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Estelle Panzer Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0917
Finding aid note: Forms part of the Houston Jewish History Archive. Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Content Description

Two boxes containing media and scrapbooks, as well as a digitized oral history interview, document the life of Estelle Panzer from 1980 to 2019.

Dates

  • 1980 - 2019

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Estelle Panzer papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library. The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials. In addition to any restrictions placed by donors, certain kinds of archival materials are restricted for the life of the creator plus 50 years. These materials include, but are not limited to, student grades, transcripts, and any job applications or recommendations.

Biographical / Historical

Estelle Chasnoff was born in Houston and raised in the Pasadena/South Houston area. She grew up attending Beth Yeshurun synagogue with her family. After graduating from South Houston High School, she attended The University of Texas in Austin. While she was in her 20s, she worked as a wage-hour investigator for the Department of Labor. Estelle married Mark Panzer in 1978 and the couple had two children. While her children were young, outside of some musical work, she was a stay-at-home mom.

During that time, Estelle had an idea about creating a board game modeled on Trivial Pursuit, except focused on Jewish trivia. Coincidentally, Estelle's cousin-in-law, Janis Odensky, had the same idea. When they discovered they were both working on a Jewish trivia game, the two joined forces along with Janis's friend, Judy Jordan, and created the Tradition board game in 1985.

The game grew in popularity during the mid-eighties and was sold in department stores across the United States, as well as throughout the United Kingdom and South Africa, even spawning a children's version of the game.

Estelle is an accomplished pianist. She has participated in a variety of productions and worked extensively on events put on by the Jewish Community Center, including as musical director. She is a licensed CPA in Bellaire, Texas.

Extent

1.50 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Two boxes containing media and scrapbooks, as well as a digitized oral history interview, document the life of Estelle Panzer from 1980 to 2019.

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in three series as follows:

Series I: Media; Series II: Scrapbooks; Series III: Oral History

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Estelle Panzer donated the papers in December of 2019.

Related Materials

MS 900, Tradition Board Game Collection

Subjects

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Estelle Panzer Papers, 1980-2019
Status
Completed
Author
Ellie Mandelker
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892