By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — For the close reader, the current issue of The Journal of San Diego History offers some interesting information of local Jewish interest, one article in particular contrasting the philosophy of merchant Julius Wangenheim with those of many of his non-Jewish neighbors for whom the construction of Camp Kearny prompted a flurry of capitalist enterprises, all seeking to reap profits off the Army and its soldiers.
John Martin, an independent historian, in the article “Patriotism and Profit: San Diego’s Camp Kearny” noted that the celebrations of pending profit were widespread after the U.S. Army agreed to establish the large Army camp in the area today known as Linda Vista.
Wangenheim “took a moment to chide city leaders for losing sight of their true purpose for securing the facility,” Martin reported. “He beseeched them to relax the ‘rather mercenary spirit’ they had exhibited and to focus less on the profitability of the camp and more on the patriotic nature of the endeavor. He suggested the directors (of the Chamber of Commerce) needed to ‘study what we can do for the Army rather than what the Army can do for us.’ His noble ideas, however, were swept aside in the race to acquire government contracts.”
Reading this, I could not help but draw a comparison between Wangenheim’s words in 1917 and those of President John F. Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural address when he beseeched Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country.”
At the end of a rather lengthy article, Martin reported that San Diegans were benefactors as well as profiteers. “For example, the five Liberty Loan campaigns directed by Julius Wangenheim — programs described by The San Diego Union as the barometer of any city’s patriotism–proved to be some of the most successful in the United States. With a population of only 100,000, San Diego’s first four programs raised an average of $150 per individual, serving as a model for other cities.”
Wangenheim grew up in San Francisco, the son of a prominent merchant family. He married Laura Klauber, sister of his friend Melville Klauber, and moved with her to become part of the company that became known as Klauber-Wangenheim, a distributor of goods to merchants throughout the Southwest.
After joining the Klaubers in the wholesale business, Wangenheim became involved in banking, eventually gaining controlling interest in the Bank of Commerce & Trust Company. With his interest in Balboa Park and his banking position, Wangenheim was a natural to serve as chairman of the finance committee for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. He was also one of the founders of the San Diego Historical Society, and a treasurer of the Marine Biological Association, which evolved into the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Thirty five years after his death in 1942, Wangenheim Middle School was opened in San Diego. He was remembered not only by name, but by the school’s sundial, modeled after the time pieces that Wangenheim used to collect and construct.
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The front and back covers of the Fall 2012 issue reproduces two of the paintings currently on display at the Charles Reiffel exhibit jointly hosted by the San Diego History Center and the San Diego Museum of Art.
Jim and Estelle Milch, the same couple who were instrumental in preserving the old Temple Beth Israel building now used for weddings and other events at the county-owned Heritage Park, are some of the foremost collectors of Reiffel’s works. The current Journal reproduces three of Reiffel’s works from their collection. These include “Back Country Houses,” painted circa 1935; “The Painting Lesson,” 1936; and “The Lumber Yard,” 1937.
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Other items of specific interest to Jewish readers in the current issue were two book reviews. David Miller, an assistant history professor at the University of San Diego, discoursed on Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America by Erika Lee and Judy Young. This book deals with San Francisco’s counterpart to Ellis Island, but, noted Miller, whereas Ellis Island was intended to process immigrants into America, Angel Island was designed to keep many out, as a result of the Asian Exclusion Acts.
Among the immigrants who came through Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay, were numerous Russian Jews.
A mini-review in the “Book Notes” section of the Journal took notice of Bridges of Reform: Interracial Civil Rights Activism in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles by Shana Bernstein. Published by Oxford University this press, this book examines how various minority groups, including the Jews, came together during the Civil Rights movement.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
The Wangenheim Room in the downtown library was established to conttain the vast book collection he amassed. He was especially attracted to beautiful bindings as well as the subject matter. As a young man I spent many hours in that room but I never found publicatios of specific Jewish interest.
Wangenheim’s autobiography describes growing up in a Jewish family in San Francisco. Perhaps a copy of the autobiography is within the Wangenheim Room collection. — Don Harrison