Herman Stern

Herman Stern
Born 1887
Died 1980
Occupation Businessman

Herman Stern (1887-1980), humanitarian, social and economic activist, businessman, visionary and director of the North Dakota Winter Show, Holocaust rescuer.

Early life

Born Germany in 1887, Herman Stern immigrated to America in 1903, where he took work at the Straus Clothing store in Casselton, then managed the Straus businesses from his store in Valley City, where he lived for the remainder of his life. In addition to his businesses, charitable work and support of the Boy Scouts of America, Stern developed the North Dakota Winter Show.

Holocaust Rescuer

In the 1930s, with the aid of his wife Adeline and active cooperation from U.S. Senator Gerald Nye, Stern managed to save the lives of over 125 German Jewish refugees bringing them to the United States. He said little in later life about rescuing so many men and women from inevitable death in the Holocaust, noting only “they did not owe me anything.” For his many achievements and contributions to the state, Stern was inducted into the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of fame in 2014 by North Dakota Governor Jack Dalyrmple.[1]

Civic and Fraternal Organizations

Herman Stern was inducted into the Casselton Lodge No. 3 of Freemasonry in 1908. In 1913 Mr. Stern became a member of the Valley City Lodge. He was a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite[2] and was a Master Mason.[3]

Mr. Stern was a member of Rotary International a service oriented organization.[4]

Herman Stern was the founder of the Greater North Dakota Chamber. The Greater North Dakota Chamber promotes business development and North Dakota tourism, the organization also celebrated its 90th anniversary as of 2014.[5]

Mr. Stern founded an organization called the Community Chest. The organization is the predecessor to the current United Way of Barnes County.[6]

Honors and Awards

In 1974 Herman Stern was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award, bestowed by the Boy Scouts of America in recognition of exceptional service to youth. [7]

Camp Wilderness created an award named after Herman Stern, in recognition of his funding and creation efforts for the camp. The Herman Stern Honor Troop Award is given to troops at the end of each week of camp during the summer season. The award is given to Boy Scout troops for camp participation, and adherence to the twelve points of the Scout Law.[8]


References

  1. "Dalrymple Names Herman Stern the 40th Recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award". North Dakota Office of the Governor.
  2. "Herman Stern Receives North Dakota's Highest Award" (PDF). North Dakota Masons. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  3. "How to Join". Scottish Rite. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  4. "Herman Stern Receives North Dakota's Highest Award" (PDF). North Dakota Masons. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  5. "State Chamber celebrates 90 years". Greater North Dakota Chamber. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  6. "Herman Stern". North Dakota Office of the Govenor. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  7. "List of Silver Buffalo Recipients". Scouting Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. "Herman Stern Honor Troop Award Camp Wilderness" (PDF). Northern Lights Council Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.