Ronald Manheimer Collection- 2023.06

Ronald Manheimer Collection- M2023.06

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Repository

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Title

Ronald Manheimer Collection

ID

M2023.06

Date [inclusive]

1913-2008

Extent

Three (3) Linear Feet

Description Note

The collection consists of booklets, autograph books, physiognomy books, ting books, photographs, a hardbound dissertation, and a flash drive.

Location Note

Manuscript boxes are shelved in the Special Collections storage area. 

Language

English

Citation

[Identification of Item], Ronald Manheimer Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

 

Bibliography/Historical Information

Ronald Manheimer served as the founding director of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR), an award-winning lifelong learning, leadership, research, and community service program of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Following a major endowment gift from the Osher Foundation, NCCCR was renamed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in 2012. Ron was designated as a Research Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNC Asheville, which allowed him to teach intergenerational courses. Before becoming the NCCCR’s first director in 1988, Ron served as director of older adult education at The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) in Washington, D.C. Ron has also served as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Center for Jewish Studies at UNC-Asheville.

Scope and Contents

The Ronald Manheimer Collection contains items documenting Dr. Manheimer’s life and work, including his dissertation and family history. 

Administrative Information

Publication Information

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Ramsey Library, CPO #1500

One University Heights

Asheville, North Carolina, 28804-8504

828.251.6645

speccoll@unca.edu

 

Access Note

This collection is open for research.

Custodial History

Donated by Ronald Manheimer, 2023.

Accruals Note

Additional accruals are possible.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by the Center for Jewish Studies Intern, Kristen Lopez, during the Fall 2025 semester. 

 

Related Materials

Jewish Life in Western North Carolina

 

Collection Inventory-

Box 1: Correspondence and Ephemera from the life of Ronald Manheimer

  • Folder 1: Plastic Comb Bound Booklet: The Berkowitz Family Tree, October 1995
  • Folder 2: Physiognomy Volume 2, Number 3, 1973
  • Folder 3: Physiognomy Volume 2, Number 1, 1972
  • Folder 4: Physiognomy Volume 2, Number 2, 1973
  • Folder 5: A book of Autographs from Ron’s students and co-workers, 1996
  • Folder 6: A book of Autographs from Ron’s classmates, Bagley Elementary School, 1955
  • Folder 7: A thumb drive containing the Memoirs of Ron Manheimer, dated March 24, 2003
  • Folder 8: “Ting Book, 7.73 to”, filled with handwritten notes, 1973
  • Folder 9: “Ting Book”, filled with handwritten notes, 1972
  • Folder 10: Baby Book with Ron’s footprint inside, 1943
  • Folder 11: Pictures of Ronald’s Grand and Great Grandparents
    • Item 1: “Great grandpa and grandma Manheimer. Names unknown to me.”
    • Item 2: “Irving Manheimer’s father. Albert (date unknown)”
    • Item 3: “Albert Manheimer and his sister. Virginia (?)”
    • Item 4: “Albert Manheimer with son. Irving (date unknown)”
      Item 5: “Irving Manheimer with his father Albert”
    • Item 6: “Brother of Albert Manheimer, Morris Manheimer”
    • Item 7: “Israel and Libby Cohen, son Meyer and daughter, Marion (circa 1913)”
    • Item 8: “Same family as #7 but now with daughter Edith (“Yudi”)”
    • Item 9: “Israel Cohen seated on Woodingham front porch with Ronnie and Arleen”
    • Item 10: “Sara and Louis Berkowitz, parents of Esther Berkowitz/Manheimer”
    • Item 11: “Irving Manheimer with his mother, Esther”
    • Item 12: “Esther Manheimer with Ronnie”
    • Item 13: Picture finding aid which was donated with pictures

Box 2: Memories and Ancestry of Ronald Manheimer

  • Folder 1: Birth certificate of Nathan Irving Manheimer
    • Item 1: Birth certificate of Nathan Irving Manheimer, 1941
    • Item 2: Letter included with birth certificate explaining discrepancy in naming convention
    • Item 3: City of New York Department of Health Record for Nathan Irving Manheimer, 1941
  • Folder 2: Pictures of “Children of Ron and Caroline”
    • Item 1: Unlabeled, two small children, glossy photo
    • Item 2: Unlabeled, small child eating, glossy photo
    • Item 3: Unlabeled, red-haired woman in jacket, glossy photo
    • Item 4: Family photo of a woman and three children
    • Item 5: Larger black and white photo of a woman holding a baby
  • Folder 3: Pictures of House Where Ron Manheimer Grew Up
    • Item 1: Letter included with document donation explaining the contents of the folder
    • Item 2: Sepia tone photo with description “18401 WOODINGHAM NO11 9-21-40”
    • Item 3: Color photo of same house with area outside turned into a den
  • Folder 4: Pictures of Ron as an Adult
    • Item 1: Letter included with document donation explaining the contents of each photo
    • Item 2: “Myself with Illustrations used in Lectures, April -65’”
    • Item 3: Ron standing in manure pile, 1964
    • Item 4: Ron with baby Esther, 1971
    • Item 5: Ron with baby Esther, 1971
    • Item 6: Peter, Ron and Aage, 1966
    • Item 7: Ron on the beach in Denmark
    • Item 8: Ron after returning from Denmark
    • Item 9: Ron with his first dog, Pepper
    • Item 10: Ron his doctoral advisor, Professor Albert Hofstadter, at graduation 1974
    • Item 11: Ron working at NC Center for Creative Retirement, 1988
    • Item 12: Black and white photo of Ron with NCCCR Group on UNC Asheville Quad, 1989
    • Item 13: Ron and friends in DC
    • Item 14: Ron with Susan Hejl
    • Item 15: Ron with mother
    • Item 16: Ron with son, Aaron
    • Item 17: Ron with friends in Kentucky (Mickey and Carol Heideman)
    • Item 18: Ron with group whilst traveling in Taiwan, 2008
    • Item 19: Ron with highspeed train in Taiwan, 2008
    • Item 20: Ron with mother, Marion Manheimer
  • Folder 5: Pictures of Ron as a child to teen
    • Item 1: “Mother, Marion and son”
    • Item 2: “Ronnie Manheimer, age 3?”
    • Item 3: “Mother (with cast) and son (age 11?)”
    • Item 4: “Sister, Arleen and brother (age 4 or 5)”
    • Item 5: “Ronnie in Florda (age 14?)”
    • Item 6: “High school graduation photo (age 17). Note Brandeis AZA past-president pin”
    • Item 7: “Ronnie and soon-to-be brother-in-law Sam Blumenstein”
    • Item 8: “Mother, Marion, with newborn son taken on back porch stairs”
    • Item 9: “Ronnie (17) dressed for prom night in front of 1960 Pontiac Catalina convertible”
    • Item 10: “Ronnie (bottom left) in Bagley Elementary school play”
    • Item 11: “Ronnie (age 15 or 16) in Miami Beach, FL”
    • Item 12: “Ronnie at Baron’s Resort, South Haven, MI” 
    • Item 13: “Ronnie (age 9) with neighborhood best friend, Ronnie Lustig in front of home”
    • Item 14: “Ronnie (age 4?) with fire truck in backyard
    • Item 15: “Ronnie (age 7?) holding marble, with neighborhood friends (I. Ronnie Lustig, Ronnie M., Jeffrey Freeman and Jackie Champagne)
    • Item 16: “Ronnie (age 5?) with parents, Marion and Irving, at Baron’s Resort. (Note: Ronnie is frequently squinting in sunlight)”
    • Item 17: “Ronnie (age 15?) picture taken for graduation from Post Junior High School”
    • Item 18: “Ronnie (top row, right) in Bagley Elementary choir, circa 1053 (age 10)”
    • Item 19: “Ronnie’s birthday party (age 7?) with neighborhood friends (back row from left: Jackie Champagne, Ricky Lustig, Jeffrey Freeman, Ronnie Rubin, Ronnie Lustig; kneeling from left, Cynthia Lightman, Ronnie M., Cynthia Freeman (Jeffrey’s sister)”
    • Item 20: “Senior class of Bagley Elementary. Ronnie seated in front row center in white shirt”
    • Item 21: “See #18 above. This is a blow up of that photo”
    • Item 22: Typed list of photos and their contents

 

  • Folder 6: Photos of Ron’s Mother and Father
    • Item 1: “Irving Manheimer, June 13, 1923. He would be about 14.”
    • Item 2: “Marion Manheimer, date unknown”
    • Item 3: “Marion Manheimer, date unknown”
    • Item 4: “Meyer (or Meir) Cohen, brother of Marion. As noted in my memoir, he was bumped off in a soda fountain shop purportedly for dallying with the girlfriend of a mobster.”
    • Item 5: “Marion seated on a car fender”
    • Item 6: “Marion and Irving in young adulthood”
    • Item 7: “Parents on vacation”
    • Item 8: “Father at a family picnic”
    • Item 9: “Marion with Arleen (5 or 6) and Ronnie (1-2 years old)”
    • Item 10: “Marion and Irving at important event – perhaps my sisters wedding party”
    • Item 11: “Irving Manheimer and his mother, Esther”
    • Item 12: “Polaroid photograph showing Arleen Blumenstein (nee Manheimer) with her two children, Lori (standing) and Karen (in her arms). Beside Arleen is her husband Sam, beside him is Esther Manheimer and then my parents.”
    • Item 13: “Marion with Sylvia Lewis (nee Manheimer)”
    • Item 14: “Marion Manheimer with her sister, Edith Hoffman”
    • Item 15: “Marion Manheimer with Sam Blumenstein’s mother Ruth.”
    • Item 16: “The bowler. Marion is in the second row from the top, third person from right. Standing top row right (striped shirt) is Edith Hoffman, mother’s sister.”
    • Item 17: Typed list of photos and their contents

 

  • Folder 7: Pictures of Sister Arleen
    • Item 1: “Arleen (age 4 or 5) with mother, Marion in front of home on Woodingham”
    • Item 2: “Arleen (age 6 or 7?)”
    • Item 3: “Arleen (age 15 or 16) with brother Ronnie”
    • Item 4: “Arleen (4 or 5) on front porch of home on Woodingham”
    • Item 5: “Arleen (under age 1) with parents, Irving and Marion”
    • Item 6: “Arleen (age 10?) with parents and brother (squinting)”
    • Item 7: “Arleen (age 7?) with brother Ronnie”
    • Item 8: “Arleen (age 8 or 9?) with brother Ronnie”
    • Item 9: “Arleen (age 19?) accompanied by parents, walking down the aisle at her wedding (1958?)”
    • Item 10: Typed list of photos and their contents

 

  • Folder 8: Photos of “Family Clans”
    • Item 1: “Photo dated Feb. 26, 2005. Standing left to right: Dave Manheimer, George Lewis, Sylvia Lew (nee Manheimer), Henry Lewis (wife Martha Lewis deceased), Beverly Manheimer (widow of deceased Gus Manheimer), Dennis Bott (husband of Lori Blumenstein-Bott), Enid Manheimer (wife of Dave Manheimer). Kneeling or seated from left: Ron Manheimer, Marion Manheimer, Lori Blumentstein-Bott (my sister Arleen’s oldest daughter), and Danielle DePriest (daughter of Lori who was formerly married to Larry DePriest).
    • Item 2: “This photo was taken a few years early than #1 as we see (second from right, standing, Gus Manheimer and seated at right, Martha Lewis. In addition, back row, fourth from left, Sol Manheimer and his long time girlfriend Mickey (with hands on my mother, Marion) whom he eventually married a few years before his death.”
    • Item 3: “A much earlier picture taken at some wedding once again shows the Manheimer brothers and their wives. In red with glasses Shirley Manheimer with his eventual second wife Margaret Toney (always called “Toney”), Enid Manheimer with her husband Dave, Beverly Manheimer and her husband Gus; and Marion Manheimer. My father, Irving, is not in this picture as he died in 1975 at the age of 67 from Parkinson’s Disease. The longest living of the brothers was Dave Manehimer. The last brother, Leo, had long moved away from Detroit to Florida with his wife, Mary. He pretty much dissociated himself from the family.”
    • Item 4: “Family Halloween Party, mom as flapper or hooker (?) and dad as country bumpkin. Just visible to the right, Mary Manheimer and Edith Manheimer. In the post WWII period, the Manheimers and other related family groups formed family clubs that held parties throughout the year, sometimes combining family groups.”
    • Item 5: “This looks like a New Year’s Eve party from the 1950’s. Present but missing from photos 1-3 is Janice Manheimer, wife of Sol Manheimer (center with mustache), seated beside him. Janice died of cancer at a relatively young age (in her 40s). My mother and father are seated at bottom right. The woman with the hat next to Sol is Toots Nieman Somehow the Niemans were related cousins as are several others in this picture.”
    • Item 6: “Another New Year’s Eve party or the same one as #5 with new participants for the photo. We now have Leo and Mary Manheimer seated beside the Manheimer mother (half body cut off here) Esther Manheimer. Behind Leo are (with hats) Harry and Shirley Manheimer. Others are related but I’m unsure of names.”
    • Item 7: “This is either my Bar Mitzvah in 1956 or my sister’s wedding in 1958. Here we have all the brothers and sisters and their spouses plus my grandmother, Esther Manheimer (nee Berkowitz)”
    • Item 8: “Dave and Enid Manheimer with Esther Manheimer. Dave was in the Navy during WWII as a radio operator in a blimp. He did not see overseas service. This photo must have been taken shortly after their marriage. Dave and Enid were both musical and may have met at a music college in Detroit. Enid was a harpist and pianist and dave a vocalist.”
    • Item 9: Typed list of photos and their contents

 

  • Folder 9: Picture of the Cohen Family
    • Item 1: “This is my mother’s side of the family, the Cohens, most centrally my mother’s sister Edith Hoffman (“Yudi”) who is seated on a man’s lap to the right. Her husband, Bernard Hoffman (“Bernie”) is seated on the floor with a woman who might be his brother’s wife. In this picture is my mother’s father, Israel Cohen, standing center back row wearing a bow tie. His wife, known as Libby, is deceased by this time Yudi and Bernie were famous as the life of the party; very unlike my parents who were much less demonstrative.”

 

  • Folder 10: Kierkegaard and the Education of Historical Consciousness by Ronald J. Manheimer, 1973
  • Folder 11: Kierkegaard and the Education of Historical Consciousness by Ronald J. Manheimer, 1972 – First Draft

Box 3: Items from the Office of Ronald Manheimer

  • Folder 1: Donor Agreement and Deed of Gift from UNC Asheville, undated
  • Folder 2: 23 Pages of black and white photos printed on standard printer paper, with a title page labeled “Roads Taken… or Not, Images of RJM, A night in Casablanca”, undated
  • Folder 3: “Life Without Mother or a Lifetime of Men” by Maybelle Blau
  • Folder 4: “Homespun Poems”  by Effie Davidson
  • Folder 5: “Myself, Madeline, Memories” by Madeline A. Robinson
  • Folder 6: “‘Tell It!’ The Goodness and the Sorrow” by Eva Jenson
  • Folder 7: “Happiness, Hindrances and Harmony” by Pat Brahman
  • Folder 8: “With All My Love” by Vertist Edwards
  • Folder 9: “Excerpts from Life” by Delores Perry
  • Folder 10: “Struggling with Independence” by Eunice Huffman
  • Folder 11: “My Patchwork Quilt” by Flo Bredahl
  • Folder 12: “Madonna of the Prairies and Other Scenes from Life” by Esther Rousseau 
  • Folder 13: “Miss Ann” by Ann Caffee
  • Folder 14: “Times To Remember” – A Humanities Program Booklet
  • Folder 15: “Enjoy Yesterday Everyday” by Hilda Meryhew
  • Folder 16: “Our Family: Sunshine in our Souls” by Lydia Netsch
  • Folder 17: “Echoes of My Life” by Vern Lange
  • Folder 18: “The Dream” by Astrid Sirles
  • Folder 19: “They Sang a Song” by Jean Webster
  • Folder 20: “All The News That Fits” by Rita Happy

Box 4: Items from the Office of Ronald Manheimer Continued

  • Folder 1: “Who Am I” by Genevieve Smoots
  • Folder 2: “Gold and Black Threads” by Fran Madden
  • Folder 3: “The Middle Child” by Dorothy Romstad
  • Folder 4: “Quest For Understanding” by Erdine (“Parky”) Moseson
  • Folder 5: “From There to Here” by R.E. (Dick) Jackman
  • Folder 6: “Of Little Treasures” by Alice M. Hanson
  • Folder 7: “The Eagle at Six” by Saundra Hart Starre
  • Folder 8: “First Taste: My Celebration of the Good Life” by Julie Ann Peterson Hebert
  • Folder 9: “The Years of the Coyotes” by Fred and Oletha Stiegler
  • Folder 10: “I Wrestle the Economy” by Conrad Frishknecht
  • Folder 11: “The Chad Connection” by Margaret McElliot
  • Folder 12: “Home at Home” by Sylvia Retherford
  • Folder 13: “First Generation” by Hjordis Traaem Nicholson
  • Folder 14: “Through the Years” by C.A. Medlock
  • Folder 15: “A View of the Sky” by Jean C. Skamser
  • Folder 16: “Be the Best You Can” by Carol Mugleston
  • Folder 17: “The Tip of a Warm Iceberg” by Florence Wilson

Box 5: Items from the Office of Ronald Manheimer Continued

  • Folder 1: “The Best You Can” by Esther Farrell
  • Folder 2: “Nothing Fancy” by Doris Benckert
  • Folder 3: “On The Move” by Olive Higgins
  • Folder 4: “From All of My Marys to Me” by Constance Jonas
  • Folder 5: “A New Land, A New Beginning” by Vera Klarich
  • Folder 6: “The Life And Times of Harold L. Gibson” by Harold L. Gibson
  • Folder 7: “The Horse Trip” by Bernice Cameron
  • Folder 8: “It Was Something Like This” by R. G. Doubleday
  • Folder 9: “Plowing Time” by Amelia Haller
  • Folder 10: “Life Can Be Beautiful” by Mabel DeBolt
  • Folder 11: “The White Picket Fence” by Esther Thune
  • Folder 12: “There’s Always a Song” by Lola Morrow
  • Folder 13: “As I Remember” by Colleen Wright
  • Folder 14: “Crazy Quilt, Volume 1” by Mary Ann Masterton (and Bruce)

Box 6: Items from the Office of Ronald Manheimer Continued

  • Folder 1: “One Iowan” by Dorothy Goodwin
  • Folder 2: “Craving for Acceptance” by Charlie Hill
  • Folder 3: “Joe – Growing Up and Moving On” by Josephine Wolters
  • Folder 4: “Back Roads” by Evelyn Dahl Garrison
  • Folder 5: “Miss Ann” by Ann Caffee
  • Folder 6: “Crazy Quilt, Volume 2” by Bruce Masterton (and Mary Ann)
  • Folder 7: “After the Earthquake” by Arthur D. Downey
  • Folder 8: “From Farm Girl to Travel and Adventure” by Elisabeth Anne Stone Sherman
  • Folder 9: “Grandma Rose’s Joys” by Rose E. Saxton
  • Folder 10: “From the Patio Door I Watch the Seasons Pass” by Wilma Snyder

Box 7: Items from the Office of Ronald Manheimer Continued

  • Folder 1: “Heart Beat in a Hollow Can” by Yakima
  • Folder 2: “Sand, Sage, and Cement” by Zoe Magden
  • Folder 3: “Sand in My Shoes” by Esther G. (Cater) Benge
  • Folder 4: “On From Wisconsin” by Ethel Corfield
  • Folder 5: “Dear Maurice” by Laura Hrudicka 
  • Folder 6: “Memories” by Sara Dillman
  • Folder 7: “My Family, Memories, Our Work and Events by Esther Sivara
  • Folder 8: “A Cog in the Wheel” by Emma Phillips
  • Folder 9: “Daddy’s Little Doll” by Margaret Hawley
  • Folder 10: “Doctor in Khaki” by Carl Ekman
  • Folder 11: “A Meeting of Two Worlds” by Margaret Krueger
  • Folder 12: “A Station Agent’s Daughter in Canadian Wilds” by Dorothy Snedden
  • Folder 13: “Some Episodes of My Life” by Chatlotte Gillilan
  • Folder 14: “A Young Private’s Civil War: The Diaries of Cephas B. Hunt” by Margaret Queen
  • Folder 15: “Angels and Igloos” by Loretta Larue