00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page i Inventing Great Neck 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page ii 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page iii Inventing Great Neck Jewish Identity and the American Dream Judith S. Goldstein rutgers university press new brunswick, new jersey, and london 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goldstein, Judith S. Inventing Great Neck : Jewish identity and the American dream/ Judith S. Goldstein. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978–0-8135-3884-6(hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Jews—New York (State)—Great Neck—History. 2. Great Neck (N.Y.)— Ethnic relations. 3. Great Neck (N.Y.)—History. I. Title. f129.g694g65 2006 974.7´245—dc22 2005035656 A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2006by Judith S. Goldstein All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as deWned by U.S. copyright law. Manufactured in the United States of America 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page v in memory of Chassie Lee Burr 1902–1996 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page vi 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page vii Contents acknowledgments / ix Introduction / 1 1. On the Map / 11 2. Preparing the Ground / 43 3. War and Renewal / 77 4. The Quintessential Jewish Suburb / 111 5. The Price of Achievement / 157 Epilogue / 175 notes / 181 bibliography / 193 index / 197 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page viii 00 Front.qxd 6/30/2006 9:24 AM Page ix Acknowledgments I am most grateful to so many people for aiding in the writing of this book and sharing their histories, memories, and observations of Great Neck. I have relied heavily upon personal interviews with numerous people who generously gave their time to this consideration of Great Neck’s history. Among the long list, too long to enumerate, are those who patiently and repeatedly shared their knowledge and thoughts about Great Neck: Rabbi Mordecai Waxman and Ruth Waxman, Rabbi Jerome K. Davidson, Hilda Liff, Wini Freund, Roswell Eldridge, Dorothy Hicks, Jack Fields, and Tex McCrary. Many professionals, including the staff of the New York Society Library, provided critical access to resources and references. In particular, I would like to thank Risha Rosner at the Great Neck Public Library for her knowledge and patience. My gratitude goes as well to Daniel Sokolow, archivist at the David Taylor Archives at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Heath Systems. To Sue B. Mercy, Peter Schuck, Neil Flax, Ronald Spencer, Dorothy Hicks, William Tucker, and Barbara Trimbell, who read and thought- fully edited the manuscript, my deep thanks. Although called into ser- vice over a period of many years, few of them expressed exasperation or disappointment over the slow development of the manuscript or my re- liance upon their critical abilities to help turn historical material, theories, and even hunches into what one hopes is an illuminating exploration of Great Neck’s past. ix