Sandra Cohen Cantor
Sandra Cohen Cantor's four grandparents were all born in Europe. Her mother's family, the Roths, came through Galveston in the late 1800s after being turned away at Ellis Island because of an eye problem, and worked as peddlers in Texas towns including Corsicana, Texarkana, and Waxahachie. Her father's family, the Cohens, came from Lithuania; her uncle Israel, a tailor, was the first to arrive and settled in Dallas when he ran out of money on his way to Florida, then brought the rest of the family. Her grandfather, M. B. Cohen, was remembered as a religious and charitable man who helped indigent Jews find work and helped establish the fund that led to Golden Acres. All four grandparents are buried in Dallas.
Sandra grew up in a duplex off Del Norte across from Temple Emanu-El, with one grandmother on each side, before her family moved farther north when she was five. She attended J. J. Pershing Elementary School, and became deeply involved with BBYO while at Franklin and Hillcrest, crediting it with much of her childhood and adulthood, including how she eventually met her husband Alan. She lost her mother, Fanny Roth Cohen, shortly before her Bat Mitzvah. After time at the University of Arizona and Richland Community College, where she helped organize a Jewish student group, she pursued Jewish Studies at Ohio State University.
Since 1980, Sandra has worked as a preschool teacher at Levine Academy and has also taught at Temple Emanu-El, Temple Shalom, and Shearith Israel, where she is a fourth-generation member. She served as a BBYO advisor and took part in BBYO's first advisor trip to Israel. Married to Alan in May 1995 at Shearith Israel, she has one son who is also active in BBYO. She is active in the Jewish War Veterans, as her father and husband were. A meaningful roots trip to Lithuania let her see where her family came from, an experience she shared with the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. She counts instilling a love of Judaism in children as her proudest accomplishment.
She loves Dallas and its Jewish community, which she describes as being like family.
Full Transcript
now hi I'm Sandra Cohen Cantor today is December 26th 2014 okay Sandra thank you for coming I know you have a very interesting history about your family and a large family at that so tell me where and when did your family come to Dallas Texas okay of my four grandparents they were all born in Europe we'll start with my mother's side my mother's father's side the Roth family they came in through Galveston in the late 1800s most of them are in the Houston area Galveston [Music] they lived in Texarkana for a while they you know actually my mom's family my mom's parents were all all
around they were peddlers and they lived in Corsicana Texas Arkana Waxahachie so you know the little Jewish peddlers all around and my grandmother on my mother's side and it's sort of an interesting story they came the story goes that they came to the United States through wanted to come through Ellis Island but my grandmother had some eye issues don't know what it was but they sent them back and then they heard actually back to I'm not sure according to my research they had gotten on a ship in Germany but they're originally from the Russian Russia polar area sorry bobbling my son calling okay so they
went they were sent back and then they heard that it was a little axe coming through Galveston so they came back through Galveston and got in to the United States that way that was the late 1800s I believe and then my and that was my mother's parents the Roth side and the frost side both of those both of my grandparents all of my grandparents are buried at the dolphin Cemetery here in Dallas now for my father's family they are more well known here in Dallas my main name is Cohen part of the Cohen candy company if anybody remembers that and what happened there was my
uncle Israel who was a tailor was he was the first to come to this country and he was traveling from Ellis Island to Florida where there were some relatives I think the story goes he ran out of money when he got to Dallas and so he stayed and he got a job and he told the rest of his family back in push a lot Lithuania that to come to Dallas so they came through Ellis Island they had one child my Uncle Ben Cohen he was already born in Lithuania they were traveling to Texas there was relatives in Baltimore they stopped in Baltimore my uncle Morris
Cohen who was born there they kept coming made it to Dallas and the rest of the kids there was a eight of them we're all born here in Dallas the story goes I never saw it I'm 58 years old at this moment they had a big mansion somewhere on the corner of South Boulevard and Cleveland streets where when the relatives would come they'd all stay at this big place I've heard amazing things I've got it's a wraparound porch in all these rooms I wished I could have seen it some of my cousins remember it Maryland Heckman Angus we've talked about it many times and she
remembers it well she'd been older than me and oh and I wanted to show a picture this is my grandparents and my father this is my father Eli Cohen over here next to him is Morris Cohen who was married to best Coleman this is my aunt Andy I'm sorry this is my uncle Mike it's hard to see from back here this is my aunt Annie my uncle Morris this was he was married but but didn't it didn't last very long she was from Fort Worth my Uncle Frank Cohen who is a very prominent doctor in Fort Worth and my Uncle Ben the firstborn these are
the twins Mary and Sarah and my grandparents on my father's side interesting thank you interesting his his name was in B Cohen Mendel barrel but his real name was bear Mendel when he came to this country he used his initials this is not to sound so Jewish and everybody said you can't say B him that that's not nice if it means something not nice so he switched it from B M to M be smart man yes when your parents were here what did they do for a living as I said my uncle Israel when he first came was a tailor and then when the rest
of the family his his brother my grandfather came they did kind of a little bit of everything they had grocery store in the back of their house they dealt in in candy they would buy and sell candy something very interesting my grandfather he he would help indigent Jewish people coming through getting jobs he would give them rags and say go to these houses and ask them if they need their rags cleaned and you take the rags you wash them then you bring them back for a fee and and one thing I wanted to say also about my grandfather I don't know if anybody has seen
this book they came to stay about the Dallas Jewish community by Rose Bitterman and in there is a little snippet about my grandfather it says they came about 1910 I think it was a little bit earlier than that and started selling fruit and confectionary later engaging in different types of businesses the last being the Cohen grocery next order the his house three of his sons Ben Mike and Morris would later organize the Cohen candy company what was what is most interesting to me is that MB was known to be a very religious and charitable man and helped anyone in need from setting up a man
in business to setting up the help fund for the Jewish old folks and that is the preliminary organization that's started golden acres the home for Jewish agent after his funeral in 1934 the hearse and procession stopped at each synagogue here in Dallas and the doors would be open for a few minutes as a sign of respect for the his piety could be sorry but I'm very very proud of that where were the synagogue's back I don't know 19 there's on choice fard I've heard of that one there was temple I believe - oh my goodness soccer I don't know and Sheriff because they were sore
about that they were all in South Dallas now did you grow up were you in south now she was here they already moved they had already moved north where did you grow up I grew up in the little duplex off of Del Norte it's right across from temple Emmanuel wonderful I mean tons of Jews and there was a park called factory park we had relatives all in the area I would walk to this cousin I would walk to that cousin we'd meet up at the park it was it was very nice now when I was 5 years old we moved from that location to farther
north on Williamstown Road which is closer to LBJ in between LBJ and forced off Preston but my grandmother's both lived in that duplex my father's mother on one side and my mother's mother on the other side so I was always there even though we had moved north so you probably have wonderful childhood memories I do tell me a little bit about your school life what was that like and what did you get involved in when you were young at school I went to school at JJ Pershing elementary school I I was involved in most whatever was going on however in seventh grade my mother Fanny
Roth Cohen passed away right before my Bat Mitzvah so it was kind of a hard time at that point then when I went to Franklin and Hillcrest I got very very involved with bBYO and it was a godsend to me that was my social outlet it was where I made my best friends and actually later it is how I met my husband even though he was not a bBYO his sister Sharon Barron was very involved and she the secretary for many many years and she fixed us up so I credit bBYO with a lot of my adulthood and childhood okay where did you go to
college and what did you get involved in there interesting I went away at the beginning to the University of Arizona and got very involved with Hallel and UJA there but I was so involved that I kind of let my studies go and had to withdraw before I flunked out came back went to that came to Dallas and got very involved at Richland Community College and myself and a couple of other friends we organized a group of Jewish students that at Richland and it actually broke out two more of the community colleges it was Brookhaven and Richland that's mainly where they only Jews were and we
work in a nice that student group while I was there I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and my father was a member of the Jewish War veterans he had gotten the publication that came magazine that came and in there they were talking about a new Jewish Studies program at Ohio State University and I started thinking you know when I was when I was in Arizona I got very involved with Hillel in UJA and back here I organized this Jewish student group it seemed like the Jewish stuff was all I was really interested in and I decided to go into Jewish
education at that time went to Ohio State met with the head of the program and there I went I transferred got a degree in Jewish Studies came back to Dallas and I've been working at Solomon chapter / Levine Academy ever since 1980 also have taught at temple Emmanuel Temple Shalom and shares Israel ask if you have synagogue affiliation right my family's affiliation is with sheriff Israel I'm very proud to say that I am a fourth generation number of Sheriff okay that's quite something mm-hmm not too many downsides can say that that is true what are your fondest recollections of Jewish holidays or what one was
your favorite would you say as it youngster growing up gosh so many great holidays because I had such a big family Passover first night with one side the second night with the other side love love that Hanukkah was always fun oh I will never forget I don't know what this how this tradition started we would have Hanukkah with my mom's side and one year we would call people back come come here and we they had my parents had bought these striped pajamas for everybody in the family so they'd call one person back and then they'd come out wearing these striped pajamas then they'd call that
by the end of the night everyone was wearing these striped pajamas we look like mr. peppermint if anybody knows who mr. peppermint was on TV a children's it was hysterical and so Hanukkah that that was that was a big thing it was a lot of fun it was just had all the holidays of deep do you think you had a role model or not necessarily so for your activities and involvement and Jewish organizations etc I credit my parents as my role models they worked hard they were involved with the Jewish community and by osmosis I guess I followed in their footsteps what did your mom do you dad was in jwv my mom was you know she she was just she what she was in Hadassah she
wasn't very active I'm alive Maradona I'm not very active there but all of her friends they had Canasta games they had my mom didn't do mahjong but Canasta was a big deal and I was with all the Jewish ladies you know and I don't I don't remember her being in an actual organization okay just affiliated with can you tell me a project that has been very memorable for you that you've worked on something in your professional life hmm when when I was a bBYO advisor there were there two things one we had a advisor weekend and I was in charge of planning the services I
will never forget we did a service where everybody was blindfolded and it was a big success and everybody told me how spectacular it was along those lines bBYO was setting up its first-ever advisor trip to Israel and my co advisor Diane Bo mash and myself were a part of that first trip it was it was fabulous even though I had been to Israel through the teen tour of Dallas now as an adult I was going as a bBYO advisor it was very special to me and as far as my professional career dealing with young children hopefully imparting a love of Judaism and seeing their faces
light up when we sing Jewish songs that's probably the most inspirational for me how many years did you say even teaching since 1980 and now we're in to almost 2015 so you figure it out I'm a preschool teacher I don't do math well are you involved in any civic organizations in the city religious organizations I was for a time involved with voters rights and and the Democratic Party I have kind of changed my politics a little I would consider myself an independent but that's really about it other than and I have now active in the Jewish War veterans as my father was and as my
husband is now now you mentioned that your sister-in-law was instrumental in getting you and your husband together you expand that a bit what happened okay as I said I was an advisor so she knew me in that realm and she tried to fix me up with her brother at one point I don't even remember meeting him and as it turns out I guess it wasn't a match at the beginning he ended up going on to marry somebody else who was not Jewish and 10 years later that that marriage had fallen apart and I was talking to Sharon Barron again and my another cousin of mine
was with me and says don't you know anybody from my nice sweet cousin Sandra and she said yes my nice sweet brother Alan and I was like Alan she says yes I tried to fix you up ten years ago and I didn't remember she fixed us up again and it was history that he remembered meeting me you remember what I was wearing I don't remember any of that but you left a good impression but I guess we're in Wayne William Neri we were married in 1995 May of 1995 at shared Israel where did you land originally originally as a couple we lived in my parent's
home on Williamstown although my parents have been deceased for quite a while as I said my mom died in 1970 and my dad died in 1982 I believe and we didn't get together to him much later but that was our first home and that's where my son was born I have one son and I'm very proud to say he's very involved with bBYO as well and I hope it continues to mean as much to him as it does now and as it did to me just thinking back for a minute what was Dallas like when you were much younger just in a capsule for him
what would you say it was like it it was a community it was it was family it was I I felt comfortable here I would never want to move away I want to tell you one story that stays with me as I said I'm a preschool teacher and one of the teachers at Levine she was a teacher and her daughter was in my class and get together a faculty meetings and we were talking and I said something about how Dallas is changing with the influx of the northerners the New Yorkers the the East Coast people and I didn't mean it negatively but when I was
growing up you never locked your doors yeah you know you would never think of that and as people are coming into Dallas and I guess I offended her by saying northerners or New Yorkers she pulled her child out of my class and said I think that Sandra is prejudiced against New Yorkers I'm merely to a New Yorker I don't know how this could be but that that's the main difference when I was growing up even the Gentiles even if we were a community I never felt ostracized for being Jewish I mean yes they would come and try and give you Bibles and yes they sometimes
you're a Christ killer but for the most part I didn't have to deal with a lot of that in general can you think of anybody besides your parents maybe not but can you think of anyone else that might have been a strong significant impression on like a role model for you yes it's not you effect there were some there were some very special teachers that I had at sheriff Israel actually I just went to a funeral of one Maurice Neville oh he dr. Norman Kaplan Barbara Fagan who was probably the biggest role model for me I had some great Jewish teachers at sheriff Israel that I hope that I believe helped formed Who I am and you personally what are you the most proud of that you've done so so far I think I said earlier what I'm most proud of is hopefully instilling a love of Judaism to these kids that I'm with every day you know and and and I'm proud of my family not just my parents but the people that I didn't know and that led me to find out what kind of people are they and in
1980 I forgot when it was 82 I went on a routes trip to Lithuania my cousin said Stoll had paved the way when it started opening up when the Soviet Union started opening up he was a city councilman and he went as an envoy of the city and he was able to find the shuttle where we were from where my great grandmother's grave his grandmother's grave would have been oh yes yeah I mean it was and I mean there was a Jewish cemetery and he found the grave of his grandmother my great-grandmother and I as I said I followed in his footsteps and it was
and that was probably I mean yes is big being in Israel twice was fabulous but this was something I got to see where my family actually came from and I respected these people so much they were they were real mensches and I wanted to see what kind of life molded them and it was a big eye-opener was that a private talk with a group it was a group it was a Jewish Studies learning group and they were just starting out to try and take people to the various tunnels and the various whatever and it was just one of the most moving experiences that I've had
and then I came and spoke about it here at the Dallas Jewish Historical Society that's what this article is about in the text Jewish post and I also reported on it at my big family reunion that we used to have in Florida on my grand my father's mother's side it was a big family there no it stopped it yeah where was the last one in how many Jacksonville Florida is where it was based and I know I still have a lot of family there named shimmer but it's fallen apart and I guess it must have been probably 1980 1985 somewhere around it was starting to
dwindle well it's been wonderful is there anything else you can think of that you'd like to add let people know just I love Dallas and I love the Jewish community and I hope that this will be something that people can look back and say ah this person felt this way and even the newcomers and I'm not I'm I really I promise you I'm not prejudiced against any newcomers I'm glad that the Jewish community is is growing and flourishing that's it Thank You Sandra you