The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society will host its monthly Sunday Afternoon Lecture, “The History of the Ohev Zion Synagogue” with Dicky Globman at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 15, in the Historic Henry County Courthouse, 1 East Main Street.
In 1927, a Jewish congregation named Ohev Zion was established in Martinsville. Forty-six Jews in five families lived in the area, and with the help of non-Jews in the community, $15,000 was raised to build a synagogue, Ohev Zion Synagogue, at 21 Moss Street. The founders of the congregation included the Fusfeld, Heiner, Berlin, Kolodny, and Globman families. Abraham Fusfeld served as the first president. Beth Israel Synagogue in Roanoke advised Ohev Zion about acquiring prayer books and a Torah and on the construction of the synagogue. Not surprisingly, Ohev Zion’s first synagogue greatly resembled that of Beth Israel.
A graduate of Martinsville High School, Globman received an MBA from the University of Virginia and served in the U. S. Navy. He was a grandson of Abe and Masha Globman who founded Globman’s Department Store in 1915. He worked for Globman’s beginning in the 1970s and was its Executive Vice President and Treasurer when it closed in 1991. He is a lifelong member of Ohev Zion Synagogue and its affiliate representative to the Jewish Foundation of Greensboro.
“Our area has been blessed by the contributions of our Jewish citizens since the early 1900s, especially in the retail industry. Globman’s lecture, however, will provide a more personal look at our friends and neighbors from a religious perspective,” said John Phillips, president of the Historical Society.
Admission to the Sunday Afternoon Lecture series is free, made possible by corporate sponsors, Carter Bank & Trust and The Lester Group.
The Historic Henry County Courthouse is fully handicapped accessible. The Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center & Museum will be open following the presentation.
