ROXANE HOLSTEIN PAPERS, 1913-1914

Summary: Letters received by Roxane Holstein. who worked for the Engineering Record in New York City, from Ben Stolper(?), a teacher at the high school in Woodbine, New Jersey, 1913-1914. The series contains 21 letters, some of which are typed and some are handwritten, which were written by Stolper from Woodbine.

Woodbine in Cape May County was founded in 1891 as a Jewish agricultural/industrial colony by the Baron de Hirsch Fund. It was particularly known for the Baron de Hirsch School, an agricultural training school for Jewish farmers which was established in 1894, and lasted until 1917. Stolper taught English literature and supervised four other teachers at the local public high school. He also translated material from Yiddish. His letters, which document the gradual deterioration of his relationship with his girlfriend Roxane, reveal little about the community. He describes the school and the teachers, mentioning an acquaintance who taught at the Baron de Hirsch School, and describes giving a public lecture on Kipling to the townspeople. Of particular interest is a letter where he recounts a debate he had with a rabbi about the observance of Yom Kippur, prompted by being told that Roxane, like many nonobservant Jews of the period, had given a party on Yom Kippur eve.