Olga Bernstein 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.Template:Sfn Kohlberg lived in the historic Sunset Heights neighborhood.[2]
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.[3] She learned both English and Spanish quickly.[1] Kohlberg quickly became involved with the women's club movement in El Paso, Texas.[3]
Kohlberg was involved in the creation of the Child Culture Study Circle in 1891.[3] This group helped create the first kindergarten in Texas which opened in El Paso in 1893.[3] 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.Template:Sfn In 1895, Kohlberg served on the board of the El Paso Library Foundation.Template:Sfn She and other women petitioned the El Paso City Council for land to build a library building.Template:Sfn In 1903, she served as president of the El Paso Public Library board of directors and stayed on in that petition until 1935.[1]Template:Sfn With her husband, Ernst, the couple helped found the Mount Sinai Congregation in El Paso in 1898.[3]
Kohlberg became involved with the Woman's Club of El Paso (which had grown out of the Current Topics Club) in the 1890s.[4]Template:Sfn In 1899, she became president of the group.Template:Sfn She was a delegate to the General Federation of Woman's Clubs at their Los Angeles meeting in 1902.[5] She would stay involved with the club until her death.Template:Sfn
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.Template:Sfn 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.[3] Olga Kohlberg died in El Paso after a short illness on August 12, 1935.[6] She was buried in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Concordia Cemetery.[7]
Legacy
In 1972, the El Paso County Historical Society named Kohlberg in the Hall of Honor.[8] Two different schools in El Paso are named after Kohlberg.[8] In 1992, the Olga Bernstein Kohlberg prekindergarten/kindergarten was named in May of 1992.[8] In 1997, the Olga B. Kohlberg Elementary School was opened.[8]
References
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Sources
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