⇒ PDF The Harness Maker Dream Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas Nick Kotz 9780875655673 Books

The Harness Maker Dream Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas Nick Kotz 9780875655673 Books

Download As PDF : The Harness Maker Dream Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas Nick Kotz 9780875655673 Books

The Harness Maker Dream Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas Nick Kotz 9780875655673 Books

Nick Kotz's grandfather and my grandfather were both harness makers (along with other kinds of leather work), at about the same time. Hence, when I learned about Nick's book, I was interested to read about another harness maker beginning the trade near the turn of the century. The harness making is a relatively small part of the story for Grandpa Nathan Kallison, a Jewish immigrant; that part is the beginning years of what became a much more involved business enterprise in San Antonio, Texas.
Nathan and two brothers were, early on, apprenticed to leather workers in Czarist Russia, due to the prescience of their mother. Leatherwork was apparently regarded as beneath the ordinary non-Jewish Russian, and was thereby labeled as a permissible occupation for the persecuted Jews. The boys escaped Russia at the time of Czarist pograms, and by then were able to take their developing craft to America. Having such a developing skill as an immigrant was a grand bit of luck for the Kallisons, even though their apprenticeship was unfinished.
At a time when the modes of transportation, particularly personal transportation, were almost exclusively equine associated, one can perhaps imagine how important that made the harness maker. Like livery stables and ice houses, nearly every town of any size had to have at least one. The wheels of commerce depended on it.
Nathan began his new life in a West Side Chicago Ghetto, dense with other immigrants, in 1890. A relative helped him settle. It was an area of squalor, and at first he delivered milk. but soon he found a job in a small harness shop. Harness shops were plentiful in the big city environs. By 1894 he was able to open his own harness shop, signifying he was now qualified to be on his own. He married in 1895.
My own grandfather was the son of German immigrants in Wisconsin. He was born in 1870, three years before Nathan's 1873 birth date. In 1902 he married, and he and his wife moved to Paonia, Colorado, an obscure area of coal mines and farming and ranching. After working as a farm hand, then trying the saloon business (ended by town vote to go dry), he went into business with a local harness maker, in 1906. Apparently he knew something about this skill, having grown up on a dairy farm, but likely got his more thorough training by doing the job with his more experienced partner.
In 1908 he moved his family to small town Cortez, Colorado, where he opened his own harness shop. He also crafted western style custom boots, repaired shoes and saddles and other leather goods. He became a well regarded craftsman, like Nathan Kallison. He continued this occupation until 1928, when he succumbed to a brain tumor.
I was especially interested in the parallels of these two early harness makers, working at the same time. This is a small part of this lengthy story of a large and successful family in early San Antonio. Beyond the harness making for Nathan Kallison, the book is a very interesting history of the Kallison family, well researched and well written. Kudos to Nick Kotz for his masterful recounting of this historic account.


Tags : The Harness Maker's Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas [Nick Kotz] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>Both historical study and ancestral narrative, <I>The Harness Maker’s Dream</I> follows the story of Ukrainian immigrant Nathan Kallison’s journey to the United States in search of a brighter future. At the turn of the twentieth century,Nick Kotz,The Harness Maker's Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas,Texas Christian University Press,087565567X,Cultural Heritage,Jewish - General,United States - State & Local - Southwest,Businessmen - Texas - San Antonio,Businessmen;Texas;San Antonio;Biography.,Jews, Russian - Texas - San Antonio,Jews, Russian;Texas;San Antonio;Biography.,Kallison family,Kallison, Nathan,Ranchers - Texas - Bexar County,Ranchers;Texas;Bexar County;Biography.,San Antonio (Tex.),Autobiography: general,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Cultural, Ethnic & Regional General,Bexar County,Biography,Biography & AutobiographyCultural, Ethnic & Regional - General,Businessmen,General Adult,HISTORY Jewish,HISTORY United States State & Local Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX),History,History - General History,HistoryUnited States - State & Local - Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX),HistoryWorld,History: World,Jewish,Jews, Russian,Non-Fiction,Ranchers,San Antonio,Texas,UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States,United States - State & Local - Southwest,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Cultural, Ethnic & Regional General,Biography & AutobiographyCultural, Ethnic & Regional - General,HISTORY Jewish,HISTORY United States State & Local Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX),HistoryUnited States - State & Local - Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX),History - General History,Bexar County,Biography,Businessmen,Jews, Russian,Ranchers,San Antonio,Texas,History,History: World,Autobiography: general

The Harness Maker Dream Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas Nick Kotz 9780875655673 Books Reviews

Very interesting especially for a NY transplant in 1960s to San Antonio.

Both sides of my family came Ukraine/Lithuania in the same period and made their way to Wisconsin where relatives started to flourish.
This book reminds us about the dreams that made America great and at a moment when many in Congress would ignore Lady Liberty’s lifting her lamp beside the golden door. The author has spun a marvelous yarn about how his grandfather Nathan Kallison made a hair-raising escape from Russian prejudice and persecution and went on to build a department store and 1700-acre ranch and help make San Antonio a welcoming multicultural community and put South Texas on the map. Many of us have wonderful family stories but this Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author makes his come alive for all of us. I am a friend. But I suspect that the book’s endorsers — Jim Lehrer, Bob Schieffer, Dan Rather and Ken Burns — would all tell you how easy it was to be enthusiastic about anything that Nick Kotz has written.
Well I suppose I was expecting this book to read more of a historical fiction, but it is definitely a biography style writing of Nathan kallison and his descendants. It provides a deep rich history of early Jewish settlers in America and leaves the reader wanting to run to the nearest computer to start their own family history search.
I enjoyed this novel to the highest. Mainly for one or more reasons. First, it
was well written. In spite of the fact this book was written in a rather detailed and elaborate manner, it nevertheless was not boring because of the
manner and mastery in which it was written. This is, I'm sure is some sort of gift.This book, as well as all the other books that the author has written contains this"page turners" style. I like this one in particular because it is a deviation from the political books that the author has written in the past.This one is a human interest autobiographical book which came as a complete and welcome surprise. One other thing that makes the reader feel as though he can see and feel the characters and events is that the author has
pictures of family and places which makes it all the more to appreciate the manner in which the writer delivered it. M. Newsom
Noted Pulitzer winning author Nick Kotz delves into his own family's history, beginning in Russia at a time when their lives were endangered by Pogroms. He follows their progress to Chicago's overcrowded slums as they make the decision to move to San Antonio. He shows their determination to build a different and better life for their family. He shows their major contributions to the development of San Antonio and South Texas. Along the way, he chronicles the history of the Jewish community of San Antonio against the backdrop of two world wars and the Great Depression. It is a fascinating and uplifting story seldom told, backed by Nick's extensive experience as a researcher to uncover the stories his family never shared.
I really was interested in reading this book about the Kallison's and Texas in the 1800's.
The only problem was by the time I read to the middle of the book, it seemed to repeat a lot.
I then had to put it down for a few weeks and go back to it.
The first half was very informative and I enjoyed it, the second half dragged on a bit for me.
Seems they could have done a better job editing.
All in all I gave it 4 stars.
The story of the Kallison family's contributions to the development of San Antonio should be required reading for those of us who live here and never knew of their part in making this the city that it is. I had the pleasure of living next door to Perry and Frances Kallison and enjoying their friendship. During the years that we were neighbors and friends Perry and Frances never talked of their accomplishments. They were extremely modest about themselves, yet accomplished much to benefit other people. It is a great pleasure to read a book that touches on the lives of many people I knew and admired.
Nick Kotz's grandfather and my grandfather were both harness makers (along with other kinds of leather work), at about the same time. Hence, when I learned about Nick's book, I was interested to read about another harness maker beginning the trade near the turn of the century. The harness making is a relatively small part of the story for Grandpa Nathan Kallison, a Jewish immigrant; that part is the beginning years of what became a much more involved business enterprise in San Antonio, Texas.
Nathan and two brothers were, early on, apprenticed to leather workers in Czarist Russia, due to the prescience of their mother. Leatherwork was apparently regarded as beneath the ordinary non-Jewish Russian, and was thereby labeled as a permissible occupation for the persecuted Jews. The boys escaped Russia at the time of Czarist pograms, and by then were able to take their developing craft to America. Having such a developing skill as an immigrant was a grand bit of luck for the Kallisons, even though their apprenticeship was unfinished.
At a time when the modes of transportation, particularly personal transportation, were almost exclusively equine associated, one can perhaps imagine how important that made the harness maker. Like livery stables and ice houses, nearly every town of any size had to have at least one. The wheels of commerce depended on it.
Nathan began his new life in a West Side Chicago Ghetto, dense with other immigrants, in 1890. A relative helped him settle. It was an area of squalor, and at first he delivered milk. but soon he found a job in a small harness shop. Harness shops were plentiful in the big city environs. By 1894 he was able to open his own harness shop, signifying he was now qualified to be on his own. He married in 1895.
My own grandfather was the son of German immigrants in Wisconsin. He was born in 1870, three years before Nathan's 1873 birth date. In 1902 he married, and he and his wife moved to Paonia, Colorado, an obscure area of coal mines and farming and ranching. After working as a farm hand, then trying the saloon business (ended by town vote to go dry), he went into business with a local harness maker, in 1906. Apparently he knew something about this skill, having grown up on a dairy farm, but likely got his more thorough training by doing the job with his more experienced partner.
In 1908 he moved his family to small town Cortez, Colorado, where he opened his own harness shop. He also crafted western style custom boots, repaired shoes and saddles and other leather goods. He became a well regarded craftsman, like Nathan Kallison. He continued this occupation until 1928, when he succumbed to a brain tumor.
I was especially interested in the parallels of these two early harness makers, working at the same time. This is a small part of this lengthy story of a large and successful family in early San Antonio. Beyond the harness making for Nathan Kallison, the book is a very interesting history of the Kallison family, well researched and well written. Kudos to Nick Kotz for his masterful recounting of this historic account.