Interview begins with discussion of Bukatman's parents, Joseph Katcenelenbogen (Bogen) and Bellia Weinberg. Although both were born in Russia, Joseph and Bellia met and married in New York City. Bukatman notes her father's original surname, Katcenelenbogen, was derived from a village in Poland. Various family members shortened the name after immigration to versions including Katcen, Lenbogen and Bogen. After the Bogens married, they moved to Pennsylvania (where Bukatman was born) and later to Denmark, South Carolina, to seek fortune in the dry goods business. Bukatman was eight years old when the family relocated (1914) to the South. She recalls her family was one of two Jewish families in Denmark, South Carolina, and describes a great deal of anti-Semitism in the town. However, the Bogens survived, and Joseph became a successful dry goods merchant. Bukatman mentions the Ness family, the only other Jews in Denmark at the time, and notes the Ness family also ran a dry goods establishment in direct competition with the Bogens. In terms of religion, Bukatman remembers her mother tried to keep a kosher household in Denmark, but ultimately found it too difficult. Joseph Bogen traveled weekly to Columbia, S.C., to attend synagogue, but Bukatman and her three siblings did not accompany him and had no formal religious training while in Denmark. However, the Bogens moved to Columbia, S.C., when Bukatman was 16, and she recalls the excitement of living among a large Jewish population there. In Columbia, Joseph Bogen ran yet another dry goods store. Bukatman describes the store and mentions other Jewish merchants in Columbia during the 1920s. Interview continues with discussion of Bukatman's adult life and marriage to Michael Lavisky of Columbia, S.C. Bukatman's daughter, Belle L. Jewler, recounts the Lavisky family history and details her paternal grandparents' immigration (1912) from Russia to Columbia. Bukatman and Lavisky married in 1926 and lived in Columbia for many years. Bukatman describes her first husband's involvement with Columbia's Beth Shalom Synagogue, and notes that Michael Lavisky was the congregation's first secretary. She discusses the synagogue's history, memories of Rabbi David Karesh, and the synagogue's progression from Orthodox to Conservative. Other discussions include memories of Rivkin's deli in Columbia, Belle Lavisky's Jewish education, the controversy (1980s) at Beth Shalom regarding women's role in the synagogue, and further discussion of Bukatman's siblings.
