Martin Relates Story of Jewish Merchant

Sylva, North Carolina merchant, Sol Schulman, who died in 2003 at the age of 91, was typical of the Jewish immigrants who settled North Carolina-generous, industrious, and skilled at assimilating themselves into the community. As part of his research on Jewish immigrants to North Carolina, Dr. James Martin, chair of Campbell University’s Department of Government, History, and Justice, related anecdotes and biographical information about Schulman taken from an interview and a collection of stories about him titled, “The Man Who Lived on Main Street.” Martin spoke at a Luncheon Learn session on the Campbell campus, Wednesday, February 23.
In spite of the distance and a failing transmission, Martin said he knows his interview with Schulman, who was 90 at the time, was divinely ordained. “I felt the necessity to talk to him before he died,” Martin said. “I drove all of the way to Sylva and back to Buies Creek with an ailing transmission, and when I pulled into the parking lot at Campbell my transmission died.”
Through that interview and other materials, Martin was able to create a portrait of Schulman that is really a prototype of the Jewish settlers in North Carolina. Schulman, like his counterparts, gave liberally to his community. He served as alderman for Sylva when he was past 80 and was on the board of directors of the C.J. Harris Community Hospital. Schulman also helped inaugurate the Sylva Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Merchants Association. He was a two-term member of the Sylva Water Commission and was one of only three honorary members of the Sylva Fire Department. He made frequent gifts to poor children and local churches and once gave $10,000 to a total stranger. At the age of 90, he continued to work in the store he established on Main Street as a 20-year-old boy in 1933.
“Wherever Jews resided, they contributed greatly to civic life,” Martin said, “frequently serving as public officials and cultural leaders.”
Martin is currently writing a book on Jewish settlers and their contributions to North Carolina life. The working title is, “Small Town Jews in North Carolina.”
A cum laude graduate of Duke University, Martin received a Master of Arts degree from East Carolina University and a Ph.D. from Emory University. He is a past president of the Association of Historians in North Carolina.
Martin has interests in both ethno history and social studies education. He joined scholars from around the state to participate in a symposium in connection with a special exhibit on North Carolina’s Jewish heritage titled, “Migrations: Jewish Settlers of Eastern North Carolina,” at locations in both Tarboro and Fayetteville, NC. His article, “Expectations of Postsecondary History Instructors in North Carolina and California,” was published in The History Teacher, a professional journal published by the Society of History Education.

Bulletin 0043-2/23/05