Pick of the Archives
Posted by Julie | Filed under Pick of the Archives
Dr. Babe Shragg has donated a fascinating 80th birthday tribute booklet put together in 1980 to honor his father, Moshe (Morris) Shragowitz, the “Noted Chazan from Kletsk.”
Moshe Shragowitz, a tailor, immigrated from Russia to New York in 1923 with his wife, Eva, and their infant daughter, who died there. Morris and Eva came to Minneapolis in 1924, where their first son, Harry, was born. Robert (“Babe”), Esser, and Sam followed.
On Mother’s Day, 1939, Eva died, leaving Morris with four children, ages 7 to 14, to raise. He worked in his tailor shop by day and came home to cook, wash, and clean. In 1945, Morris married Esther Wittles, and her daughter Barbara, age 7, joined the family. Morris then gave up his tailor shop and became a shamas, at the Morgan Street Shul, Sharei Zedeck. He also worked as a chazzan at High Holy Days services in St. Paul, Superior, Wisconsin; and Edmonton, Alberta.
He opened a second tailor shop in Golden Valley but in 1964 moved to Los Angeles, where all his children, except Babe, had settled. The Shragg children have prospered in fields such as medicine, computer science, and library science.
At the time of his 80th birthday in 1975, Morris had 13 grandchildren and was still actively davening and tailoring.
This charming family history, available to researchers at the Kaplan Family History Center in our Lyle Berman Archives, is full of photographs, beginning in 1910 in Russia. A photograph captioned “The handsome soldier” shows Morris in uniform in 1917. There are pictures of family homes in north Minneapolis and family reunions throughout the years. The booklet is not only a tribute to Moshe Shragowitz, but is also the American story of a family that grew and prospered on the north side of Minneapolis.
Judy Sherman, JHSUM Volunteer
