Considering that Jews constitute a mere one-tenth of one percent of Oklahoma’s population, their contribution to the state is staggering. As one native gentile business leader commented, “Without a doubt, per capita, the Jews have contributed overwhelmingly more to Oklahoma than any other single group of people.” From the state’s origins, these individuals and institutions have been a vital part of its social fabric. While this community shares many demographic characteristics with Jewish communities elsewhere, unique aspects of Oklahoma history and culture have influenced its development.

Explorers, Early Settlers, and Pioneers

Oklahoma is a land of pioneers, immigrants, oil magnates, and merchants, and its history reaches far back in time. The state’s prehistory points to primitive cave dwellers and mound builders; its recorded history began in 1541, when Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado ventured through the wilderness area on his quest for the “Lost City of Gold.” Even then, Jewish influence was present; Coronado was married to Marina Flores Gutiérrez de la Caballería, whose wealthy Jewish family helped him accrue the prestige and financial means to explore the Americas.

Much like other parts of the world, Jewish history in Oklahoma is one of migration and settlement. Through the ages, Jewish individuals and communities have relocated from country to country as political and religious movements persecuted and banished them. In Oklahoma, Jewish migration and settlement occurred in two distinct phases. The first phase of settlement began gradually and sporadically. In the mid-1800s, Jewish pioneers arriving in what was then known as Indian Territory often came from the same areas of Eastern Europe, leaving political and economic repression for the tantalizing prospects of the vast, unsettled frontier. Consequently, a hearty pioneer spirit has dominated, and continues to characterize, Oklahoma’s Jewish population, as it does most cultural groups in the state.

The earliest Jews who came to Oklahoma when it was known as “Indian Territory” because of the large number of American Indians who were relocated in this geographic area in the 1880s. The Jewish settlers were predominantly young, alone, and worked as subsistence farmers, peddlers, trappers and traders, as well as part-time bandits. Those rugged men often intermarried with Native Americans and assimilated into the non-Jewish culture. One example was Civil War veteran Boggy Johnson, generally considered the first Jew in Indian Territory. Around 1865, Johnson purportedly settled at Boggy Depot in Atoka County, located in southeastern Oklahoma. Discrepant views exist as to whether the depot was named after Boggy or vice versa (Halpern, 2009). It is generally agreed that he married a Chickasaw woman and lived out his days either as a soldier stationed at the depot or as a trader working there. Boggy Depot served as an important trading post during Oklahoma’s early years and is now historic Boggy Depot State Park.

Records also note that in 1870, Adolph Kohn, a young peddler and merchant, was captured by the Apache while herding sheep somewhere in northern Texas (Holt, 1870). Spared by his Apache captors, Adolph was traded to a Comanche tribe in Indian Territory and allegedly rode the warpath with them for three years before his release in 1873 (Steele, 1939). Like countless others in early Oklahoma history, little is known about what ultimately happened to Adolph Kohn, as he mysteriously slipped into oblivion in the wild frontier.

To early settlers, Oklahoma’s frontier had many appealing characteristics, including adventure, opportunity, and freedom from the urbanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution. Moreover, Oklahoma’s beautiful, diverse geographic areas and natural resources were fertile for agricultural and small business development. All these factors reinforced a feeling of endless possibilities for America’s innovative experiment in democracy. Boggy Johnson and Adolph Kohn are classic examples of tough individuals striking off on their own, cutting ties with religion and ethnicity, and exploring vast, enigmatic territory. These two stories, however are not typical of the many Jewish settlers who migrated to Indian Territory and established areas that preserved identity, as well as promoted community and advanced economic development.

Between 1889 and 1895, the United States opened the western parts of its territory to colonists by holding a total of six land runs. To stake their claims, homesteaders poured into the federal frontier from across this country and even from those of Poland, Germany, Ireland and Slavic nations. Records do not indicate the number of Jews who participated in these land runs (Faulk, 1946). However, history does point to the fact that Jewish pioneers were not only among the homesteaders but were already present in Indian Territory at the time of the Great Oklahoma Land Rush of the 1880s.

Establishing Jewish Communities, Synagogues, and Temples

The second phase of Jewish settlement followed the land runs of the late 1880s around the time of Oklahoma’s 1907 admission to statehood. At that time, several Jewish communities were developing as immigrants to Ardmore, Muskogee, and Oklahoma City married and had families. Businesses were opened and many small towns such as Guthrie, Lawton, Enid, Sapulpa, and Apache boasted dry goods or general stores owned by Jewish merchants. In those areas and others, they also built and opened stores, diners, tailor shops, and bakeries. They were appointed or elected to political offices, as were Jacob Smulian in Stroud and Leo Meyer in Sayre, as well as becoming oilmen and ranchers. During this time, Jewish Oklahomans undertook a variety of jobs, boosted commerce and contributed significantly to the cultural and economic growth of the new state.

The tiny settlements located throughout the budding land served as satellites for the larger, more established communities in other parts of the United States and Europe. Like Jewish populations across all eras of human history, these Oklahomans had to face the difficult question of how to maintain their unique identity and still become part of the larger community (Tobias, 1998). In the young, emergent frontier of Oklahoma, those early pioneers were preoccupied with making a living and establishing the rudiments of a Jewish community. As their population began to grow in an environment devoid of established traditions and convention, their ethnic identity depended on the establishment of time-honored institutions to nourish and preserve their heritage. The development of the congregation, the cornerstone of any Jewish community, was the next step in satisfying their religious, educational, charitable, and social needs.

Ardmore and Muskogee

Ardmore is located in south-central Oklahoma and considered Oklahoma’s first bona fide Jewish community. Like other parts of Oklahoma, Jews were sparse in number in this flat, barren backwoods. However, the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad signaled the beginning of robust growth in commerce and economic development, which attracted individuals from a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. By 1890, approximately fifty Jews lived in Ardmore. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, as the Jewish community grew, occasional religious services were held in Ardmore’s Main Street meeting halls, and were led by knowledgeable laymen. In 1912, the congregation acquired a home of its own when it purchased the vacant First Christian Church. The first place of Jewish worship in Oklahoma was named Temple Emeth. Albert Lowenstein and Joseph Weiss were respectively the first President and Secretary, and in 1914, Ira Sanders became the first student rabbi to lead High Holy Day services. The original temple was supplanted in 1952 when Rosh Hashanah was celebrated in a new building dedicated with the help of Rabbi Milton Rosenbaum.

Shortly after Temple Emeth’s establishment in Ardmore, another congregation was formed in northeastern Oklahoma. Muskogee was to become one of the state’s largest cities but when Jewish merchant Joseph Sondheimer established small stores in the area, it was a fledgling rural outpost. Following Sondheimer, other Jewish merchants progressively moved to Muskogee, and over time, the small group of independent entrepreneurs developed into a close community.

As there were insufficient resources to hire a rabbi or build a temple, laymen conducted services in private homes. In the Herman Fist family home for example, Mrs. Fist held what may have been the first Jewish Sunday School in Oklahoma. In 1916, the Sondheimers, Fists, and ten other families organized Congregation Beth Ahaba, a lay-led Reform congregation that served a tight-knit community of merchants and professionals. To conduct the dedication ceremony and High Holy Day services, the congregation brought in Rabbi Edward Israel from Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati.

As Oklahoma grew and prospered through the 1920s, so did the congregation. Beth Ahaba reached a size of seventy-five families in 1929 but dwindled to forty families during the Depression as stores shut down and people moved away to find work. Since then, Beth Ahaba’s resources have declined steadily. Its last student rabbi left in 1994.

American Reform Judaism began as these German “reformers” immigrated to America in the mid-1800s, and the first Oklahoma congregations were more aligned with the tenets of this movement than other Jewish denominations. Although in 1916 there were seven small-town congregations, at the beginning of the twenty-first century tiny congregations affiliated with the Reform movement remain only in Muskogee (about twenty-two members), Ponca City (about seventeen), and Seminole (about fourteen). (JewishJournal.com, 2009)

Tulsa and Oklahoma City

The cities of Tulsa and Oklahoma City cannot be overemphasized in Oklahoma’s development. While the initial settlement patterns of the state’s two largest cities were somewhat similar, differences emerged over time (Tobias, 1980). Tulsa was first settled in the 1830s by the Creek Native American tribe and remained a frontier outpost until 1901 when a rich treasure was discovered. However, unlike the Lost City of Gold, which Coronado was hoping to discover in the area, this treasure was not yellow in color, but black and located deep in Oklahoma soil.

With the discovery of oil in nearby Red Fork and Glenn Pool, Tulsa changed from a frontier settlement to a thriving metropolis almost overnight. Wildcatters and investors flooded the boomtown and city life began to take shape. From various parts of the United States, Jews came to Tulsa as merchants, tailors, accountants, geologists, engineers, and attorneys. They were part of the first Tulsa neighborhoods established on the north side of the Arkansas River, away from the drilling sites, and spread out from downtown Tulsa in all directions. In 1904, Tulsans constructed a bridge across the Arkansas River, allowing oil field workers, supplies, food and equipment to cross the waterway, reaffirming Tulsa’s position as the center of oil country.

In the evolving settlement of Tulsa, the Eastern European Orthodox Jews initially dominated the community through a substantial population and a high level of community organization. Yeshiva University in New York City, an Orthodox institution, would have died in its infancy without the financial intervention of one Tulsa family who were the in-laws of Yeshiva’s president, Rabbi Bernard Revel. The Eastern European Orthodox dominance also accounted for Tulsa’s emergence as a center of Zionist dialogue, as opposed to Oklahoma City, where, before the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews were more divided on the matter (Faulk, 1949).

For Oklahoma, statehood had become a sure thing, in part due to rich oil deposits found in the area. On November 16, 1907, it became the 46th state and people from all parts of the world came to seek their fortunes in the new state’s teeming oil fields. The cities of Tulsa, Ponca City, Bartlesville, and Oklahoma City flourished.

Like Tulsa, what is now called Oklahoma City was a popular settling place for land run homesteaders; in the late-1880s, an estimated 10,000 people staked claims in the area. In spite of the initial absence of law and order, the early settlers remained and in 1889 a provisional government was established. By 1900, the population in the Oklahoma City area had more than doubled, and out of those early tent cities, a metropolis was born. In western Oklahoma, Jewish pioneers David Wolff, Isaac Levy, Isaac Jacobs, David Schonwald, H. L. Cohen, and S. E. Levi participated in the 1889 Land Run and were among the first Jewish settlers of Oklahoma City and Guthrie. Oklahoma City quickly became the largest city in the state with the largest Jewish population.

The oil business helped the rapid growth of Oklahoma City, as various oil fields brought people to the city, which in turn brought money. The city continued to expand, adding commercial areas, public trolleys and a variety of other industries. As business and commerce grew in Oklahoma City, so did the Jewish population, which was a significant aspect of Oklahoma’s urbanization. While most Oklahoma settlers were farmers, Jews came to be merchants. Consequently, after the 1920s, Jewish numbers grew in larger cities such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and decreased in small towns as those communities diminished in comparable industrial importance.

Oklahoma Jews urbanized more rapidly than the rest of the population. For example, in 1907 two-thirds of the Jewish population lived in small rural towns across the state, but by 1930, many in that population migrated to urban communities. By 1927, there were some 1,250 Jews in Oklahoma City and 2,400 in Tulsa. This urban concentration is typical of the American Jewish population generally. In both Tulsa and Oklahoma City, urbanization helped stabilize the Jewish community and preserve identity by providing the resources for Jewish life.

Many American Jewish communities experienced considerable social and religious tension between those whose families stemmed from the mid-nineteenth-century German migration and those of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century migration from Eastern Europe. In Oklahoma, as elsewhere, Jews of German origin were generally wealthier and more acculturated than their Eastern European brethren. However, because the creation of Oklahoma coincided with the massive Eastern European Jewish immigration (some 2.25 million between 1880 and 1924), both groups in the state expanded more or less simultaneously (Tobias, 1980).

In Oklahoma City, the time between the founding of the mostly-German Reform congregation B’nai Israel in 1903 and the mainly eastern European Orthodox Emanuel Synagogue in 1904 was only one year. In Tulsa, there were only two years between the founding of Temple Israel (Reform) in 1914 and B’nai Emunah (Orthodox) in 1916. In the mid-twentieth-century, both of these Orthodox congregations joined the modern traditionalist Conservative movement. Other Jewish organizations, such as the fraternal order B’nai B’rith and the National Council of Jewish Women were also active in Oklahoma.

At the turn of the century, active Jewish communities were organized in small settlements such as Shawnee, Okmulgee, and Sapulpa. These communities diminished as families gradually moved homes and businesses to the thriving metropolis of Tulsa, which This developed rapidly, and by 1903, regular services were in progress there. Many other Jewish settlers moved into smaller towns in the eastern part of the Territory, although they were isolated from each other and had trouble assembling congregations since they lacked the essential requirement of numbers. As in the early days of the larger centers, communities organized as much as their resources would allow. They brought in rabbinical students for holidays and traveling rabbis from nearby states. Families who belonged to no congregation held their own Sabbath services. Others traveled to larger cities to celebrate special occasions if distances were not too great.

In 2009, there were approximately 2,300 Jews in Oklahoma City (as well as an additional 200 in Norman…home of the University of Oklahoma) and 2,100 in Tulsa. Both cities still have Reform and Conservative congregations, as well as representation from the Hasidic Orthodox movement Chabad (Lubavitch). Synagogue affiliation in Oklahoma is higher than the national average, reflecting the limited options for Jewish identification and the general religiosity of the region.

Jewish Contribution to Oklahoma

Throughout the development of the United States, Jewish immigrants have brought skills that meshed with economic and social needs of the times. This was no less the case in Oklahoma, as through the years Jewish Oklahomans have contributed to and continue to enhance almost every aspect of society, including oil production, technology, literature, entertainment, education, politics, and medicine.

Oklahoma is a major fuel- and food-producing state. Thousands of oil and natural gas wells dot the landscape. Millions of white-faced beef cattle graze on Oklahoma’s flat plain and low hills, and fertile fields produce vast crops of wheat. The oil industry is one area to which Jewish Oklahomans have contributed greatly. When the oil boom hit Oklahoma, the immigrants brought their expertise in geology, engineering, and jurisprudence with specific skills in oil and gas law (Tobias, 1980). Oil well supply houses under Jewish ownership appeared and the newcomers founded oil, gas and pipe companies during these early boom years. Leo Meyer, an early settler to Oklahoma and the first Secretary of State, moved to Tulsa from Oklahoma City to be a tax auditor. Families involved in the industry included the Aaronson, Bankoff, Davis, Degen, Elson, Fell, Finston, Glenn, Green, Kantor, Kravis, Lebow, Livingston, Miller, Mizel, Moran, Nadel, Schusterman, Singer, Taubman, Travis, and Zarrow families.

Many early Jewish settlers during the territorial and early statehood days were merchants, such as the Sondheimers of Muskogee, the Levites of Apache, the Katzes of Stillwater, as well as the Daubes and Westheimers of Ardmore. Each of these pioneer families has its unique story. For instance, Joseph Sondheimer was born in Bavaria in 1840 and came to the United States at age twelve, during the height of European immigration. After establishing several successful business enterprises in other parts of the US, in 1866 he ventured on horseback along the old military road that extended from Kansas through the Indian Territory to Texas. Sondheimer set up distributing and shipping points or “depots” where he sold hide, fur, and pecans. One of the larger trading points existed at the future site of Muskogee, then a mere village.

Another early arrival, Sam Daube, landed in America in 1877 as a poor immigrant boy who worked for $1.50 a week in an eastern cigar factory. He came to the Southwest in 1878 as a peddler with a pack on his back and by 1883 had established the Red Store in Bowie, Texas. A couple of years later and shortly after Daube’s younger brother, Dave, and Max Westheimer joined him, Sam set up a general store in Ardmore which later became the city’s largest department store.

In central Oklahoma, Jake Katz settled in Stillwater in 1887 to work for his uncle, Eli Jungheim, who opened a retail store there in 1889. After gaining expertise in the trade, Jake opened his own business, Katz Department Store, which was central to the economic development of Stillwater and remained open for business until 2005, when larger chain stores moved into the area and dominated the market. Jake Katz was a prominent and popular figure in Stillwater, vitally active in civic life, and in the town’s economic growth. In fact, he was so popular that Rabbi and Oklahoma State University Professor, Perry Gethner, notes that according to local legend, “during the heyday of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, members marched through Stillwater with anti-Jewish signs, along with one that read, ‘But not you Mr. Katz.’’’[1]

Other family businesses rose to prominence and affected economic and cultural development. Many of these families are of national and international repute, such as the Zarrows, Schustermans, and Kaisers. While chronicling all the Jewish-Oklahoman success stories would be beyond the scope of this chapter, the following narrative vignettes taken from David Halpern’s (2007 ) “Prairie Landsmen” offer a few of the many examples. The Froug and Smulian families all arrived in America in the late 1880’s and were neighbors in Cincinnati, Ohio where they tried various jobs before they settled on a family business to distribute apparel called Froug-Smulian & Company. Abraham Froug, his brother Louis, Abraham’s brothers-in-law, Jacob Smulian and Morris Blumenthal all moved to Oklahoma in 1898 where they initially settled in Stroud—at the end of the railroad line. There they peddled goods from wagons and later established a chain of “family necessity” stores called The Leader Stores in Stroud, Sapulpa, Bristow, Prague, Shawnee, Seminole and Chandler. They appeared to be following the oil strikes of those years.  Abraham Froug then moved to Tulsa in 1904 and built the first brick building in the city, at 212 S. Main Street. The Tulsa-based Froug’s was opened in 1929 by Mike Froug, son of Abraham, and his first cousin, Ohren Smulian, son of Jacob. Froug’s operated seventeen stores as a family-owned company until they were sold in October 1980.

The enterprising Sanditen brothers found a home in Okmulgee in 1916. These Lithuanian immigrants saw an opportunity in the tire business, and opened the first Oklahoma Tire and Supply (OTASCO) store in 1918. Brothers Sam, Maurice, and Herman brought over the rest of the family, including brothers Julius and Ely, and the Otasco Company thrived under their direction. By 1937, twenty-six Otasco stores were in operation throughout Oklahoma and Arkansas.

When the Herzberg family arrived in Oklahoma from Germany, they chose Enid as their new home. A busy new town, Enid sat near oil fields and presented retail opportunities for the new Herzberg store. They located next door to their good friend Marinus Godschalk, who opened the first clothing store in Enid in 1893. As Oklahoma grew, the Herzbergs invited their brother-in-law, Sam Renberg, to join them in their business. They flipped a coin to see who would open a new store in Tulsa and Renberg’s of Tulsa was the result. In 1913, the first Renberg’s store was opened on Main Street by Sam Renberg and A. Herzberg and remained in operation until 1993.

One prominent Oklahoma businessman and innovator was Sylvan Goldman. Born in Ardmore in 1898, Goldman gained an early understanding of business from his father and uncles who were merchants in pioneer Oklahoma. After service in World War I, he joined his brother in business, and the two became successful retail grocers in the Tulsa area. In the late 1920s, the brothers moved to Oklahoma City and soon built up the nucleus of what was later to become the national chain, Humpty Dumpty Stores and Standard Food Markets. Early in his career, Goldman developed many advertising and marketing techniques still used today, but perhaps his best-known invention was the shopping cart, invented in 1937, which has affected the lives of many worldwide. He also invested his time and money in civic and national affairs, as well as Oklahoma arts, education, and humanities. He was a major contributor to the Southwest Center for Human Relation Studies at the University of Oklahoma (Wilson, 1978).

Many Jewish families went into some aspect of the grocery trade, and kosher food was a necessity of life. William Rubenstein opened the first kosher market in Oklahoma City in 1917, located across from the Emanuel Synagogue. His store was the only kosher market in western Oklahoma and, before Passover, families from 150 miles away would send in their grocery orders. Borofsky’s Kosher Meat Market and the Blend family’s New York Bakery were the destination for kosher foods in Tulsa. L. A. Trope had a produce business, and other families who began careers in Tulsa as grocers were the Schlanger, Bankoff, Zarrow, Avery, Heyman, Nadel, and Mizel families. Mike Robinowitz helped build the Affiliated Foods store chain into a bustling business.

Other Tulsa businesses include the Dundee Tailor Shop, the Stekoll Brothers Pipe Company, the Solow Glass Shop, J. L. Rivkin Photography, and Moskowitz Furniture. Around Oklahoma, Jewish businesses such as the Singer Oil Company, and Lee’s Men’s Wear set an example of prosperity for Jewish immigrants yet to discover Oklahoma.

Despite a national economy in recession, Oklahoma has experienced stability—and in some cases even growth—in personal income, retail sales and home prices (Davis, 2008). To a very large extent, Jewish Oklahomans have contributed to this stability and growth.

In the area of politics, Jewish influence has been more qualitative than quantitative. While some of the early boomtown settlers may have held temporary public office posts, the first Jewish politician and one of the most influential figures in the state was Leo Meyer. In 1901, at the age of thirty and after his business was destroyed in the Great Galveston Hurricane, Meyer moved from Texas to Oklahoma territory. He started as a small town merchant, served as Mayor of Sayre, went on to serve as Oklahoma’s First Secretary of State in 1907, and became the State Auditor from 1911 to 1913.

In 1916, Meyer moved to Tulsa where he served as tax counsel to Mid-Continent Oil Company, a post he held for forty years. He was very active in the Tulsa Jewish community and continued to have a great deal of influence in the Oklahoma Democratic Party. Although he never again sought political office, he did support many candidates in their political endeavors. The only position he held was appointee to the Park Commission of Tulsa, on which he served for many years. He also served as president of Temple Israel of Tulsa. During the sixty-three years he lived in Oklahoma, Meyer made the transition from early settler to businessman, and politician at both state and local levels, community leader, founder of the first professional baseball league in Oklahoma in 1912, and devoted family man. It was once said that he knew more people personally, and could call more of them by name than any other man in the state of Oklahoma (Harlow, “Makers of Government in Oklahoma”, p. 796). Lovett (1993) highlights, “Leo Meyer played an important role in the history of Oklahoma and will always be remembered for his accomplishments in his adopted state” (p. 63).

Another renowned Oklahoma politician, Mickey Edwards, was elected to the US House of Representatives (1977 to 1993), the only Jewish Oklahoman elected to a national office. Marvin Henry “Mickey” Edwards was born in 1937 to Edward A. “Eddie” and Rosalie in Ohio, but the family soon moved to the south side Capitol Hill section of Oklahoma City. Eddie managed a shoe store there, where young Mickey also worked. At age 19, making a late night bank deposit, Mickey was shot by a mugger when he refused to hand over the hard earned money (NewsOK, 2009). Edwards recovered from the gunshot wound and went on to a successful career in public service. He earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, a J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law, and was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1970.

Edwards was elected from the 5th District of Oklahoma to the US House of Representatives in 1977 where, during his sixteen years in Congress, he served on the House Budget and Appropriations committees and was the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. He was also a member of the House Republican leadership, serving as the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the party’s fourth-ranking leadership position. Edwards’ parents, Eddie (1911-1959) and Rosalie (1912-1983) are buried in Emanuel Hebrew cemetery in Oklahoma City.

Jewish Oklahoman, Robert Butkin, also had a distinguished career as a public servant. As State Treasurer of Oklahoma (1994 -2005), his accomplishments included drafting legislation that created Oklahoma’s College Savings Plan. He also co-chaired the effort to pass two state constitutional amendments that now allow public Oklahoma universities to engage in technology-transfer and commercial development of their own ideas. In addition, he co-chaired the successful effort that created a permanent constitutional trust fund for tobacco settlement monies.

While Meyer, Edwards, and Butkin are examples of prominent politicians who made an impact through public office, many Jewish Oklahomans have influenced political and social arenas in other ways. Many were active in civic and cultural affairs,;some played important roles in the state’s civil rights struggle. Others made their voices heard in local, state and national government. For instance, in January 2009, Tulsa’s famous billionaire, George Kaiser, drew national attention after he told a committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives that the state should eliminate or reduce tax incentives for the oil and gas industry, and instead use the money for health care or education programs, or for tax cuts for other taxpayers.

On average, Oklahoma Jews are more liberal politically than the rest of the state, though probably less so than most American Jews. For example, the Frougs in 1929 were the first white clothing store owners to welcome blacks not only to shop and try on garments in their Tulsa store, but also to employ blacks to work side by side with their white counterparts. While Republican Representative Mickey Edwards is an example of the conservative element of Oklahoma Jewry, he also provides an illustration of the range of diversity and intellectual richness that permeates Oklahoma politics. On a recent PBS program, Fresh Air, Republican Edwards said that he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 general election (Gross, 2008).

Jewish influence on the artistic and cultural heritage of Oklahoma has come from a variety of sources, even at times from Jewish non-Oklahomans. For instance, Oklahoma-born Woody Guthrie was a well-known American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children’s songs, as well as ballads and improvised works. While Guthrie was an Oklahoman, he quite certainly was not Jewish, but his second wife, Marjorie Mazia Greenblatt, was Jewish, and her mother, Aliza Greenblatt, was a well-known Yiddish poet. Many of Guthrie’s lyrics can be traced to the unusual collaborative relationship he had with his mother-in-law.

Despite very different backgrounds, Guthrie, the Oklahoma troubadour, and Greenblatt , the Jewish wordsmith, often discussed their artistic projects and critiqued each other’s works, finding common ground in their shared love of art, culture and social justice (Klein, 2008). Guthrie’s inspiration for many of his songs came directly out of this unlikely relationship, and he identified the problems of Jews with those of his fellow Okies as well as other oppressed peoples.

Another noteworthy Jewish influence regarding Oklahoma’s way of life came from two Jewish composers who lived thousands of miles from the state’s borders. One of Oscar Hammerstein’s and Richard Rodgers’ most successful and sustained musicals was their first, in 1943, the Broadway hit, Oklahoma! A special Pulitzer Prize was awarded to the two for their musical, and through their work, Oklahoma became a state associated not only with oil and gas, but also with hearty spirit, cheerful music, and an earthy way of life.

Always a minority population, Jewish Oklahomans have served as both patrons and artists, making key contributions to the intellectual life, art, science, and commerce of the state. One prominent Jewish Oklahoma author and photographer is David Halpern. An avid traveler, experienced teacher of photography, prolific writer and a consultant on photographic issues, Halpern has served eleven times as a National Park artist-in-residence—four times at Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado), twice each at Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah), Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado), and Glacier National Park (Montana), and once at Acadia National Park (Maine). Many of his photographs are also featured in the book, Tulsa Art Deco (Gambling and Halpern, 2001), published by the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. One of Halpern’s recent projects is the publication of Pilgrim Eye (Halpern, 2007), a revealing presentation of a lifelong journey of self-discovery through landscape photography. Another of his recent endeavors is an exhibit that has contributed significantly to this chapter, Prairie Landsmen—a documentary photographic study of the Jews of Oklahoma, which was undertaken in cooperation with the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art.

Founded in 1966 by Tulsa Jewish families, the Museum, which also serves as the Jewish Historical Society of Oklahoma, houses the largest collection of Jewish art in the Southwest and was established for the purpose of helping the local Jewish community better understand its own heritage while helping others learn more about Jewish culture and history. In addition to the work of Halpern, the museum has exhibited that of such artists as Bernard Solomon, Raffi Kaiser, Gail Rubin, and Chaim Hendin.

Alison Zarrow is another Jewish Oklahoma author and photographer whose work has won both national and international acclaim. Her book, Abandoned Tulsa (2006), provides through photos and essays, a unique view of her hometown from the perspective of its abandoned and forgotten structures. Zarrow’s photographs have been shown at juried exhibitions nationwide and in Canada, including the 2005 Juried Exhibition of Women Photographers at New York City’s Pen and Brush Club, Newspace Center for Photography’s 1st Annual National Juried Exhibition in Portland, the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina’s Celebrating the Jewish American Experience, and at Drexel University.

In Oklahoma as elsewhere in the world, philanthropy is one means by which art is supported and Jewish character and communal identity are manifested and transformed. Oklahoma Jewish philanthropy is a story of an ethnic/religious group defining its place in an evolving society, while simultaneously shaping its internal direction and external distinctiveness. It is also a story of how a small group helped influence virtually all aspects of Oklahoma life, especially in the arts and education, vastly out of proportion to their number.

Lynn and Charles Schusterman’s philanthropic endeavors have made a positive difference not only within but also beyond Oklahoma’s borders. Founded in 1987, the Schusterman Family Foundation has been recognized as a model charitable foundation and has received awards for its generosity and creativity. It supports programs that enhance and enrich Jewish life in the United States, Israel and other parts of the world, as well as funding Oklahoma-based, non-sectarian charitable groups that focus on education, children, and community service.

A significant contribution to the state was the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa Schusterman Center, located in the heart of mid-town Tulsa. On this campus, many undergraduate and graduate programs are offered. The OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center emphasizes strong campus-community partnerships and provides the cohesiveness, facilities and organizational identity to aid in future development for the Tulsa region.

The Kaiser family provides another example of Jewish philanthropy and transformation. George Kaiser (b.1942) is listed third on BusinessWeek’s 2008 list of the top fifty American philanthropists, only behind Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Among his prominent causes is fighting childhood poverty through the George Kaiser Family Foundation. He has been notably active in the promotion of early childhood education, and through his work, Tulsa continues to emerge as a national if not world leader in creating and refining early childhood learning programs for infants and toddlers.

Still another prominent example of Jewish Oklahoman philanthropy is the Zarrow family. Giving back to the community is a commitment that both Henry and Jack Zarrow have made for over 60 years. Based on that commitment, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, and The Zarrow Families Foundation were incorporated in the 1980s. The Zarrows are committed to providing support for the disadvantaged, including mentally ill and mentally- and physically-challenged children, youth and adults, and the homeless. They do this by providing educational opportunities, social services, health and mental health programs, medical research, and housing. Although their geographical preference is the Tulsa area, they contribute to causes all over the world.

Conclusion

The first Jewish pioneers who came to Indian Territory realized they were entering a land where few Jews lived, and the burden of their own history offered no assurance that tolerance would prevail (Tobias, 1980). As they came to Oklahoma, seeking livelihoods or joining families, they had the task that all Jews have had throughout history: to maintain identity, and carve out a niche in a foreign land.

Over time, this task has proven to be a worthwhile endeavor, and their relationship with other groups in the state has been, and continues to be mutually rewarding. As Tobias (1980) comments, Jewish Oklahomans continue to give much to the state, and they continue to receive much in return. Jews in Oklahoma have claimed their portion of a heritage rich in faith, achievement, and community. From the early days of civil war veteran Boggy Johnson who lived out his days in a backwater outpost, to the contemporary landscape of Jewish families who reside in prominent urban settings, the account of these Oklahomans is an inspiring chapter in Jewish history. Moreover, this success story offers hope for a better future for all people who, “know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand!”[2]

Cemeteries in Oklahoma with Jewish Sections

Mount Zion /Rose Hill Cemetery
1604 C Street SE
Ardmore, OK 73401
580-221-2593

Fort Sill National Cemetery
2648 NE Jake Dunn Road
Elgin, OK 73538
580-492-3200

Fort Gibson National Cemetery
1423 Cemetery Road
Fort Gibson, OK 74434
918-478-2334

Greenhill Cemetery
Temple Beth Ahaba Section
1500 N. York
Muskogee, OK 74403
918-682-0331

Emanuel Hebrew
10600 S. Western
Oklahoma City, OK 73170
405-691-1081

Fairlawn Cemetery
2700 S. Shartel
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
405-824-2559

Temple B’nai Israel Memorial Park Cemetery
13400 N. Kelly Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73131

Resthaven-Sunset Memorial Park
1901 E. Hubbard Road
Ponca City, OK 74604
580-762-5659

Rose Hill Cemetery
4161 East Admiral Place
Tulsa, OK 74115
918-835-4421

NOTE: All cemeteries above are included in the JOWBR (JewishGen’s Online Worldwide Burial Registry) at www.jewishgen.org.

Oklahoma’s Jewish Congregations

 

Temple Emeth, Ardmore, Oklahoma (Reform) Established: 1899, (oldest in Oklahoma) Closed: 1996

Congregation B’nai Israel, Oklahoma City (Reform) Established: 1903
4901 N. Pennsylvania
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
405-848-0965    http://www.thetempleokc.org/

 

Emanuel Synagogue, OKC (Conservative) Established 1904
900 NW 47th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
405-528-2113   http://www.emanuelokc.org/

Temple Beth Ahaba, Muskogee (Reform) Established: 1916 Closed in 2011
206 S. 7th Street
Muskogee, OK 74401
918-683-1082   https://bethahabah.org/

B’nai Emunah, Tulsa (Conservative) Established 1916
1719 S. Owasso
Tulsa, OK 74120
918-583-7121    http://www.tulsagogue.com/

Temple Israel, Tulsa (Reform) Established: 1914

2004 E. 22 Place
Tulsa, OK 74114
918-747-1309   http://www.templetulsa.com/

Temple Beth Israel, Muskogee (Orthodox) Established 1922 closed in early 1970s.

Temple Emanuel, Ponca City (Reform)
1201 E. Highland Avenue
Ponca City, OK 74601
580-765-5898http://congregations.urj.org/detail.cfm?id=C548

Seminole Hebrew Center, Seminole (Reform) Established during the 1920’s
402 W. Seminole Avenue
Seminole, OK 74868
405 382-0910   http://www.reformjudaism.org/find-a-congregation/seminole-hebrew-center

Other Jewish Organizations in Oklahoma

Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City
710 W. Wilshire # C
OKC, OK 73116
(405) 848-3132   http://jfedokc.org/

Jewish Federation of Tulsa
2021 East 71st Street
Tulsa, OK 74136
918-495-1100   http://jewishtulsa.org/

The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art
2021 East 71st Street
Tulsa, OK 74136
918-492-1818   http://jewishmuseum.net/

Tulsa Jewish Retirement Center
2025 East 71st Street
Tulsa, OK 74136
918-496-8333   http://www.tjrhcc.org/

Bibliography

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“Digger George: Kaiser Wants Plug on Energy Incentives.” The Oklahoman 29 Jan. 2009.

Faulk, Odie B. Oklahoma Land of Fair God. Northridge, CA: Winsdor Publications, 1986.

Faulk, Randall M. “The History of the Jews of Oklahoma with Special Emphasis on the Tulsa Community”. Diss. ________, 1946.

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Firestone., Wayne L. “Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life Leadership Profiles “. 27 Sep. 2009. <http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:w-shJXVy3lEJ:www.hillel.org/about/leadership/+jews+and+oklahoma+and+philanthropy&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.

Gambling, Carol and Halpern, David. Tulsa Art Deco. Tulsa Foundation of Architecture. 2001.

Halpern, David. Pilgrim Eye. Gneissline Publishing. 2007.

Halpern, David. “Prairie Landsmen: The Jews of Oklahoma.” Exhibit in Sherwin Miller Museum. 2009.

Hoberock, Barbara. “Kaiser Urges Shift in State Tax Breaks.” Tulsa World. 23 Jan. 2009.

Klein, Joe. “Woody Guthrie: A Life”. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture Delta Publishers. 1999. 1 Sep. 2008. <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/J/JE009.html>.

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Wilson, Terry P. The Cart That Changed the World: The Career of Sylvan N.

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Wise, Lu Celia. Oklahoma’s Blending of Many Cultures. OK: Pride in Heritage Illustrated Books, 1975.

Zarrow, Alison. Abandoned Tulsa. Furnace Press. 2006.

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[1] Rabbi Perry Gethner, Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities- Stillwater, Oklahom (accessed from http://www.isjl.org/oklahoma-stillwater-encyclopedia.html)

[2] Lyrics from musical, “Oklahoma!” Written by Jewish composer, Richard Rogers.

 

Photos courtesy of the authors.