Ouachita Parish Rosenwald Schools

Just after the Civil War, the Freedmen's Bureau, along with local African American churches, established the first schools in the south for the formerly enslaved. After Reconstruction ended, education for African Americans in the south was woefully underfunded. Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish-American part owner of Sears Roebuck saw the need for more schools in the … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Rosenwald Schools →

Temple B’Nai Israel

I have posted a postcard of this Temple before, but from a different angle. It stood on Jackson Street. This one shows the "parsonage" where the Rabbi lived. The ten commandments tablet at the top of the building are still in existence. They are a part of the Archives of the current congregation. I love … Continue reading Temple B’Nai Israel →

A Minor Scandal in the Jewish Community

Hi all! Just a minor update. The library was hit by a malware attack. No ransomware, but it destroyed our computer system, This includes our phones since they are tied through our internet. We have been down over a month now, but hope to be back up soon. We in the Genealogy Department have been … Continue reading A Minor Scandal in the Jewish Community →

A Description of a Monroe Wedding in 1888

This is just beautifully described! The descendants of the wedding party still live in Monroe and are members of Temple B'Nai today! The American Israelite (Cincinnati, OH) April 27, 1888, Page P3 MONROE, LA. It is seldom in the history of Monroe that events affecting the interest of Israelitish circles are of sufficient importance to … Continue reading A Description of a Monroe Wedding in 1888 →

Carolyn Rose Strauss

Many of you have heard of the Carolyn Rose Strauss Senior Center, the Carolyn Rose Strauss Rehabilitation Center and of the Strauss Little Theater, but do you know the little girl who they are named for? 1945 Monroyan tribute page. In late August of 1944, fifteen year old Carolyn Rose Strauss was attending a camp … Continue reading Carolyn Rose Strauss →

A History of the Jewish Community in Monroe

I found this great little article about the history of the Jewish faith in Monroe! https://www.isjl.org/louisiana-monroe-encyclopedia.html To view a great photographic slideshow on the history of the Jewish Community, check out the Temple B'Nai Archives web page here: http://www.bayoujews.org/precious-legacy-museum.html . I particularly love the photo of DeSiard and Grand streets and the photo of Sig … Continue reading A History of the Jewish Community in Monroe →

Miscellaneous Photos and Documents on Ouachita Parish

And to go along with yesterday's post, Vernon Parish Library also has a collection of miscellaneous photos and documents they have put on Flickr. https://flic.kr/s/aHsiVtCZhU There are some things on here I have never seen before. Photos of Layton castle, the Cooley House, The Jewish Temple...even a copy of the Dedication Program for the Civic … Continue reading Miscellaneous Photos and Documents on Ouachita Parish →

Temple B’Nai Israel on Jackson Street

This postcard shows the old Jewish Temple that stood on Jackson Street. The Ten Commandment tablets near the peak of the roof are now housed in the new temple's archives.

The Jewish Community in Monroe

Back in 1903, The Jewish Historical Publishing Company compiled a book about the history of the Jews of Louisiana. It was full of information about Jewish communities around the state. Unfortunately, Monroe had only one page of information! The Internet Archives has digitized it and you can take a look at it here: https://archive.org/details/historyofjewsofl00jewi/page/206 Great … Continue reading The Jewish Community in Monroe →