Hyman Frank Lotven was born in Russia in January 1911. He was the youngest of six between his parents, Jenny and Israel. Lotven didn’t know his father until he was 9 years old because Israel had left for work in America when Lotven was only a month old.

Lotven, his mother and his five siblings spoke Yiddish while they lived in Russia, and they were very poor. He described life as “very rough” until the family finally escaped to Poland in 1921. After several weeks in Warsaw, the smugglers, who were hired by Lotven’s father, put the family on a ship to the United States.

He started school in September 1921 after the family settled in Springfield. He didn’t know any English at the time.

When WWII broke out, Lotven and his brother Isadore served in the Armed Forces. It was during this time they met their would-be wives, who were sisters.

Lotven married Regina in France right after the war and moved back to Springfield, where he later became an advocate for the Ozarks Jewish community.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read all of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.

Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.

Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.

Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.

Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.

Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.