MEMOIRIST: JACOB HAAS
INTERVIEWER: SHARON GREENBLATT
DATE: APRIL 5, 1994
APRIL 26, 1994
LOCATION: ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Transcript (PDF)
BIOGRAPHY
Jacob was born to Edgar and Viola Loeb Haas on February 5, 1910 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a third generation Atlantan. His great-grandfather, also named Jacob Haas, came to the United States with his wife, Jeanetta Hirsch Haas, in 1842 from Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He intended to move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but started peddling in the South and decided to settle there. They ended up finally settling in Marthasville, which later was named Atlanta, and opening a general store.
In 1851, the Jacob Haases (Jacob’s great-grandfather) moved to Philadelphia, never to return. They left the business in charge of their business partner, Herman Levi. Herman later moved to California and the business was closed. The original Jacob’s son, also Jacob Haas (and memoirist Jacob’s grandfather), settled in Tennessee, peddling merchandise until the American Civil War broke out. He came to Atlanta after participating in the retreat of the Confederate Army. He moved to Philadelphia after leaving the Army and married his first cousin, Caroline, daughter of the “family pioneer,” Jacob Haas. The second Jacob Haas and his wife, Caroline, had seven children: Edgar, Leopold, Herbert, Blanche, Clementine, Elsa and Beulah. Edgar was this memoirist’s father.
Jacob grew up on Washington Street, near where home plate in the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was located. Jacob attended Highland Elementary School and Boys’ High School. He graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1929 and received his MBA from Harvard University in 1932. His son and one of his granddaughters also graduated from Harvard.
In 1899, his grandfather (the second Jacob) started a company called Mechanic Brand Overalls, which later merged into Oxford Industries in 1961. The company started by making overalls, but later made army uniforms once World War I started. The memoirist Jacob eventually assumed control of the business until it was sold to Oxford Industries.
Jacob met his wife, Lillian, at a Jewish young people’s event and they married in 1936. Jacob and Lillian had one son, Joe, after suffering three miscarriages. Joe was born while Jacob was in the service. He was born at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC in 1942. Joe became an urologist, married Annette Patoff, and has two daughters, Deni, a Cornell alum and Danielle, the aforementioned Harvard graduate.
As a retiree, Jacob volunteered at Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta with the Dial A Ride program, picking up elderly people and take them to or from doctors. Jacob passed away in 2001.
Scope of Interview
Jacob discusses his family and their roots in the South and their immigration from Germany, settlement in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then Atlanta, Georgia where his great-grandfather (also Jacob) opened a general store with Herman Levi.
Jacob recollects growing up in Atlanta and going to public school. He only faced antisemitism once in high school from one teacher, who was later released. He discusses playing sports, dating, and socializing with Jewish friends.
Jacob recounts one of his earliest memories: living so close to the Fulton County courthouse, he could hear and see all that was going on during the Leo Frank trial. His uncle, Herbert Haas, was one of Mr. Frank’s attorneys. His family was under heavy police security at their home.
Jacob recalls attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and reminisces about Ballyhoo, a three-day party for Jewish youngsters that took place over New Year’s each year. He remembers attending the same type of event in the summer in Montgomery, Alabama, called the ‘Falcon Picnic.’ He described working for the company his grandfather started, Mechanic Brand Overalls, until it merged with Oxford Industries..
Jacob recounts how his family was members of the Temple, where both of his grandfathers were president. His aunt, Beulah, was a Sunday school teacher and his aunt, Clementine, played piano. He spent much of his time at the Standard Club, then called the ‘Concordia Club,’ which his great-grandfather, Jacob, founded. His social circle was made up of Jews and how he played sports with Jews, dated Jewish girls, and joined the Jewish fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. Jacob describes meeting his wife, Lillian, at a social event for Jewish young people.
KEYWORDS
Ahavath Achim—Atlanta, Georgia
Aircraft accidents—Paris, France, 1962
Aldermen
Alexander, Henry Aaron Sr.
Antisemitism
Arthur Murray Dance School—Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta Jewish Community Center—Atlanta, Georgia
Ballyhoo
Bar mitzvah
Bat mitzvah
Battle of Atlanta (Civil War)
Benny, Jack
Birmingham, Alabama
Boehm, Julian
Boys’ High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Buckhead (neighborhood)—Atlanta, Georgia
Buckhead Theater-Atlanta, Georgia
Camp Gordon
Christian Scientists
Christmas
Christmas trees
Civil War, 1961-1965
Clothing industry and trade
Commercial High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Concordia Club—Atlanta, Georgia
Confederate Army
Covington, Georgia
Cyclorama—Atlanta, Georgia
David, O.K.
Dial-A-Ride Transportation (DART)
Eiseman and Weil—Atlanta, Georgia
Eiseman, Joseph
Elsas family
Elsas, Herbert
Empire State Bulding—New York City, New York
Falcon
Frank, Leo
Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill—Atlanta, Georgia
Fulton County Court House—Atlanta, Georgia
Garson, Dan
Gefilte fish
General stores
Georgia Institute of Technology—Atlanta, Georgia
Girls’ High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Goldstein, Julius
Grady High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Grant Park—Atlanta, Georgia
Great Depression
Haas, Aaron (1841-1912)
Haas, Ann Patoff
Haas, Beulah Gertrude (1886-1974)
Haas, Blanche (1872-1956)
Haas, Caroline (1848- )
Haas, Clementine (1875-1956)
Haas, Edgar Arthur (1882-1952)
Haas, Elsa (1879-1965)
Haas, Herbert (1884-1953)
Haas, Ilma Fader
Haas, Jacob (1844-1909)
Haas, Jacob (1910-2001)
Haas, Joseph Arthur (son)
Haas, Joseph (1911-2000)
Haas, Leopold (1877-1958)
Haas, Lillian Goldstein (1913-1992)
Haas, Viola Elizabeth Loeb (1886-1983)
Harvard Road—Atlanta, Georgia
Hanukkah
Harvard University—Law School—Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hebrew Orphans’ Home—Atlanta, Georgia
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany
Highland Avenue—Atlanta, Georgia
Highland Elementary School—Atlanta, Georgia
Hirsch, Joseph
Hirsch, Harold
Holidays, Jewish
Hughes, Charles Evans
Jackson, Georgia
Jewish-Jewish relations
Jewish Educational Alliance—Atlanta, Georgia
Jewish-Gentile relations
Jewish Progressive Club—Atlanta, Georgia
Jewish Welfare Board
Jews, Eastern European
Jews, German
Jubilee
Judaism—Fast and feasts
Judaism—Customs and practices
Ku Klux Klan
Lanier, Sartain
Levi, Herman
Loeb, Lena Meyer
Loeb, Marcus
Loew’s Grand Theatre—Atlanta, Georgia
Lovable Brassiere—Atlanta, Georgia
Lovett School—Atlanta, Georgia
Lynching—Leo Frank
Marcus Loeb Company—Atlanta, Georgia
Marthasville, Georgia
Marx, David (Rabbi)
Maxwell (automobile)
Mayfair Club—Atlanta, Georgia
Mechanic Brand Overalls
Memphis, Tennessee
Milledgeville, Georgia
Montgomery, Alabama
Music appreciation
North Avenue Presbyterian Church School—Atlanta, Georgia
Orthodox Judaism
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Oxford Industries—Atlanta, Georgia
Packard (automobile)
Passover
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Private schools
Public schools
Reform Judaism
Religious education, Jewish
Republican Party
Rich’s—Atlanta, Georgia
Roanoke, Virginia
Rosenberg, Herbert
Roosevelt High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Rothschild, Jacob (Rabbi)
Segregation
Selig, Simon (Steve) Jr.
Soldiers, Jewish
Standard Club—Atlanta, Georgia
Strauss, Beulah Haas (1886-1974)
Strauss, Leo (1884-1935)
Sunday schools
Sutton, Willis A.
Technological High School—Atlanta, Georgia
Temple—Atlanta, Georgia
Tennessee
Tennis
Trials—Leo Frank
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vietnam War
Washington Seminary—Atlanta, Georgia
Washington Street—Atlanta, Georgia
Wein, Lawrence
Wein, Sidney
Westminster School—Atlanta, Georgia
William Breman Jewish Home—Atlanta, Georgia
Wilson, Woodrow (President)
World War, 1914-1918
Zaban Tower—Atlanta, Georgia
Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
Zionism