REPUBLIC BANCORP MORTGAGE INC. "Financing the American Dream" ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Competitive Rates FHA/VA Conventional Mortgages Adjustable Rate Balloon Loans ■ Bridge Loans New Construction Loans Community Home Buyers In-House Appraisals In-House Underwriting Home Equity Loans RATES ARE DOWN! Call 1-800-LOW-RATE (1-800-569-7283) NOW to purchase or refinance. Go with an experienced leader that has been in the mortgage lending business since 1965. R EPUBLIC , BANCOR P EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Notes On Natchez: ATouch Of Judaism NANCY LIEFER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS atchez, Miss., seemed the most unlikely place to find a temple. But there it was before us — a beautiful domed structure surrounded by exquisite stained glass windows with towering pil- lars on the sides of its entrance. Not until I came closer and rec- ognized the Star of David over the doorway did I believe we had ac- cidentally found Mississippi's old- est Jewish congregation, Temple B'nai Israel. The doors of B'nai Israel were locked and we were disappoint- ed that we could not see the in- terior. I must admit that I was not as interested in the Jewish history of Natchez as intrigued with the "Gone With the Wind" way of life that had once existed there. N merchants were at the center of the Natchez economy. The Jews lent money to farmers to buy seed and were wholesale dry goods people. They gave immigrants packs on their backs to become peddlers. According to the his- torians in Natchez, the city would not have prospered after the Civ- il War had not been for the Jew- ish citizens. During the time between the Civil War and the turn of the century, the Jews comprised only about 5 percent of the population of Natchez, but they operated one third of the businesses. The Jews of Natchez made their city a major trade cen- ter. After 30 years without a build- ing, delayed by the Civil War, the first reform synagogue was built in 1872. The frame building MEMBER ISRAEL Larry Paul makes FURNITURE NEW. ADVENTURE ER HISTORIC TOURS WITH EXCURSIONS TO EGYPT, JORDAN cR TURKEY Toronto departure AIR ONLY from 799.US + dep. taxes AIR/LAND SPECIAL for 7 nites fr. 1,369.US + dep. taxes before or after 4 star hotel with free parking offered by: for up to 3 weeks @ 20.US dbl. call for further travel options Custom, Restoration, Lacquering, Refinishing of new or old furniture, antiques, office furniture, pianos. For Free Estimates (810) 681-8280 ASunquest l t 9B travel Temple S'nal Israel in Natchez. Downtown-Windsor CALL (313) 961-1273 • STORAGE • CLEANING • REPAIRS East Side-Windsor CALL (313) 963-5736 1 SW E ■ LS ET D E at =I 701 ow •■ tw■m •Im if "'1•III■MIIII 11111aa.11111111111 6Fing Pobert Gltlann Cl more 810-855-9545 TELEGRAPH & MAPLE ROAD INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE 10 Days Israel from $1329 • Round trip flight from U.S.A. • hotels • • 8 nights in your choice of FREE 7 day unlimited Hertz rental car, Category E A/C Auto. or FREE round trip flight to Eilat AAL kV4kM•Paa TEL AVIV I LAROMME JERUSALEM Call your travel agent or Jerusalem. Laromme Eilat Princess Tel Aviv Carlton Hertz '40 PQInCfSS (800) 682-3333 The Laromme hotels and GATE 1 • Three Great Cities, Two Sweet Deals Now — breast cancer has no place to hide in Michigan. Call us. tit AAAERICAN CANCER SOCIETY' In Natchez, high on a bluff overlooking the mighty Missis- sippi River, I was mesmerized by the stately mansions that in- stantly swept me back over 100 years. The fabulous grounds and gardens of these homes were breathtaking. Natchez is world famous for its annual spring and fall Home Pilgrimages when many of its 500 antebellum homes and buildings are show- cased. During the Civil War, Jews fought for the Confederacy. Natchez was spared from de- struction and had only one wartime casualty—a little Jew- ish girl named Rosalie Beekman who was struck by a blast from a Union gunboat docked Under the Hill. After the war, the old plan- tation system for growing cotton was dead. Farmers were penni- less and had no way to finance their cotton crop. The Jewish NANCY LIEFER burnt down in 1903 and the pre- sent building was completed in 1905. There were approximate- ly 141 members in 1906 and this would be its peak membership. The Depression years hit Natchez very hard, but the Jews were at the forefront in its recovery. In 1932 a group of visionary women, many of them from the Jewish community, felt that the public might like to pay to come to see the beautiful mansions. This was the beginning of the Natchez Pilgrimages that are world fa- mous. The Jews had a major role in building the Natchez tourism economy which is the cornerstone of the Natchez economy today. This beautiful city that I once thought of only as part of Amer- ican history with its elegant an- tebellum mansions and riverboats, now held a place in Jewish history that was ab- solutely fascinating. ❑