Missing History: Jewish Life in Western North Carolina

Join the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) Thursday, May 19, at 6PM. This program airs live via Zoom.

Little has been documented about the Jewish history of Western North Carolina, yet clues are all around us. Jews could be found in many towns including Brevard, Hendersonville, Statesville, Asheville, Rosman, Boone, Blowing Rock, Franklin, Sylva, Little Switzerland, Valle Crucis, Marion, Canton. Bryson City, Robbinsville, and Waynesville. Why did they come? What did they do? What is their lasting legacy? Join us for some answers.

This event is co-sponsored by Jewish Heritage North Carolina, the only statewide organization dedicated to collect, preserve and present the history of the Jewish people of our State. “To serve our mission we honor our history, celebrate our culture, and connect our communities.”

About the Speaker:

Sharon Fahrer is a recovered New Yorker with a background in geography and urban planning. She and her husband were drawn to Asheville by its wonderful historic neighborhoods. For 25 years they lived in an 1896 house they restored in Montford. In 2003 she co-founded History@Hand with Jan Schochet to reveal the history of  Asheville’s Jewish businesses creating a book and an exhibit titled The Family Store a History of Jewish Businesses in Downtown Asheville from 1880-1990. Since then she has continued to research and produce history panels which are installed: along the French Broad River about Wilma Dykeman (not currently on display), downtown Asheville, bus shelters along Montford Avenue,  on the campus of UNC Asheville, in the Osher Life Long Learning Institute, the ASheVille museum (no longer open), Asheville Museum of Science, Asheville Community Theater (ACT), Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, the Dry Ridge Museum in Weaverville, and the Sprinza Weizenblatt Gallery on the campus of Mars Hill University.

She has also written two other books The Man Who Lived on Main Street about Sol Shulman of Sylva (coauthored with Jan Schochet) and A Home in Shalomville. the History of Asheville’s Jewish Community. The latter book received the 2016 Bob Terrill book award from the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society. Sharon created the Jewish Museum without Walls highlighting locations which are part of Asheville’s Jewish history. In 2003 she started the Montford Music and Arts Festival. Currently she leads walking tours in downtown on architecture and history and also the Family Store, Montford, Riverside Cemetery and Biltmore Village in Asheville. Currently she is serving on the Buncombe County Remembrance Project research committee, the boards of Jewish Heritage North Carolina, Friends of Buncombe County Special Collections, and the Wilma Dykeman Legacy. Her work can be seen on her website: www.history-at-hand.com

Tickets: $5 for WNCHA members/ $10 for General Admission. We also have no-cost, community-funded tickets available. We want our events to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you are able please consider making a donation along with your ticket purchase. These donations are placed in our Community Fund, which allows us to offer tickets at no cost to those who would not be able to attend otherwise.

Viewing: Registrants will receive a Zoom link with which to view the program. It will also be recorded and later available on our website.

(Images: Ada and Lou Pollock Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville 28804)

Western North Carolina Historical Association received an American Rescue Plan Humanities Grant from North Carolina Humanities, www.nchumanities.org. Funding for this grant was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act economic stabilization plan. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of North Carolina Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.