Interview with Barbara Freedman, Local Historian
Jewish Heritage North Carolina recently released a short documentary, Exploring Raleigh's Jewish History. In the video, local historian Barbara Freedman serves as a tour guide through the Jewish history of Raleigh. We talked to Barbara about the process of producing the film.
Q: What is your background? How long have you lived in the area?
My husband and I moved to North Carolina in 1972. We’ve lived in Durham and Sanford, but mostly in Raleigh since 1978. We both are from Philadelphia and came here for job opportunities. I am a librarian, and when we first worked here I worked for a pharmaceutical company that was eventually bought by GlaxoSmithKline.
I’m a librarian mostly for science and technology, but I love history. Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve tried to learn about the local Jewish history. What carries over from librarianship is that you never talk about something that you don’t have a source for, like books and documents. I’ve searched a lot on genealogy databases and Newspapers.com. When Temple Beth Or (TBO) had its 100th anniversary in 2012, someone asked me to write a history of the Temple.
Q: How did you get involved in creating the documentary?
Rachel Werner, the Executive Director of Jewish Heritage NC, asked me to be on the board of Jewish Heritage North Carolina because she knew I was interested in Raleigh history. She had been working on video tours of other cities, and she asked me if I would be willing to do one for Raleigh. I was a bit scared, but I said I’d do it. Kim Lan Grout was the filmmaker, and I was the tour guide on the video. We went out over two or three days, and it was kind of wild. I had a script, but I didn’t read from it. A lot of it was shot on Kim Lan’s iPhone, and we drove all over Raleigh. We shot great footage of Oakwood, with Kim Lan holding her phone out of the car window and driving down the street!
Q: What were some challenges that you faced while creating the film?
A lot of the buildings that you would like to show are no longer there. There aren’t even pictures of some, such as House of Jacob, the predecessor to Beth Meyer. It wasn’t in the downtown commercial district, so no one has a picture of it, and that’s a shame. It was a center of Jewish life at New Bern and East Street. It was near where a lot of Jewish families lived, as well as Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery. At one time, the Orthodox community was centered in that area. What we have left is mostly the cemetery. Most of the houses are still there, but not the House of Jacob. The building TBO was in on Hillsborough is gone. Beth Meyer Synagogue’s old building on St. Mary’s is still there. It’s a gem of a building that has a little dome if you stand in the right place.
Q: What was the most surprising piece of information you came across?
You wouldn’t believe what they put in the newspapers in the 1920’s and 30’s! Going through Newspapers.com, I found a report where two Jewish merchants in downtown Raleigh got into an argument in front of their stores and got in a fistfight. One of them was badly injured and went to Richmond for treatment. He died a year later of his injuries. I don’t think the injurer was ever charged with anything, and his business was open for a few years after that.
I found the description of the first funeral at Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery, and it’s a non-Jewish interpretation of a Jewish funeral. The deceased was a prominent member of the community and also a Mason. He ended up having a funeral with rites from the Orthodox and non-Orthodox denominations, as well as the Masons! In the cemetery, we have quite a few men who were Masons. Apparently, that was true in lots of places, especially outside the northeast. A lot of fraternal organizations did not accept Jewish members, but the Masons did. If you look at the monuments, quite a few of them have the Masonic symbol.
Q: What would you like people to understand about the history of Raleigh’s Jewish community?
We were a little bit different because we didn’t have one major industry, like tobacco in Durham or textiles in Greensboro. Raleigh’s claim to fame was as the state capitol and a market town. There weren’t big disparities in wealth. Everybody was pretty close to everyone else in terms of wealth and prominence. We didn’t have one business leader who gave tons of money for everything. It was more difficult for the Jewish community, but it was more equal. I brought a non-Jewish friend who was a historian to the Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery. He looked around and said, “This is like going shopping after selling your tobacco.” The names were all from local department stores.
Q: What’s next for this project?
We are still looking for that picture of the House of Jacob! I dream about doing some interviews with people who have been around a long time and recording them. I’d ask them more about what it was like growing up here. A lot of people I should have interviewed 20-30 years ago are no longer with us.
Q: Where can people go for more information?
Jewish Heritage North Carolina website has information about Jewish communities all over the state. Olivia Raney Local History Library is the repository for our local history in Wake County. You can also go to the City of Raleigh Museum. For example they have materials from an insurance company that did maps of all the commercial business downtown.
Q: How can people get involved with volunteering with local Jewish history?
In addition to Jewish Heritage North Carolina and the City of Raleigh Museum, you can volunteer at Mordecai Historic Park. The Mordecai House is the oldest house in Raleigh in its original location, and it was owned by Moses Mordecai, one of the first Jewish residents of Raleigh.