Gruber family club
Blue Sundays in the Hill
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Four generations of the Gruber Family Club preparing for the 1973 "Walk for Israel."
—from Jewish Chronicle, Oct. 25, 1973
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For the first installment of our review of Jewish family clubs in Western Pennsylvania, we'll look at the Gruber Family Club. The club began meeting as early as 1957 and continues to meet today using modern technology.
Surnames include Bayer, Bluestone, Broffman, Davidson, DeRoy, Finegold, Goldberg, Green, Greenberg, Gruber, Hersh, Hill, Mendelson, Shussett, Smizik, and Ungar. If you know of other surnames in the club, please let us know.
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Like many of the more ambitious family clubs in the region, the Gruber Family Club published a newsletter.
It was called the "Gruber Gazette," and it reported on important events in the lives of club members. It was edited for years by Anne Ungar Greenberg. The edition seen here, from Nov. 6, 1988, reports on her 90th birthday, including greetings from Sophie Masloff and Gene Kelly.
The club also came together for public events, such as the "Walk for Israel" parade through Squirrel Hill, Oakland, and the East End in 1973.
To learn more about Jewish family clubs in Western Pennsylvania, check out our ever-growing database.
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All this year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish club life in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate records of a local Jewish club, or just chat about clubs, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.
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Abraham Dobkin with his wife and four youngest children in their store on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District, a few days after it was attacked by a mob and raided by police. Although he was charged with violating the Blue Laws, the incident actually revolved around the codes of the National Recovery Administration. The NRA "Blue Eagle" can be seen behind Dobkin.
—from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 31, 1933
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On Sunday, Aug. 20, 1933, a group of men entered Abraham Dobkin’s grocery store on Wylie Ave. in the Hill District and tossed stink bombs onto his goods. Over the following week, Dobkin was arrested, arraigned, fined and jailed.
His crime was violating the Blue Laws.
What is remarkable about the story is that it is not immediately an account of antisemitism. Dobkin was Jewish, of course, but so were the men who accused him of violating the Blue Laws, as were the men who stink bombed his goods.
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[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
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The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa. |
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Plan a Visit
Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000
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A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.
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