Table Of Content"The Provincials is a classic portrait of Jewish history in the American
South. Drawing on his own roots in North Carolina, Eli Evans eloquently
explores the contributions of Jews in communities—from small towns to
large cities—throughout the region. In recent years the book has inspired
an exciting new field of teaching and research on Jewish studies in the
American South. This edition of The Provincials, enriched by the addition
of historic and family photos along with a new introduction, is an essential
resource for courses on the American South and on Jewish history in the
region. It is also a powerful reminder of the distinguished contributions
Jews have made both to the American South and to our nation."—William
Ferris, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities,
coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
" [Evans] endows his narrative with a human texture which elevates it to lit-
erature. The Provincials is a multilayered book of great warmth and feeling.
... It has become an enduring classic."—Willie Morris, from the Foreword
"Eli Evans shows what history can be —a panoramic picture of perspective
and depth, warmed by vibrant color and enriched with personal under-
standing."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A fresh subject—'Personal' in the subtitle is the key to this book's attrac-
tiveness. Evans grew up in the tobacco town of Durham, N.C., where his
father ran the only integrated lunch counter and served as mayor during the
civil-rights struggles between 1950 and 1962. His maternal grandmother
founded the first Southern chapter of Hadassah, the women's Zionist orga-
nization, for which his mother traveled. .. . His book is a testament to their
example."—Walter demons, Newsweek
"An entertaining and informative chronicle, warmly expressed, most valu-
able, of what it's like to grow up Jewish in the South."—Denver Post
"An extraordinary work of literary art."—Dallas Morning News
"A reflective, often humorous, always authentic mix . . . rich in vignettes
about Jewish family dynasties. . . . An honest, understanding panorama."
— National Jewish Monthly
"The Provincials is a magnificent evocation of place and time. . . . [A] mov-
ing, memorable chronicle. It is an important book because its subject is
important —the history of the Jew in the South, of the South itself, of the
nation. .. . [A]n invaluable addition to our understanding of the American
experience."—Hodding Carter III, publisher, Delta Democrat-Times
"A warm and illuminating... book about people. It fills a gap in the South's
literature." —Claude Sitton, former Southern correspondent, The New
York Times
"When he talks about himself and his Jewish contemporaries, his book is
a fascinating revelation. ... It is easily read and illuminating, kosher grits
and all."— Washington Post
"A fascinating family saga."—New York Magazine
"A well-written, readable volume, of interest to all Southerners and a very
valuable addition to regional history."—Nashville Banner
"Warmly evocative and ever so true. The Provincials succeeds not only as
social history but [also] as a personal chronicle." — New York Daily News
"An honest, probing, appealing account written with affection, pride and
a measure of critical detachment."—Library Journal
"Evans' chronicle is an experience—and a work of considerable histori-
cal significance. It has the personal touch which makes it intriguing."
—Sacramento, California Union
"Optimistic and sentimental . . . wonderful word portraits."
—New Orleans, Louisiana Times-Picayune
"A pure delight to read. . . . Warm, witty, vivid and thoroughly charming....
A penetrating powerful description of what it's like to be Southern and
Jewish."—Janice O. Rothschild, Hadassah Magazine
"A sensitive h is tory. . . which is also the moving story of one Jewish, South-
ern boy as he grows to manhood. . . . His book is filled with the quiet,
sturdy optimism and faith in people that he and his family have always
displayed."—Detroit Free Press
"Evans is not only informed and perceptive but comfortable enough in his
Southernness to write objectively, entertainingly and nostalgically."
— Norfolk Virginian Pilot
"His book resonates truth and evokes strong memories of my own experi-
ence. Mr. Evans recaptured for me the mood of the times while I was grow-
ing up and working in the South."—Morris B. Abram, former president of
Brandeis University
"With that peculiar evocative talent of the Southern writer, he writes of a
languorous free-spirited childhood."—Philadelphia Inquirer
"Largely an unrecorded story. It is a personal history, too, in which the au-
thor plays the history of Southern Jewish life against his own growing up
in Durham."—San Francisco Chronicle
"Captivating, provocatively and artfully written. . . . This book is prodi-
giously researched and is an extraordinary intertwining of autobiography
with an unfamiliar facet of Americana."—Business Week
"Best-selling works like Our Crowd and The Grandees have told the story
of New York's proud German and Sephardic Jews. This book has all the
readability of these, the humor, the courage, the squabbles, the contribu-
tion, but a great deal more in both literary and historic value."—Asheville,
North Carolina Citizen Times
"Few others have probed with such perception the intricacies of not only
Jewish life in the South, but American life anywhere. It ought to be required
reading in Southern high school English classes." — Betty Hodges, Durham
Morning Herald
"The tastiest mix of family reminiscences, journalistic reportage, sociologi-
cal analysis and impressionistic local history that I have read for a long time.
It is a truly fascinating story ... as North Carolinian as Thomas Wolfe, as
Jewish as bagels and as genuinely American as the best TV documentary."
—Rabbi Bertram Korn, author of American Jewry and the Civil War
"How to describe so haunting a book? Eli Evans offers a South largely
unknown yet familiar, a South somehow always seen on the edges of the
mind, felt deeply in the heart. To read The Provincials is to enter a fuller,
realer South than we have experienced before." —Frank Vandiver, author
of Mighty Stonewall and Their Tattered Flag
"Eli Evans has written himself a fine book. His insights, written in fine
prose, will make this book stick around a long time." — Harry Golden
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The Provincials
ALSO BY ELI EVANS
Judah P. Benjamin:
The Jewish Confederate
The Lonely Days Were Sundays:
Reflections of a Jewish Southerner
The Provincials
A Personal History of Jews in the South
ELI N. EVANS
With Photographs and a
New Introduction by the Author
foreword by Willie Morris
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
© 1973, 1977, 2005 Eli N. Evans
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Evans, Eli N.
The provincials : a personal history of Jews in the South /
by Eli N. Evans; with photographs and a new
introduction by the author; foreword by Willie Morris
p. cm.
Previously published: New York: Free Press Paperbacks,
1997. With additional material.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8078-2958-7 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8078-5623-1 (pbk.: alk. paper)
I.Jews —Southern States 2. Evans, Eli N. 3. Southern
States —Ethnic relations I. Title
F220.J5 E82 2005
975'.004924-dc22 2004063767
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," music by
J. Frecl Coots, words by Haven Gillespie, copyright
© 1934 (renewed 1962) Leo Feist, Inc.
cloth 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
paper 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
To my grandparents,
Jennie and Eli Nachamson
and
Sadie and Isaac Evans,
who came from Eastern Europe
and saw the Statue of Liberty
and took a chance on the South.
To my parents,
Sara and E. J. "Mutt" Evans,
who taught my brother and me
the joy in a commitment to
faith, family, community, learning.
And to my wife and son,
Judith and Joshua,
for life and love.
As we celebrate the 350th anniversary of
Jews coming to America,
we have lived 100 years of it.
And we are grateful.
