Betty Lillian Rosenfeld

Frankel: Let me begin by asking you to state your full name, date, and place of birth.
ROSENFELD: Betty Lillian Coren [spells out last name], 1925, Cleveland, Ohio.

Frankel: Tell me a little bit about the household that you grew up in in Cleveland. Who lived in your household?
ROSENFELD: It was a very small household: my mother, my father, and me. I had no siblings and I lived in an apartment, which people in the east often did. It was a large apartment on a street called East Boulevard. It’s probably still there.

Frankel: Did you know your grandparents?
ROSENFELD: I met them. I didn’t really know them because it was a very cursory meeting. They died shortly thereafter. My father’s parents I met only briefly. My mother’s parents, I knew my grandmother because when her husband died she came to live with us.

Frankel: Who was the first generation to come to this country in your family?
ROSENFELD: My grandparents. I think probably the maternal and paternal came at about the same time.

Frankel: Where from?
ROSENFELD: From Russia.

Frankel: What languages were spoken in your household?
ROSENFELD: English.

Frankel: What did your father do?
ROSENFELD: When he came to this country he couldn’t speak English or understand it, and by listening to the radio he learned how to speak and to understand. I think as all people without an education did, he started with very small jobs that he could get anywhere and wound up as a furniture manufacturer.

Frankel: That was your grandfather. How did he end up in Cleveland?
ROSENFELD: I really don’t know. Probably a relative was there first.

Frankel: So did your father go into his father’s business?
ROSENFELD: Yes. It was really my father’s business. My grandparents barely got by. They barely scraped up a living. It was the next generation, my father’s generation, that made something of it.

Frankel: What were your parents’ names?
ROSENFELD: Morris was my father, and my mother was Eva Weinstein.

Frankel: Was it a Jewish household? Were you observant? Did you observe any of the holidays?
ROSENFELD: Yes, moderately observant. We observed Passover and the High Holidays, and that was about it.

Frankel: Did you have an extended family in Cleveland?
ROSENFELD: Very small. My mother had one sister, and my father had a couple of sisters and one brother. There weren’t lots of people.

Frankel: What kind of education did you receive?
ROSENFELD: I went to college.

Frankel: Public school?
ROSENFELD: Public school and then a private university.

Frankel: Where did you go to college?
ROSENFELD: Western Reserve University. 

Frankel: Case Western?
ROSENFELD: Yes, it used to be just Western. We called it “Western Reserve, the school for the backward” [laughter].

Frankel: Why so?
ROSENFELD: It was a funny name, Western Reserve University.

Frankel: What did you major in?
ROSENFELD: Poly Sci.

Frankel: Did you ever . . .?
ROSENFELD: Pursue it? No.

Frankel: And how did you meet your future husband?
ROSENFELD: His father and my father had a friend in common, in L.A. of all places. They decided that I had to meet this little soldier boy who didn’t know a soul in Los Angeles when he was visiting, and would I please go out with him one night?

Frankel: So you were in Los Angeles?
ROSENFELD: I was visiting.

Frankel: And then what?
ROSENFELD: [Laughs] It was a fast romance! I think we were engaged about three weeks after we met and married shortly thereafter.

Frankel: You said he was a soldier. Was he in the Army at that time?
ROSENFELD: Yes. He was in the Air Force. 

Frankel: Was this during World War II?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: Did he serve overseas?
ROSENFELD: No, but he was in the service for almost five years, in Dayton, Ohio. I didn’t know him when I was in Dayton, even though I was in Cleveland.

Frankel: So when you got married was he still in the service?
ROSENFELD: No, he had just been discharged.

Frankel: Where did you move to?
ROSENFELD: To Portland.

Frankel: What year was that?
ROSENFELD: 1946.

Frankel: What was your husband’s upbringing and education?
ROSENFELD: Much more religious than mine. His family was much more devout than mine. He was a good boy. He went to Hebrew School and all that stuff. They belonged to an Orthodox congregation, which we did not. We belonged to a Reform temple. So there were differences, but not major ones.

Frankel: Was your wedding in Cleveland?
ROSENFELD: No, it was right here in Portland, Oregon because my mother-in-law was sure that if we were married in Cleveland it would not be holy enough. It would be done by a Reform rabbi and that wouldn’t have done the trick. She was “too sick to travel.”  Baloney. She was just fine. She was afraid of that Reform stuff, so we were married in Portland, Oregon at Shaarie Torah.

Frankel: Who was the rabbi at the time?
ROSENFELD: He was there briefly. Klein, I believe.

Frankel: Kleinman?
ROSENFELD: No, Klein.

Frankel: Where was your first home in Portland?
ROSENFELD: An apartment on SW Vista.

Frankel: And your husband? Was he already in the family business?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: Can you tell me a little bit about his family? Who were the first ones to come to Portland, and who did you know in his extended family?
ROSENFELD: I didn’t really know any of them.

Frankel: His parents were no longer living?
ROSENFELD: Yes, they were alive, but I met them when we were about to be married. I didn’t know his relatives at all. I met them at the same time. There were a lot of Rosenfelds then; there aren’t anymore, but there were then.

Frankel: All related?
ROSENFELD: Yes. I think there were two Rosenfeld families. One was of German-Jewish heritage and the other was Russian-Jewish. The Russian-Jewish and the German-Jewish were not at all concerned with each other.

Frankel: Was your husband Russian-Jewish?
ROSENFELD: Yes, by virtue of the fact that his parents were.

Frankel: Right. What is the story you know about his great-grandfather, who started?
ROSENFELD: I really don’t know much about him. I have a picture of him, or rather, my son has a picture of him, sitting in the archives there or maybe in the front office. But I really don’t know much about him except that he seemed to be the progenitor of the Schnitzers and Directors and I don’t know who else.

Frankel: Are they related?
ROSENFELD: Oh, yes. Don’t ask me how.

Frankel: Did your husband have siblings?
ROSENFELD: Yes. He had a sister, who died, and a brother who died very young. He was the remaining child.

Frankel: And none of his siblings were married?
ROSENFELD: They were.

Frankel: And did they have children?
ROSENFELD: Yes. My sister-in-law’s family was Meltzer [spells out], in Seattle. She had three children, all of whom live in Seattle. My husband’s brother’s family live in Portland. He had four children.

Frankel: What was his brother’s name?
ROSENFELD: Maurice.

Frankel: And he was married to . . .?
ROSENFELD: I don’t know what her maiden name was. Her name was Beatrice.

Frankel: I notice that your husband has the initial “A” before his name. What was that for?
ROSENFELD: As a direct translation from the Hebrew, which was Avigdor.

Frankel: So Avigdor became A. Victor. I see [laughter]. Tell me, when you first got married, did you become involved in the business at all?
ROSENFELD: No. 

Frankel: Because his family was more religious did you celebrate more of the holidays? Did you join any temple?
ROSENFELD: By automatic involvement I was a member of it all!

Frankel: Did you pursue a career, continue to work outside of the home?
ROSENFELD: No.

Frankel: Were you involved in any Jewish organization or institution?
ROSENFELD: Very peripherally. I would not say that I was involved in anything heart-and-soul, but peripherally.

Frankel: What about in non-Jewish organizations? Did you volunteer?
ROSENFELD: Yes, the various political things that came up every four years. A few cultural things, but not much.

Frankel: Any candidates in particular that you campaigned for?
ROSENFELD: Sure, Harry Truman. Back in the dim, dark days [laughs].

Frankel: What are your memories of your involvement?
ROSENFELD: They were fast and furious in those days. I hardly remember who was running or when. I will have to think about it more.

Frankel: How did you spend weekends with your family?
ROSENFELD: Doing various things, and nothing.

Frankel: How many children do you have? I know you have a son, Warren. Can you tell me about your children?
ROSENFELD: Warren has two kids and my daughter Kathy has two. She lives in L.A. and he lives here. What else would you like to know about them?

Frankel: Did they go to Hebrew School?
ROSENFELD: No.

Frankel: Did they have bar or bat mitzvahs?
ROSENFELD: Yes, Warren definitely had a bar mitzvah. I had never been to a bar mitzvah before I moved to Portland, Oregon. Nobody I knew ever had one. Then we got to the point where all the girls did it too, which was kind of funny, and they still do. More than that I don’t know.

Frankel: Was that at Shaarie Torah, his bar mitzvah?
ROSENFELD: No, it was at Temple [Beth Israel].

Frankel: How about Zionism? Was that important in your family?
ROSENFELD: Very.

Frankel: Do you remember when Israel became an independent state?
ROSENFELD: Do I remember it? Of course I remember it! I remember working very hard for Hadassah and the Zionist Organization. I remember the various cloak-and-dagger stuff that went on, even in Portland, Oregon. There were little people from the Israeli government, which wasn’t a government at that time, who were here in Oregon looking to see who would be pro and who would be anti. There was lots going on for a little community.

Frankel: Did you meet those people?
ROSENFELD: Sure.

Frankel: Who were they and how did you meet them?
ROSENFELD: I wish I could think of their names. I can’t. There was a little guy who kept showing up at various things in Portland. I can’t remember his name. I don’t know why he was here. It was under the auspices of some Palestine organization. We had to laugh because no matter where we went, there he was. A little spy [laughs].

Frankel: What exactly did he want?
ROSENFELD: Information, that’s all. What’s going on in Portland? Are there fringe groups? Are there “anti” groups? All kinds of stuff.

Frankel: Was your husband involved in Jewish organizations?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: Do you recall which ones?
ROSENFELD: The Zionist Organization. I don’t know what else.

Frankel: Did you visit Israel?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: When was the first time?
ROSENFELD: My memory. I can’t really say. It’s been a while ago, quite a while ago.

Frankel: Was it with a group?
ROSENFELD: No. Vic had a cousin who lived there, Tzvi Ben Ari. Tzvi made the visit more pleasant because he really got us into things we would not have gotten into. That was good. Then we went back about seven or eight years later and it was very different. I would like to see it again. It was an interesting voyage.

Frankel: Where did your children go to school?
ROSENFELD: Here in Portland.

Frankel: What schools did they go to?
ROSENFELD: They went to Ainsworth, and Catlin, and Lincoln High School.

Frankel: And where did they go to college?
ROSENFELD: Kathy went to Stanford, and Warren went to Occidental.

Frankel: Were they involved in youth groups, BBYO or any other Jewish organizations?
ROSENFELD: Maybe a Temple Youth something-or-other. I don’t remember the name of it. One of those initial things.

Frankel: Even though you lived on Vista, do you recall South Portland and the Jewish neighborhood?
ROSENFELD: I had to see it through Shirley Tanzer’s eyes. She knew all about it and did a show on it.

Frankel: When you moved here in the late ’40s, do you remember going to South Portland?
ROSENFELD: I didn’t know what it was. There was some rotten little delicatessen there and a funny little synagogue, Shaarie Torah, which was a teeny, tiny little thing. And then Urban Renewal took care of that. There was not much left of it.

Frankel: Again, your political involvement. Besides Harry Truman, any of the local candidates?
ROSENFELD: Sure, there was always something. I can’t even remember their names. There was Edith Green, Wayne Morris, on and on.

Frankel: How involved were you in those?
ROSENFELD: Considerably.

Frankel: Can you elaborate a little bit? What exactly did you do?
ROSENFELD: It depended on what was in need. Sometimes it was just a matter of registering people, and sometimes a matter of getting mailers out, and sometimes a matter of banging on doors for a few dollars. Whatever was required.

Frankel: Right. Tell me a little bit about the changes you have seen. I know that Edith Green did a lot in terms of equalizing the genders, equal pay and things like that. How do you see the changes in the community since you came here?
ROSENFELD: I think it has gotten a lot more liberal because of the influx of different people and more people. The old guard has vanished; they are just not here anymore. The nature of business has changed. It is not a little, tiny thing anymore. It is big business.

Frankel: Can you elaborate a little bit?
ROSENFELD: Even my husband’s little junk business turned into a great big whatever. It happened in every area.

Frankel: At what stage did that growth happen?
ROSENFELD: When did all that happen? Probably with the emergence of Democratic leadership. It opened up; it was liberal.

Frankel: So when you came here, you feel it was far more conservative?
ROSENFELD: Definitely. We had lumber barons, period. End of sentence. Then they died out, and pretty soon you didn’t need to see just wood products. You needed lots of things.

[They stop to answer the door and then resume]

Frankel: We were talking about changes, and you said it has become more liberal. How about changes in the Jewish community? Have you noticed . . .?
ROSENFELD: There is so much more of it. I think that what happened to the world happened to Portland Jewry, too.

Frankel: Going back a little bit to the war years, how soon were you aware of what was going on in Europe in terms of the Jewish population?
ROSENFELD: I would say 1938 or ’39. I had a wonderful spiritual leader. We belonged to Silver’s temple in Cleveland [Temple Tifereth Israel]. Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver. He was just a wonderful guy and a Zionist to the core, although his congregation was largely anti. He made you say that you were going to subscribe to the Birth of Israel. And by God, everybody did.

Frankel: What other memories do you have of Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver?
ROSENFELD: He was a neat guy. I don’t know if you have ever seen pictures of him. He was a commanding presence, and he had the most beautiful hands, with fingers that were . . . [gesturing]. He could grapple with anything

[People in the background are making too much noise to hear interview well]

And it was fun because he remembered every kid he ever had in Confirmation class. I was always amused because in Portland they couldn’t remember your name out of a class of twelve. In Cleveland they could remember your name out of a class of 500.

Frankel: Did you go through Confirmation?
ROSENFELD: Sure.

Frankel: Did he teach the Confirmation class? Do you have any memories of what he taught and how his . . .?
ROSENFELD: The way he said it was enlightening. You felt like you had to participate and you just did. He was a wonderful teacher. Unlike most congregations that had things on Friday night, he did them on Sunday morning. He spoke every Sunday morning in the temple, and it was good because what happened was that people would drop their kids off for the school and then they stayed and heard him.

Frankel: Were there services on Saturday as well?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: But he spoke on Sunday morning?
ROSENFELD: Yes, and everybody turned out. It was like a speakers bureau. We didn’t have anything like it here.

Frankel: Who were the leaders in the Jewish community when you moved here?
ROSENFELD: I’m not sure I know. I am trying to think of names. Maybe the rabbis at the various congregations. I don’t remember who they were. We belonged to each congregation because my husband thought we should.

Frankel: But you attended the one temple?
ROSENFELD: Yes, for the High Holy Days. That is the extent of our observance.

Frankel: Were your children given some kind of Jewish education?
ROSENFELD: Sure. They all went to religious school.

Frankel: Where was the religious school at the time?
ROSENFELD: At Temple Beth Israel.

Frankel: What about at the Center? Did they have an afternoon Hebrew School?
ROSENFELD: I think they did, but mine did not attend.

Frankel: Who was your rabbi at Temple Beth Israel when you first came?
ROSENFELD: I am trying to remember that. There was a coming and a going. The one that was most memorable to me was Julius Nodel. He was here for a number of years and then left. After that I can’t remember. Nothing particularly earth shattering.

Frankel: After starting your household on Vista, did you always stay on the west side?
ROSENFELD: Yes. That apartment on Vista was about as big as this kitchen. It was tiny, but there wasn’t anyplace else to go. Nothing was for rent and we didn’t want to buy anything, so we took it.

Frankel: Did you ever experience antisemitism?
ROSENFELD: No.

Frankel: Not in Cleveland and not in Portland?
ROSENFELD: I was probably too dumb to recognize it. I went to a couple of Bundt meetings in Cleveland.

Frankel: What kind of meetings?
ROSENFELD: Bundt.

Frankel: Wasn’t that anti-Zionist?
ROSENFELD: Oh, it was anti-Jewish! It was terrible.

Frankel: So why did you go?
ROSENFELD: I was curious. I wanted to see what was going on. It was the most vitriolic, miserable, antisemitic talk you ever heard.

Frankel: By Jews? 
ROSENFELD: No, it was instigated by a non-Jewish population in Parma, Ohio that was antisemitic. And we wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. A group of us, maybe four college kids, got together and decided we had to go. So we did. They took our names and we thought, “OK. If they are going to hit us, OK.” But nothing ensued.

Frankel: Did your children ever experience antisemitism in school?
ROSENFELD: I don’t know. I can’t speak for them.

Frankel: They never came home and complained as children?
ROSENFELD: No.

Frankel: When you first came here, were there any institutions that were closed to Jews?
ROSENFELD: Sure. Residences, clubs, that kind of stuff. Not anything that anyone would die to get into. There were neighborhoods where you knew you were not welcome.

Frankel: Which were those neighborhoods?
ROSENFELD: At one time, Dunthorpe. Certainly not in recent years. I think that is about it. But there were clubs, which still exist.

Frankel: Which ones?
ROSENFELD: The Town Club, although it does have Jewish members.

Frankel: What is the Town Club?
ROSENFELD: What is it? It is a little town club where you go and play cards. And you are happy because “they” can’t get in. The Arlington Club, same sort of thing except that it devoted itself to business. The Waverley Country Club. Nothing that people couldn’t live without.

Frankel: So you accepted it as being a club that was closed to Jews without any . . .?
ROSENFELD: Maybe because it didn’t matter to me. If it had mattered, I would have yelled about it.

Frankel: Did the Anti-Defamation League fight those kinds of things?
ROSENFELD: Yes.

Frankel: And were you involved?
ROSENFELD: Yes. Did we support the Anti-Defamation League? Of course. Still do. But not actively. How does one get “actively involved” in Portland, Oregon? ADL is a wonderful thing, and people belong to it because they have to fund it. But I don’t think you do anything actively.

Frankel: You said you were a member of Hadassah. Were you members of other Jewish organizations as well?
ROSENFELD: Yes, but I can’t think of what they would be.

Frankel: National Council of Jewish Women?
ROSENFELD: Yes! Right. You name it, I belonged to it.

Frankel: American Jewish Committee?
ROSENFELD: Sure.

Frankel: Do you see a change in the way your children have raised their children? In terms of Jewishly? Active involvement?
ROSENFELD: My kids in L.A. are surrounded by Jews. It’s a different climate from what it is in Portland. They have had more exposure to culturally Jewish things. What they do that is Jewish, I don’t know.

Frankel: Do you celebrate Jewish holidays together?
ROSENFELD: We try. Sometimes it is not possible.

Frankel: In the neighborhood where you lived, were there many Jews?
ROSENFELD: In Portland? There weren’t many Jews period.

Frankel: Wasn’t South Portland considered the Jewish neighborhood?
ROSENFELD: Probably, yes. But I never lived in South Portland, so I don’t know. It was an economic thing rather than anything else.

Frankel: Do you have any memories of refugees or survivors moving here after the war?
ROSENFELD: Definitely.

Frankel: How were they treated? What was their . . .?
ROSENFELD: I think they were treated fine. We took them home for dinner on whatever night. We oftentimes set up apartments for them, set up a household. The Council did a great job on that.

Frankel: Was that for survivors or for the Russian immigrants?
ROSENFELD: Both. Now there aren’t that many Russian people coming.

Frankel: Not anymore.
ROSENFELD: In whatever little aspect of help, my husband employed people that needed work and couldn’t get it otherwise. 

Frankel: Even though you said you did not work with your husband in the business, how much impact did it have on your life, hosting people from your husband’s business or  . . .? Did it play a major role in your family life?
ROSENFELD: You knew what you were for and what you were against, and what we were going to do something for. Sure.

Frankel: In terms of the role of women, did you learn to drive in Cleveland?
ROSENFELD: Sure.

Frankel: Did your mother drive?
ROSENFELD: No.

Frankel: Can you tell what changes that you have noticed in terms of the role of women?
ROSENFELD: Big changes. We can pursue anything that we wish, provided we are well-trained to do it. There is still not equal pay, which there should be. We are accepted as the “second sex.” It’s OK.

Frankel: You have a son and a daughter. Were their upbringings different because of their genders? Were they both given . . .?
ROSENFELD: Equal opportunities? Yes.

Frankel: Did you know Edith Green personally?
ROSENFELD: Very well.

Frankel: What can you tell me about your encounters with her?
ROSENFELD: She was a wonderful woman. My husband was her finance director for all the years that she ran for office. She was just a swell woman. She believed in everything liberal and put her money where her mouth was. She spoke out and was much revered.

Frankel: What were her accomplishments that you recall?
ROSENFELD: I’m trying to think of specific legislation and I really can’t. At one time I kept a record of it, but I don’t have it anymore. I just can’t remember.

Frankel: Was she not involved in equal education for boys and girls?
ROSENFELD: Yes, but I can’t remember the specific bills. She was great.

Frankel: Were there any other politicians that you had personal relationships with?
ROSENFELD: Not that close. Well, for a couple of years I was related to Ron Wyden. Ron’s wife Laurie Oseran was a cousin.

Frankel: Of yours, or your husband’s?
ROSENFELD: Both of ours. 

Frankel: Are there any other events in your life or in the community that you can think of?
ROSENFELD: No. Are you finding anything in particular coming out of these interviews?

Frankel: Sure! What is your earliest memory of coming to Portland from Cleveland? That was considered far more cosmopolitan.
ROSENFELD: It was bigger. 

Frankel: What was your impression the first time you visited Portland?
ROSENFELD: My God! Did they really ride horses to school? [laughter]

Frankel: And did they?
ROSENFELD: No. My first impression was, “My Gosh, it is so small.” Which it was. The major streets were about three inches wide. It was different.

Frankel: What about the cultural life in Portland early on?
ROSENFELD: I think we had good music. Dance I wouldn’t know anything about. We had a meager but minor art museum. I think it was fair to middling, OK for a community this size. There was theater. Not great, but it was OK. God knows what it is going to be now because nobody has got any money. The arts will suffer, I am sure.

Frankel: Any other memories or recollections?
ROSENFELD: No. I think people were fairly eager to get involved in this community. It was easy to “get known.” You don’t remain anonymous if you don’t want to be.

Frankel: In the Jewish community?
ROSENFELD: In general. It is pretty open. I can’t think of anything else.

Frankel: Thank you very much.
ROSENFELD: You are welcome, my dear.

[Recording stops and then resumes mid-sentence]

ROSENFELD: … art consultant. Now I don’t know what that means. But she worked for Sotheby’s for a year and she thought that was neat. That was so much fun.

Frankel: In L.A.?
ROSENFELD: In L.A. And these women would walk in with their consultant. “Should I buy this $80,000 thing when it is only worth $70,000?” Is this a career? Anyway, that is what she is doing. And my two little ones here in Portland are just commencing their careers. One just graduated from middle school. He is an eighth grader, and the other one is in fifth or sixth. I can’t remember what she is up to. But Will, who is a kick, is very charismatic. He is a funny guy. They asked him if he would mind giving a talk on how to make the most use of a bar mitzvah [laughs].

Frankel: Who asked him to talk about that?
ROSENFELD: The gal who is in charge of St. Vincent’s. I think it is very funny. What does he know about this stuff? Will said, “Sure, I would be happy to, Carol. Just tell me what you want.” He had a grandparent who had died recently of cancer, and it really hit him where he lived. He had just had his bar mitzvah and had gotten lots of presents, which he said he didn’t need. So he asked people if they would divert their gift giving to the Cancer Society. There was a big thing in the Oregonian about him.

Frankel: I read that story. That is your grandson?
ROSENFELD: Yes, Warren’s kid. The next thing I know is that Will says, “Grandma, you have got to come to lunch tomorrow. Don’t ask why, just come.” So I show up at lunch, and there are about 750 women there. I thought, “Oh, my God. This kid is going to get up and talk?” Well, he did. He had a wonderful time. It was just a riot. He was happy to do it. It didn’t throw him at all. He had never given a public speech like that before, but he did it and enjoyed it.

Frankel: That is remarkable.
ROSENFELD: That is Will. So I said, “Now you can go collect money for the Democrats.” And he said, “Do you think they need it?” I said, “Yes, they need it Will.”

Frankel: Will he continue in the family business?
ROSENFELD: Who knows what he is going to do? He doesn’t know. He is one of those kids, a popular kid, whatever that means. I hate that word. Whatever he decides to do he will be OK.

Frankel: What school does he go to?
ROSENFELD: Catlin. Because I thought the public schools were so rotten. His sister goes to Catlin also. She just went to a Seventh Day Adventist camp. Oh, my God! She said, “The funny thing, Grandma, they told me to pack a Bible. I’m not sure I have a packable one” [laughs]. So she took a Bible. I asked, “What did they do? Did they do anything in Hebrew?” “No.” Anyway, if there is antisemitism I am not aware of it.