Olga B. Kohlberg

Olga Bernstein Kohlberg (August 2, 1864,– August 12, 1935) was a Jewish Texan philanthropist and founder of the first public kindergarten in Texas.[1] Kohlberg served as president of the Woman's Club of El Paso for two terms, one from 1899-1900 and the other from 1901-1902.[2] Kohlberg lived in the historic Sunset Heights neighborhood.[3]

Biography

Olga Bernstein Kohlberg was born in Elberfeld, Westphalia on August 2, 1864.[1] Kohlberg married Ernst Kohlberg in 1884 and moved with him to El Paso, Texas.[4] She learned both English and Spanish quickly.[1] Kohlberg quickly became involved with the women's club movement in El Paso, Texas.[4]

Kohlberg was involved in the creation of the Child Culture Study Circle in 1891.[4] This group helped create the first kindergarten in Texas which opened in El Paso in 1893.[4] Later, the Child Culture Study Circle changed their name and their focus to the Current Topics Club.[1] In 1894, members of the Current Topics Club helped Mary Irene Stanton with the creation of a small library.[5] In 1895, Kohlberg served on the board of the El Paso Library Foundation.[6] She and other women petitioned the El Paso City Council for land to build a library building.[7] In 1903, she served as president of the El Paso Public Library board of directors and stayed on in that petition until 1935.[1][8] With her husband, Ernst, the couple helped found the Mount Sinai Congregation in El Paso in 1898.[4]

Kohlberg became involved with the Woman's Club of El Paso (which had grown out of the Current Topics Club) in the 1890s.[9][10] In 1899, she became president of the group.[11] She was a delegate to the General Federation of Woman's Clubs at their Los Angeles meeting in 1902.[12] She would stay involved with the club until her death.[10]

Olga Kohlberg Grave Marker

In 1892 Kohlberg was responsible for the creation of the Ladies' Benevolent Association, a group that opened the first hospital in El Paso.[1] Kohlberg and others were involved in creating a board of directors for the Cloudcroft Baby Sanitorium which was opened in 1911.[13] She was also involved in groups that later became the Family Service of El Paso.[1]

In 1910, Ernst Kohlberg was shot by an angry tenant.[4] Olga Kohlberg died in El Paso after a short illness on August 12, 1935.[14] She was buried in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Concordia Cemetery.[15]

Legacy

In 1972, the El Paso County Historical Society named Kohlberg in the Hall of Honor.[16] Two different schools in El Paso are named after Kohlberg.[16] In 1992, the Olga Bernstein Kohlberg prekindergarten/kindergarten was named in May of 1992.[16] In 1997, the Olga B. Kohlberg Elementary School was opened.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Kohout, Martin Donell (15 June 2010). "Kohlberg, Olga Bernstein". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  2. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 24, 53.
  3. ^ Maravilla, Aurora; Morales, Anita (2001). "Sunset Heights Preserves History". Borderlands. 20.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Stone, Bryan Edward (22 November 2012). "Texas' First Jewish Power Couple". Jewish Herald Voice. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  5. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 12-13.
  6. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 13.
  7. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 14.
  8. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 15.
  9. ^ "Federation of Women's Clubs". El Paso Herald. 1899-05-04. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-11-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Cunningham 1978, p. 30.
  11. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 23.
  12. ^ "Federation of Woman's Clubs". El Paso Times. 1902-04-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Cunningham 1978, p. 33.
  14. ^ "Week's Illness Proves Fatal". El Paso Times. 1935-08-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Mrs. Kohlberg Dies at Home". El Paso Herald-Post. 1935-08-13. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-11-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b c d "School Information / Our School". El Paso ISD. Retrieved 2020-11-21.

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