43
Jewish founder of Valley bakery, Campbell priest shared lasting bond
By LINDA M. LINONIS
campbell
Geography happened to bring the founders of Schwebel’s Bakery and a priest at St. Elizabeth Church together. A longtime friendship evolved.
In 1906, Dora and Joseph Schwebel operated their first bakery in a storefront on Center Street in Campbell, and lived above it.
The Hazelton area also was home to the first building of St. Elizabeth Slovak Catholic Church. It moved during the mid-1950s to its current location, 124 Keystone Ave. The Rev. Joseph L. Kostik was pastor from 1922 to 1967.
How the two were intertwined is a story Richard Scarsella, Sacred Places Dialogue facilitator and president of William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, happened upon during a visit to the church.
Scarsella attends a service each week at a different church, seeking out history. St. Elizabeth will close Jan. 2 as part of the Parish Implementation Plan in the Diocese of Youngs-town.
The tidbit of history he learned at St. Elizabeth was something he wanted to share with Suzyn Schwebel Epstein, granddaughter of Dora Schwebel. Both are members of Friends of Youngstown Historical Center for Industry and Labor. Recently, Schwebel Epstein and Scarsella visited St. Elizabeth.
A history of the church credited Dora Schwebel of Schwebel’s Bakery and Bert Milligan of Youngstown Sanitary Milk Co. with providing bread and milk for the children at the school and church during some years of the Great Depression (1929-1939). Also noted in the history was Pete Corrl and U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan, who helped in this effort.
In an interview with members of St. Elizabeth focusing on memories at the church, the story of the Schwebel philanthropy was well-known. Charles Terek, 89, said Dora Schwebel was admired for her generosity to St. Elizabeth school and the church.
Maryann Jurcisin, a lifetime parishioner, said, “Father Kostik and Dora Schwebel hit it off as friends. They had mutual respect.”
A program for the celebration of Father Kostik’s jubilee as a priest contains a letter from Dora Schwebel. She congratulates the priest and church on their accomplishments. She also mentions how she was glad to support the growth of St. Elizabeth. In her own faith, Dora Schwebel was a member at multiple Mahoning Valley synagogues.
Pat Wilush, church custodian, also told Schwebel Epstein and Scarsella the story of Dora Schwebel’s generosity. He said his father, one of Father Kostik’s drivers, would have his car filled with donated bread given by Mrs. Schwebel.
Wilush said decades ago many neighborhood residents belonged to the church, which anchored the area. Church members also worked at Schwebel’s Bakery.
In St. Elizabeth’s history, Dora Schwebel is credited with donating a candelabra to the church. “Her legacy included philanthropy,” said Schwebel Epstein. The Schwebel Family Foundation was formed in 1988 for philanthropic efforts.
“We learned that example from Grandma Schwebel. You give back to the community that made you,” Schwebel Epstein said. “Whatever request was made, she never had a deaf ear.”
“This kind of information from another social and cultural time is what makes history engaging,” Scarsella said. He added that churches and older parish members offer a unique “living culture and oral history.”
Schwebel Epstein said there are old photos of Dora and Joseph Schwebel’s house in Campbell, where the famous Jewish rye bread began.
“Joseph brought the recipes from Poland,” she said.
“Dora was ahead of her time,” said Schwebel Epstein. After her husband died y in 1928, Dora continued the business until her death in 1964. Schwebel’s marked its 100th year in 2006. It’s listed in the Family Business Hall of Fame.