M. Hirsh Goldberg, It All Started With a Deli: The Attmans of Lombard Street; Baltimore: Apprentice House, 2003, ISBN 978-1-934074-28-2, 194 pages, $26.95.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO– Here is a book that will make Jewish Marylanders (the term almost seems a contradiction) kvell over the potential of a good corned beef sandwich. Back in the early 20th century, immigrants Harry and Ida Attman didn’t have much money, but they sure knew how to cook and to schmooze. They opened Attmans Delicatessen on Lombard Street in a portion of East Baltimore where many Jewish immigrants lived.
Over the years –ahh, my mouth salivates thinking of the pickles described by author Goldberg –the deli became an institution, known by generations of Baltimoreans. Other delis came and went, but Attmans year after year packed in the customers who crowded along the long counter for roast beef, pastrami, and, of course, corned beef, along with every other variety of Eastern European Jewish cuisine. The three Attman boys–Edward, Leonard, and Seymour– grew up working in the deli, learning the value of devotion to customers, fine products and good service. Seymour took over the deli from his father, building it up until his death, while brothers Edward and Leonard made names for themselves in other businesses.
Edward created the Acme Paper Company, which today employs more than 200 people. It supplies paper and janitorial supplies to a variety of businesses, and also has developed a line of paper trays and souvenir cups that have become sought-after items at the home games of Baltimore professional sports franchises, the football Ravens and the baseball Orioles.
Leonard went into real estate, which led to him becoming a builder, and eventually to a specialization in the acquisition and management of nursing homes under the banner of family-owned Future Care and Management Corporation.
All three brothers became philanthropists, supporting Jewish and general causes alike. The list of their political admirers crosses party lines. Well-known Republicans and Democrats have courted the three brothers, as well as their heirs who today are as active–and as prominent–in civic affairs as were the second generation business builders.
You get a hint of the Attman prominence when you see that Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland wrote the forward to this slender volume, which is filled with family photos. The governor notes that Leonard co-hosts Chanukah parties with him at Government House and serves on the Maryland Stadium Authority, and meanwhile Edward’s son Gary serves on the University of Maryland Board of Regents.
It’s a nice read, especially if you should just happen to be on an airplane headed for Baltimore, and you’re wondering where you can find a good corned beef sandwich and maybe a conversationalist who likes business and civic affairs.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com