Herman Fligelman
Values Codes I – E – L -P
Herman Fligelman was born in Romania, in 1860.
He arrived in Boston as a young man and worked various odd jobs while learning English.
Helena, Montana
In 1883, Herman Fligelman took the first train to Helena, Montana.
He opened The New York Store, a dry goods/general merchandise store with Robert Heller, Henry Loble and George Frankfort.
In 1885, the store’s name changed to Fligelman’s.
In the late 1880s, Lewis Hershfield invested in the store so that Herman Fligelman could travel East to purchase goods.
The store eventually became Fligelman’s Department Store.
Fligelman’s Department Store burned down in 1928, and was rebuilt and re-opened in 1929.
Norman Winestine, Herman’s son-in-law, became President of Fligelman’s Department Store in 1931.
Fligelman’s Window Display, Helena, Montana
Fligelman’s Department Store remained in business in Helena until 1959.
Fligelman’s Department Store, Helena, Montana, 1929, vintage postcard [note the high ceilings].
Community
Herman Fligelman often sent money back to Europe to help the Jewish community there.
Family
Fligelman married Minnie Weinzweig (d.1891) around 1888.
They had 2 daughters: Frieda (1890-1978) and Belle (1891-1985).
Belle Fligelman married Norman Winestine (1895-1986) in 1918.
Frieda and Belle worked for women’s suffrage.
After Minnie’s death of Minnie Fligelman in 1891, Herman married Getty Vogelbaum (1870-1949).
Herman Fligelman died in 1932.
Herman and Minnie are buried in the Home of Peace Cemetery in Helena.
Sources
- Julie L. Coleman, Golden Opportunities: A Biographical History of Montana’s Jewish Communities (Helena, MT: SkyHouse Publishers, 1994).
- Moses Morris papers, 1894-1932, Montana Historical Society Research Center – Archives and Photographs Archives. http://184.168.105.185/archivegrid/collection/data/420247227
- Montana Women’s History. http://montanawomenshistory.org/using-quilts-as-a-window-into-montana-womens-history/#more-2082
Samantha Silver is our curator for this Herman Fligelman exhibit.