Local author explores local history in ‘Jewish Community of Dayton’
“My book is really an outgrowth of the newspaper,” explains author Marshall Weiss, founding editor and publisher of the “Dayton Jewish Observer.”
“I realized that there has not been a history of the Dayton Jewish community documented in a book, and it occurred to me that I could fill that gap,” Weiss says.
Weiss came to Dayton 23 years ago, hired by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Dayton to start the newspaper. (Learn more about the Dayton Jewish Observer at daytonjewishobserver.org)
“It’s been a rewarding twenty-three years,” Weiss says. “The community has been very good to me. As I’ve grown to know Dayton — I’m from Philadelphia, and lived in San Francisco before coming here — I became fascinated by the history of the area in general, as well as the history of the Jewish community in the Dayton area.”
Weiss will discuss his book, “Jewish Community of Dayton” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at Books & Co. at The Greene.
He says that he finds it interesting — and understandable — that almost a third of the Dayton Jewish Observer’s readers are not Jewish. They simply are interested in learning what’s happening in the Jewish community. Weiss anticipates that both Jewish and non-Jewish residents will enjoy his book and learn new and fascinating facts. “I see both the newspaper and my book as a way to bridge the Jewish community to the general community.”
“Jewish Community of Dayton” documents the arrival of about a dozen German-Jewish immigrants to Dayton in the 1840s, and goes on to share fascinating stories from the community as it grew over the years — from the story of Arthur Welsh, the first Jewish airplane pilot, to Golda Meir’s 1948 visit, and much more social history in-between and since.
One of the challenges that Weiss said he faced was that so much material about the community was destroyed in the flood of 1913.
“Very little survived in private archives from pre-1913,” Weiss explains. He credits the Dayton Metro Library archives and the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati with helping him track down facts and stories.
Researching and writing the book, which is published by Arcadia Publishing, was “fun and rewarding,” Weiss says. “I just hope the book will be of use and interest to both the Jewish community and the community-at-large in Dayton. It’s important to document histories like this because we’re all part of the mosaic of the overall community.”
Upcoming literary events
■ Sunday, Sept. 23, 12:30-3 p.m., Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Ave., Centerville — Public Grand Reopening of Woodbourne Location of the WashingtonCenterville Library, featuring performers, live music and demonstrations of new library features. Visit www.wclibrary.info/grandopening to learn more.
■ Tuesday, Sept. 25, 4-5 p.m., Dayton Metro Library, Main Library (215 E. 3rd St.), Community Room 2B, 2nd Floor — Author Kristina McBride will present “Hook ‘Em,” about how to grab readers from the first page. For teens grades 7-12. McBride is the author of four Young Adult novels. Learn more about her at www.kristinamcbride.com.
■ Tuesday, Sept. 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Dayton Metro Library, Main Library, Bassani Theatre, 215 E. Third St. — Author and longtime trial lawyer David Greer will share his book “God is Merciful,” which explores the career of Dayton trial attorney Jack Egan, who represented clients from 1899-1935, including notorious clients such as John Dillinger. The event is free and open to the public.
■ Ongoing through Monday, Oct. 8 — The Dottie Yeck “Good Life Award Writing Contest” opens for submissions. For more details, see next week’s Literary Life column or visit www. wclibrary.info/gla.
■ Registration now open for playwrighting classes through the Ohio Playwrights Circle; classes start Tuesday Oct. 9, are hosted by the Human Race Theatre, and will take place at the Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center, 116 N. Jefferson St. For more details or to register, contact Jahzerah Brooks, Ohio Playwrights Circle Project Administrator, at opcregistrar@gmail.com or visit ohioplaywrightscircle.wordpress.com/.
■ Open for submissions through Oct. 5 — The local, independent Mock Turtle Zine is accepting submissions for its upcoming issue, including poetry, song lyrics, fiction, non-fiction and black and white visual art. Please visit mockturtlezine.com/submissions/ for guidelines and details.
■ Open for submissions through Oct. 31 — Nexus Literary Journal & Advocate for the Arts publishes Wright State University student, staff, faculty, and alumni short fiction, poetry, and art of all kinds. For submission guidelines, visit: nexusliteraryjournal.weebly. com/submission-guidelines.html
Sharon Short (www. sharonshort.com) is a novelist and director of the Antioch Writers' Workshop. Contact Sharon with news about your book club or organization. Email: sharonshort@ sharonshort.com. Twitter: @SharonGShort
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