Slice of History

The very first issue of the journal of the Southern Jewish Historical Society, Southern Jewish History, contains some fascinating bits of Jewish women’s history. Among the six pieces are a profile of “Jewish Nursing Pioneers” Amelia Greenwald and Regina Kaplan. Author Susan Mayer, an assistant professor of nursing, explores the reasons these two women from middle-class German-Jewish families bucked social norms to work in a field that overtly discriminated against Jews and other minorities. Also included is “Ruth and Rosalie: Two Tales of Jewish New Orleans,” a memoir by Bobbie Malone, of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. She tells the story of two women born in the early years of this century who went on to become leaders of the New Orleans Jewish community; Ruth Dreyfous, from a prominent, prosperous family that prided itself on its secular orientation and membership in local Yacht and Harmony clubs; and Rosalie Cohen, from an Eastern European family steeped in Orthodoxy and yet devoted to their daughter’s Jewish education. For copies or membership: Southern Jewish Historical Society PO Box 5024 Atlanta, GA 30302.