Bloom family papers

Julius Harry Bloom (1894-1973) was born in Poland to Amelia and Harris Bloom. The family immigrated to the United States in 1905, and in 1910 settled in Greenville, South Carolina, where Harris opened Bloom's Department Store. In 1917 Julius left to fight in World War I, serving in France with the 118th infantry. He was severely injured and recovered in multiple hospitals in France and Britain before returning home in 1919. Once home, Julius took over Bloom's Department Store and married Jennie Shatenstein. The couple had their first child, Jack, in 1920, followed by a second son, Melvin, and a daughter, Shirley. Julius ran Bloom's Department Store until his retirement in 1966, when he closed the store.

Jack Bloom attended Furman University, and in 1941 began studying law at Duke University. He interrupted his studies to serve in the army during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, he was stationed at Camp Shanks in New York. After the war, Jack completed his law degree at Duke, graduating and passing the bar in 1947. His younger brother, Melvin, received a Ph.D. in chemistry, and his sister, Shirley, married Jack Cohen in 1952 and had two children, Mark and Stacy.

Jack married his wife Lillian Chernoff in 1956, and settled in Greenville, where Jack worked as an attorney. Apart from his career as a lawyer, he dedicated himself to research and writing, and, in 2005, published "A History of the Jewish Community of Greenville, South Carolina" in The Proceedings and Papers of the Greenville County Historical Society. Both Jack and his father were active members of the local Jewish community. Julius served as president of Congregation Beth Israel in Greenville for 21 years and Jack was involved with the South Carolina Association of B'nai B'rith Lodges. Lillian Bloom was an active member of numerous civic associations and organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Mental Health Association of Greenville County. Jack and Lillian Bloom died in 2010.