Joe Schackman
Joe Schackman comes from one of Dallas's oldest Jewish families. On his father's side, the Friedmans operated a produce company at the market and the Schackmans ran a carpentry business making window screens, both established in Dallas before 1900. On his mother's side, the Colemans owned a store in Ferris in partnership with the father of Red Coleman, and later ran a trucking company. Both of Joe's parents were born in Dallas in 1919, and his father went on to work for Zales for 48 years. Joe knew his great-grandmother and grandparents, and family closeness was a value passed down to him.
Unlike most Jewish children of his generation, Joe never lived in South Dallas. His grandparents bought a house on Lakehurst in Preston Hollow, and his parents lived with them until Joe was around five, when his father bought a house on nearby Stephanie. He attended Preston Hollow Elementary and Hillcrest, playing football and sports with neighborhood friends. He went to Sunday school and Hebrew school through the United Hebrew Schools, meeting children from across the city. He had the last bar mitzvah in the old Shearith Israel synagogue, an event held during an ice storm and catered by Zelda Sobel. After Hillcrest, Joe attended the University of Texas and then Arlington State.
Joe's working life included jobs at Zales, several years as a stockbroker, and about 30 years in the scrap metal business. He served in the army, and he and his wife Susan lived in apartments on Spring Valley Road before buying the home where they have lived for 50 years. They have children and grandchildren in the Dallas area. Joe has stayed connected to Shearith Israel, where his family were longtime members, and remained close with lifelong friends from confirmation, religious school, and AZA, which held reunions drawing men from across the country. He and Susan volunteer with Jewish Family Service, support the historical society, and participate in the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and Rotary. He counts his parents as his role models and his family as his proudest achievement.
Full Transcript
okay joe i'm joe reingold and today is june 12th 2020 and i am interviewing joe shakman good morning joe good morning tell us a little bit about your family uh your family tree where were your grandparents from your parents if you know however much you know about them where they lived how they grew up and what kind of work they did for a living uh the my uh uh they uh one side of the family uh came to dallas before 1900. and uh they had uh uh it was my i uh my great grandmother i knew and and she landed on it even after i was married they uh that they uh my mother um on my uh uh uh father's side the uh hispanic uh his mother they had uh i friedman uh produce company down on the market and on the other side the shackman side he he was a carpenter and he had a company that made window screens and uh both my parents were born in dallas in 1919 and uh uh on my mother's side the coleman side they that was uh uh they had
a store in in ferris with uh his partner who was red coleman's father and uh then he went on to have a uh trucking company and he passed away at a young age and i knew my grandmother my parents uh my mother uh didn't where my father worked 48 years for zales wow do you know how they your family originally came to dallas or why they picked dallas uh no they uh uh my uh i don't know why they actually came to dallas unless there were other relatives of theirs here but uh like i say uh the friedmans and the and the shackmans they were
here before 1900 the others came around 1914. right where did you grow up as a child what what neighborhood did you live in and what did you like to do for fun when you were young when uh i had kind of a different experience than uh uh most of the jewish kids here or people uh my grandparents bought a house on lakehurst in preston island and my parents lived with them uh until i was five year around uh five year four or five years old and uh then they bought a house my father bought a house on stephanie and uh we moved there so i was actually i never lived in in south
dallas of course we had many relatives there but uh i happened to have never lived in south dallas uh i started first grade at uh at uh president elementary and went all the way through hillcrest and uh as a as kids we just uh you know we had a good time we uh we uh played and did uh support i did you know played uh football and did uh sports and just what usual kids did back then they played with other kids in the neighborhood what kind of jewish affiliations did your family have when you were young uh we went to uh i went my
father i mean it was like uh rabbi abramowicz and a good associate was like a mentor to him and uh he was close to him so uh occasionally uh we would go to a good asakum and they were members there but also members of sheriff israel and i went to you know sunday school and hebrew school and back then of course they had uh united hebrew schools and uh it was great because you met uh kids from from all different parts of town and congregations and everything like that so that worked out great which campus was was it for sheriff israel at that time or
the interview it was originally uh you know down by city park uh sheriff's israel uh my only my claim to fame is i had the last bar mitzvah in the old show before you know douglas boulevard okay were your parents involved or were you involved in any civic community activities in those days yes my mother and father were very uh very involved in all sorts of uh uh jewish activities uh they were you know on the board of sheriff israel my father and my mother was uh a president of united hebrew schools and they were very active in the jewish community in all all parts
of it okay so tell us a little bit about what you did after high school after hillcrest uh after hillcrest i went to the university of texas and then i transferred to arlington what was in arlington state university and then uh then i you know uh started my working life what was your working life and what are you very proud of that you worked on well i worked uh uh i had several jobs i uh i worked for uh zales and then i worked i was a stock broker for several years and then i went to work for a scrap metal company and uh then
i went to work for another scrap company and another one and i was like in the uh scrap bins for for 30 years okay is there any particular project that you're really proud of that you've done uh project uh i try to uh uh i we have a lot of uh friends here and i've worked uh you know we try to volunteer at many different places uh there's not one particular project that i did i just like different places uh where you could interact with people okay so now we're gonna ask about how did you meet your wife and where and when were you married
and where did you guys live in the early days okay we have we [Music] a met date yeah we had an apartment on spring valley road and then uh uh left to go in the army when i came back the uh uh we moved to the other side of spring valley road and then we have our first child then we bought a house that i'm talking to you from today today and that was 50 years ago so we've been living in this house for 50 years wow okay what contacts have you stayed with in the jewish community throughout all these years well that's uh considering
myself very lucky i'm uh have lifelong friends that i was in uh sheriff israel confirmation and sheriff israel religious school and uh in aza which was a very important part of my life and to this day uh i'm friends and uh with people from that uh area we see each other and we actually uh hey aza we have a reunion where guys come from all over the united states to uh about once a year to to get together and uh uh just know a lot i'm very lucky to know a lot of people here in dallas and uh that i've been friends with for many
many years that's wonderful do you have any grandchildren and if so where are they yes i have uh one uh a granddaughter who is uh at the university of kansas and she's coming back here now and then i have a her brother grandson that go he just graduated high school about all places texas motor speedway and he uh he's going he's in the engineering we'll be in the engineering department of the university of texas and then my other son has uh uh two children and both of them go to green hill and my daughter is married married just uh recently and uh with her husband
and they have you know they don't have any children okay are they all in this area yeah any luckier okay that's great so since your roots go back pretty far here in dallas i want to ask you how do you see how has the city changed from when you were young until now what kind of changes have you seen in this community well uh it's uh was a lot smaller then of course and uh you knew uh most of the people most of the jewish people uh you know all the time uh you know you came in contact with them and uh now of course
it has a much much larger uh jewish population and uh uh like i say uh of course we have new friends but our old friends from years ago were still friends with them and and uh it's uh it's really nice and as far as the uh jewish situation there's many many more jewish people here than they used to be i mean it couldn't be any more different than that and uh i really love dallas i've grown here and lived here my own life whole life and uh i've really enjoyed living here and it's worked out well for us if somebody decided to come move here
i was thinking about moving here what would be the positive aspects that you would tell them about coming to dallas well i i believe if they're uh jewish people they you know the there's uh congregations now of all different types if you want to be affiliated if not there's all sorts of uh jewish organizations that are here that you can be of interest in i think uh the uh it's just a a growing city i think the opportunities are here and uh it's uh it's i believe it's a great place to be what waves of businesses have you seen here through the years where people
come in droves and then other businesses reopen and things like that what kind of business opportunities do you see well i used to have uh there were a lot of business uh opportunities in uh in retail uh back then in wholesale but uh in today's world of course it's much changed uh there are many many opportunities in uh the technical field and uh uh in development and many many things like that that are that are really uh this is a place that you can you can really be at home and have a nice life here what organizations at this point in your life are you
strongly uh considering or do you um support well we uh i uh go to sheriff israel we've been members there of course my whole life and we support their things uh we uh volunteer jewish family service uh we uh are interested in the historical society and uh i'm interested in all the like uh members of and try to take in their cultural things like the american jewish committee uh any defamation league and uh ones like that okay also a member of rotary which is uh has volunteer opportunities which worked out well okay now i'm going to ask you something you have to think about this
long and hard no who do you think if anybody was your role model well my role model was my uh uh well it'd be too my my uh uh mother and father my father uh in the in the business world and my mother in uh in the uh volunteer world and and uh she uh uh we were they kept the family was uh together we we were cl we are close with the family uh that lives here or wherever they live it's very important to us to uh uh to a family and that's that's exactly what they uh uh taught me tell me about your
family today who is still here and around well i have i have my children are here which is the best and grandchildren uh my cousin i have cousins i have uh uh one uh aunt that's still uh still with us and uh but i have numerous uh cousins that uh we we see and talk to and here in town and uh have a great relationship with them that's wonderful okay so what do you think you are the most proud of in your life well of course my my family my children and my wife and susan we just i it's just great that's what i'm most
proud of okay it's wonderful is there anything else you would like to add that we haven't covered uh not really it's just uh i'm uh open to any questions about old times here in dallas uh there's not uh a lot of people around uh that you know has lived their whole life here and knows how things were you know back in the 50s and things like that and uh just and loved to think of them and what uh had a great childhood and couldn't have been a better adulthood and things are and uh that's about it but uh let me ask you about you said
your father was very close to the rabbi had a good sight yeah but but you didn't live anywhere near there so was it difficult to get around uh well we uh uh we all our family lived in south dallas the rest of them except my grandparents my father's parents and uh we would come down uh you know for most things as far as hebrew school and everything was actually it sheriff israel he was just my father at one time was very interested in uh in uh in a little more orthodox they always they kept kosher and they're more interested in more orthodox things but uh
when i was uh a young boy they we really uh were a chef israel and especially when they moved you know out here uh the house our house we could walk there is right it was a block and a half away so did your father connect did he connect with another rabbi when a gudesahim actually closed uh no not not anyone besides the ones at sheriff israel yeah okay all right well anything else that you want to add feel free i'm i'm finished with my question my particular question okay uh okay like i said uh i can remember a memory about a good assignment which
i remember vaguely remember as a child going to uh our service there and i remember the rabbi gave his speech in yiddish and i thought to myself then i i don't know if this is going to last you know and uh sure enough it it didn't so uh but it was your do you remember your bar mitzvah and what was that like well very much so uh i told the story when i was on that uh panel i was the last bar mitzvah in uh in the old show and uh it was my bar mitzvah was in an ice storm and we wonder you know
people would come from by that time most of the jews had already moved to north dallas and uh uh but they did uh it was uh i was very lucky rabbi silverman was here and it just so happened that rabbi silverman's father who is a world renowned rabbi that uh wrote the prayer books that that the conservative movement used for years uh happened to be here and he you know gave a speech and everything in my bar mitzvah and it was the first large bar mitzvah that zelda sobel catered so uh and uh talking to marilyn palette she brought up that uh you know it
was an ice storm and it was uh it was an event it was uh i remember it well and they came to see you that's great well like you made history it came because of my family my parents and grandparents did they had they already laid the stones or the foundation oh yeah oh yeah it was built or you know uh because uh the guys my friends after then their bar mitzvah was worried sheriff israel it was done nearly done so what was it like then to have a brand new synagogue basically what was that nice well they had uh we the the other one
and we also had classes um so if the jewish community center was real close to the old sheriff israel and i remember we were sitting in class and herman abrams was our teacher and the ceiling fell down it was getting pretty rough down there oh my god i hope nobody was hurt no no one was hurt but it was uh a remember a remembering moment there and uh it was very nice of course they had it you know it was so much different than uh down there in fact uh other people remember too uh sheriff israel had because they had not room in the old
show they started having the uh high holiday services at the forest theater on uh on forest avenue and if you see some old timers or whatever they'll they remember going there we we had it in the in a picture show so what was it like when the new jcc opened and everything moved there uh you remember uh it was nice i remember going there and playing uh you know we played baseball from aza and different things from aza was a place it was much more convenient you know we could just drive you know you have to go to south dallas and uh it was a
lot more convenient fun nice and uh place to go so basically that time of your life was when everything moved up to north dallas yes i when i was in the first grades of elementary school at preston highway there were very i had no uh except for sunday i had no jewish friends in the neighborhood that was before people moved from south dallas and so all my friends were were uh not just as many as they were it was there was a lot of empty land up there then and uh but they developed it you know very fast wonderful well it's been a pleasure talking
to you and been a pleasure talking to you this is great anytime uh anyone if want to go over old times in dallas i'm uh i'm ready it's pretty unique because there are very few people i think that have a history go back as far as yours as far as being dallas heights uh that is correct yeah so we thank you so much i appreciate it have a wonderful day i'm gonna switch places with her here okay thank you alrighty