Harlan Pollock
Harlan Pollock grew up in Columbus, Ohio, born in 1937 to immigrant parents who pushed the family to assimilate while maintaining their Jewish identity. He was the middle of three brothers, with an older brother, Herb, eleven years his senior, and Sandy, five years older. He recalled a simple, happy childhood filled with good friends and imaginative play rather than material things. Though he was not athletic like his brothers, he did well in school despite what he later suspected was undiagnosed dyslexia. He attended public school and went on to Ohio State University, where he met his wife, Hank, on her first day of school.
Pollock finished undergraduate studies in three years and completed medical school at Ohio State, marrying during his first year and starting a family soon after. He came to Dallas to train at Parkland Hospital, drawn by the cohesive and dedicated house staff. As a first-year surgery resident, he was in the hospital when President Kennedy was assassinated and was a minor participant in the care of the patients. He completed five years of general surgery, was drafted and served at the Army burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, then trained in plastic surgery at Walter Reed, and served in Vietnam at the third field hospital in Saigon before returning to Dallas to build his practice.
Back in Dallas, Pollock developed a rewarding plastic surgery practice, later partnering with a colleague named Todd for about twenty years before retiring. A 1973 Federation-sponsored study group and trip to Israel led by Arnie and Janice Sweet deeply influenced him and connected him to lifelong friends and community leadership. He served on the board and as president of the Jewish Community Center during its major building expansion, and later as president of Jewish Family Service alongside Michael Fleischer. He also helped raise funds for Parkland's surgery department and served on the Parkland Foundation and Dallas Jewish Community Foundation boards. He and Hank established a family philanthropic fund and take great pride in their children and grandchildren. Hank shared her own decades of service, including work with the chevra kadisha through Shearith Israel and involvement with Hadassah.
Full Transcript
okay today is Wednesday May 18 2016 and I am Janine Pullman interviewing Harlan Pollock dr. Harlan Pollock and we're here so that you can talk about your life prior to Dallas growing up your family your influences and what how you see the Dallas Jewish community how it's grown and everything that came in between and leave it as a legacy for both the Dallas Jewish Historical Society and for your family it's accessible who ever wants to hear it so why don't you begin talking about your life where you grow up where you grew up and your family I grew up in Columbus Ohio and in the good old days born in 1937 my parents were both immigrants the big push in our
family was to assimilate so our Jewish roots were there they were deep but they were modified by people really trying to be part of a society but with different than I think what we have seen today with all the diversity I was it was a good Jewish mom we were not particularly observant but most holidays we do sir my father was a bit of a workaholic Jesus he had very little formal education his education was basically in the streets and he made and he did very well as far as his life determines now he lived his life and when he accomplished yeah certainly was a
role model for his sons there were myself the two brothers my older brother herb was 11 years older than I am I was am and my brother sandy is five years older than I am so I was the middle child had a very basic simple childhood compared to what kids are doing today we had the freedom to do what we wanted to do we innovate it because we didn't have the gadgets you spend a lot of days fighting World War two in the yard next door the vacant lot childhood memories are all very positive like I had a wonderful childhood and it's to say was
very simple certainly not didn't have the material things that our kids have a benefit of today didn't have only technology but we had got a lot of good friends and a lot of good times I grew up in a community which was a small suburban community similar to I guess University of Clarke in terms of the socio-economic level maybe maybe that's a little bit pushing it but anyhow we had a wonderful school system some people went to private schools there were private schools but most of us went to public school a great public school education I was not particularly alphabetic and I did have asked
mrs. child whether that was the excuse that was for real I'm not sure but certainly as one was treated differently in those days and it was a real drawback so I was not particularly athletic both my brothers were I was not I did throw it well in school I think if I went back now after seeing what some of our grandchildren have gone through I probably am dyslexic and I probably have learning disabilities one of the learning disabilities was being distracted by the girls but but I I did well in school and went from the vex a school system in Columbus moved up north to Ohio
State University and went through three years four years of college and a last state my darling wife Hank on her first day of school and the rest is history we just have been together ever since and neither is some believe you never look back certainly had a great life together I was the ZBT fraternity I was fairly social but I was a very serious dude I rescued columns three years of undergraduate school because I won during the summer and went from there medical school a state or a state lived to tell my first year in school which was certainly unusual in today's world and I
actually got married my second year my end of my first year in medical school was tough life changed I moved into my wife's house and promptly had a child after yeah required period of time which was the style in those days I mean that's just what we did and it was great the reason that's good is because we both have grown up with our children and the ended up it's been good for both the children and ourselves my state medical school was great wonderful experience a lot of good friends from there and after Medical School came down here to Dallas to part a hospital why
Parkland I took a tour of many City County hospitals University Hospitals and it was just no hospital like Parkland mainly from the standpoint of the morality House staff the residents and interns it just was that they really cohesive group people were happy here and that was really not the case in semantics hospitals the hours are long [Music] difficult but definitely made no difference we really enjoy it I did five years of general surgery here at Parkland and during that time I was the first year resident when JFK was assassinated here in Dallas and I was a minor player in the process was not was in
the operating room kennedy and conally brought Hannah and because of all the it's busy but because of all the action of the hospital all the commotion quicker I could yeah get out I did I drove home driving home I saw Air Force One take me off from Love Field and went home to was supposed to be tots third birthday and for some reason I went to the barbershop to get a haircut just before the party and I actually saw Air Force One land in Washington wasn't a barber chair I haven't been to call that Sunday it was in the call room with some of my
colleagues it's the first year surgery resident ating on anesthesia we're in the call room and a bit a small black and white TV actually watts Oswald any shot and then transported parkland and of course we met him in the emergency room with his resuscitation has been moved to the operating room with him I was involved in Miss anaesthetic which was an experience I can remember LBJ calling into the upper room are there that we should save his life but it was not that not my cards and it was just average that experience you want one which you know one of those kind of things you
know I'll never forget apartment is a great experience I really learned to be a surgeon at Parkland I then had the opportunity to actually I was drafted my third year that's a surgery's a four-year program fourth it is a very important year and it was a big decision whether I should stay complete my residency and general surgery which I didn't need to let's go into my subspecialty a plastic surgery but I lot of thinking I decided I would spend the exterior there there was a matter of time you those able to do that and it was really great experience because I really did become a
surgeon that could think on his feet they had all the principles behind them it was a great way to finish your career at Parkland I then was drafted and went to San Antonio with the family was assigned to the surgical research university which was the Army burn unit located that Brook Medical Center and had a very interesting year there are a very difficult year emotionally more than physically taking care of acute burns many of which were in Vietnam was was for me it was very difficult I felt my sensitive individual life it was tough watching these large burns come in but we that was my
year there at some point during that year I found out there was a plastic surgery residency available at Walter Reed which usually goes the Regnier army people but as a reserve officer I was able to get that position silent so we packed up and moved off to Washington and spent two years at Walter Reed which is a absolute wonderful experience both medically and personally the Washington area's great place to live we booked in rockville maryland and have many great friends from there and seen them to this day in fact next week we're going off to Washington go Bar Mitzvah but it was a great experience
a great learning experience certainly plastic surgery is a different specialty at that time and was heavily voter with reconstructive surgery very little cosmetic surgery and but it was a great experience following my residency there I got the bonus year every year in Vietnam and and to weave my family moved often orleans so they could be with tanks family and I spent here again in Saigon there's a combat zone there was not any tremendous security problems there however say you're however you're going to address my time in Vietnam was spent at the third field hospital which is a Saiga it was a wonderful experience as far
as my medical experience my technical experience I took care of mainly didn't mean the other B's civilians did a lot of extremely thick cases didn't wanna lips and palates which is a great part of our specialty but coming back to Dallas I really done very few since I came back mainly because of circumstances I think mainly go to centers I was not upset in private practice Vietnam was trying experience for both of us but we both made it through I came back to Dallas directly from Vietnam Hank could come here and found us a place to live an office for me and I started much
differently than most other Plastic Surgeons start particularly in this day and age I started in the General Practitioners back office and a shared space with him for a good about six months before I could get out of office my reason for that was the office space with very scarce and that's what we came Dallas was very welcoming we enjoyed Dallas under the worst of circumstances which was being a resident in which was really never home and we had connections with the community but not quite you know most of our connections where the medical connections through Parkland we did joins sheriff Israel and we did we
did attend some services there it was a really busy time of my life and we didn't do much so under the worst of circumstances we love Dallas about the people here and in coming back the city was very welcoming I know a lot of people and practice and to come back to Dallas and even in this day and age just over 50% of the practicing physicians trained apartment so I certainly had people that I knew and practice evolved through the years I had a wonderful experience and practice great patience just an overall really pleasant experience by what would I what I did in practice got
even better than some twenty years ago top came for some talking practice with me had a wonderful relationship great experience together and get some innovation together published together and it was just it was a great experience a great way to finishing up a career with an associate for about 20 years last year a year ago I decide it was time to retire I spent an extra year and practiced because so I think you left out some of your local activities for everyone to learn about my medical career as far as activities you asked about influences and and some sugar you discussed with Hank in 1973
you know you had your own in 1973 where I was only 2 years of practice and Arnie Janis sweet came up with the idea of having a study group for a year learning about Israel about Judaism and then culminating in a trip to Israel as a Federation sponsored trip it was a bargain trip at the time I think it was around $1,000 we paid enough for both of us to reach in I think right about this yeah there was underwritten by Federation so it really seemed like a bargain and the whole experience was incredible it changed all our lives and particularly a trip to Israel
which everybody says that but for this group was real true there are some 20 couples and if you take them one by one which I won't do they will they make up at least three-quarters of those people make up the leadership in the city since that time most of us are fading out at this point but since that time it was really an incredible experience the most interesting part of it was the fact that the Federation got very unhappy with the Suites because we came back and they didn't raise the money they thought that should well the bargain trip I can't carry I can't play
what our gifts to Federation to local agencies have been since that time because of that trip so it was really foolish but it was a wonderful experience we made a lot of good friends must I make up the core of our friends today we don't see them all the time when we do see them there's a real connection so that really got us more involved I was sort of a I mentioned the fact of simulation my background of Judaism in us in the so so I was forced to go to Hebrew school and I mentioned dyslexia and I do think that I had problems with
deeper because that promise with reading English and so I had my background was not great I didn't know what so much who I should have known and that you're studying we made a difference in the time since then I was very busy in practice than no time to do much but I got involved the Center for Irving Donsky well I've got about the center board in at some point Irving Dottie pushed me to get involved with leadership role which I had no reason there's no reason why I should I didn't have time to do it I didn't figure out a desire do it yeah and
spending several years we strict leadership core including the president of center in mid 80s at the time they were building most of them part of the center were involved with fundraising that and I don't think I was president when they opened this the new center of it but we weren't fundraising for the major edition and it was a wonderful experience the center is the center the community is so important it's changed a lot of senses since I was there but it was a great experience I have the personal attitude that if I'm leadership role and I stepped down it's time for somebody else to do
it so I moved on from the center at some point got on the board family service and spent a lot of years there and didn't and did end up as president JFS some way I guess around the end of the 90s Michael Fleischer came just before I started as president he was a tremendous addition that the agency agency was certainly a good it was good before that but it's become excellent with Michael's involvement absolutely wonderful experience for me I was there when the new building the new building opened and it was just incredible change in what family service had before it has become the preeminent
social service agencies in the city not just Jewish City I've made my contributions they're curved nose there but but family services continued to evolve leadership has gotten better and better each year I'm very impressed might end up at a board meeting for one reason or another which I don't go very often but it's a very impressive living people and Michael is certainly changed the whole agency and they did so much better I have been involved in if they pack also been involved in some non Jewish activities about five years ago six years ago Parkman was new Parkman was in its planning stages and as I
mentioned with parkland the relationships there the experience we had there was really unique and it became obvious it was more and more unique in that we decided yeah I guess it was my idea I got involved with a friend who's a professor there we came down here together though unsolved passed away a year ago and together we put together a campaign for the surgery department and think he never raised a few bucks to be part of what's going on at the hospital we sat down to people from the foundation and they said oh you should set it goal and so they said it go first
a five hundred thousand dollars which if anybody can you certainly know about raising money for doctors it ain't easy and so we thought that was a pipe dream but as we progressed through the years of fundraising we actually raised six hundred and fifty thousand pounds from the surgeon part which was matched by the internist the only Jen's and a few of the other groups of you raise money as well yes same thing is and how unique the hospital is and the city is is a City Dallas greatest 160 million dollars of public or private funds for a public institution which shows the uniqueness of the
whole situation that's what doesn't happen in that place I subsequently became a member of the Parkland Foundation board and enjoyed my experience there and I am also on the the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation which I'm learning about every day it is the future of this city endowment funds have to be raised or else Judaism isn't going to continue the cost of someone maintaining a Jewish family through a certification and all the things that need to be done are not going to happen in a easy way and I think that the endowments are being raised by a foundation the funds are being raised there for the
future because what's quite important so stay I'm staying busy in retirement Emma in my spare time we've got a few health problems that we've been dealing with but those are better and taking less time yeah life is good what would you how would you look at your life and what would you say is the moment you were most proud of stuff most proud I don't think is any one event but at this point I'm going to grant child's graduation several weeks ago our first grandfather graduate college had a meaning to it maybe it's my maturity I'm not sure what but for both Hank and I
that was a really big moment in our lives and something you know and as far as the other things I mean just seeing seeing the family our family and how its developed it's been such a thrill and I think that's my source of pride singing out todd has come into medicine time where medicine is getting problematic in terms of young physicians how they're handling things the ethics and all that and I see him with all the old ethics on ethical standards even the extent is on a major Committee of the Texas Medical Board at this point so I have a lot of pride in our
kids I think the tank will join me assertion price of the same claim but that's really has been the big thing as far as personal accomplishments you know I've been very fortunate you know people have certainly helped me do things most of what I've done has not been by myself including somebody like accomplished shouldn't accomplishments been a big part of that I've got people pushing at all levels and helping it's not a it's not a is an individual accomplishment but there's something people behind it and I guess the family how would you like your family to remember you just as I am you know I
think it's tough question I certainly want them to remember me as a friend a role model someone who has set a high ethical bar for them a high bar of accomplishment and you know I think that I think you know I think that's mainly out in just the I hope that their memory is a good person we set up our family philanthropic fund that the foundation several years ago and we recently changed the name to Hana K and Harlan Pollock Family Fund and we met with the kids and they know that we are making endowments to the pretty Jewish legacy pushed to do it but
we created an endowment we have designated amount of money involved and they stay the same they get less may go up just the ten but we made them a part of it they realized that that's theirs to manage this time goes on whatever they get from us individually is not the most important thing it's us this is the most important part that they will carry on our wishes to philanthropic very nice you didn't tell me yeah she thought about two things that's listening to you today I guess I should have said if you'd like to come back into the chair with you man yeah you
know if there's something else that you want to share how the communities changed anything that you would want yeah forever I think the major changes that I've seen in the community of course sizes is a big thing because it was for a small Jewish community we came here it's gotten bigger I'm not sure you know the numbers but I was part of our community doing the physical things need to be done to make this a part of the Avery so there are so many people moving the community and large Orthodox group which was not present before so the size the committee's increase the activity level
the community's increased seeing all the of case for he work for juris education it's really impressive I think that's been one of the bigger changes we we haven't been a big part of it in terms of our kids being a part of it all the way about three grandchildren that have your education through space school education I think that we see community raising a lot of funds there has been a change in the way funds are being raised individual agencies are raising funds whereas in the past Federation really did all the fundraising being on a chair the Federation knows it but they have to make
some change that I'm sure they have to make some changes at this point because it's those of us that are giving money in the community would like to give directly do we want to go to and that leaves out so I guess and so you need some kind of a federated system to handle smaller agencies and things but as far as I think that's been a major change and I don't think we're alone in that I think we see that happening with all the events of organizations you're having made just as you're having the survey the Jewish community has shown a leadership role in the
Dallas community and we've had our mayor's we've got our council people business leaders very impressive what we've seen that's okay there's a small town it's a big city now and the Jewish community serve a major part of that okay good thank you and if you have anything you want to add at some point I can always come back with the camera not an easy thing I'm sure that's not all this hot air say what you want to say don't don't leave any words unsaid I was listening to you and it reminded me that there were number of things I guess okay so Hank is going
to sit back down and then I update that I didn't tell you okay then when I told when you knew that I was involved in the sisterhood but I also was and Hadassah it's very involved in Hadassah I was president of one of the groups that was something else that I thought I'd tell you but I did all bad and I also went to visit to to work with Carlin's office briefly and I had a problem I was supposed to go there for a week or two help out and I stayed for 30 years and I was waiting for him to retire I thought I
would retire at the same time and then I decided he wasn't going to retire so I did so it's been what three years I think since since I left the office the other thing that I didn't say was in 1970 something I'm not exactly sure where the mother died and I never heard it I guess I had her we lived here they had all these big parties for the but at the location where you can domain vision there were conditions yeah and I didn't know what happened issue was and I would ask but you don't want to know you don't want to know and so
then it's promised mother died and we went to Columbus it's you know I was like doing all this stuff and I like who did know that you know they've been brought stuff into the house of candle or whatever and I said where we would have been in Dallas to come home and find out so I came home and I talked to Reverend and I said why don't we have that she said we do I said well tell me about it he said I'll send you some information I said I think I could do that and I had worked in the hospital I was a volunteer
I thought it wasn't gonna be a nurse and I worked several times and a half in a hospital did something think serious anyway and then Portland's listening he said look I know I can do it and so rabbi Friedman said I will sent you some information I sent me the information in the very same day I got a call to go to do it tomorrow and I was like I said I would do it I'm in the karlon I'd seen autopsies I'd done all this stuff but then I thought okay I don't know if I can do it so it's two old ladies or are
two old ladies you see you come and you listen if you want to help fine just go watch well I got there and they needed help and that was the beginning that was sometime in the seventies and I was like the youngest person ever to do that and I'm still there who I'm still doing it it's I turned it down for us there were people that I knew but I I in the last I guess it was almost two years you know a friend of Tammy's and friends with their family and I was like I don't know I could do it or not I've known
her since she was in third grade and good friends and kept going back and forth and back and forth and I finally said you know what I'm going and the nice thing is that you know you sign this book unfortunately even though I guess if they know to look it no my tavern and I got from several people that I had done somebody's mother and this girl that the family was so appreciative it was somebody in the care that was there and it was really it's been really good for me I think Harlem to that he we don't go as much as we used to
I guess because when I started I was these two old ladies in pink and it's been a lot more people since then and I guess the men - I'm not exactly sure how many are in there but this was on behalf of sheriff or the whole community well it's only sheriff except if occasionally there's somebody from temple that wants to do it never done an orthodox way they have the wrong they have a different way and we did yeah I know but I said that and they do it different and we did go I guess it was a year ago that one of the Orthodox
shows had a thing that they were talking about it and telling you about it but they do and so forth and we went was I guess I went with it but didn't know how to female that you know they were asking about that this is a bunch of men and so they were kind of surprised with I had done it too and the answer got it well I'm sure they but you know from sheriffing so they were asking you know but but and we had some person that came to talk to us about what they did she didn't know as much as we did I
mean she was reading it from a book anyway I thought about that that was a very unfortunate I have anything to say I thought that was a very important part in didn't are in our life that we were able to do that and we're still doing it not quite as much considered fortunately I think the men are very protective of their position the guys who do it most the time yeah most of my fortunately it's not that many yeah but it's I learned a lot from doing all that and I think is it's been a very important so you got the Pollux on its own
the Pollux are on film thank you I'm gonna turn it off I think this you