Well Known Hebrew Organization is Purely Local and Purely Social.
HAS FINE QUARTERS AND IS A GREAT SUCCESS
Following is the eighth in a series at articles on the history of Altoona societies:
Twenty-seven years ago this month fifteen prominent Hebrew residents of the city met in the home of Sol Bendheim, the well known Eleventh avenue shoe merchant, at 1220 Sixteenth avenue, and organized what is one of the best known associations in the city of Altoona. It was called the Beacon Light club, and now occupies fine quarters in the Casanave block, Chestnut avenue and Eleventh street. The association is a social one and the rooms it occupies have been the scene of scores of happy events.
The gentlemen mainly responsible for the starting of the society were Sol. Bendheim, S. R. Moss, A. Scheeline, S. Neuwahl, Simon Scheeline and Joseph Scheeline.
The organization has met with great success ever since its inception and has always held a high place in the regard of Altoonans. The rooms have been a place of recreation not only for the members but also for their families, and have been fitted out so as to insure every comfort.
The Beacon Light club is not connected with any state or national organization, but is purely a local affair. It is also purely a social society. That it filled a want among the Hebrew residents of the city has been proved by the great success it has met with from the very first. The present number of members is forty-five.
The Beacon Light club came into existence on October 28, 1884, and first occupied quarters in the Couch block, at Eleventh avenue and Thirteenth street, in the rooms now occupied by the Altoona Volunteer Firemen's association. After removing from these quarters the club went into the Schenk block, at the corner of Eleventh avenue and Fourteenth street, now known as the Blair County Title and Trust company. Fine quarters were fixed up there, but the association wanted larger rooms and in the course of time secured the third and fourth floors of the Casanave block, where one of the cosiest club homes in Altoona has been fitted up. The club has occupied the rooms there for a number of years.
Two years ago the association celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with a brilliant social affair, which was one of the biggest events of its kind ever given in Altoona. Just about the time that the club was ready for this affair death removed one of the men who had been mainly responsible for its founding. In fact he is credited with having been the supreme instigator of the movement. This gentleman was S. Neuwahl, the prominent tax collector.
The first officers of the society who are still living are: S. Bendheim. A. Scheeline. S. R. Moss, S. Scheeline and Joseph Scheeline.
The present officers of the club are: President, Sol. Bendheim; vice president. Joseph Scheeline: financial secretary, A. Scheeline; recording secretary. Henry Gansman; treasurer, H. Slutzker. The late S. Neuwahl was recording secretary of the club for many years.
The Beacon Light club is not nearly so strong in numbers as many of the city's societies, but what it does not have in membership it makes up in influence. Its membership is composed of some of the most successful men of the city - men whose names have been bold in high esteem in Altoona for many years. It is one of the clubs that will be in existence long after many of the incipient organizations that have flared up within recent years will have passed away and been forgotten. The club has done much for the Hebrews of the city and its worth is realized generally.
The Beacon Light has always been fortunate in having its headquarters centrally located. As will be noticed, all of the places in which its members have met have been in the heart of the city. The rooms are now in one of the best locations, being in a place where they escape the noise of the busiest sections, yet where they can be reached without difficulty.
The club is not yet twenty-seven years of age but will observe the twenty-seventh milestone of its journey through time within a few days. It is one of the oldest independent organizations in the city of Altoona and is one of the very few independent local organizations that has been able to stand the wear and tear of time and come out after over a quarter of a century as fresh as when it was started.
Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Friday, October 20, 1911, page 5