Introduction
Ellis Goodman, Camden realtor and civic leader, circa 1950
ELLIS GOODMAN was born April 24, 1898. He opened his real estate office in Camden NJ at 515 Market Street in Camden NJ in 1926. He moved his business to 427 Market Street sometime in the 1950s. He also was involved in insurance, and was the president of the Kaighn Saving and Loan Association. Ellis Goodman was also an active member of Camden and South Jersey’s Jewish community. He was a director of Congregation Beth El, on Park Boulevard across from Farnham Park, and an officer of the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Zionist Organization of America.
Congregation Beth El, by William M. Hoffman, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University
Ellis Goodman lived during the 1940s and 1950s at 2596 Baird Boulevard in Camden NJ. He lived in Cherry Hill NJ in the latter years of his life. He passed away in September of 1982.
Ellis Goodman was married to Lillian Rosengarten, daughter of Robert Rosengarten, who was partners in Dewees & Rosengarten, a typewriter and business machine sales company on Market Street. Lillian Rosengarten Goodman carried the Ellis Goodman realty business forward until her retirement in 2004.
Her Marriage Announced
Camden Courier-Post
Mrs. Goodman before her marriage on Saturday, June 19, was Miss Lillian Rosengarten, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rosengarten, of 1125 Langham avenue, this city. The ceremony was performed by Rabbi Solomon H. Metz, of Washington, D. C. Mr. Goodman is active in Camden civic and fraternal circles, being a member of the Camden County Real Estate Board and a director of the Joint Taxation Committee. He is a past president of the B’nai Brith. With his bride he will reside at 2596 Baird boulevard.
Reflections from Robert M. Rosengarten
My Uncle Ellis Goodman’s real estate and insurance business was at 427 Market from approximately 1950 to 1995. My Aunt Lillian Goodman retired officially a few weeks ago. Prior to 1950, Uncle Ellis was at 515 Market. I think he had the building there since 1926 when he went into business.
That fancy marble on the 427 Market façade was custom ordered by my Uncle Ellis when he refurbished the building before moving into it. Aunt Lillian said there was some extra put aside just in case it got damaged. Someone did run into that building damaging a piece last year but the money the insurance company offered to fix it wouldn’t touch the cost of repairs, even with the spare marble.
Ellis Goodman was quite a philanthropist. He was a wealthy man but lived fairly conservatively. It is safe to say he contributed millions of dollars to the Zionist movement. I really wish I’d gotten to know him better, but when you’re a kid you aren’t interested in the same things you are at age 50. Hell of a guy and dearly loved by the Camden Rosengartens!
Uncle Ellis never spoke much of his childhood, but I guess I never asked. I know he came to the United States by way of Toronto, Ontario. He and I were looking at an atlas once as he tried to show me how he got to Camden. I am not sure why Camden— probably he knew someone there. I am guessing it may have been a brother, Morris Goodman who had come to the United States earlier and was in the Philadelphia-Camden area.
Most of Uncle Ellis’s family perished in the Holocaust. One sister survived and went to Israel. I don’t think he knew exactly what happened till the late 1940s. Aunt Lil said someone in Philadelphia had all the information and they went to see this person. She said she was so scared as she didn’t know how Uncle Ellis would react. Two brothers were killed and the one sister escaped into the woods. I guess she lived in the woods and foraged for food at night. I am sure it was at that time my uncle became immersed in the Zionist movement.
— Robert M. Rosengarten, November 2005
Camden B’nai B’rith to Install Officer
Camden Courier-Post —
Meyer L. Sakin will be installed president for 1928 of Camden Lodge, No. 915, Independent Order B’nai B’rith, at a meeting to be held Sunday evening, January 8 at 7 o’clock at the Hotel Walt Whitman.
The lodge will be addressed by Rabbi William H. Fineshriber, of Keneseth Israel Temple, who will talk on “Jewish Youth” and by Rabbi Nachman S. Arnoff, of Beth-el Synagogue.
Judge Joseph Siegler, of Newark, and Max Drob, of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, Philadelphia, have been invited to attend.
The past president’s certificate will be presented to Lewis Liberman, by Joseph Varbalow, assistant prosecuter [sic] of Camden county. Sakin will be installed by Herman Moskowitz, of Philadelphia.
Plans are being made by Camden Lodge for the annual banquet and dance which will be held March 25. Addresses will be delivered by the noted lawyer, Aaron Sapiro, of Chicago and New York; Judge John A. Matthews, of Newark; Rabbi Louis Wolsey, of Rodeph Sholom Temple, Philadelphia, and Judge Joseph L. Kun, of Common Pleas Court No. 1, Philadelphia.
Dr. Leopold Goldstein, state deputy of New Jersey I. O. B. B., will serve as toastmaster. The committee consists of Meyer L. Sakin, Fred Siris, J. E. Brown, H. James, A. E. Friedberg, Dr. D. E. Cooper, H. Odlen and Dr. Hyman I. Goldstein. The last named is chairman.
New members recently admitted to Camden Lodge are Maurice B. Wessel, Samuel Varbalow, Ellis Goodman and Benjamin Shindler, all of Camden.
Phila. Rabbi Urges Freedom for Youth
Camden Courier-Post —
B’nai B’rith Told Secrecy is Only Result of Prohibitions
Freedom for youth brings its own antidote and makes for better citizenship than repression, Rabbi William H. Fineshriber, of Keneseth Israel Synagogue, Philadelphia, last night told members of Camden Lodge, No. 915, Independent Order of B’nai B’rith.
Rabbi Fineshriber addressed members, wives and friends at the formal installation of officers of the lodge in Hotel Walt Whitman.
Meyer L. Sakin, youthful attorney, was sworn in as president, succeeding Lewis Liberman, likewise an attorney.
The boy of yesterday was forbidden to do many things, Rabbi Fineshriber declared, but the prohibitions had no other effect than to drive him to secrecy. Modern child education teaches parents to permit the boy or girl greater latitude in movement and habits.
He pointed out that the freedom on the part of youth teaches him to eschew bad habits in time and to continue the good habits. Good citizenship requires self-repression rather than forced prohibition.
Rabbi Archie Davidson, local rabbi, mildly disagreed with his Philadelphia colleague. Davidson warmly welcomed Rabbi Nachman Arnoff, newly-elected rabbi of Beth-El Synagogue, to the city and bestowed his best wishes upon the new officers of the B’nai B’rith lodge.
Harry Moskowitz, Philadelphia, represented the Grand Lodge and installed the new officers. Besides Sakin they are Dr. David S. Cooper, vice president; Harry W. Markowich, secretary; Dr. Leopold Goldstein, assistant secretary; Herman Odlen, treasurer; Fred Siris, financial secretary; Max Liberman, monitor; Hyman James, assistant monitor; Nathan Friedenberg, warden; A. Edward Friedberg, guardian; Louis Cades, Abraham Fuhrman and Louis Tarter, trustees.
The new board of governors consists of Bernard Blank, Dr. Samuel Blank, Jacob E. Brown, Dr. Reuben L. Cutler, Israel Eisenberg, Dr. Alexander Ellis, Dr. S. Goldman, Dr. Hyman I. Goldstein, Israel Heine, Emmanuel Kun, Dr. William Laub, Jack Naden, Max Peck, Dr. D. N. Rappaport, Sig. Schoenagle, Samuel Shane, Dr. Isadore S. Siris, Dr. Samuel S. Tomkins, Joseph Varbalow, Benjamin Weinberg, Meyer Wessel, Maurice B. Wessel and Ellis Goodman.
Liberman presided as toastmaster. Dr. Hyman I. Goldstein, New Jersey State Deputy; Assistant Prosecutor Varbalow and Sakin addressed the members and guests.
Richards Opens Camden Quarters
Camden Courier-Post —
Jack Weinberg in Charge of Senator’s Campaign for Governor Here
Camden campaign headquarters for State Senator Emerson L. Richards, one of the four candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, was opened yesterday in the Hotel Walt Whitman building on the Broadway side.
At the same time, Jack Weinberg, who is supervising the campaign of Senator Richards in Camden, announced a committee of 50 business and professional men of Camden county who will aid him. Weinberg stated a similar committee of women will be announced later this week.
A speakers’ committee is being formed by Edward Martino, Camden attorney, and will meet at headquarters Friday morning. Distribution of Richards campaign material has been started and speakers will begin a tour of the city and county this weekend.
Weinberg has been an active figure in Republican politics in this city for many years. In 1927, he took a prominent part in settling factional differences that existed between State Senator Albert S. Woodruff, former U. S. Senator David Baird, Jr., and Mrs. Elizabeth C. Verga. Weinberg was in charge of the Republican headquarters in that campaign which resulted in the election of the Price-Smith-Sayrs-Reesman-Rhone ticket. He has been an adherent of the Republican organization all his life.
It was because of his personal friendship with Senator Richards that Weinberg agreed to supervise his campaign here. It was at Weinberg’s request that Senator Richards introduced the Sunday sports and amusements bill in the 1933 legislature.
Richards will make two or three speeches in Camden county next week. Noon-day meetings also will be held in the headquarters every day beginning Monday, according to Weinberg.
Weinberg announced the personnel of the general committee as follows: Former Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese, Jack Reiners, L. Scott Cherchesky, Carl Kisselman, Barney Brown, Benjamin Asbell, Eugene Verga, Jay Remington, William D. Sayrs, Jr., Neil Deighan, former Police Captain Charles T. Humes, Meyer Adelman, James Roberts, Neil Zeidman, Dr. Marvin Segal, Byron Edwards, Ellis Goodman, Edward Callow, Morris Bloom, Milton D. Sweiger, Horace Acco, Abe Lippman, William Mead, Ellis Kircher, George B. Ulizio, R. L. Brest, Henry Jones, Samuel Lippman, John McCarroll, Anthony Balatesta, William Kelly, E. L. Kappel, William Felt, James McCarroll, Herman Greenberg, John Sappio, Benjamin Hardy, Joseph Fuhrman, Harry Chew, George Maggee, John Frost, George Smith, John Weber, Frank Evans, R. Radcliff, John Plum and William Udell.
Committee Studies Tax Rate to Learn of Possible Saving
Camden Courier-Post —
Group Plans Annual Award for High School Essays on Civic Rule
2 MEMBERS PLEDGE $50
Analysis of the 1936 Camden city tax rate of $4.30 to discover to what extent costs of various municipal functions and services are having upon the rate is being made by the Joint Taxation Committee.
The committee is composed of delegates of the Camden County Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Board and League of Building and Loan Associations.
The study, said Carl Evered, chairman, is to guide the committee in discovering what expenses may be “out of line” and suggest means whereby economies could be effected. The study will be complete and reported in two weeks.
The committee, meeting yesterday in the assembly room of the Chamber of Commerce in the Broadway-Stevens Building, discussed plans for the establishment of an annual high school award or scholarship for the best essay upon questions of city and county government.
“Local civic education can make a tax-conscious electorate, and I think the place to start getting such an electorate is through some sort of program in the schools,” said Ellis Goodman.
The plan was proposed by Evered, who offered $25 toward the project, and was matched with a like sum by Goodman. A committee will make recommendations for a definite project.
NOTED RABBI SPEAKS IN CAMDEN TONIGHT
Camden Courier-Post —
Jewish Community to Fete Dr. Goldstein, President of Palestine Fund
Rabbi Israel Goldstein, of New York, president of the Jewish National Fund of America, will speak tonight at a mass meeting at the Hotel Walt Whitman, in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Jewish National Fund.
Preceding the meeting, he will be the guest at a dinner tendered by members of the Jewish community here.
Leon H, Rose, Camden attorney, who is president of the Jewish National Fund Council of Southern New Jersey, will be toastmaster. Rabbis N. H. J. Riff and Philip L. Lipis [of Congregation Beth El] will speak.
Dr. Goldstein is rabbi of Congregation B’nai Jeshrun, and active in Jewish communal, civic and interfaith movements. He is a member of the New York Regional Relations Board and of the National Executive Committee on Workers and Farmers Rights, and president of the Jewish Conciliation Court of America. The Jewish National Fund of America, of which he is head, has for its purpose the purchase of land in Palestine.
Those at the dinner will include:
David Breslau, Ben Zion Steinberg, Isaac Singer, Mrs. Samuel Kaplan, Mrs. Abraham Kaplan, Samuel Varbalow, Meyer Adelman, E. George Aaron, Jacob Leventon, Jesse Satenstein, Lewis Liberman, A. J. Rosenfeld, Judge Joseph Varbalow, Elias Klein, Mark Marritz, Albert B. Melnik, Dr. Samuel H. Blank, Barney B. Brown, Jacob Naden, Samuel Ginns, Ernest Dubin, Ellis Goodman, Leon Naden, Louis Rovner, Joseph Ruttenberg. Morris Liebman, Albert Caplan, Lester Abrahamer, I. J. Milask, Isadore H. Hermann, Milton C. Nurock, Harry Trautenberg, Manuel Winigrad, Hanan Yarden, Morris Drob and Mrs. Dora E. Rose.
Willson Says Busiest Month Was in November ‘Recession’
Camden Courier-Post —
Realtor Sees Defeat of ‘Lawyer’s Bill’ as Feather in Cap of Board — PREDICTS SLUMP WILL END IN APRIL
Harry A. Willson, who recently retired as president of the Camden County Real Estate Board, wants the world to know that he is one of those “who is selling Camden and Uncle Sam long.”
In other words, the Camden realtor says he didn’t know the real meaning of “recession” in 1937, that November was his best month, and that by the middle of April, 1938, he expects to see “things humming and business okeh everywhere again.”
“We had a busy year in 1937,” declared Willson, speaking both as an official and a businessman. “And we had a good year in business and I want to say that November was the best month that I had, when everybody was talking about this recession.”
“The biggest accomplishment of the year for the real estate board was the defeat of the bill which would permit only lawyers to negotiate real estate transaction. It was the so-called ‘lawyers’ bill.’
“Under its provision no realtor would have been allowed even to draw an agreement of sale. We know that there are negotiations that require a lawyer’s services, but we realtors feel we are fully capable of making an agreement of sale, drawing a lease and making a settlement.”
Realtors Capable
“The majority of the realtors of Camden have a good technical working knowledge of the law. For myself I’ve been a member of the bar since 1912, and I know scores of other real estate men who are not only learned in the law, but are as capable of handling legal matters in their business as any member of the bar.
“We consider that victory as perhaps the largest feather in our cap for the year. But we’re proud that we moved into decent headquarters as well.
“We have headquarters now at 421 Cooper Street, with an executive secretary in charge at all times. It is a headquarters worthy and fitting for a group of businessmen with the personnel and extensive interests of the real estate board.
“We are now able to issue a weekly bulletin, ‘The Realtor,’ which we send to the real estate men of the county, to various Chambers of Commerce and to other interests vitally concerned about real estate.
“I think the real estate board has been of great help in solving municipal problems, too. Carl Evered has been aiding in the matter of direct taxation and Ellis Goodman, on his committee on public parks and beautification has rendered a splendid service to Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, who has charge of that department.
Sign Nuisance Abated
“Their joint efforts have resulted in ridding the boulevards of unsightly signs that were bad advertising for the city. Goodman and his committee also aided in the movement that rid the city of buildings that were unsightly, and standing, gave Camden a bad reputation abroad.
“So far as business is concerned I know that my business in 1937 was swell. I feel that the realtors would say the same thing, if each of them was asked regarding their business. November was my best month of the year.
“It is a fact that early last Spring houses were occupied to such a great extent that it was impossible to get a house to rent. During the fall this demand slackened off, but I haven’t one fault to find with business during 1937, and I think that things will be all right this year.
“I look to see this recession come to an end in mid-April. I expect you’ll see things popping then. The New York Shipbuilding Corporation should be right in the thick of its work building those two new naval vessels by that time.
“The working force should be recruited to its full strength by that time, and that means money will be pouring into the city and business is bound to leap upward.
“I know, too, there is a more optimistic feeling at the R.C.A., and in that industry they expect to see business starting upward in marked fashion in the Spring.”
“Altogether, speaking as an officer of the real estate board and a business man as well, I haven’t fault to find with 1937, and I’m still selling Camden and Uncle Sam long.”
Ellis Goodman
Camden Courier-Post —
Who has been in business here for 24 years at the same location, 515 Market street, thinks if Camden’s tax rates were equalized with those in Philadelphia, it would encourage Philadelphians to settle here.
Goodman, who attended a course in real estate appraisal at Temple University, is president of Ellis Goodman & Co., a director of the Camden County Real Estate Board, vice president, Society of Residential Appraisers, and of Chapter 1, New Jersey Property Managers. He also is a director of the Camden County Insurance Agents Association, since he operates an insurance business in conjunction with real estate and mortgage financing.
He is a director of the Federation of Jewish Charities, vice president of the New Jersey Region, Zionist Organization of America, and a director of the national board of the Zionists, a director of Congregation Beth-El, and numerous other organizations. He is president of the Kaighn Savings & Loan Association. Goodman lives at 2596 Baird boulevard.