Guide to the Papers of Nathan H. Kaufman, 1925-1990

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of Nathan H. Kaufman
Creator
Fairchild Family
Collection Number
MSS#5
Extent
4.25 cubic feet (9 boxes)
Date
1925-1990
Abstract
Nathan H. Kaufman (1910-) is well known throughout the Pittsburgh area for his numerous athletic, professional, and charitable achievements. These papers include biographical information, correspondence, personal scrapbooks, organizational files and other sundry material.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Keith Parrish on March 1, 1993. papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Susan J. Illis on March 1, 1993. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Summer, 2001.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of Nathan H. Kaufman

Nathan H. Kaufman (1910-) is well known throughout the Pittsburgh area for his numerous athletic, professional, and charitable achievements. He was born to Samuel Kaufman and Mary Feldman in Brooklyn, New York on January 2, 1910, the oldest of five children. In 1918, the Kaufmans moved to the Pittsburgh Hill District, an area of large Jewish population at the turn of the century. During difficult economic times, Mary Kaufman earned extra money by peddling linens door-to-door. Mary was such a successful entrepreneur that she was able to help Samuel start his own grocery business on Clark Street. Later, Mary and her youngest son, Saul, opened a toy store in Bloomfield.

Nathan developed an early interest in athletics, particularly swimming. He taught himself to swim at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS), an important recreational, cultural, and athletic institution located on Centre Avenue on the Hill. At the age of fifteen, Nathan saved a man from drowning at the Oakmont Beach. He passed the Junior Life Saving Examination in 1925 and the Senior Life Saving Examination in 1927. He studied architecture and drafting at Ralston Junior High School, and subsequently attended Fifth Avenue High School on the Hill, but he left without graduating. He held a variety of jobs, both in Pittsburgh and New York City, including travelling with the Ringling Brothers, Barnum Bailey Circus as a pony groomer for two months in 1928. Persistence paid off, and after completing coursework at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Social Work, Nathan was awarded his general equivalency diploma in 1989.

Nathan married Sarah Zapler (-1977) on June 1, 1930. They had four children: Mildred (Schwab), Irene (Leibovitz), Ralph, and Wayne. Nathan and Sarah lived on Wick Street on the Hill until the 1940s, when they joined the general Jewish migration to the East End. They moved to a house on Stanton Avenue, where Nathan still resides. Sarah died on April 16, 1977, and Nathan married Esther Levine (19?-) on December 31, 1977. Ralph Kaufman died in January, 1990.

In 1925, Nathan began his professional association with IKS, serving as junior counselor at the Emma Farm Camp. From 1929 until 1938, he was assistant athletic director and swimming coach at the IKS. Nathan earned a reputation as one of the finest swimming coaches in the Pittsburgh area. During this time, he conceived several aquatic games, publishing Water Games and Stunts in 1935. Nathan also wrote a column, "Splashes," for Pool Age magazine. He continued to participate in athletics by completing nine miles of the marathon swim at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and by serving as a faculty member at the Red Cross lifesaving program in Chatauqua, New York. In 1938, Nathan joined the staff of the Allegheny County Department of Parks as program director for the County Fair and recreation supervisor for the county parks (1940-1942). As part of the County Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1938, he staged and directed the "Aqua Ballet" in North Park, the largest amateur water show ever held at that time.

During World War II, Nathan served with the American Red Cross in the China-Burma-India Theatre of Operations, where he organized and managed recreational facilities for enlisted men. He began as program director in 1943, and by 1945 had risen to the position of regional director in charge of all Red Cross clubs along the Ledo-Stilwell Road in India and China. In 1943, he attained the temporary rank of Captain of the United States Army.

When Nathan returned to Pittsburgh after the war, he briefly rejoined the County Parks Department as recreation director (1945-1946). He later served as the community recreation service director for the Honus Wagner Company. In 1947, he became the director of Health and Physical Education Department at the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association (YMamp;YWHA), a position he held until 1960. During this time, he directed the YMYWHA's summer camp, the Laurel Y Camp. In 1960, he accepted the vice presidency of Top O' the Mount, a proposed resort in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. The financial backing of the project collapsed in 1961. In 1962, he managed the Bear Rocks Resort, located in the Laurel Mountains. This was followed by a brief stint as manager of the Beau Brummell Club, a now defunct members-only lounge in downtown Pittsburgh.

He rejoined the staff of the YMYWHA in 1963, as the director of the Irvin F. Lehman Health Center. He left the YMYWHA to accept a position as manager of the Chatham Center Health Club in 1966. He retired from Chatham Center in 1977. Throughout his career, he remained active in officiating at Pittsburgh Public School swim and track meets, and administering life saving examinations for the county. In 1960, he was honored with a testimonial dinner. Nathan's athletic achievements have been recognized by several organizations. He is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Nathan is perhaps best known for his charitable work in the community, which has focused primarily on underprivileged and disabled youth. Since 1949, he has been involved in the Variety Club, an international organization founded in Pittsburgh in 1927 to help this population. Elected Chief Barker (president) in 1972, he was instrumental in the development of Camp Variety (formerly Camp O'Connell) in Bradfordwoods as a recreational facility for disabled children. Among his many other affiliations are the Masons, Optimist Club of Pittsburgh, Knights of the Pythias, Dapper Dan Club of Pittsburgh, B'nai B'rith, Jewish War Veterans Association, and the United Bessarabians of Pittsburgh. In 1976, his fifty years of charitable activities were recognized by another testimonial dinner. He was awarded the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Outstanding Citizen Award in 1978.

Scope and Content Notes

These papers include biographical information, correspondence, personal scrapbooks, organizational files and other sundry material. Because numerous processors have worked on the collection, provenance has on occasion been lost. The topical arrangement imposed by a previous processor has been improved and preserved. The papers relate primarily to Kaufman's professional and voluntary activities, and do not offer much personal or family information. Also lacking in these papers are significant insights into the Pittsburgh Jewish community, apart from the availability of athletic facilities. Material on all aspects of Nate's professional and volunteer activities may be found in both the organizational files in Series II and the personal scrapbooks in Series I. These two types of materials should be used in concert for all examinations of his activities.

Arrangement

Series have been designated for personal papers and organizational materials.

The Nathan H. Kaufman Papers are housed in nine archival boxes.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials came in one accession in 1988.

Acc# 1988.72 Gift of Nathan H. Kaufman, (Papers).

Preferred Citation

Papers of Nathan H. Kaufman, 1925-1990, MSS# 5, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Keith Parrish in c1988. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Susan J. Illis on March 1, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on June 2, 2001.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Adath Jeshurun Synagogue (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Amateur Athletic Union
    • American Red Cross
    • Chatham Center Health Club (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Irene Kaufmann Settlement (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Jewish Community Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Optimist Club (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Pennsylvania State Assn. for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
    • Pittsburgh Public Schools (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • United Bessarabians of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Valada Club (Pittsburgh, PA)
    • Variety Club
    • Young Men's Young Women's Hebrew Assn. (Pittsburgh, PA)

    Personal Names

    • Kaufman, Nathan H. (1910-)
    • Wagner, Honus (1874-1955)
    • Ecker, James M.
    • Foerster, Thomas J. (1928-)
    • Kahn, Ziggy (-1982)
    • Landes, Rabbi Morris
    • McCaffrey, Thomas J.
    • Prince, Bob (-1986)
    • Sheridan, Catherine Variety
    • Wecht, Cyril H. (1931-)

    Geographic Names

    • Allegheny County (Pa.) -- Parks

    Other Subjects

    • Athletics -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Charities -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Clubs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Community centers, Jewish -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Halls of Fame
    • Jews -- Social life and customs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Parks -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Physical Education and Training -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Recreation -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Social settlements -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Sports -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Sports Facilities -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Swimming -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Synchronized Swimming -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List