Brown County Gleanings: Nohum Bernard Bunin – “Shorty the Jew”

Written by Clay Riley – The current generation should know about the people of great character and compassion, that made this county special. Formally in Coggin Park, now at the 36^th Division Memorial Park, is a memorial to the military causalities of WWII from Brown County who made the supreme sacrifice. The man who silently donated the funds for the memorial was a WWI Veteran and Brownwood businessman Nohum Bernard Bunin or as he was affectionately known as “Shorty the Jew” who owned and operated The Leader clothing store on the south side of the courthouse square for 37 years.

Nohum Bernard Bunin was born in Gomel, Russia July 2, 1889. He and his mother arrived in America in 1899 to join Isaac Bunin, the husband and father, who had previously moved to Stevens Point, Wisc. Young Bunin received a BA Degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1912. N B Bunin lived at Stevens Point until coming to south Texas. He entered Army service at Port Arthur and served overseas 15 months in World War I with the 144th Infantry of Texas’ 36th Division. His duty on battlefronts included service as an Army interpreter. He could speak seven or eight languages. After the war he moved to Brownwood and established the business that he operated until the announcement, that because of ill health, he sold The Leader to Levine’s.

As one person who knew him said; “A great man, loved by all who knew him. A number of people in the community were nicknamed “Shorty” so it helped that he was called “Shorty the Jew”, which simply helped to identify him from others with the same nickname. No one actually thought of him as Jewish or any other ethnic group. He was just their friend. He served our country and his fellow man, providing whatever was necessary in a quiet, unassuming way.

Nohum Bernard Bunin
Birth: Jul. 2, 1889, Russian Federation
Death: Feb. 3, 1956 Brownwood
Brown County
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OBITUARY
N. B. BUNIN, MERCHANT HERE FOR 37 YEARS DIES; FUNERAL IN MILWAUKEE.
N. B. (Shorty) Bunin, 66, who owned and operated The Leader clothing store on the south side of the courthouse square the past 37 years died of a heart ailment at 5 pm Friday in a local hospital. ((Known to all his friends and customers as “Shorty the Jew”))
The body left Davis-Morris funeral home Saturday night for Milwaukee, Wisc., where funeral services will be conducted 10:30 Tuesday by Rabbi Harold Baumrind in the Goodman-Bensman Funeral Home chapel. Burial will be at the Bunin family plot in Milwaukee’s New Home Cemetery.

N B Bunin lived at Stevens Point until coming to South Texas. He entered Army service at Port Arthur and served overseas 15 months in World War I with the 144th Infantry of Texas’ 36th Division. After the war he moved to Brownwood and established the business that he operated until announcement of the past week that because of ill health, he had sold The Leader to Levine’s.
On the day of his death, a news item appeared in The Bulletin announcing the sale of The Leader to Levine’s, along with the statement that Myron Rissman would be in charge of collection of accounts for The Leader “at the old stand.” Mr. Bunin never married and made his home here with Mr. and Mrs. Rissman.

The news item concerning the sale of The Leader quoted Mr. Bunin as stating that it was “with great reluctance” that he was forced to terminate his business. Expressing appreciation for the “generosity and goodwill of the public during the past 37 years of patronage,” Mr. Bunin concluded with “I trust Providence will bless this beautiful country with moisture; also good health and happiness to all our people, Thank you.”

Mr. Bunin contributed liberally to numerous local projects and to the unfortunate. Friends declare there is no way of ever knowing the full extent of his generosity in charitable activities.
He was the donor of the marble memorial in Coggin Park (shown below) which carries the names of all Brown County men who lost their lives while serving with U. S. armed services during World War II.

Former location at Coggin Park.

Mr. Bunin suffered a heart attack last Oct. 22. After returning to his home, 106 Pecan, he had shown some improvement in recent weeks. His condition became worse a few days ago and he was taken to the hospital Thursday morning. On the day of his death, a news item appeared in The Bulletin announcing the sale of The Leader to Levine’s, along with the statement that Myron Rissman would be in charge of collection of accounts for The Leader “at the old stand.”

The news item concerning the sale of The Leader quoted Mr. Bunin as stating that it was “with great reluctance” that he was forced to terminate his business. Expressing appreciation for the “generosity and goodwill of the public during the past 37 years of patronage,” Mr. Bunin concluded with “I trust Providence will bless this beautiful country with moisture; also good health and happiness to all our people, Thank you.”

Modest, quiet and sincere in his dealings with thousands during his long business activity here, “Shorty” Bunin became a remarkable “one-man Brownwood institution.” In addition to making a success of his own store in a unique and individual manner of merchandising,

Mr. Bunin contributed liberally to numerous local projects and to the unfortunate. Friends declare there is no way of ever knowing the full extent of his generosity in charitable activities.
He was the donor of the marble memorial in Coggin Park (shown here) that carries the names of all Brown County men who lost their lives while serving with U. S. armed services during World War II.
Survivors include three sisters, Mrs. Rose B Krom and Mrs. M. L. Mayer, both of Milwaukee, and Mrs. Myron Rissman of Brownwood. Mr. Bunin never married and made his home here with Mr. and Mrs. Rissman. His father, Isaac Bunin, died in Brownwood in 1948. A brother, Sam Bunin, former Brownwood resident, died in the Veterans Hospital at Temple Jan. 31, 1954.
Mr. Bunin was a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The family requests no flowers.
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As a note; Myron Rissman was Shorty’s brother-in-law and the primary founder of the Levine’s Department Store chain, which opened in the 1920s..

This is an example of the honest, patriotic and hard-working individuals that have honored Brown County with their presence. Future generations need to know about this man; just one of the “Greatest Generation.”   

Note. The T-Patch insignia for the 36^th division design was a light blue arrowhead containing a letter “T.” The arrowhead symbolized the Indian Territory in Oklahoma while the “T” symbolized Texas. -CR

Source: Historical and biographical information from the files of the Brownwood Public Library, Genealogy & Local History Branch., Feb. 5, 1956 Brownwood Bulletin, pgs. 1 and 8.

Photos: Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch. Clay Riley’s personal photos.

This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.

Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years.

Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.