Joanne Murad, Date: Thu, 03 Apr 1997
Dear Chancellor Broski:
I came to hear of this astounding and wonderful project to save Maxwell Street at 1:00 a.m. in my car in Corpus Christi, TX., less than one week ago. Why this so astounds me is my most personal interest.
In 1886, my father, David Missner, was born and raised on Maxwell Street near Halsted, along with his younger brother. These boys were adopted by their maternal grandparents, who lived and were tradespeople in the area. Their father's name was Bisno, but he abandoned the boys when his wife died in childbirth. Daddy told me stories of his youth, of playing in the streets with other Jewish children, of a communal and loving atmosphere amongst all of these immigrant families.
I am a strong believer in promoting and advancing our positive heritage, of focusing on the loving and constructive conditions of our history, which are ways in which today's youth (as well as their parents) might be influenced to develop more humanistic attitudes toward each other.
Perhaps I am about to tread on questionable ground, but since you are a man of learning, I would assume that you agree with the premise that academics are not the end-all of learning, that experience plays an equal or even larger role in education, and that if such experience can excite an individual and elevate his spirit to a humanistic level, that by all means we should do whatever is called for to help make that happen.
I knew that my listening to that plea for saving Maxwell Street on a PBS radio station in a town in southern Texas at a most unlikely hour, could only mean that I was destined to become involved in offering my own loving support,
With best regards, I am
Cordially,
Joanne Murad
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