A moment in history Part I: Celebrating a Jewish Community in Big Spring

Editor’s Note: The history piece that was ran on Monday, Nov. 30 was not printed in it’s entirety. We apologize for this inconvenience and error on our part. We are reprinting the story in its entirety below:

During the early 1920's, Lena Brenner was a beloved member of the north side community in Big Spring. She spoke some English, some Spanish, some Yiddish and some German and usually all in the same sentence, however, no one seemed to have a problem understanding Lena. She operated the Brenner Dry Goods Store and was a favorite stop for the salesmen. They learned quickly to come calling on Lena during the noon or dinner hour. She always prepared delicious meals and would invite the salesmen to stay and eat with her family. Lena was not only a fabulous cook, but she devoted many of her hours to helping assist mothers deliver babies by paying for doctors and delivery charges. Lena and her husband Nicholas (Nick) Brenner were from Latvia. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania had been part of the Russian Empire since the end of the 18th century, but after the Russian Revolution of 1917 they became independent states. Nick and Lena migrated to the U.S in 1905 after their marriage. A daughter, Lillian, was born in New York in 1906. Nick had a cousin in Hominy, Oklahoma, who brought the family to stay with them. They remained in Oklahoma until the birth of their daughter, Clara Augusta Brenner on Jun 17, 1912. Nick was a poor businessman when it came to managing credit, he carried too many people that did not honor their accounts, causing his business to fail. However, his wife Lena was a different story. Lena was an astute and a shrewd businesswoman. Nick became a successful plumber and later an examiner in Texas.

While in Oklahoma, Nick and Lena had a third child that did not survive delivery. The doctor was allegedly drunk and incompetent. The child's death was extremely hard on the family.

Friends of the Brenner's had started moving further west to Texas. The Robinson family helped the Brenners re-settle in Big Spring.

Nick stayed in Oklahoma for a while longer and

Courtesy images Nick and Lena Brenner are pictured above. Lena and the children moved to Big Spring. She purchased a dry goods store in the 200 block of North Gregg. The half-block also had a gas station. There were living quarters behind the store where the family first lived.

After graduating from high school, the Brenner's daughter Lillian married William Hubert Curry and resided in Pampa, Texas. The youngest daughter, Clara moved to New York City to live with her Uncle Abe and attend NYU.

Clara had graduated BSHS in 1930. She began work at a New York, two story, five and dime store. One day, she tripped on the stairs coming down and was caught by the linen delivery man. His name was Jim Zack. He asked Clara out on a date on Valentine's day and they were married July 9th that same year. The ceremony was small and simple with wine and cake served after the wedding vows. Lena and Nick were not present for the wedding however, Lena wrote Clara a letter telling her the importance of marrying a man who would earn a good living for her. Clara kept the letter in her possessions until her death.

Jim Zack was born on July 30, 1899 in Ekaterinberg, Siberia, as Isadore Zack to Sarah Etta Broomstein Zack and Yakov (Jacob) Zack. The family was Jewish but were allowed to live in the city because Isadore (Jim's) grandfather had served one of the Czars and had been given permission to live in a place other than a Shtetl (Ghetto). The Shtetl on the outskirts of a town, were subject to periodic pogroms (murders, rape, destructive fires) which terrorized the population. Still, they were required, like all Jews, to obtain a permit from police to travel from one community to another. When Isadore (Jim) was four years old, Isaac suffered from an attack of appendicitis and the doctor operated on him on the kitchen table in the home. He did not survive the surgery and passed away.

Times were hard for the remaining family members. Isadore's sister had married Israel Goldberg who wanted to immigrate to the United States. There wasn't enough money to bring the entire family so Jim was sent deeper into Siberia to learn the watch making business. Just before the family was to leave, enough money was gathered to bring Isadore (Jim) along. Isadore was thirteen years old as he and his mother and 6 of his siblings made the trip to Brantford, Ontario, Canada. They traveled in steerage on a crowded ship. His mother died of heart problems within six months of their arrival to Canada. Israel took his son with him and sent the Zack children to live with relatives in Canada. Isadore (Jim) was on his own by the time he was fifteen. He worked for an uncle who owned a distributing business. He performed various jobs including pitching hay for a farmer. The farmers daughters gave him the name Jim which he took from that point on.

Shortly after Jim and Clara were married, a package arrived from Texas. In it was an angel food cake surrounded by popcorn. Nestled in the center of the cake were three fresh eggs and tucked between them was a hundred-dollar bill, a fortune! Clara and Jim took that as a sign they needed to move to Texas where the depression was not as severe as it was in New York.