Exhibit features photographs from post-Civil War
Jewish community
By Nikki Patrick | THE MORNING SUN

When Kate Emmett-Sweetser moved from Pittsburg to Fort Scott several years ago, she became acquainted with her new town and discovered Pine Lawn Jewish Cemetery.

"That got my curiosity going," Emmett-Sweetser said. "Why is there a Jewish cemetery in a town with no Jewish community?"

Her researches have resulted in an exhibit, "The Jewish Legacy of Fort Scott," at the Lowell Milken Center. The exhibit, which had a special VIP showing on Wednesday, features numerous photographs from the thriving Jewish community that lived in Fort Scott in the years following the Civil War.

"The American Jewish experience extends beyond Brooklyn," Emmett-Sweetser said. "Nearly every town in the midwest had Jewish merchants. They made life more bearable on the frontier, especially for the women."

The Jewish community in Fort Scott was prosperous and well accepted. "They were among the first members of the country club," Emmett-Sweetser said. "In 1878, Fort Scott had a Jewish mayor, Morris Cohen. These people were the movers and shakers of their day."

Those with Pittsburg ties include the Degen family. Frances Degen married Cedrick Cheek, and their son, the late Davis Cheek, was a Pittsburg dentist for many years. "His stepdaughter, Michelle DeGasperi, was my classmate at Pittsburg High School," Emmett-Sweetser said.

Gustave Loew, a cigar maker, never married but lived with his sister, Julia, and her husband, Joe Smith. "This was the Joe Smith Tobacco Co. started in Pittsburg," Emmett-Sweetser said.

One of the photos in the exhibit includes Grace Aronson Schlanger, wife of Julius Schlanger, a prominent Pittsburg businessman. Schlanger Park was named in his honor.

Fort Scott never had a synagogue, and services were usually held in private homes. However, Pine Lawn Jewish Cemetery was established in 1870.

"Of the 170 marked graves there, about half are from Fort Scott," Emmett-Sweetser said. "The rest represented Jews from surrounding towns, including Galena, Baxter Springs, Parsons and Pleasanton. Pine Lawn served as a regional cemetery because, although almost every town in southeast Kansas had at least one or two Jewish families, Fort Scott was the only place with a Jewish burial society and cemetery."

She said that a rabbi from Kansas City officiated at funerals, and also performed weddings. In 1966 the Hebrew Relief Society transferred ownership of Pine Lawn to the Fort Scott Cemetery Association. The cemetery is still active, but there have been only three burials there in the last 20 years.

Norm Conard, Lowell Milken Center director, praised Emmett-Sweetser's work. "When Kate came to us, the question was, ‘Is there a Jewish past in Fort Scott?'," he said. "This area is blessed with history in many ways."

The Jewish exhibit, one of four at the center, will remain on view for the coming year. Anyone needing additional information may call the Lowell Milken Center at 620-223-9991.