Forest Avenue High School, now James Madison, closed its doors in 1956, but some alumni include TV producer Aaron Spelling and Stanley Marcus of Neiman-Marcus. In 1983, the alumni made sure the school artifacts were archived at the Dallas Public Library, but at DJHS we house a small collection of artifacts from from individuals and families who attended.
Here we have the name tag of Hilda Cobbel, she wore it at the Forest Avenue High School class reunion of 1935. It includes her graduation photo and a button that says “Fight Forest Fight” in one of the school colors, Forest green.
Over her life, Hilda Cobbel was mentioned multiple times in the Texas Jewish Post, most notably for the JCC Purim Ball, where she was a Purim queen representing the Hadassah B & P Group in 1952.
Morton Rachofsky (1930-2019), a Dallas realtor among many other things, invented the 25-hour Xtraour Clock from the Circadian company which was most likely influenced by Sigmund Freud who used the 50 minute psychoanalytical hour.
The Chicago Tribune wrote about this clock selling at Neiman Marcus in 1990 for $82. At the DJHS we have one of the 25 hour clocks, still in its original box and encased in acrylic – a memento donated by Rachofsky’s estate.
At the DJHS archive, we have a kosher butcher knife, known as the chalif, it’s wielded by a shochet; the person that uses the knife to process the animal. The chalif must be handmade and kept exquisitely sharp. There are fewer than 10 kosher knife makers worldwide. The knife can be made of various steel types, and the handle made from a variety of woods and materials, but a kosher knife must be roughly two-thirds the size of the animal’s neck that it is killing. There are different knife sizes for different animals, this knife is about 12 inches long, lending itself to a lamb.
Here we have a framed photograph taken by Paul Robertson of the BBYO District 7 convention that was held at Huntington College June 5- 10, 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama is now part of region #72, “Cotton States Region”, which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. With 50 countries involved in the BBYO sorority and fraternities, and a total of 700 chapters worldwide, the BBYO has grown substantially since this photo was taken in 1956.
Here we have a photo of a man in front of the piece, Dancing Duke, 1974, by the artist John Chamberlain (1927-2011). This piece was donated to the Dallas Museum of Art by Dr. and Mrs. Harold J. Joseph in honor ofMr. and Mrs. Max Walen, who are the donors of a John Chamberlain piece at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. We need help identifying the man in this photograph. The photograph is in a custom frame and mat produced by a local framing shop that opened in 1985. The man’s glasses look to be from the 80’s, and the brick wall makes me think of NorthPark mall, because such famous art hangs on its walls. But we can find no evidence that it was ever shown at NorthPark mall.
John Chamberlain was an artist that worked in photography, prints, paintings, furniture, and 3D sculpture. He is well known for his large sculptures that utilize car and metal scraps turned into sculpture designs.
Currently, John Chamberlain has works at The Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
This is the first key given to the first tenant of Apparel Mart in Dallas. Located by the Dallas Market Center on Stemmons Freeway, Apparel Mart opened its doors to the public on October, 25 1964.
Apparel Mart closed in 2003 with the wholesale market changing predominantly to New York and Los Angeles. Apparel Mart, once made up of 1.6 million square feet, and showed designers like Oscar De La Renta, Pierre Cardin. Apparel Mart was a hub for international retailers and famous designers, as well as a site for lavish parties and the filming Logan’s Run.
From the Marcy Lee Manufacturing Company Collection
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