Skibell, Sherrill and Charles 2012-06-14
This interview features Charles and Sherrill Skibell as they discuss their Jewish faith and living in Lubbock. In the interview, the Skibells describe growing up Jewish in small Jewish communities and then what it was like to go to University of Texas where they was a large Jewish population. They then proceed to explain the events that the Jewish community in Lubbock held, and the congregation. They close be recounting their encounters with antisemitism.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Sherrill and Charles Skibell
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: June 14, 2012
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Robert Weaver
Length: 01:01:53
Abstract
Abstract Short Version: Introduction and background information; Their experiences at the UT campus and moving to L.A.; Moving back to Lubbock; Why Foodarama stopped and the present look of the congregation; The Rabbi’s of the congregation; The separation of the congregation; Moving to a new synagogue and facing antisemitism
Abstract Long Version: Charles Life, Charles was born in Lubbock, Lubbock was normal, He lived in a middle class residential area, He is Jewish, None of his other friends were Jewish, Growing up in Lubbock was a Gentile community, Father played soccer, skied or ice skated, Charles learned all other sports on his own, They ate different meals and father had an accent, Sherrill Life, Parents lived in Brownfield, Mother wanted to have her in Oklahoma City then came back to Brownfield, Lived in Lubbock from age 2-6, Then moved back to Brownfield until she was 16 then moved to San Antonio, Parents were in Retail business, Father was a Lawyer, Joined the Army as an officer when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Went in as a Captain and became a Chicken Colonel, (Just below full Colonel), Was the commanding officer in the Philippines for 2 years for a POW camp, Came back and went into parents retail instead of returning to law, Junior high and 2 years of high school in Brownfield, Would drive all the way to Lubbock for Sunday school, Maiden name is Kershner, She and Charles first met there, His mother was her early Sunday school teachers, Re-met at UT, Had one of the biggest Sunday classes of Jewish children, Class of Baby Boomers, There were about 120 families, Had 10-12 to a class, Not common for women’s Bar-mitzvah, They had a lot of Jewish fraternities there at UT, Started at UT in 1967, Graduated from UT in 1971, He was in Sigma Alpha Mu, She was in Alpha Delta Pi, Only 2 Jewish fraternities left, Jews are also allowed more to join the Christian Fraternities, Went all the way through Sunday school together and were confirmed together, They are accepted more but in 1967 you kept to your own, Most Jewish kids went with the intent of joining a Jewish Fraternity, Sherrill was never really around Jews like that including having Jewish friends, She never dated a Jewish boy in S.A or in Brownfield, She felt very comfortable being with her sorority sisters, Sherrill studied education and graduated with a degree in Education, Didn’t want to be a nurse so she became a Teacher, Charles was a Finance Major, They were in Austin during the Vietnam War protest, They were also there for the Hippie stage, Those things made them aware that they were a part of something bigger, When they graduated they moved to L.A, Charles worked for big retail store called JoS A. Bank, She taught in Watts, Considered a continued part of their education, They were there 2 years, They had a lot of Jewish friends there, In LA they were aware of their religion but they weren’t very religious, A lot of friends from Austin were there too, They came back to Lubbock in 1973 for Charles to run the business, Sherrill’s family is still in San Antonio, She taught here in Lubbock, They didn’t really like L.A. but wanted to settle roots in Lubbock, They immediately got involved in the congregate upon their return, They felt comfortable here because this is where they learned their religion, His family was really involved, They didn’t really give them a choice, She worked with the sisterhood the first year she came, She was the secretary, They just went with the flow for it, Charles Uncle Archie was living there at the time, Charles’s Mother was a great baker, Had to take preorders because people would fight over the food, Got to be a really big business, She had Adam (the oldest son) during Food-O-Rama, Charles’s mother was horrified that she would have the baby during that, In stopped in about 1987, It stopped because it signaled the end of a generation, A lot of them aged or died, They tried to keep it going but the next generation didn’t have the drive and dedication, The next generation was more working women so it was harder to continue, They tried to keep it going but it just didn’t work, Too few to do too much, The look of congregation is very different from when they were kids, When he was a kid majority of wealthy Jews were Merchants and a few Dr.’s, The merchant class has dissipated, More Dr.’s, Lawyers, and more Professors now, A lot of people aren’t attending anymore or just aren’t joining, Harder to get involved when pursuing professional careers, When they don’t join it hurts because they need the income, A lot of people don’t feel the need to affiliate, Rabbi Kline, Had him towards the end of his career and death, His wife Eleanor was amazing, He went beyond the synagogue and was a art lecturer, Charles went to his house many times for Bar- Mitzvah training, He had an extensive art collection, He was there for about 20 years, He was an ambassador for Judaism in Lubbock, He did a lot of public speaking, Rabbi Weisberg, He was younger and had more energy, He approached the Friday night service in a different way, He did it in a more open way, He touched broader subjects and made you want to listen, He had a left under difficult circumstances, Split congregation over differences of opinion, He didn’t deserve it, It was something that was blown out of proportion, It was because a Bar- Mitzvah, Weisberg compromised as much as he could but it was never enough, Not everyone realized that the whole Jewish education and focus was the Temple, They knew that without support there would be no synagogue or rabbi, Charles tried to get everyone to understand that it had to be here for everyone else too, A lot of the families came together to donate land, It was done so another temple could be built, There logic was “if no one does it, it won’t get done, There always needs to be a working synagogue in Lubbock, No parking there, The building is still there, Life, There was some Anti- Semitism here in Texas, Charles’s brothers name is Sammy, Sherrill couldn’t play with her best friend because of it, There was some but not a lot, Hear it at Tech campus and at the Country Club, Sherrill is a lot more reactant to it than Charles, Charles had more than one teacher in Lubbock with Anti- Semitism issues, Not just here in Lubbock but in general, Times are a lot better, Bigotry is better than it was then but it’s not gone
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