00:00:00CRANE: Uh, for official purposes, today is March 7th, 2016, and my name is
Janice Crane. And I am part of the interviewing team for the Jewish Kentucky
Oral History Project, which is funded by the Jewish Heritage Fund for
Excellence. I'm honored to be here today with Janis
Weisenberg Doctrow. While I don't really know exactly how it happened, I do
know that my mother, Martha Jacob Steinberg, and your mother, Rosalyn Abraham Weisenberg--
DOCTROW: --um-hm--
CRANE: --uh, were longtime playmates and friends. So I especially look forward
to hearing more about your family. And perhaps I can figure out how our
mothers' longtime friendship began, while we record your story for others, so
that they can hear. And I know you brought some pictures, so, uh, we won't get
to 'em right yet but, when we start talking about, uh, the sorority, you can
show that and, when we start talking about your family, you can tell us a little
bit about what you--
DOCTROW: --okay--
CRANE: --what you brou-- Uh, what was your name at birth?
00:01:00
DOCTROW: T-- I have to tell ya?
CRANE: No.
DOCTROW: Uh--
CRANE: Yeah.
DOCTROW: Janis Gay--my grandchildren love that Gay part--Weisenberg.
CRANE: And it's spelled G-e-y. Is, uh--?
DOCTROW: G-a-y.
CRANE: G-a-y. Okay. Uh, and when and where were you born?
DOCTROW: Uh, Good Samaritan Hospital, in Lexington, October the second, 1934.
CRANE: Oh! I was born at Good Sam, as well. Uh, I know that both your parents
have passed away. Uh, but, for the record, where were your--what were your
parents' names and where were they from and where did they grow up?
DOCTROW: My mother's name was Rosalyn Abraham Weisenberg. And she was born in
Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1910. And she g-- Uh, I think she lived there until
she was outta high school. And then eventually they moved to Lexington.
CRANE: Okay. And your father?
DOCTROW: My father was Reuben Weisenberg. Oh, he didn't have a middle name, I
00:02:00don't think. He was born in 1911. He was born in Cincinnati. And I think they
lived in Georgetown for a while, when he was younger. And then eventually they
needed him in--in their business, so he went and moved to Owenton, Ken-- They
lived in Lexington for a short while. Then he moved to Owenton, Kentucky.
CRANE: Your father's family lived in Lexington.
DOCTROW: Uh, no, my mother and father--
CRANE: --oh--
DOCTROW: --lived in Lexington.
CRANE: Okay. Uh--
DOCTROW: Uh--
CRANE: And you said "the business." What were their occupations?
DOCTROW: Uh, my mother helped with the family business but she didn't really
have an occupation, I guess. She would help dress the windows at Christmastime.
And she worked in the store on Saturday.
CRANE: And where was the store and what was it?
DOCTROW: Well, Owenton Department Store, in Owenton, Kentucky. They carried
women's, men's, children's, dresses, coats, suits, you name it. That's what
they had. And, uh, I think, when I was in the first grade, they moved to
Owenton. And I lived there from there on.
CRANE: Huh. Did your, uh, parents' and your grandparents' names change, when
00:03:00they came to America?
DOCTROW: Not that I know of. My mother's father was a stowaway, from Germany.
He came over here when he was fourteen years old. And, uh -- uh, and I think my
mom and dad both had the same name.
CRANE: And how did your family arrive in Kentucky?
DOCTROW: Uh--
CRANE: Who brought your family here, your--?
DOCTROW: I don't know. My grandfather was from Germany. He married my
grandmother. She was from St. Louis. Uh--
CRANE: This is your paternal--
DOCTROW: --no, this is my mother's.
CRANE: Y-- Okay.
DOCTROW: And they lived in St. Louis for a short while. 'Cause their first
child was born there. They had twelve children. The next three were born in
Louisville and the next eight were born in Shelbyville. So at some point there,
they moved to Shelbyville. He was in the meat business. He had a--I don't know
if you call it a-- Well, he sold different kinds of meat. I guess he had
a--whatever kinda house you sell any kinda meat in, in Shelbyville. And I do
00:04:00know that, when they moved there, uh, half o' them were still at home but they
had to live in two houses, because they couldn't find a big enough house (Janice
C. laughs) to live in. And their original house, that they built while they
were waiting, is still there--
CRANE: --oh, wow!--
DOCTROW: --on the corner of Washington Avenue, in Shelbyville.
CRANE: Uh, do you have siblings? And, if so, what are their names? And if, uh--
DOCTROW: --just me.
CRANE: It was just you. Okay. And what is your husband's name and the names
and ages of your children and grandchildren?
DOCTROW: Oh, goodness. Now you're really pushin' it.
CRANE: That's a test.
DOCTROW: Hm?
CRANE: That's a test.
DOCTROW: Okay. David Louis Doctrow. What'd you want to know? Just his name?
CRANE: And you ju-- Okay. That's your husband's name.
DOCTROW: Okay.
CRANE: And your children's names.
DOCTROW: Okay. I have Mindy, Mindy Heller--uh, she's married n--Mindy Sue
Heller, Jeffrey Alan Doctrow, Matt Douglas Doctrow, uh, Pamela Doctrow Gould,
00:05:00and Robert Mark Doctrow.
CRANE: Okay. And as you said, some of them are in Louisville--?
DOCTROW: Two are in Louisville. Three are in Lexington.
CRANE: Okay. How would you describe your parents', both your mother and
father's relationship to Judaism?
DOCTROW: My dad's family was Orthodox. They belonged to the synagogue in
Lexington. My grand--my mother's family were very reformed and they belonged to
the temple. And we would come to Lexington on the holidays and I would go to
temple the night before, with my mom--and sometimes my dad would go with us--and
then I'd go the next day, with my dad and my grandmother, to the synagogue.
CRANE: Well, now, that was interesting. Uh, what was Judaism in your family
like, growing up? How did it figure into your life?
DOCTROW: Well, we lived like sixty miles away. So I think I did start in
Sunday school here, one--maybe for one year or two. But, uh, uh, we just came
00:06:00on holidays. It wasn't easy to come for anything else. Like we came for the
Purim. I remember we came for the Purim carnival at the synago-- And then we
came on the High Holidays. And that's probably it. But we had a Seder. And, uh--
CRANE: --in Owenton?--
DOCTROW: --my grandmother kept kosher, in Owenton. My mother didn't. But they
used to bring the food in from Cincinnati and Louisville. Because she had a
very strict kosher house.
CRANE: Your grandmother on your--
DOCTROW: --my father's mother--
CRANE: --father's side.
DOCTROW: Uh--
CRANE: And he li--and she lived in Owenton, as well.
DOCTROW: Yeah.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, I know that, uh, at least your mother came from a very large family.
DOCTROW: Yes.
CRANE: Uh, you already alluded to that. Uh, if you cou--
DOCTROW: --don't ask me to name all twelve, uh.
CRANE: I won't.
DOCTROW: Uh, uh--
CRANE: But if you could elabor-elaborate a little bit on the largeness of that
family and s--describe the impact that his large family had on your place in the
Jewish community. Were they all from Lexington, they from central Kentucky?
00:07:00Where did they all settle? And how did this impact your growing up here?
DOCTROW: Mostly--mostly Lexington and Louisville. They all settled right here,
or in Louisville.
CRANE: And not that you have to go through all the name but--
DOCTROW: --I could--
CRANE: --just for the record, can you just throw out a few of your family
names, so that we can make connections?
DOCTROW: Mrs. Barney Miller was my mother's sister.
CRANE: Okay.
DOCTROW: My other aunt was never married. Her name was Gertrude Abraham. And
they--she had eight brothers. She had-- You want 'em?
CRANE: Sure.
DOCTROW: Okay. She had Harry Abraham, Isidore Abraham, Julius Abraham,
Clifford Abraham, Morris Abraham--I don't know how many that is--Louis Abraham,
Edward Abraham. I don't know if that's eight or not. I hope so.
CRANE: That's good enough.
DOCTROW: Okay.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, what was the role of Jewish tradition in your childhood? Uh,
00:08:00like you said that you--you did Passover in Owenton and you came here on some holiday.
DOCTROW: That was about it. Because in our little town, there was one couple
who ran the Lerman's store. And there was one lady who was Jewish, who owned
the movie. And we were the only Jewish people there, so there was never
anything. And, uh, on Passover, we'd have the Seder after the store closed, no
matter what time o' night it was. So.
CRANE: And what was it like growing up in a small central Kentucky town, with
relatively no other Jews?
DOCTROW: I had a couple cousins there. But, uh, it was great. I loved it. I
thought it was fun. I knew everybody and everybody knew us. But I didn't want
to raise my children there. So--
CRANE: And how did the community react to you all being Jewish?
00:09:00
DOCTROW: There was never a problem. One time, when I was walking to school, I
remember some boy got mad and called me a dirty Jew. That's the only time. I
lived there from the time I was probably seven years old till I went away to
college. That was the only thing I could think of. My dad was very well respected.
CRANE: Uh, when you--when you came to Lexington, uh, were you connected with
other Jewish children? I mean, did you have any other connected, besides--with
the growing up Jewish during those years? Uh--
DOCTROW: You talkin' about when I came to college?
CRANE: No, not yet.
DOCTROW: Okay.
CRANE: But just during high school, did you--uh, did you go to Louisville,
Cincinnati, Lexington--
DOCTROW: --no--
CRANE: --for social occasions?
DOCTROW: We came to the Purim, is--uh, every year.
00:10:00
CRANE: Okay.
DOCTROW: I remember that. But, no, not really.
CRANE: And what did your family--
DOCTROW: --well--
CRANE: --teach you about Judaism? And how did whatever you learned impact the
choices in your life?
DOCTROW: Well, impacted that fact that I better marry somebody Jewish, or else.
And, uh, it worked out that way. But, uh, it was just--growin' up, it was
right there. And my grandmother kept kosher. And I went there every day for
lunch. She lived up the street from the school. And I was afraid to mix up her
silverware. And they spoke Yiddish. My--my husband still does. My hu--my
father did, my grandparents. And I guess that was about it. Because there was
nowhere else to go.
CRANE: What was your most vivid memory of Jewish life or ritual, growing up?
DOCTROW: Growing up?
CRANE: Um-hm.
DOCTROW: Probably the Passover Seders.
CRANE: What were they like?
00:11:00
DOCTROW: Well, we'd have-- I had an aunt and uncle that lived there too. And
they lived in the same house with my grandmother. So it was just mostly all
family. There was never anybody from anywhere else. So--uh, see, we were all
around a big table. And there was maybe ten or twelve people. And like I say,
we didn't start till the store closed. Uh, it didn't matter time o' the night
it was. It got awfully late and we got hungry. (Janice C. laughs) But, uh,
that was--
CRANE: --uh, you brought some--uh, a picture of Shelbyville. And before we go
on to, uh, some of your more adult life, would you like to share the picture--
DOCTROW: --certainly--
CRANE: --and tell us a little bit about--?
DOCTROW: Well, somebody wrote a history. It's a pictorial history of Shelby
County, Kentucky. And in it, they tried to put all the families. And this is
my mother's fa--mother and her mother and father and twelve children. She's the
00:12:00baby, sittin' on the lap. And it says on the bottom that they were musically
inclined. Her brothers had a band, I know, the eight of 'em. And they all
played somethin'. And, uh, a lot of 'em worked in the butcher shop, whatever
you want to call it. And they all went to--they all, I guess, graduated from
Shelbyville High School--most of 'em.
CRANE: And that's your mother's--
DOCTROW: --that's my mother's fam--
CRANE: --mother's family. Uh--
DOCTROW: She's this little bitty one.
CRANE: Cute. That's a large family.
DOCTROW: Yeah. And I was an only child. And my grandmother used to tell me,
"Don't tell all the boys you want twelve children, because you're gonna scare
'em all away."
CRANE: (laughs) Uh, before we get into your college and adult life--
DOCTROW: --uh--
CRANE: --is there anything else that's unique or that you'd like to share about
your family background or your childhood years?
DOCTROW: No. I just--I had very good childhood years. Like I say, I knew
00:13:00everybody in Owenton. Everybody knew me. And it was just fun goin' up and down
the street and knowing everybody.
CRANE: Do you know what the population was?
DOCTROW: Twelve hundred. It still is.
CRANE: Twelve hundred.
DOCTROW: Um-hm. Very small family. And, uh, that-- Whenever we come to
Lexington-- My mom was the baby, of course. So we'd have to go visit everybody.
So we'd go house to house. And I just always thought it was fun. My uncles
owned the Lexington Dairy. So I used to either go over there and watch 'em put
the milk in the bottles or go to Bernie Miller's and listen to records--while my
mother went shopping.
CRANE: Uh-- I remember listening to records, in those little booths.
DOCTROW: Um-hm.
CRANE: Okay. Well, where did you go to university?
DOCTROW: I started in Indiana.
CRANE: Okay.
DOCTROW: Uh, my family wanted me to go where there were more Jewish people.
And a lotta the people that I was runnin' around with, uh, in Owenton came to
00:14:00UK. So they felt that I should go elsewhere. And I had a cousin from Owenton
that had gone to Indiana. So I went there for a year. And I made four good
friends. Uh, we were--all ran around in a little group. (Janis D. clears her
throat) One was a set o' twins. One was a girl from Louisville. The twins were
from Cincinnati. And the other girl was from, uh--well, somewhere down in
Kentucky. So we all became good friends. And we all went back the second year.
At midterm, the one girl came down with mono. So her mother came and got her
and took her home. Girl from Louisville was homesick, so she went home. The
twins from Cincinnati decided they were leaving too. So I called up and I said,
"I'm comin' home--if I'm going to college." So after a year and a half, I came
back to the University of Kentucky.
CRANE: Okay. And, uh, what year was that, when you started university?
00:15:00
DOCTROW: Fifty-two-- Probably fifty-four.
CRANE: And what did you study?
DOCTROW: Social work.
CRANE: And what year did you graduate?
DOCTROW: Nineteen fifty-six.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, what were your living c-accommodations at the university?
DOCTROW: Okay. I moved into Jewell Hall first. And I had a Jewish roommate.
And next door there was one room that was bigger. And it had its own little
bathroom. And there were four Jewish girls in there. And that was a half a
year. Then when that year was over, I moved into the bigger room, with the four
Jewish girls. And--and then, my senior year, they built Keeneland Hall. So I
moved over to Keeneland. Now, in Jewell, they tried to keep the Jewish girls
together. We just had a little corner of the r--of the floor. Keeneland, well,
I honestly don't know if there were any other Jewish kids. I never really met
'em. And then I had a friend come from New York, my senior year. And we--we
00:16:00are still good friends and see each other. And they put her somewhere else.
And she--her family knew somebody who knew somebody and they said she needed to
be where there were some Jewish kids. So they moved her on our floor. So there
were four of us in--across the hall and her. So there were like five Jewish
girls each year, I guess, that I was with. That was it.
CRANE: Describe a day in your life, as a college student. What did you do?
Where did you go? Uh--
DOCTROW: Uh--
CRANE: Where did you eat or study? What did you to relax?
DOCTROW: Well, we a--we ate in the mess hall, and whatever hall we were
supposed to eat in. And we went to the Student Union a lot. And we went to
classes. And we did homework. And nothin' special, I don't think. We went to
the ballgames, you know, whatever activities there were.
CRANE: And what was it like, uh, socially, as a stu--uh, student at UK--
DOCTROW: --well--
00:17:00
CRANE: --or a Jewish student?
DOCTROW: --yeah--we--we mixed, with the ZBT fraternity. They had us o-- every
Friday they had a different girl over to bless the candles and have dinner with
'em in the fraternity house. And they would--they would call an invite you. And--
CRANE: --interesting.
DOCTROW: Yeah, that was interesting. And then, uh, you know, I guess we had a
few things together but not a lot. I mean, people dated people. But there
weren't that many. There were maybe ten girls and I don't know how many guys.
CRANE: Um, there was this--you were a member of sorority--a Jewish sorority on campus.
DOCTROW: Phi Sigma Sigma.
CRANE: And when did that start? Uh, what was it like?
DOCTROW: Well, it was already here when I got here. And it was very small. I
think we had eight, at the most, p--when I left. And I don't know when it
started. But I know, not too long after that, it just kinda disappeared.
00:18:00
CRANE: Where was it located? Or where did you meet?
DOCTROW: In the residence hall or in the, uh, Student Union.
CRANE: So you didn't have an actual house.
DOCTROW: No. And we actually-- We had a friend here in town, Dolores Levy, who
was like, I guess the advisor. She and Phyllis Scherer helped us out a little
bit. And we--we met some at Dolores's house.
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: That was it.
CRANE: Uh, do you know--? So it appears like, from some o' the background, uh,
that I have found, that it began in 1952. Uh, and--
DOCTROW: --I honestly don't know.
CRANE: Okay.
DOCTROW: I probably have it somewhere. But I really don't--
CRANE: --and you don't have any recollection of what happened to it? D--it just--?
DOCTROW: No. They've contacted some of us, once or twice over the years. It
seems like somebody was interested in tryin' to restart it. But it never worked out.
00:19:00
CRANE: And why did you affiliate with the s--this particular sorority?
DOCTROW: It was the only Jewish one. And I thought it was a way to meet
people. And that was the thing to do. So.
CRANE: And do you recall some of your sorority sisters, their names? Uh--
DOCTROW: Before they were married? Yeah.
CRANE: Uh-hm.
DOCTROW: Uh, Connie Goldberg, uh, Maur--uh, Dolore--not Dolores--Laurie--Levy ,
uh, Inez Ringel--they were all younger than me--Anne Leah Ruby. You got me.
CRANE: That's okay. How did the sorority interact with the other Greek
organizations, uh, Jewish organizations and non-Jewish organizations?
DOCTROW: Well, the non-Jewish organizations-- Uh, we had a representative on
Hillel. But the only thing we ever really did was, when they had, uh, rush and
the girls had to come to claim which sorority they got in, they had us run that,
00:20:00because we weren't, uh, running for or against anybody. So we gave out the bids
on--at the sorority time, just to help out, you know. I guess they couldn't ask
them to do it, so we did it--and got 'em-- The girls got a little upset--not our
girls, the other girls, that were coming for the bids. So we had to tell
them--or they'll--show them that they didn't make the sorority they wanted--or
that they did.
DOCTROW: But that was really--that all and the Panhellenic Council.
CRANE: But your sorority was on that council.
DOCTROW: Yeah.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, and what about the fraternities? You mentioned that they--
When you were talking about them inviting you over to the ZBT house, were you
talking about a sorority--uh, one of the--the girls from the soror--?
DOCTROW: --well, usually. 'Cau--almost everybody--except my friend that came
from New York, almost everybody else belonged to the sorority, there were
00:21:00so--uh, such a little group.
CRANE: Hm. Uh, and were y--were there--at that time, were there Jewish girls
in the other sororities, the--the--?
DOCTROW: --I don't think so. We did, uh--we did do s--a few things, like, you
know, attend some Hillel meetings. But that was about it.
CRANE: Were they accepting of Jews in the other sororities or fraternities, then?
DOCTROW: I honestly don't know. I mean, the only people I actually knew,
mostly, when I got here, were the people, if they were in our dorm, on our
floor, that weren't Jewish. But we never interacted that much with the others.
CRANE: What other student organizations were you active in on campus? You
mentioned Hillel.
DOCTROW: I think there might be one or two in that book. It said somethin' on
the bottom. I hate to say I don't remember but--
00:22:00
CRANE: --that's okay--
DOCTROW: --I don't. I did see somethin' in here. Uh, it said I was president
o' the sorority, uh, and vice president of Hillel. I didn't remember that. And
one o' the girls was vice president of the Junior Panhellenic. Uh, I guess
that's all. I think I did belong to a social work group, uh.
CRANE: What did Hillel do? Uh, what were some o' the activities?
DOCTROW: Not a lot. We just--they'd just get together maybe once a month or
once every other month. It was a very small group. Not very well attended.
CRANE: And did you get together and have dinner or--?
DOCTROW: I honestly don't remember. I'm sure there was food involved. There's
always food involved.
CRANE: Okay. How did your time at UK impact your Jewish identity?
00:23:00
DOCTROW: Well, yeah, I gue--it made it stronger. Because it was the first time
I really was involved with that many Jewish people. When I went to Indiana--
Well, I was--the--
CRANE: --uh--
DOCTROW: --the girls I was with were Jewish. But I was there such a short
time. And they--we didn't go to Hillel. So--
CRANE: --what was Jewish life in Lexington like, when you were a student at UK?
And did you have interaction outside of the campus?
DOCTROW: Uh, yeah, like through the temple. Sometimes they'd have things and
invite the Jewish students or--
DOCTROW: We didn't have a lot but, uh-- I'm trying to remember. That's--good
question. Uh, I remember goin' to a couple big dances and things. So they must
have invited-- I know the fraternity had parties. And when they had their big
00:24:00dances, some o' the local people, that I guess had been, uh, involved with the
fraternity--some o' the local Jewish people came to the, uh, ZBT things. And
that was probably the most of it.
CRANE: Do you remember some o' the, uh, fraternity members from ZBT?
DOCTROW: Do I?
CRANE: Um-hm.
DOCTROW: Um-hm. You want to--?
CRANE: --sure! Any special ones?
DOCTROW: Uh, a lot o'-- You do-- You mean just from Lexington? Or you mean--?
Uh, they were from other places. There was a Gerry Bond. There was Phil
Frost. There was, uh, George Spector. There was Alan Blumfield. And I
think--I think Erle Levy belonged to the fraternity. There was, uh, Marty Solomon.
CRANE: Okay.
DOCTROW: There was-- Uh--
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: The rest of 'em, uh, probably were from outta town.
CRANE: Uh, we haven't really talked about this but how did you meet your husband?
00:25:00
DOCTROW: On a blind date, in Cincinnati.
CRANE: When you were in college or after--?
DOCTROW: --uh, my senior year, the--the summer before my senior year.
CRANE: And who fixed you up?
DOCTROW: A cousin.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, describe your Jewish life after college. Did you remain in
Lexington? Did you raise your children here?
DOCTROW: No. I got married right after-- Let's see. I graduated in May. I
got married the following October. We lived in Cincinnati for ten years. And
then, after ten years, we moved to Lexington. So, uh--
CRANE: --and what brought you back here?
DOCTROW: My dad's businesses. They needed somebody to run--he had shoe stores
in Richmond, needed somebody to manage and run those. So we picked up with-- I
had five children under the age of eight. The baby was six weeks old. And we
picked up and moved to Lexington.
CRANE: Oh, goodness.
DOCTROW: And when I arrived here, I had five aunts waiting at my new house for
00:26:00me, with food. So I had a lot of family here.
CRANE: Uh, what was your father's business in Richmond?
DOCTROW: Shoe stores, JN Shoes.
CRANE: Okay! Uh, describe Judaism in your home, as an adult and as a
parent--your home.
DOCTROW: My home? Well, we tried to raise our children Jewish. And they went
to Sunday school. They were all--four outta the five were bar and bat
mitzvahed. They were all confirmed. And, uh, we--we celebrated all the
holidays. We still do. Course, it's always at my house. And we have a big
crowd. There's twenty-two of us.
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: So, uh-- It's--it's still about the same. It's just that they're s--a
little more scattered now. So we don't get 'em all home as often. We have
twelve grandchildren, three sets of twins. And--
00:27:00
CRANE: --twelve seems to run in your family.
DOCTROW: Yeah. Uh, yeah. My mom was the twelfth child. I'm a twelfth
grandchild. And I have twelve grandchildren. So maybe that's my lucky number.
CRANE: Could be. Uh, how was your Jewishness, the way you raised your
children, uh, what you did in your home different from that of your parents?
DOCTROW: Well, it was different because, uh, you know, Dave and I attended
everything at the temple, when they were little. And he was president o' the
Brotherhood. And I was president o' the Sisterhood. So our kids were raised
entirely different. Because there was no way for me to be raised--except for
the holidays and keeping kosher, for my grandmother. There was no other way,
except to keep tellin' me I was Jewish. (laughs)
CRANE: And, uh, you were members of the temple?
DOCTROW: Yeah--
00:28:00
CRANE: Not the synagogue.
DOCTROW: --from the time we moved here. This--this'll be fifty years we've
been in Lexington.
CRANE: And how did your children feel about their Jewishness in Lexington?
Were they active in the Jewish community?
DOCTROW: Yeah. They were all in the--the youth group at the temple. And, uh,
they attended, you know, every carnival and every youth group event. They went
outta town on conclaves with the youth group. And they interacted--
CRANE: --uh--
DOCTROW: --very well. I mea--
CRANE: --were there any challenges, uh, that you experienced raising your
Jewish children in Lexington?
DOCTROW: No, not really. I mean, our three best--three closest friends are
Jewish. And their kids were all about the same age. So most of--a lotta what
we did on holidays and things was with those families.
CRANE: Did you--did your children experience any antisemitism, in Kentucky,
growing up in Lexington?
00:29:00
DOCTROW: Not that I remember. They had more with people at the bus stop and--
Couple o' those were Jewish. But, no, there's nothin' that I can remember.
CRANE: And how does your relationship to, uh, Judaism compare to that of your
children's now? Are they raising their children Jewish or--?
DOCTROW: Yeah. Let's see. Four of them--four of them married. Three married
Jewish. Uh, the ones with the children, they're, uh--they've all been
raised--bar mitzvahed, bat mitzvahed, going-- The little ones are s--in Sunday
school now, at the temple.
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: They go from seven to twenty-seven. So--
CRANE: --wow!--
DOCTROW: --we got a bunch.
CRANE: Yeah, you do.
DOCTROW: But they're all, uh-- You know, they've all been raised Jewish. And
00:30:00they know they're Jewish. And that's one reason we've had all the holidays at
our house. So.
CRANE: How has your Judaism and your practices changed, over--over the years?
DOCTROW: Well, I guess you'd say it slowed down. I mean, we don't go to temple
as much as we used to. In fact, we--we really don't go that often. I mean, we
go durin' the year and for the holidays. But we don't go to every event, like
we used to.
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: But I guess you'd say it slowed down a lot. But our fa--our family--
Let's see. Outta the four in Lexington--no, three in Lexington, two belong to
the temple. The two that are in Louisville are much more active. My son Lowell
was just president o' the temple in Louisville. So they're--they've raised
their children completely Jewish too.
CRANE: How is the role of Israel and Zionism, uh, in your activities and your
00:31:00identity as a Jew. What is it? Uh--
DOCTROW: It's not a lot. Dave belongs to B'nai B'rith--
CRANE: Uh--
DOCTROW: --and the Brotherhood at the temple. And I belong to the Sisterhood.
But that's about all, at this point.
CRANE: And what about Hadassah? You've been--
DOCTROW: --I've never been a member of Hadassah. My grandmother was. She was
a life member.
CRANE: And--
DOCTROW: --that was a long time ago--
CRANE: --do you have any kind o' relationship with the Federation--uh, the
Jewish Federation?
DOCTROW: Well, I was on the first committee to--started Camp Shalom, the
steering committee.
CRANE: What was that like?
DOCTROW: It was great, gettin' it started. And, uh, the-- David works after
the, uh, new rabbi at the temple. His mother was on that committee with me.
CRANE: Oh, that's interesting.
00:32:00
DOCTROW: And, uh, we worked hard. And it's turned out pretty well. My kids
have all-- One year, I had seven kids at Camp Shalom. I had a--the assistant
director, a junior counselor. And all the little ones were there. So we have
supported it, still, over the years.
CRANE: Do you see, uh, the Jewish leadership in Lexington--how it's changed
over time? Or do you still--uh, do you see a--a leadership in Lexington?
DOCTROW: I think it's changed quite a bit. I think-- Of course, I'd say
there's a lot younger people involved now. But I guess we were that age, when
we were involved. But it seems to be a--maybe a stronger leadership.
CRANE: Than it used to be?
DOCTROW: Yeah. Because the Federation is here. It wasn't here. We used to
have a strong Council of Jewish Women. It's not here anymore.
00:33:00
CRANE: What was that?
DOCTROW: It was just another organization. And, uh, we went and did plays at
the schools and, uh--
CRANE: Was that a temple activity--
DOCTROW: --no--
CRANE: --or was it--?
DOCTROW: --it was the Council of Jewish Women.
CRANE: Huh. Uh--
DOCTROW: It was a similar group to Hadassah and the Sisterhood.
CRANE: Not heard anyone mention--
DOCTROW: --well, it's been a long time.
CRANE: How has where you've grown up and how you have lived your adult life
affected your relationship with Judaism?
DOCTROW: It's kept me definitely with it, completely. I never thought of doin'
anything--or leaving anything--besides Judaism. My husband's from an Orthodox
home. And, uh, of course he-he's probably stronger than I am on Judaism. But
we--we've been here a lotta years and raised a lotta kids. So.
00:34:00
CRANE: Looking back, if there was anything that you could change--is there
anything you could change about your relationship with Judaism?
DOCTROW: Not really. It could have been stronger, I'm sure. But between
having all the kids and all the grandkids, we really haven't had a lotta time to
do too much more.
CRANE: Okay. Uh, is there anything else that you would like to share with us,
that, uh, I haven't asked you about, something--maybe some stories about your
family or--history or--?
DOCTROW: I don't know. I think you've kinda covered it. But, uh, like I said,
my grandmother always told me, uh--had to marry a nice Jewish boy, and she'd pay
for the wedding. And I guess she did. She was a very tiny lady. And I had a
lot of other relatives in Lexington.
CRANE: Who were they?
DOCTROW: My father was related to the Krausses and the Rosens. Uh, my-- Well,
00:35:00that was my--his mother, my grandmother on my fa--m--yeah, my grandmother on my
father's side. Uh, Morris Rosen's mother was a sister. Uh, the Krauss family
isn't here anymore but-- Tomter Krauss was a sister. So I grew up with a lot of
family, in Lexington.
CRANE: I know that my, uh, parents played poker with the Krauss--
DOCTROW: --probably--
CRANE: --uh--
DOCTROW: --and I think the--
CRANE: --a long time ago--
DOCTROW: --they had--she had seven children. So-- When we moved here, we
couldn't go anywhere-- The people used to say, "Don't talk about anybody.
Because they're related to everybody in town." And we really were.
CRANE: Uh, who all were you related to?
DOCTROW: Both sides?
CRANE: Um-hm.
DOCTROW: Well, Harriet Rose, Vivien Marx, Jay Abraham, uh, Morris Rosen, Ida
00:36:00Rosen--"Ida Rosen"--Ida Waldman, uh--gosh--well, Betty--uh, Aunt Betty Miller,
Gertrude Abraham. As I said, I had five aunts here. Shea Abraham were here at
the time. You got me. But there were a lot of 'em. As I said, we could go to
temple, we could go to the synagogue and, no matter where we went, there were
relatives. So.
CRANE: Do you have any idea how your mother and my mother became friends?
DOCTROW: I know that they double-dated. And somewhere-- I'm trying to find the
picture. I just remember my mother talkin' about your mother constantly,
Martha, j-just little stories. And I can't remember the stories. But I know
that they double-dated. And somewhere, there's pictures.
CRANE: Uh--
00:37:00
DOCTROW: And I will see if I can't find them.
CRANE: I would like to see those.
DOCTROW: Um-hm. They're cute.
CRANE: I'll bet.
DOCTROW: So. I guess they just met by bein' here in Lexington. You know. I
never got to those stories.
CRANE: You mean--? Well, uh, this has been lovely. And I thank you, so much.
DOCTROW: Well, you're very welcome.
[End of interview.]
