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Loeb / Blank Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 1003
Finding aid note: Forms part of the Houston Jewish History Archive. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center and requires 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Content Description

One box of correspondence, family history materials, photographs, and publications document the lives of the Loeb/Blank family from 1736-2002.

Dates

  • Creation: 1736 - 2002

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center and requires 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 Loeb/Blank Family 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

Walter Loeb was born in Dusseldorf, Germany on August 16, 1913, to Jakob Loeb and Martha Blank Loeb. He was active in the Jewish Boy Scouts from 1927-1934. In the summer of 1934, Walter was arrested by Stormtroopers, then rescued by a police officer (a friend of the family), and enabled to cross the border into Holland without seeing his family again. He moved to the US in December 1934 and enrolled in night school to improve his English. In the winter of 1938, he met his future wife Florence while on a vacation at Grossinger’s Resort in the Catskills. Both of them coincidentally worked at Macy’s at the time. On April 29, 1938, Walter and Florence were secretly married to facilitate an immigration procedure for Walter’s mother. The couple were married by a Rabbi on August 14, 1938. After several years working at Macy’s, Walter joined the National Department Store Trade Association, as Assistant Manager of the Controller’s Congress, the group’s research division. In 1948, he headed a similar operation at the NRFA, the National Retail Furniture Association. Following a job offer, Walter and his family moved to Houston, Texas, in 1952. Though the position did not work out, Walter eventually joined CONOCO, the Continental Oil Company, as a Research Analyst in Marketing. He worked there for 25 years until his retirement in 1978. Walter passed away in 2000.

Florence Loeb was born on October 7, 1914 in New York City to Philip and Sara Kohl. She worked at Macy’s for several years until the family’s move to Houston. In Texas, Florence worked at Foley’s, becoming a buyer, and later for Craig’s. She passed away on January 14, 2016. Florence and Loeb were both involved in volunteering, particularly at S.E.A.R.C.H (Service of the Emergency Aid Resource Center of Houston). They also funded facilities for elderly citizens and established a college scholarship fund in memory of their late son Douglas.

Douglas Loeb was born on January 25, 1945, in Houston, Texas. He attended Bellaire High School, and was a member of the Explorer Post 190, an Eagle Scout troop, earning the position of president of the Explorer Cabinet of the Boy Scouts for the Buffalo District. He was also a member of the Silverman AZA, B’nai B’rith young men’s organization. Douglas was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1961 and succumbed to the illness on April 10, 1962.

Extent

.50 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

One box of correspondence, family history materials, photographs, and publications document the lives of the Loeb/Blank family from 1736-2002.

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in four series as follows: Series I: Correspondence; Series II: Family History; Series III: General; Series IV: Publications

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Eva Loeb donated the papers in July of 2021.

Source

Title
Guide to the Loeb / Blank Family Papers, 1736-2002
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Davidson
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English, Old (ca.450-1100)
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

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

Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586