Collection ID: LMC 1648
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Levenberg, Lawrence Fishel, 1895-1979
Abstract:
The Levenberg mss., 1924-1970, are letters to Lawrence Fishel Levenberg, 1895-1979, editor, from Claude Gernade Bowers, 1879-1958, ambassador.
Extent:
1 folio (oversize) and 1 Box (1 standard)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Levenberg mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Born February 3, 1895, at Michigan City, Indiana, Lawrence Fishel Levenberg (1895-1979) was the son of Isaac and Esther (Bregstone) Levenberg, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. In 1914 he graduated from Michigan City High School and went to work as reporter and messenger boy for Michigan City Dispatch. In 1915 he enlisted in the Indiana National Guard, then known as the Militia, Company G of the First Indiana Infantry. In 1916 the Militia mobilized and was sent to Brownsville, Texas, to patrol the Mexican border around Mercedes. During World War I, Levenberg was with the army in France and served two years with the Army of Occupation as 2nd lieutenant assigned to the 165th Infantry of the Rainbow Division. After the War, he accepted an appointment in the Army Reserves and worked as a telegrapher editor for theFort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Around 1924, Levenberg joined the Detroit News and then the Cleveland Plain Dealer as a copy reader and special events reporter, later becoming news editor and assistant to the managing editor. After the Plain Dealer took over the Cleveland News, he was transferred to the News as a telegraph and cable editor, during which period he began writing a weekly column on foreign and military affairs. After Pearl Harbor in 1941, he was recalled to active duty to the Army Air Corps with the rank of captain, serving throughout the War and retiring in 1948 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Levenberg returned to the News in Cleveland as an editorial writer.

After the Mid-East War broke out between Israel and the Arabs, he was sent to Israel and wrote a series of stories; he made four trips to Israel as a correspondent and as a result of previous experience made a moving picture series. For this work, he was honored with two awards by the Cleveland Newspaper Guild and several awards by the Cleveland Jewish Federation, then made associate editor of the News and chief editorial writer. When the News was sold to the opposition paper, Levenberg returned to the Plain Dealer as associate editor and columnist. During World War II, he served in California and Arizona and was retired in 1955 by the Air Force Reserves. In 1962 he retired from the Plain Dealer and accepted a part-time job with the Scottsdale, Arizona, Progress, moving to Green Valley, Arizona, a retirement community near Tucson, in 1969.

Scope and Content:

The Levenberg mss., 1924-1970, are letters to Lawrence Fishel Levenberg, 1895-1979, editor, from Claude Gernade Bowers, 1879-1958, ambassador.

The letters are of a personal nature. They relate to politics, politicians, novelists, foreign relations, and editors. Included are letters from Mrs. Claude Bowers and Patricia Bowers to Levenberg.

Other letters in the collection from rabbis, editors, historians, diplomats, a minister, a president, a senator, a lawyer, and an industrialist are those of Alfred Abraham Benesch, Bruce Catton, Cyrus Stephen Eaton, Robert Allan Farquharson, Barry Morris Goldwater, Holman Hamilton, Avraham Harman, Earl R. Henderson, Erie Clark Hopwood, Nathaniel R. Howard, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Isaiah Leo Kenan, Frank Roberts, Abba Hillel Silver, Daniel Jeremy Silver.

Levenberg's card as a Reporter with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a Provisional Certificate from the Jewish National Fund, a certificate from President Jimmy Carter in recognition of Levenberg's service to his country in the Armed Forces of the United States, and some printed materials complete the collection.

Acquisition information:
Gift: 1982
Physical location:
ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat; Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Levenberg mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu