BEN BERNANKE, SECOND MOST POWERFUL AMERICAN, IS PRIDE OF CAROLINA JEWISH PEOPLE

When Dr. Ben Shalom Bernanke became Chairman of the Federal Reserve, fellow Jews worldwide fairly burst with pride.

He succeeded another historically great Jew, Alan Greenspan, in the vital work of decision-making and economic leadership of the leading nation of the world.

Arthur Riemer of Myrtle Beach remembers him well. “Would you believe I taught that kid in Sunday School at Ohav Shalom Congregation in Dillon a million years ago!”

Today pundits identify Bernanke as the second most powerful American. Unlike many US presidents, he is universally respected for his wisdom.

He, his brother Seth and sister Sharon, were lovingly raised by parents Philip and Edna Friedman Bernanke in Dillon, South Carolina. At 11 he was a spelling champion. Wrote a novel about an integrated football team. Played sax in marching band. Waited tables at South of the Border (see story). Graduated Harvard with honors. With wife Anna, grown children Alyssa and Joel, he lives in the DC area.

Pictured here are his past family home in Dillon and parents' present home in Charlotte. They keep the faith at Temple Israel and keep kosher everywhere.

More than a thousand sacred Torahs were assembled in London after World War II. They were rescued from the Nazis who had collected them as historic remnants of the Jewish people they tried to destroy.

At least one is safe today in the Carolinas. It can be viewed in the permanent exhibit, "Treasures of Temple Beth El." It came from a synagogue in Brno or Namest in Bohemia. Rabbi Robert Siegel said it was the oldest Torah he had ever seen.

Between the new Charlotte Museum of History and the old (1774) Hezekiah Alexander rock house is The American Freedom Bell. It was Jewish conceived and made in time to ring first at the stroke of midnight December 31, 1999. Seven feet tall, seven feet wide and weighing seven tons, it is the world's largest bell at ground level.

The bell marks Charlotte as the first focus of freedom from Britain with its Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence publicly signed 14 months before the Philadelphia document.

You can personally let freedom ring at AmericanFreedomBell.org and hearing it ring any time you wish.

You can see and touch the actual bell at 3500 Shamrock Drive. Free admission to the bell which is accessible at all times.

FIFTY-FOUR ACRES OF JUDAISM

Unique in America: within the Charlotte city limits is a 54-acre Jewish campus called Shalom Park devoted to worship, education, health, sports, research, art and entertainment for Charlotte's eight thousand Jews and a great number of non-Jewish members. Home of Temple Beth El, the Carolinas' largest congregation; Temple Israel, Jewish Community Center, Carolina Agency for Jewish Education and other organizations. CAJE has generated more than 200 interview videos of Charlotte Jews and other priceless resources used for research. This project has been so successful that it is now enjoying a $31 million expansion that has tripled its facilities. 5007 Providence Road, Charlotte. Open 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Monday-Thursday 6am-9:30pm. Friday 6am-5pm. Saturday 12 noon-6pm. Sunday 8am-6pm. Phone 704-366-5007.

NORTH CAROLINA BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is a regional arts and entertainment complex. The five-level, 177,000 square foot center features two theaters and is the home of the region's opera, symphony, repertory, community concert and choral organizations. Named for the Blumenthal family, the leading Jewish name in the Charlotte area. Situated at the center of downtown Charlotte, 130 North Tryon street. Box office phone 704-372-1000.

WHERE HARRY GOLDEN WROTE ALL HIS BOOKS

The last home of Harry Golden, author of Only in America and 19 other bestselling books, columnist, speaker and publisher of The Carolina Israelite, stands at the corner of East 8th street and Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte. From his legendary rocking chair in this and two other neighborhood houses, Golden developed a world reputation as humorist, social satirist and fearless champion of black rights.

HARRY GOLDEN'S PAPERS

At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte north of the city Harry Golden's archives are neatly catalogued and open to the public and researchers. Included are his many book manuscripts, correspondence, notes and files. Located within J. Murrey Atkins Library. Open 7:30 AM to midnight Monday-Friday.

THE JEW WHO LED THOUSANDS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS

A large obelisk stands today in uptown Charlotte that was unveiled in 1898 by a large convention of veterans headed by Louis Leon. The monument honors the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775, and the Charlotte men who died in the American Revolution. Outside the front entrance of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Trade and Alexander streets.

ARTHUR GOODMAN'S DREAMS CAME TRUE

Charlotte lawyer Arthur Goodman was a humanitarian who dreamed of deprived children, the handicapped and animals getting the breaks in life they deserve. He founded the humane society, enacted legislation to help the handicapped and protect animal life, and turned his birthdays into parties for Charlotte’s handicapped children.

His widow Katherine and son Arthur, Jr., donated 15 acres of land near the center of nearby Matthews to found Arthur Goodman Memorial Park half a century ago.

Today a $650 thousand annual budget sustains the immense youth sports complex called Matthews Athletic and Recreation Association that is focused at Arthur Goodman Memorial Park. Thousands of boys and girls 4-17 participate in soccer, slow and fast-pitch softball, tee ball, coach pitch, minor and major league Little League, Babe Ruth, football, basketball and now lacrosse training and competition. The children are supported by a small army of avid family volunteers. What was once Goodman’s weekend retreat from his law office is now a huge and growing sports campus with many lighted and irrigated playing fields, parking and recreation areas.

South Trade Street one mile from Matthews center.

JUDAH BENJAMIN TWICE REMEMBERED

Plaque at 227 South Tryon Street in Charlotte honors Judah Philip Benjamin, second only to President Jefferson Davis in leading the Confederacy. He was Secretary of State, Attorney General and Secretary of War. This was the site of the home of Abram Weil, Benjamin's friend, where he stayed after the surrender just before he escaped to England.

Another plaque nearby at 700 North Tryon Street marks the house where President Jefferson Davis, Judah Benjamin and the Confederate cabinet held one of their final meetings April 22-26, 1865.

SIX MILLION REMEMBERED

The Charlotte Holocaust Memorial helps the Carolinas' largest city remember the Six Million. Located within Marshall Park in downtown Charlotte at McDowell and 3rd streets.

THE CHURCH WITH THE STARS OF DAVID

St. Peter's Episcopal Church at 115 West 7th Street in downtown Charlotte bears two large stars of David over its entrance. According to its warden, the church was thereby acknowledging that Christianity was built on the foundation of Judaism. When these stars disintegrated, Temple Beth El helped restore them.

SAM WITTKOWSKY STILL LOOKS OVER CHARLOTTE

Within Elmwood Cemetery, a historic Charlotte city landmark, lies the imposing hilltop grave of Samuel Wittkowsky, 1835-1911. He was a civic leader and close friend of Governor Zebulon B. Vance, who took his speech, The Scattered Nation, about the Jewish people, to audiences throughout America. Wittkowsky was the first elected president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, helped found and was first Master of Excelsior #261, North Carolina's largest Masonic lodge, helped found the Charlotte Country Club, served as city alderman and founded the South's first building and loan firm. Of 13 Charlotte Jewish volunteers in the Confederate army, six were boys Wittkowsky had hired from New York to staff his dry goods store. Cemetery open dawn to dusk year around. 700 West 6th Street.

THE RINTELS HOUSE

The home of Jacob Rintels on Queens Road in Charlotte is the best example of a restored historic Jewish home in the Carolinas. The Italianate style house was built in 1874 on West Trade Street and was moved to 1700 Queens Road in 1916. Rintels and wife Bessie Wallace Rintels were one of nine Jewish families living in Charlotte in 1850. Both are buried in Hebrew cemetery.

WHERE THE FAMOUS ARE BURlED IN CHARLOTTE

A number of Jewish Confederate officers and enlisted men are buried in Hebrew Cemetery, located at 1908 Statesville Avenue, Charlotte. They include Captain Julius Roessler, First Lieutenant E. B. Cohen and Private Louis Leon, author of a famous Civil War diary. A large monument next to the chapel honors 13 Charlotte Jewish boys who lived and died for the Confederacy. Their graves are often marked with Confederate flags by veterans' groups. Also buried here are author Harry Golden, peach king Moses Richter, financier Dannie Heineman and Elizabeth Cohen, daughter of Aaron Cohen, a volunteer in George Washington's army.

Heineman Medical Research Center is located at Carolinas Medical Center, 1001 Blythe Boulevard in Charlotte. It was established by Dannie N. Heineman, 1872-1962, world-renowned financier and benefactor, born in an apartment where the Marriott Hotel City Center now stands at Trade and Tryon streets. The center is the focus of research in cardiovascular diseases, improvement in patient care and development of surgical techniques.

BLUMENTHAL CANCER CENTER

Also at Carolinas Medical Center is Blumenthal Cancer Center, serving the Carolinas region with care teams dedicated to breast, gynecology, gastrointestinal, lung, pediatric, head and neck, pain management, rehabilitation, stem cell transplantation, bone and soft tissue, melanoma, immunotherapy, brain, genitourinary and cancer risk assessment fields.

LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH

Newly expanded museum covers regional history from 1877 to the present. Exhibits take visitors from cotton fields to skyscrapers, into a tenant farmer's shack, two-story Main Street and a black chapel. Named for Sandra and Leon Levine, retired head of 6,000 Family Dollar Stores in 43 states. 200 East 7th Street. Open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday. Sunday 12-5. $6 general, $5 seniors/students.

THE CCDS LEVINE CENTER

Another Levine family landmark is the administration building of Charlotte Country Day School, the city's largest private school at 1440 Carmel Road.

$255 MILLION FOUNDATION GIVEN HEADQUARTERS BUILDING BY GORELICK, LUSKI FAMILIES

Foundation for the Carolinas now operates from 217 South Tryon in Charlotte in the new South Tryon Square, thanks to a $1 million grant from the Luski and Gorelick families. WIth assets of $255 million, the foundation provides philanthropic services to NC and SC communities. The building is the historic Kale-Lawing site.

$5 MILLION FROM SANDRA AND LEON LEVINE BACKS EXPANDING CPCC LEVINE CAMPUS IN MATTHEWS

This surprising middle-of-nowhere college includes 220,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and offices. The Levine grant pays for scholarships to hundreds of underprivileged students needing help. Entrance sign at junction of I-485 and US-74.

JEWS IN THE CHARLOTTE REGION SINCE 1585

A unique exhibit in the chapel of Temple Beth El in Charlotte tracks Jewish regional history from the year 1585 when Sir Walter Raleigh brought a famous Prague mineralogist to America to uncover Native American smelting secrets. It shows how Judah Benjamin, the nation's most famous Jew, came to Charlotte for the climactic Confederate cabinet meeting after Lincoln was assassinated. And how U.S. presidential adviser Bernard Baruch spent much of his childhood with family in Charlotte. Visitors will see a Holocaust torah, all that is left of the great temple in Brno, and a rare family torah. Most of all, Treasures of Temple Beth El traces the development of Jewish life in Charlotte, including many colorful personalities. 5101 Providence Road.

The man most responsible for building all those dams on the Catawba River in the Carolinas was the chief engineer of Duke Power Company, David Nabow.

He and his family were long-time and early members of Temple Beth El in Charlotte. It was there he became a hero when asked to stop flooding of temple schoolrooms. His budget: $300. And he did it.

His precious documents and artifacts form the Nabow Museum in Charlotte. Engineers of today still use his tech books, journals, microfilms, microfiches and professional documents. His trusty 20-inch sliderule is there, too, in this 6,000-square-foot display on the 6th floor of the Energy Building on Church Street between First and Stonewall. Security clearance required.

A $10 million grant from Leon and Sandra Levine is making possible the new children's hospital at Carolinas Medical Center. The 206,000-square-foot facility opened in 2007 to double the capacity of the busiest children's hospital in North Carolina. Total cost: $85 million.

All over the Carolinas lie the remains of Jews who lived and died long ago in communities with no consecrated burial place for them. They are safe and remembered in church cemeteries, like this grave in a Charlotte Presbyterian cemetery of a woman born during the Revolutionary War. The inscription begins, "In memory of Mrs. Z. Penick who died April 12, 1854, 73rd year of her age, a mother in Israel..."

Most of the early film exhibitors are gone but some of their theaters linger and thrive. Jay and Fan Schrader and the Visulite. Morris and Edith Nuger and the Grand. Ellis Blumenthal and the Tryon. The Variety Club in the old Hotel Charlotte where they'd socialize.

And that was just Charlotte. Herman Meiselman and his family grew a chain of movie theaters spanning 70 years in the Carolinas and Florida. Eastern Federal generated 22 multi-screen theaters with 238 screens.

Experience the Visulite at 1615 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, still open for entertainment.