Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History (review)

One must assume a certain rarity attaches to any rational thought or fragment thereof that contains both the words "Appalachia" and "Jewish," and it should go without saying that any sentence which manages to sensibly include both words is of exceptional uncommonness. Still, Deborah Weiner, a research historian and family history coordinator at Baltimore's Jewish Museum of Maryland, has managed to produce not only cogent sentences which involve both subjects but also to produce an evocative, and even provocative, full-scale book on the matter.

Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History provides its readers a glimpse of a unique moment in time, the conjunction of the opening of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century coal boom in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, and the concurrent arrival of millions of eastern European Jewish men and women to the U.S. in pursuit of a land and livelihood free of pogroms. As Weiner notes, the vast majority of these men and women ended up in urban locations, working in factories and living among their kinsmen. Not all, however, did so. Indeed, a critical mass arrived at the confluence of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky and carved out careers for themselves and livelihoods for their families among the company towns in the Appalachian coalfields.

As Weiner notes, the majority of the coalfield Jews arrived as itinerant peddlers, carrying massive packs of wares upon their backs through the mountains in order to earn a stake sufficient to open a small store. While some of these peddlers found initial support from Baltimore merchants and others, many started with dauntingly little, hoping to earn sufficient funds not only to open a stable store but also to bring their families to the U.S., and, on occasion, to return to eastern Europe themselves to claim a bride. Among the intrepid volunteers were David Scott, I. L. Shor, the Liebman brothers, the Euster brothers, the Michaelson brothers, and the Sneider brothers, to name a few. Wives, children, parents, in-laws, and siblings followed in their wake, making for a number of significant Jewish Appalachian communities.

Given that most of the towns of central Appalachia were company owned and company operated, Jewish merchants filled a precarious middle ground. While sometimes prohibited, legally and extra-legally, from operating in the towns, many founded successful businesses in county seats. Where they were allowed to operate in company towns, the Jewish merchants found themselves in receipt of company scrip, discounting it further than even the company stores. Although many prospered throughout the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, Weiner notes "the coalfield environment loomed over Jewish economic activity, shaped the interaction between Jews and non-Jews, and influenced local Jewish culture and communal life" (2).

The clear majority of the Jewish population of the Appalachian coal towns was, indeed, merchants. However, with the passage of time, other professionals made their appearance in Appalachian communities in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. These included physicians, attorneys, and merchants beyond the first generation of general store keepers. Strangely missing, and not well accounted for by Weiner, are those individuals who actually may have been coal miners. While she notes that some undoubtedly did make their living underground, these individuals scarcely make an impression on the text. Given the number of eastern Europeans of other faiths in the mines, this seems unusual and clearly merits further explication.

What does not need further explication is the decline of the Jewish communities of the central Appalachians. Like small communities everywhere in rural America, changing economics have forced individuals from their small town comfort zones to larger communities. As coal veins run out and changes in technology take place, miners and their families leave the valleys. Those who stay often patronize megastores in pursuit of a few cents savings on a box of corn flakes. The combination of a small shopping population and a willingness of those remaining shoppers to find their necessities elsewhere have led to the...