Steve Ungerman
Steve Ungerman was born on July 4, 1944, into families with deep Dallas roots. His mother, Edith, was a Dallas native who graduated from Dallas High School and attended SMU, and had nine brothers and sisters. His father, Meyer, was born in Dallas in 1903 and grew up largely in Missouri before returning to attend SMU and later law school in Topeka, Kansas. Steve's grandfather Jacob Ungerman came from Germany and settled in St. Joseph, Missouri, while another grandfather emigrated from Poland as a boy, became a printer in New York City, and eventually moved to Dallas, where he ran a bar in the old warehouse district.
Steve grew up in the North Dallas home his parents purchased about 71 years before the interview, among the first of the Jewish community to move north from South Dallas. He attended Bradfield, Highland Park Junior High, and Highland Park High School, then went to college away from Dallas before returning to attend SMU law school. He recalled a childhood when the area beyond Northwest Highway was still country, with woods and creeks where relatives newly arrived from South Dallas would gather. His maternal grandfather lived with the family and taught young Steve many things, including how to play solitaire.
After law school Steve joined his father's law firm, later running it with his brother Jay for years before downsizing and briefly working outside the law. He devoted himself to Jewish communal life, becoming involved through Federation young leadership, serving as president of Jewish Vocational Counseling Services, president of Congregation Shearith Israel, and president of the Solomon Schechter school. His mother was president of the synagogue Sisterhood, and his father served as legal counsel to the congregation, including during a lawsuit over building the synagogue. Steve raised his children in the family faith and continues the tradition of keeping the family home a warm gathering place for family and friends.
Full Transcript
today is May 6 I'm going to be Steve Unger my name is Nancy Steve yes was born July 4th 1944 sent Paul hospital they tore down the house we're sitting it's two weeks later who was my mother's oldest sister I always knew that goes every time I saw the MV she said I came on the damn class with you and I came to this house that we're sitting in and you've been here ever since well parents moved into this house 71 years ago last Sunday they bought a lot on October 31st house was built she lived here 59 years so she passed away but you know I lived here in the first almost 21 years of my life other than when I was at college I went away maybe 35 years brothers and sisters share the house later back in will tell me a little bit about your family were your parents born in DES my mother is a Dallas native my father was born in st.
Joe Missouri and my father came down to Dallas to go to SMU when there was one building he was born in 1903 so that probably would have been 1920 SMU was actually founded in 1915 it didn't open up the 1970 and the reason he came here is because he had six siblings and the oldest sibling and and and under Mandi became and captain married Aaron Kaplan had moved to Dallas they live on South Boulevard and South Bay I said it was his dormitory yeah yes what was your father's name Meyer and so he stayed on well he he got his undergraduate degree here and then he went to go to law school so he went to his second older sister Gertrude poses who did that Topeka Kansas and went to Washington law school and then after law school he came back to Dallas and worked for a law firm for a couple of years and started his own golf tour in 1929 yes his youngest brother he was a second from youngest and he had two small together the next generation came along and my brother Jay and myself my cousin Arthur brother-in-law staying logging off and before we came in my mother's brother angrist joined the firm so your father was born at st.
Joe he was born here in Dallas what is now the corner of captain and Central Expressway your parole stream were tell me about your mother's education well she she was very smart she went through graduated from Dallas High School which is not boarded up in downtown with the SMU and got a degree I don't think they had if I had made a copy yet but she whatever was a predecessor toward she she got it it was nice of her to send her intelligence to my children it skipped a generation no they were born in Europe and Germany in 1890 my grandfather Jacob Ungerman came and settled in st.
Joe but he couldn't afford to bring his family so he worked as I understand the story for ten years building the business building his own synagogue because he couldn't what the other one wasn't kosher enough for him and actually the synagogue once went there was next in their house then he brought in late 1890s he brought his family over and that's why he had two girls and two boys over in Europe they came here they were in their 20s and then he had three more children he came from Poland and he came he was 13 years old in 1888 he was born in 1875 and
they resided in New York City got his education and he became a printer that the story goes that he employed a lot of people and only a square block of a Lower East Side with his printing business and then there was a family Yannick had been in Dallas and he married one of their daughters Jenny and the family her parents aunts and uncles which was a big family wanted them to come the Dallas they finally convinced them to sell the printing business and they were in the but they had bars and they put him in charge of a bar that was what is now Ross
Avenue in Griffin and it was the last bar where the warehouse district is it was really the red-light district and so he also had the first drive up with a little bit was a walk-up window and have the guys going down that way would stop at the window and get their drinks recipe and that window would have served another purpose cuz he wouldn't let his children in the bar and they lived on Ross Avenue down further on the other side of the Central Expressway and maybe kind of visit but they could only come to the window so you really brought what was this neighborhood like
well it was the new neighborhood at the time most for the Jewish community we were one of the first that moved out our ID wasn't here but think of one of the first to move out here his sister lived with moved from South Boulevard Island Park to both Claire brother Isadora angrist moved up the block here and build a house on the corner of Shenandoah and Armstrong and then they bought this lot they bought this house but most of the Jew our other relatives still live in South Dallas and most of the Jewish community did the synagogue was still down there and so we were
the first ones I know actually I was the first president share of Israel that was born in North Dallas there's some after me that were born so did you go to synagogue we went to sheriff Israel but yeah beside the school there they had moved the Hebrew school out here and me it was called the United Hebrew schools of Taoism first we met at the home park junior high took their Hebrew schools back in yeah it's only five miles north of downtown but when I was a kid and you went across Northwest Highway the president rode you were in the country they had six years
old they hadn't started that's when they start developing Preston Hollow in fact the land on the corner on the north east corner oppressing and northwest highway all the way to Beauregard was just a forest with creeks and then they had those rented apartments a lot of relatives moves from South Dallas to live in and we would go over there go play in the woods and the creeks there's a drive-in movie on the other side but we go watch the movies so tell me a little bit about your education I went to school called Brad field where my Six Sigma locks from here my brothers sister
went after they moved with the Holly Park junior high which they toured the only it's the only building it used to be the high school originally Park High School which is with Tulane University for a year and a half and the Memphis State University graduated there came back to Dallas thought I'd might become a doctor but the sciences didn't really like him enough to become a lawyer after my first year of college so anyway I could get a job yes I graduated from law school went to work there he took over the firm subsequently my brother and I operated it it was about 65 years
old and we decided that all the lawyers that we thought were working for us we were working for that out there decided to downsize I actually took some time off for two and a half years the community helped some doctors start a physician practice management company for another year four months back to practicing law tell me about we were family or your first family how did you through the B'nai B'rith youth she was from Memphis Tennessee it's what's called district 7 clues Texas Oklahoma southern states we had both a region which was for us was Texas Tech sallman region and they had cotton states region
which was the other half at this I met her at a district convention I think it was in Vicksburg Mississippi three children Julie the oldest is now 42 is a lawyer with the University of Pennsylvania SMU law school next one is Marni she went to UCLA and Northwestern Kellogg School of Business has an MBA 13:38 that's true Stanford and Stanford for both undergraduate and B all the one I'm learning lived in st. downtown San Francisco his word says she graduated from Kellogg an executive Clorox Oakland and this best somewhere they bought a house in Berlin getting where my sister lives your sister's name soiree tell me you just have the three children no I got remarried my secretary introduced me to this lawyer and I had a fire the secretary having so much trouble so we've met about 20 years ago my secretary met her at a nail place on a Saturday afternoon and that's my secretary never found anybody she couldn't talk to for hours and she asked what she was doing she was working in a lot that was
law firm called Baker inbox right had a law school was going to they had a formal getting her nails done and I said well who you going with it says I have a blind date she said I have a blind boss and he's going to call you and I think you have to lunch next week so she comes in on Monday morning and says I met this lawyer from Baker Botts didn't tell me was a female and they had a lot of conflicts and they need us to help him with them I said we got more business than they can cuz this was during the
same as among the crisis we were very busy and so she she dials the phone and hands it to my said who's this she said this is your lunch engagement for tomorrow we have two children once now be 17 this month and his name is Mynor named after my father and then Megan who's at 12 and Mayer it's exactly 50 years behind me at Holland Park High School I got a new principal this year and I went up to him and I said do not have the 50th and the class reunion and the graduation was a night because I can't go tonight both of my
daughter's 55 years behind made the middle school that was I'm glad member sheriff Israel the kids are fifth-generation members through my mother's family I got out of law school the Federation got ahold of leadership the young leadership cabinet yeah I worked in Federation's and fundraising became president of the Jewish vocational counseling services for a number of years and which is now part of the family service and served on the Federation board Executive Committee and fundraise and then when I got to with that Sheriff Israel came after me Vice President thanked years later I say she was later I became president share with Israel in the
last two years I was president of the sovereign Scheckter school what chef is really built with that ADL came after this house has quite a reputation of being a Jewish focal point members a young kid thorn in the side of the teenagers my sisters the generation people who also became leaders to some pause your okay we're talking about the house and a lot of things happened in this house from the family and friends I'd like to read a poem my wife wrote only after we remodeled the house and moved back in our house is now ready and we have moved in we can't wait to
see you there family and friends we rebuilt the walls new floors ceilings - new paint new windows it looks like brand-new what makes our house such a special place is what went on before that we moved into this space laughter tears joy coins galore plans made and carried through memories and more bristles environments was namings and Bachmann's was to weddings and engagement parties satyrs and Sabbath dinners - we are fortunate to live here and we thank God above for the foundation of our home is a legacy of riches in love we hope to see you soon beautiful lovely that she appreciates something is that she
your mother had nine your mother Edith had nine brothers and sisters your father had six what were the holidays like well in for instance in this room and that room for a seder the table not only went in that room and all the way get almost out that window there and it was always full I can remember once I was sick or something so I couldn't and they put a chair in that opening there that was actually a door to my parents room in fact there was a big wing chair let's go habit somewhere and so I stood up on it looking over the wing
at the side here and my brother Joe it was late he went to a movie greatest show on earth and showed up like well I would save my mother and father and my grandfather your grandfather what side it was my mother's father's only grandparent I knew uh-huh and he lived in the front bedroom in this house he was very neat he got dressed every day he read he was he never bothered you but he he was always available to talk to talk about things I started driving I had the honor driving him up to the liquor store to get his weekly bottle of liquor and
his cigars he taught me a lot he told me I still remember this day and I have the desk in my office which was the original part of the my mother I was original bedroom said here's the highboy over here and he would sit at this table with a radio and play solitaire with cards listen to ball games he taught me how to do that so I have any free time I play solitaire mostly you know on the computer or the phone or machine and he was just around very appreciative and another thing that brought it brought all the relatives here I mean everyone came
here they had a certain day during the week some of these children come Sunday morning and sit with them in their talk other people like Shirley ribbon it was Ruben with bring your kids here on one afternoon after school remember so you saw you saw the relatives a lot more than you normally would so it was nice have you in any way carried on the tradition of making this yes focal point actually yeah when we finished remodeling we invited the whole family over here I remember one thing aunt Rita was up you know almost late nineties she walked into the kitchen said Stevie might spend
a big can opener to open this kitchen up to keep the front of the house and as much as we could possibly so this this room and every man changed my paint in the window treatments she was a very intelligent very active in the community she was president Sisterhood share this really always volunteered for anything and she kept reading and learning and going and traveling all our friends come over here all three of us over the years they some would live here at times relatives would come and live for a long time in fact one day I remember we had the breakfast room in the
back of the house and she was sitting having coffee and some guy was came into the room and he said you want something to eat and she said he said yeah call me say well which one of my kids did you sleep with last night and he said lady that's a personal question I said I am the plumber [Music] she also one time I had made this ad with a Hells Angel on the back of a motorcycle and I had to be a UJA meeting in Washington we were in the White House and Bob Strauss was our host and he said state did you see
the front page of the Dallas Morning News this morning with your mother's picture on a motorcycle what the hell I Alice angel I said no I hadn't been home so he pulls the paper around shows it to make us they picked up the picture and then he goes on the city and I want to tell everybody in the room there's about 30 or 40 of us he says Steve's father taught me how to practice law I wish he had taught me as well as I thought he did well parents taught me to be active in the community of your time and your financial and even
take care of people's individually I found out sometime later I had a single mother you know worked for one of my father's clients he told me years later that my father's paying for his college education they're always helping members of the family Steve there's one thing that I neglected to ask which is that you lived in the part cities was there any anti-semitism that you experienced well not so much me but there were things there was a sign on the Dallas Country Club you know no Jews Negroes dogs allowed yeah so it was probably the you know some kids might have thought that but you
know I still get together with my class mates four times a year you know it's just like I think it's become more tolerant I see that my kids when they started kindergarten and the Jewish holidays came along with all the kids knew about it in fact they asked us to bring everything everybody knew how to play dreidel and got the candles and it has changed a lot as as it has in the country to the City Attorney's it was visible no other than when we were building the synagogue had bought the land that Douglass shared Israel Douglas Walnut Hill the neighbors filed a lawsuit to
stop us from building the Senate building the synagogue and my father was legal counsel the synagogue all those years and he and their lawyers in the synagogue OTT together and they decided to go hire a Christian lawyer my father went over to Henry Strauss burger and asked him to handle the case and he graciously did and they of course there's there's no basis not only with Henry he said now what's your fee he says there's no fee and he gave me at that time in the early 50s a $10,000 donation to the building hmm and of course he was Catholic those kind of things I
think there would have been the same objection I was just a kid I mean I used to ride my bicycle up there Friday afternoon to check the construction my cousin Sherman Kaplan was in charge of it you