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✦ 8 Carving Out a Niche as the jewish community grew and with it the number of children and young people,the stage of Bachrach Memorial Hall saw one of their first presentations —a Hanukkah play in which the children performed brief acrobatics , dances, and skits, accompanied by Mendelsohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.1 The community also published a small newspaper called the Star, twice a month, that, as it sold for ten centavos, the refugees shared free copies, because most of them could not afford the price. The paper carried community announcements—Sunday school schedules, children’s parties at Bachrach Hall, discussions of the new Debating Group, and meetings of the Women’s Auxiliary. The stories in the Star were short and topical, like the one about an elderly Wisconsin couple who contributed a portion of their meager income to the United Jewish Appeal after hearing about the critical situation of Jews in Europe. The little paper also sold ads.One read,“Make your new dress more attractive,buy an artificial flower. Call Mrs. Erna Kaiser.” I remember the artificial flowers because my mother used to sell them, carrying the cardboard boxes, each with two dozen felt flowers hand-made by Mrs.Kaiser,from door to door in the oppressive heat. The community was never large enough to have a secular Jewish school, so the Catholic De La Salle College, a massive Greek Revival stone structure facing TaftAvenue and staffed by Jesuit brothers,was the most popular school 74 escape to manila attended by Jewish boys. Here Brother Xavier, an Irishman with a ruddy face and straight white hair, presided. He was assisted by a dean, Brother Berthwin , a tall German, who also taught history. The rest of the staff included American and German brothers and Filipino lay teachers. Among the Jesuits was a Hungarian, Brother Baptist, who was renowned for storytelling. Toward the end of each of his classes he told stories of high adventure, enthralling the students, who were completely quiet for the five or ten minutes Brother Baptist held forth. He usually had four or five different stories in as many classes going at any one time. He told the stories in serialized fashion, so students had to remind him where he had left off the last time he taught a particular class. Just like Santa Scholastica College, where the Jewish girls went, religion was a central feature at La Salle, and though Brother Berthwin assured parents that the Jewish boys did not have to study the catechism, they were expected to remain in class during the session.The Filipino lay teachers adhered to these rules and were sympathetic to the Jewish boys.But some of the classes led by Jesuit brothers presented a different story. One brother customarily announced at the beginning of each semester that “nobody will be excused from the study of the catechism.” This was intimidating, but most of the Jewish students resisted and consequently received a failing grade.Even with these penalties, the education, which covered mathematics, English, history, languages, and music, was excellent and certainly on par with European education standards. But emblematic of the situation was that many a Jewish boy received a rosary, the popular prize for winning a spelling bee.2 Opportunities for adult Jewish refugees in Manila continued to be limited despite the efforts of the Jewish Refugee Committee—more than two hundred Jews were on welfare. Dr. Harry Preiss was discouraged about his prospects for ever practicing medicine, and he did not enjoy his technician’s job at Mercy Hospital, which, while providing an income, was frustrating, because he felt as qualified as the Filipino physicians all around him who were practicing their profession. He began to look for something else. With limited work opportunities in Manila, refugees were encouraged to seek jobs in outlying provinces.The Emmerich family,who had settled in Mindanao,was one example, and other refugees did not shrink from the challenge. By chance Preiss met a man by the name of Fairchild who had a soft drink factory in Lilio, a very small town fifty miles south of Manila. Fairchild’s factory had a contract with the U.S. Navy to supply soft drinks, and the navy required medical certification for the cleanliness of the manufacturing facilities . So, who better to oversee the operation? A doctor, of course, and Dr. [13.58.151.231] Project MUSE (2024-04-23 12:58 GMT...

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