was a founding member of the Tree of Life Congregation in Rochester, Pa.
The congregation was organized and began meeting for worship services as early as 1918. Tree of Life was officially charted in 1927 and dedicated a new two-story synagogue at Pinney Street and New York Avenue in 1928. The total population of Rochester started to decline in the 1930s, after a major glass factory filed for bankruptcy, and the Jewish community soon declined as well. Tree of Life had 50 members in 1948 and only 27 members by 1957, according to congregational notes. By the early 1970s, the Jewish community was dormant. Tree of Life sold its synagogue in 1973 and effectively merged with the Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Center.
Bernard Caplan became a Bar Mitzvah at the Tree of Life Synagogue on March 18, 1939. Caplan graduated from Rochester High School and the University of Pittsburgh. He was the owner of the Fashion Center in Rochester, Pa., a partner in Blinn and Company, and a founder of Caplan Scrap Metal Co. in Wampum, Pa. He also served as president of the Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Center. Bernard Caplan married Marilyn Sable on July 16, 1962, and they had four children, Howard, Michael, Phillip, and Jonathan. The Caplans lived in Beaver Falls, Pa. where they were members of the Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Center before moving to the Pittsburgh area. After they moved to Pittsburgh, the Caplans joined Rodef Shalom Congregation.
The Beaver Valley Jewish community dates back to the turn of the 20th century. In the 1950s, the population was large enough for the congregations of Beaver Falls to plan and build a community center. Built in Beaver Falls in 1957, the United Jewish Community Center housed two congregations: Agudath Achim, an Orthodox congregation, and Beth Sholom, a Reform congregation. Several organizations used the center as a meeting place and held their events there. The center closed in 2006.
Born in Weirton, West Virginia in 1935, Marilyn Sable was the daughter of Louis Sable (1905-1971) and Sarah Glantz (1909-1994). She had three siblings, Morris, Arlene, and Robert. Marilyn Sable Caplan received her Confirmation at Beth Israel Synagogue (Weirton, W. Va.) Born in Pittsburgh, Louis Sable was the son of Morris Sable and Ida Berkovitz, both of Russia. Sable married Sarah Glantz of Homestead, Pa. around 1922. Sarah Glantz was the daughter of Alex Glantz (1886-1948) and Mollie Glantz (d1958), both of Austria. Alex Glantz was a founding partner and president of United Baking Company located in the Southside neighborhood. Glantz was a member and served on the board of Poale Zedeck Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and also belonged to Shaare Torah Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Content Description
The Marilyn and Bernard Caplan Family Collection consists of photographs of the Caplan family including Irving and Rebecca Caplan, their son Philip Caplan, and his general store. Also included are photographs of Marilyn Sable Caplan's Sunday School and Confirmation at Beth Israel Synagogue (Weirton, W. Va.) and a copy of a photograph of Alex Glantz, Marilyn Caplan's grandfather. Items of note include an invitation to Bernard Caplan's Bar Mitzvah at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Rochester, Pa. in 1939 and Marilyn Sable Caplan's Confirmation Certificate from the Beth Israel Synagogue and the corresponding program. Other items of note include a mikveh booklet, Agudath Achim (Beaver Falls, Pa.) constitution and by-laws (1952), and Tree of Life Synagogue (Rochester, Pa.) 1984 Reunion Program. The collection also consists of Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Center Records including ledgers, a blueprint, and an appraisal document, and newspaper articles about the Caplan family and the Jewish community of the Beaver Valley.
Arrangement
The collection is housed in 1 box and 2 oversized folders and is arranged chronologically by generation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Marilyn Caplan in 2014, 2016, 2020. Archives accession 2014.0173, 2016.0125, 2020.0104
Preferred Citation
Marilyn and Bernard Caplan Family Papers and Photographs, c1910-c2004, MSS 1227, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Processing by Catelyn Cocuzzi on Janury 15, 2021.
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 Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
To the Library: Reading from the Holy Scriptures for Jewish Soldiers (Belonged to Alex Glantz-did not serve), BS1091 .J48 1918.
Rabbi Aaron M. Ashinsky: Fifty Years Study and Service, 1935. BM755 .A751 S951 1935 d
To the Museum: Silver tallis collar-given to Alex Glantz by Congregation Poale Zedeck, 2014.118.1
Caplan Scrap Metal Co. commemorative plaque, 2016.55.1
Related Materials
Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Records, MSS 447
Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Photographs, MSP 447
Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Oversized Records, MSO 447
Beaver Valley United Jewish Community Oversized Photographs, MSR 447
Caplan Baking Company Photographs, 1934, OFP 0001
Subjects
- Agudath Achim (Beaver Falls, Pa.)
- Beaver Valley United Jewish Community (Beaver Falls, Pa.)
- Beth Israel Congregation (Weirton, W.Va.)
- Beth Sholom Congregation (Beaver Falls, Pa.)
- Blinn and Company (Beaver County, Pa.)
- Caplan Scrap Metal Co. (Wampum, Pa.)
- Fashion Center (Rochester, Pa.)
- Tree of Life Congregation (Rochester, Pa.)
- Caplan, Marilyn.
- Caplan, Bernard.
- Caplan, Cernie.
- Caplan, Irving.
- Caplan, Marilyn.
- Caplan, Philip.
- Caplan, Rebecca.
- Glantz, Alex.
- Glantz, Mollie.
- Sable, Morris.
- Sable, Sarah.
- Beaver Falls (Pa.)
- Homestead (Pa.)
- Rochester (Pa.)
- Weirton (W. Va.)
- Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver Falls.
- Jews -- Education.
- Jews -- Youth.
- Jews -- Work.
- Jews -- Religious life.
- Synagogues
- Synagogues -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Synagogues -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver Falls.