IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
SHLOSS AND MANNHEIMER FAMILIES
PAPERS,
1896-1986
2 linear feet
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers
(donor no. 458) were donated by Joan
and Robert Mannheimer in 1997. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers
are open for research. |
|
ARTIFACTS: |
In box 8. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright held by the donors has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In boxes 1-7. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Natalie S. Brody, 1998; revised by Kären
Mason, 2001. [ShlossMannheimer.doc] |
Biography
Rose
Sheuerman and Max Shloss were married in Marengo, Iowa in 1884. Rose Sheuerman Shloss was the daughter of
Abraham Sheuerman and niece of Leopold Sheuerman, Babette Frankel, Rose Adler, and Sophie Stern. Max Shloss was president of Lederer and
Strauss and Company and a widely recognized philanthropist. Rose and Max Shloss had three children,
Irma, Sam, and Marie Shloss.
Irma
Shloss (1890-1974) was born in 1890 in Des Moines. She graduated from West High School in Des Moines and attended
Bryn Mawr College from 1908 to 1910. Irma Shloss and Eugene Mannheimer were married on April 17,
1917 in Des Moines, where Mannheimer had served as rabbi of Temple B'nai
Jeshurun since 1905. Throughout their
lives both Irma and Eugene Mannheimer were recognized and honored as eminent
civic leaders who served the Jewish community, the city of Des Moines and the
state of Iowa.
An
active leader in the Des Moines community, Irma Shloss Mannheimer was a member
of the founding board of the Iowa Maternal Health League, a forerunner of
Planned Parenthood of Iowa. In 1938 she
was elected president of the Des Moines Women's Club, the first Jewish woman to
hold that position. She was also a
member of the board of the Jewish Welfare Federation, the Iowa Jewish Home, and
the Des Moines Civic Music Association.
Irma Shloss Mannheimer died in 1974.
She received a posthumous award that year from the National Conference
of Christians and Jews for distinguished leadership in the field of human
relations.
Eugene Mannheimer (1880-1952) was born in Rochester, New York in 1880, the son of Louise and Sigmund Mannheimer. Eugene Mannheimer spent most of his childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father was a professor at the Hebrew Union College and from which Eugene Mannheimer graduated in 1902. His brother Leo Mannheimer was also a rabbi; they had two sisters, Jane and Edna Mannheimer. Eugene Mannheimer served for three years at a congregation in Sioux City, Iowa, before moving to Des Moines in 1905. When he retired from his position in 1947 due to a heart condition, he had served not only the congregation for more than forty years but the entire community. He died at age seventy-one in 1952, survived by his wife and his sons, Robert and Richard Mannheimer.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of
the Shloss and Mannheimer Families date from 1896 to 1986 and measure 2 linear feet.
The papers are arranged in four series: Sheuerman and Shloss,
Irma Shloss Mannheimer, Eugene Mannheimer, and Artifacts. They are a rich collection of photographs, newspaper clippings,
and other records of the families’ civic and social activities, particularly
Eugene Mannheimer's rabbinate at Temple B'nai Jeshurun and Irma Mannheimer's
civic involvement, including her role as president of the Des Moines Women's
Club.
The Sheuerman and Shloss series (1883-1986) contains letters and a
reminiscence of Neckar Binau, Germany, by Leopold Sheuerman and a biographical
sketch of Babette Sheuerman Frankel by Louise Noun (1986). Also included are Rose Shloss’s
correspondence and photographs from the years 1924-1945 and her 1883-1909 scrapbook,
which contains telegrams, newspaper clippings, and other items pertaining to
her wedding to Max Shloss in 1884, a family photograph taken on their 45th
wedding anniversary in 1929, and obituaries (1899 and 1904) of her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Abraham Sheuerman.
In
the Irma Shloss Mannheimer series
(1908-1970) are a Memory Book and a diary she kept while attending Bryn Mawr
College (1908-1910); photograph albums; scrapbooks; and speeches she delivered
from 1923 to 1967. The 1908-1939
Photograph album and scrapbook concerns family trips to Europe, her father Max
Shloss, her marriage to Eugene Mannheimer, the B’nai Jeshurun Temple
dedication, and the Des Moines Women's Club.
A small notebook includes notes she wrote about her infant sons Robert
and Richard Mannheimer.
The
Eugene Mannheimer series (1880-1952)
comprises diaries, correspondence, and newspaper clippings from his rabbinate
at the B’nai Jeshurun Temple; many of his sermons and speeches; items about the
Community Memorial Service conducted after his death in 1952; and photographs.
The Artifacts
consist of three pairs of baby shoes worn by Irma Shloss.
Related Collections
Eugene Mannheimer papers, Special
Collections Department, University of Iowa Libraries (MsC 386) include
"Reminiscences of My Three Score Years
and Nine,"; a calendar, 1905-1950; and recordings of six Matins
services by WOI-Ames (Iowa State University), April-May, 1947.
Box no.
Description
Box 1
Sheuerman
and Shloss
Leopold Sheuerman, 1912
Babette Sheuerman Frankel: biographical sketch by Louise Noun, 1986
Rose Shloss
Correspondence, 1924-1945 and undated
Photographs, undated
Scrapbook, 1883-1909
Max Shloss
Memory Book, 1930-1975 [oversize: in box 7]
[re: Max and Rose Shloss family; Eugene
and Irma Mannheimer family]
Will and tributes, 1930-1931
Irma Shloss Mannheimer
Biographical information, 1895-1974
Memory Book, 1908-1912
[re: Bryn Mawr College, 1908-1909; family trips, 1912]
Diary, 1908-1910
Box 2
Photograph album and scrapbook,
1908-1939 [oversize]
[re:
Bryn Mawr, 1908; European trips,
1910, 1924, 1926; Max Shloss’s
75th birthday, 1930, and obituary, 1931; B’nai Jeshurun Temple dedication,
1932; Des Moines Women's Club, 1938]
Box 3
Photograph album, 1913-1923
[re: travels, 1913-1916; family and home, 1917-1923]
Photographs, 1908-1970
Scrapbook, 1917, 1935
[re:
marriage, 1917; Eugene Mannheimer's 55th birthday, 1935]
Wedding gifts (record of), 1917
Mother’s notes re: infancy of her sons
Robert and Richard Mannheimer, 1919, 1925
Speeches (1 folder). Includes:
“The Influence of the Sisterhood on the Congregation” [Convention
of District 20, National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, Davenport, Iowa,
December 4-5, 1923]
“The Perpetuation of Judaism through Spirituality and Personal
Conduct” [Sioux City Temple, November 1-2, 1927]
“Judaism as a Way of Life” [Senior
Hadassah, November 6, 1928]
“Israel, Go Forward!” [delivered at the Sisterhood Service, Temple
of Milwaukee, November 8, 1929, and at the Sisterhood, Temple B’nai Jeshurun,
November 24, 1929]
Untitled [Brotherhood Week, dedicated to
Stoddard Lane, February 20, 1947]
“World Understanding Begins in the
Community” [National Conference of Christians and Jews, Windsor Heights
Presbyterian Church, Des Moines, April 27, 1949]
Untitled [YWCA panel, Savery Hotel, Des
Moines, January 28, 1967]
“The Jewish View of Jesus,” undated
“Building Unity in the Community,”
undated
“Your Religion and Mine,” undated
“The Torah,” undated
Eugene
Mannheimer
Biographical information, 1880-1952
(scattered)
Family, 1896-1940 and undated
Diaries, 1918-1930, 1939-1951 (2 vols.)
Box 4
Scrapbook: 1893-1955 (scattered)
Box 5
Scrapbook: 1938-1949 [oversize]
Box 6
Sermons, speeches, and writings
1902-1925 (scattered)
1930-1951 and undated
In
memoriam
Memorial service instructions, 1947, 1951
Community Memorial Service, December 1, 1952
Temple B'nai Jeshurun, 1924-1948
(scattered) (2 folders)
Photographs, 1893, 1939 and undated
Book
of Life, annotated,
1903-1949
Box 7
Oversize:
Sheuerman
and Shloss
Rose and Max Shloss scrapbook, 1930-1975
Box 8
Artifacts
Baby shoes, 3 pair