B'nai B'rith Gate City Lodge #144 (Atlanta, Ga.) Records

Jospeh Hirsch and Aaron Haas were the leaders in the establishment of the first Gate City Lodge of B'nai B'rith on May 8th, 1870. One of the hfounders of the Lodge was also Isaac Guthman, grandfather of Richard Guthman, a current Trustee of the Lodge and City of Atlanta Councilman. The Lodge met in the old Kiser building. On April 1, 1874, Gate City Lodge became a part of District 5 B'nai B'rith. In 1900, a group of young men organized Atlanta B'nai B'rith Lodge. Among the charter members were Milton Klein, Leonard Haas, Walter Rich, David Kaufman, Herbert Haas and Armand May. The group met at The Temple on Pryor Street. Five years later, on December 31, 1905, the two B'nai B'rith Lodges combined and became known as Gate City Lodge No. 144 B'nai B'rith. Past presidents of the organization include Herbert Haas, Milton Klein, Rabbi David Marx, Leo Frank, Morris Lichtenstein, J. S. Brail, Dr. Louis C. Roughlin, Julian V. Boehm, Barney Medintz, Max N. Kroloff, Isadore Moss, Water Rich, Nathan Saltzman, Oscar R. Strauss, Dr. B. A. Wildaur, Joseph B. Wolfe, and Edward Glaser.