Eighth in a series

Business, sports leaders at Mt. Sinai

(Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series about famous St. Louisans who are buried in local cemeteries. Information is from St. Louisan Kevin Amsler's book, "Final Resting Place: The Lives and Deaths of Famous St. Louisans.")

Mt. Sinai Cemetery in south St. Louis is the burial place for many St. Louisans who made their mark in business and in sports.

The cemetery was established at the merger of the B'nai Brith Society and Emanu El to form the B'nai El Congregation. The Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association was incorporated in 1869. The cemetery now covers 52 acres, with 10,600 people buried there.

A total of 40 private mausoleums are in the cemetery. If you'd like to know more about Mt. Sinai, the association maintains a useful website at www.newmtsinaicemetery.org.

You can read about famous St. Louisans included in previous articles in this series. Go to the YSL.com home page and click on Past Stories and check October, 2006; November, 2006; December, 2006; January, 2007; February, 2007, March, 2007 and April, 2007.

(To buy Mr. Amsler's book, visit a local bookstore or visit www.STL-Books.com.)

Among the well-known St. Louisans buried at Mt. Sinai are:

Rabbi Solomon Sonneschien
(1839-1908)
Rabbi Samuel Sale
(1854-1937)

Rabbi Sonneschien was the first rabbi of Shaare Emeth and later became rabbi of Temple Israel. The temple joined the Mt. Sinai cemetery association in 1888 and the cemetery took the name it still has, New Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association.

Rabbi Samuel Sale took over for Rabbi Sonneschien at Shaare Emeth and served there for 32 years. Rabbi Sale was the first native St. Louis rabbi.

Both are buried in roadside graves near the entrance to Mt. Sinai.

Moses Shoenberg
(1852-1925)
David May
(1848-1927)

May Department Store

Mr. Shoenberg was the first president of May Department Stores and brother-in-law to Mr. May. May served as chairman of May Department Stores. (May Department Stores owned Famous-Barr.)

The two men had gone into business after both moved to St. Louis from Denver.

The group grew over the years to a nationwide chain of department stores. The group was purchased in the 1990s by Macy's and all stores now bear the Macy name.

The Shoenberg and May mausoleums are next to each other at Mt. Sinai.

Julius Baer
(1860-1940)
Sigmund Baer
(1861-1929)
Aaron Fuller
(1858-1936)
Charles Stix
(1861-1916)

Julius and Sigmund opened a dry goods store in Fort Smith, Ark., 1879. They were joined in business by their brother-in-law Mr. Fuller.

In an effort to expand their business, the three men moved to St. Louis. They went into business with Mr. Stix. The first Stix, Baer and Fuller store opened in 1892.

This department store group flourished but was then purchased by Dillard's, which ironically is located in Arkansas, where the Baer brothers started.

The Edison Brothers
(Mark, Simon, Samuel, Henry and Irving)

The five brothers started their first shoe store in Atlanta, Ga., before moving to St. Louis. They built the company into one of the largest shoe merchandising firms in the country.

But, the business went bankrupt in the 1990s.

All five brothers are buried in Mt. Sinai Cemetery.

Dr. Max Goldstein

Dr. Max Goldstein
(1870-1941)

Dr. Goldstein was the founder of the Central School for the Deaf in 1914. That school is still one of the foremost schools for the deaf in the country.

He is buried in a large, gated tomb in Mt. Sinai.

Sam Koplar
(1888-1961)

Chase Park Plaza Hotel

Mr. Koplar made much of his early money by buying theaters and building apartments in St. Louis. But, he is best remembered as the builder and owner of the Chase Park Plaza Hotel and owner of KPLR (Channel 11) television.

His daughter, Lillian, married defense lawyer Morris Shenker. Mr. Shenker defended many major crime figures as well as former Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa. Shenker also had a controlling interest in many businesses, including the Dunes Hotel and Casino in Last Vegas.

Koplar, members of his family and Shenker are all buried at Mt. Sinai.

Sidney Salomon
(1910-1986)
Ben Kerner
(1913-2000)

Mr. Salomon established and owned the St. Louis Blues hockey franchise. He picked the Blues as the team's name in honor of W.C. Handy, who wrote the famed song, "St. Louis Blues."

In the Blues inaugural season, 1967, the team played in the old Arena near Forest Park. The Blues also made it to the Stanley Cup finals, only to lose to the powerful Montreal Canadians. The Blues have never won a Stanley Cup but made the playoffs many years.

Mr. Kerner bought the Hawks in 1955 and they played in the NBA for 13 years. During that time, the Hawks won five Western Division titles and won the NBA title in 1958.

Kerner sold the team to Atlanta in 1968.