In 1915 Allentown's Judaean Band was the first Jewish band in the United States. It had started with a group of young men at a 6th Ward soda fountain. Many of the original members didn't have, or even know how to play an instrument. Jacob Max, the Tilghman Street scrap dealer, took the group under wing and sponsored the music lessons, instruments and uniforms. The band had great success for a few years, until its ranks were depleted by service in the Great War.
Among the members was Harry Molovinsky, my grandfather's youngest sibling, and Jakey Max, a prizefighter who became Allentown's first Jewish firefighter.
Jakey worked at the extended family scrapyard for a short while, after both Jacob and his son were killed in separate traffic accidents. The scrapyard stayed in the Max family until 1972. Today it's called Liberty Recycling.
reprinted from June of 2020
Thanks for the insight into the Max scrapyard business as I often wondered what the rest of the story was. The only scrap dealer I ever knew was Goodman "Goody" Miller... he lived a block and a half away from us on Highland St... a real bear of a man and a hell of a nice guy... worked into his late 80s and possibly his very early 90s. He really enjoyed his work.
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