| | Abstract: | Abe M. Luntz (1893-1981) was born in Akron, Ohio, on March 6, 1893 of Polish Jewish immigrant parents, Samuel and Rebecca Wolf Luntz. He and his family moved to Canton, Ohio, when he was around 6 years old. He attended public schools in Canton, was very active in sports, and graduated from Canton's Central High School in 1913. After graduation, he went to work for his father's company, the Canton Iron and Metal Company. With his brother Darwin, he founded the Luntz Iron and Steel Company in 1916 due to the growing need for scrap with the onset of World War I. He held several positions in the Luntz Iron and Steel Company before becoming president in 1951. The company became one of the United States' premiere scrap and steel brokerage firms and expanded into Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. Abe Luntz married Fanny Teplansky on October 10, 1916. They had five children, Robert, Richard, William, Theodore, and Joan. The family moved to Cleveland in 1939 for business purposes as well as for more varied religious, musical, and educational opportunities. All of his sons joined in the family business. Luntz was also known for his benevolence to a wide variety of civic, cultural, medical, and religious groups and causes both in Canton and Cleveland. He was president of The Temple in University Circle from 1950-1960. He was active with the YMCA, the Boy Scouts, the Montefiore Home, the Singing Angels, and the Jewish Welfare Fund, among others. He was also a board member of many organizations including Mount Sinai Hospital, the Community Chest, United Appeal, Jewish Community Federation, and the Art Museum. He was especially involved with the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), a human rights organization promoting peace, tolerance, and social justice (now known as the National Conference for Community and Justice). He held both local and national offices and won its highest award, the National Human Relations Award, in 1957. He died on February 24, 1981. The collection consists of brochures, certificates, correspondence, a deed, an invitation, legislation, lists, magazine articles, maps, a memoir, newsletters, newspaper articles, notes, obituaries, press releases, programs, reports, speech texts, and a will. | |
