October 18, 2011

Paul Michaelson

Paul Michaelson was born in Dallas, as were his brother and sister, at Baylor, and grew up in South Dallas. His father was born in Dallas in 1899, and his grandfather and great-grandfather had come to the city from what he believes was Russia in the latter part of the 1800s. His father ran a store called Michaelson in the Deep Ellum area, and his mother, originally from Michigan, worked as a bookkeeper for publishers. His mother had five sisters and two brothers living nearby, so the family enjoyed large Sunday gatherings with many cousins.

Growing up, Paul attended grade school and Forest Avenue High School, graduating in 1956, and studied at a Hebrew school behind the synagogue until about age fourteen or fifteen. As a boy he enjoyed Fair Park, ice skating, miniature golf, and neighborhood theaters, and rode the streetcar downtown. He recalled a bustling downtown Dallas full of department stores where families and small-town visitors shopped on weekends. His parents and grandparents belonged to Shearith Israel, and the South Dallas neighborhood was home to Jewish bakeries, kosher markets, and several synagogues before families began moving north in the 1950s.

After high school, Paul attended Southern Methodist University and then Southwestern Medical School, where he was one of only a few Jewish students in his class. He interned at the VA and Parkland, served two years in the Air Force at Sheppard Air Force Base near Wichita Falls, and trained in Boston, where he studied under distinguished neurologists. He returned to Dallas to practice neurology, teaching at the medical school and caring for patients he still hears from today. Active at Shearith Israel and the JCC, he semi-retired years ago. He met his wife Patricia through his sister, and together they enjoy a blended family of children and grandchildren.

Read Full Transcript

Full Transcript

this is an oral history interview with dr. Paul Michaelson in Dallas Texas on Tuesday October the 18th 2011 first of all I'd like to ask you may I call you Paul sure okay call you Paul thank you ask you about your family your parents were you born all that kind of background on your personal life my father was born in Dallas in 1899 his I think my grandfather came to to Dallas probably in the latter part of the 1800s and I was born in Dallas and my brother and sister too and my mother was originally from Michigan and because of health problems for her father they moved to Dallas and I grew up

in South Dallas mid-fifties what'd your parents do for a living my father had a school on Deep Ellum mid-story and my mother was a bookkeeper who did she work for she worked for publishers what was the name of your dad's store Michaelson so you lived in South Dallas you were born in South Dallas okay born in Baylor but your family lived in South Dallas and tell us about the neighborhood well when I grew up in South Dallas it was a large Jewish neighborhood I went to China Marie Brown grade school from there to Forest Avenue High School where I graduated in 1956 before I graduated

a majority of the classes were Jewish people the students that were Jewish but about in the 50s a lot of the people were moving out of South Dallas north when I lived in South Dallas the major synagogue's were all in South Dallas there was temple Emmanuel which was and then forced avenue there was the good of cycle Israel and Sharaf his role was on Park which was a little bigger a few miles away what did you do for amusement kids were living in the neighborhood we go to Fair Park we walked a fair part which was not real far and we go ice skating park

we play miniature golf go to the theaters South Dallas they had couple theaters and takes the streetcar to go to town I'd like to know about your experiences in school you've already told me where he went to school kind of activities were you involved in well I went to school grades activities there I'd went to Hebrew school in South Dallas the Hebrew school was behind the good of Stockholm synagogue and I went there too I think that was about 14 or 15 years old but graduating from Hebrews who had my class was about 10 or 12 people was the Historical Society near the French club

did you go to college immediately after graduating yes where did you go how would Southern Methodist University with your Southern Methodist University I would Southwestern Medical School when I graduated Southwestern Medical School I was an intern at the VA del V Hospital parkland and then I was drafted into I was in part of the he didn't get selected to note residency he went into the service I was in the Air Force for two years and then after I finished the Air Force then I went to Boston for two years and I would say Lewis to Lawrence hospital or tell us about your service your experience

in the service when I was in the service I was in the Air Force I was stationed today Sheppard Air Force Base teaches at Wichita Falls Texas and I was really surprised when I was in the Air Force because I think 90% of the doctors were Jewish which was really a surprise to make us when I was in med school medical school there were just three Jewish people hundred students so I was really amazed you know was stationed in Wichita Falls in the majority the doctors were all Jewish so the Jewish holidays came there was not too many people demand the clinics but it was

a really interesting experience met some very nice people that's interesting that you say there were only three doctors Jewish men or Jewish people in your class was there any kind of a core promotor I think there was there was at the time I was really amazed with when I was in Boston and saw the large number of Jewish students there were the med schools because we had so few in our classes what kind of questions did they ask you that would lead them to know was there a blank for religion on that application I don't remember because that is a surprisingly low number well I

mean one class may have had five it's too and with lobster a few after the freshman year so it was nice been Wichita Falls and having that girl it was very nice did you all celebrate the holidays together and that kind of thing sometimes what kind of Jewish affiliations did you and your family have during when you were growing up here in South Dallas what what synagogue did they belong to my parents belonged to sheriff Israel so did my grandparents my grandfather my great-grandfather was also they came to Dallas and I guess at the same time late 18-hundreds where did they come from I fell

to ask you that I think it was Russia and what kind of Jewish organizations were your parents involved in sure those were the synagogue's okay what interactions did your family have with with the Jewish community obviously you grew up in a primarily Jewish community but what was it like in the neighborhood there as far as the families and well it was really very nice very close my mother had five sisters and two brothers that lived here and they were married had children and we had had a lot of cousins and we always got together with him on Sundays which was really nice because nobody who

essentially worked on Sunday where's your dad's store clothes on sunday clothes for all the religious home was it opened or was it open on Saturday yeah but it was closed yeah any interaction during that time with the Gentile community at all no I'd love it we had a lot of Gentile friends I mean some best friends in high school so after you finished your residency you did you come right back to Dallas yes okay and what is your field okay what can you tell me about about your work that's been really special to you well I've enjoyed my practice I really enjoy because I'm with

the college and med school in Dallas and I enjoyed the interaction with my patients taking care of them and I think my patients who I still get calls from can come back and see me so when did you semi-retire it's been about I think eight or nine years ago half time half time so your practice you were practiced with a group practice with other people and they all retired but I didn't want to join did you specialize and Pediatrics you mentioned you were at Children's Hospital in well in Austin I was in neurology we were trained in both adult and pediatric but some of them

specialize in pediatric neurology only to do that and those you had to be a pediatrician first and after you completed your pediatric residency didn't it would take a neurology residency interesting interested to know about the Jewish organizations in Dallas that you've been involved with well mostly with the sheriff Israel and and with the JCC I guess the Jewish Historical Society and what have you done at the JCC well we've contributed to their to them also true at the time when our children were growing up they would go to the JCC for their basketball baseball where they play on the teams there so we would go

there and watch them play any volunteer activities that did you have time with your music drivers for anything that's shared Israel especially it did and shared Israel first started out I was a solo practice and I was very very busy how did you meet your wife well my first point I met in Boston I was introduced to my second wife Patricia my sister oh nice okay and where and when were you married we were married here in Dallas and we're at temple Emmanuel okay and you've lived here for most of the time you've been and what about children do you have other children I have

my son is a minted honest and he lives in Cleveland his wife Cleveland they have two boys and then we have Tricia had a son Dana Darin they both live here they're both married heaven has three children and they're expecting a fourth daughter has two children so very nice blending of families and grandchildren understand you just have seven potentially and what are their ages right now run from so you spend a lot of time with them well as much as you babysit along we do so okay what was I'd like to turn now to the city of Dallas I mean you've been here all your

life you have such a history here what was Dallas like when you were growing up I can't I mean South Dallas was unique and it was there were lots of Jewish families you know there that was the Jewish bakeries were there and the kosher meat markets everybody you essentially knew everyone the time I think it was a safer place at the time because people didn't lock their cars and I don't think you even locked our doors at times there weren't any shopping centers so everyone would have to go to town to to shop on the weekends so downtown was always bustling with people all the

department stores and all the other specialty stores downtown were always very busier mobbed because people would come in also from the small towns to shop in Dallas when I was growing up I worked in Baker's shoes toward something shoes Thursday nights and Saturdays like I said you know compared to what Dallas is today it's like a ghost town old days because it was wrong wrong people when I was a little boy I used to go with my grandmother and she would like to go to the musicals at the bandshell it was outdoors in those days it wasn't inside so the summer musicals were held in

the banjo I think they still have that same thing st. Louis it was really he was awfully hot they would sometimes have the shows or state shows at the Majestic of the palace theaters and these two have some special shows on the week on Saturday mornings for the children so I'd like your comments on how Dallas has changed since those times well then we have the growth of the suburbs everything was moving north you had Highland Park shopping done which was always there I mean it was Preston Sanders choppy's North Park so the people didn't have to go to town in order to shop essentially and all the major department stores same thing like North Dallas but they would I guess - Oh cliff - who are your role models who have bigger role models throughout your life your career well I think I was very fortunate blessed when I was in high school I think I had some very very excellent teachers right dedicated people wonderful teachers and then when I went to Boston also dr.

John Sullivan was a superb neurologist dr. Danny Brown was he trained practically all the people in Boston dr. Floyd Gillis I still keep up with dr. Gillis dr. Gillis was a really an amazing man in those days in order to become a full professor at Harvard someone had to die so Floyd Gillis meant was was made full professor most of them are endowed chairs my Floyd was made full professor and he had some family Children's Hospital in Los Angeles I think just I think he retired because we went to a celebration is there anything you want to add about your life in Dallas that you think is important for the archives that the Dallas Jewish Historical Society I think that the synagogues they left go north it's a shame they did not keep the

beautiful stained glass windows just over the arc I don't know what they did with him it's a shame that they didn't save them or give them archives of Dallas has a remembrance the you know nowadays the the synagogues are so big in the population that sitting up there so large but Dallas has grown tremendously since I was little boy anything else you'd like to I have well I just think that I was blessed to have been able to grow up in a time in South Dallas where you knew all the people everyone was very kind have made very difference that I still have to the

present well thank you very much well thank you for thank you for doing asking me thank you thank you me Cyril for the interview you