THE REFORMI ADVOCATE.

EMIL G. HIRSCH, Editor   CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.  BLOCH & NEWMAN. Publishers


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HISTORY OF THE JEWS OF LA CROSSE

                                   By ARMAND TUTEUR.







               The Jewish Community of La Crosse.


   With the coming of John Meyer Levy in the year
 1845, the history of the Jewish community of La
 Crosse was begun. La Crosse is situated at the con-
 fluence of the La Crosse and Black rivers with the
 beautiful Mississippi, which at that time was not the
 navigable river which  it was destined to become.
 And it is of interest to know the reason for Mr.
 Levy's coming to such a fertile county. In 1844, after
 he had settled at Prairie du Chien for a short time,
 Mr. Levy was induced by a Samuel Snow, who, find-
 ing him quite unw\ell during one of his visits, said:
 "If you will move up there with me I will divide with
 you, and am sure you will never get sick in such a
 place." Levy accepted, and in the summer of 1845,
 the two men came through by team, they being the
 first white men to make such a trip. For the first
 three years after Levy's arrival the settlement re-
 mained nearly stationary and neither Jew nor Chris-
.tian joined them. The first religious services were
ield in Levy's house in which all denominations were
represented. Mr. Levy had a wide range of occupa-
tion, but was chiefly engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness. He was elected mayor three times and was for
eight years an alderman, looking well for the inter-
ests of his people. Some years later Henry Gutman
came to La Crosse to engage in the clothing business,
continuing for years. He also took a prominent part'
in the industrial growth of La Crosse. His cousin,
Joseph Gutman, who at present is the oldest pioneer
Jewish citizen in the city, followed him closely and
arrived here about 1856. He entered business with
his brothers, Morris and Sigmund, and the firm later
became known as Gutman Brothers, a clothing store
known for miles around this section of the northwest.
The firm is no longer in existence. That same year
other Jewish people commenced coming. The fam-
ilies that attained prominence in the business indus-
tries and likewise established social, religious and


philanthropic institutions previous to the Civil War
were the Hirshheimers, the Tuteurs, the Scharpfs,
the Langstads, the Bergers, Gutmans, Cantrovitzs,
Patzs and others.
  In May, 1857, at the house of I. Cantrovitz, a gath-
ering of Jewish families was held and the Anshe
Chesed congregation was organized. The first offi-
cers were L. Hirshheimer, president; Isaac Tuteur,
vice-president; W. Scharpf, secretary. Both   Mr.
Hirshheimer and Mr. Tuteur, old honored residents,
are dead. The organization prospered for several
years, but as its number of paying members was lim-
ited, the society languished in its activity. A revival
took place, and off and on the Anshe Chesed
has been in a flourishing condition. The work which
some of the Jewish members have in those years ac-
complished, in many other denominations would be
considered a great personal sacrifice. When, even at
this day, that the congregation has no more than a
handful of paying members, it is not surprising that
it has no regular paid minister, and is obliged to de-
pend on the voluntary services of some of its mem-
bers, generally Joseph Gutnman and Albert Hirsh-
heimer. The late I. Cantrovitz and A. Patz and Bar-
ney L. Strouse also officiated at their religious cer-
emonies when they lived. The present officers are
Albert Hirshheimer, president; Joseph Gutman, vice-
president; Morris E. Tuteur, treasurer, and Bernard
Bloom, secretary.
  Shortly after this society was organized, an acre
of ground for a cemetery was purchased. The plat,
although sniallfcompared to that of other cemeteries
in the city, is a spot of beauty and is modernly equip-
ped and well kept. Some 10 and 15 years ago, the
late Simon Steinman of New York, in memory of his
beloved wife, Fanny Steinman, donated an ornamen'tal
iron fence which surrounds the entire grounds. The
officers of the cemetery association are Albert Hirsh-