Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Harrisburg’s City Beautiful Movement presented by historian, William H. Wilson, and journalist, Paul Beers, among others, often focuses too narrowly on the term beauty, leaving other types of beauty out of the narrative. The narrative frequently focuses on men instead of women, policies instead of people, and external beauty rather than internal beauty. However, both types of beauty were crucial in Harrisburg’s City Beautiful Movement.
Mary Sachs was a Russian born immigrant, who came to America with her family at four years old. Sachs began her life in Baltimore, where she worked in a factory as a teenager. However, when she was 19 years old, the great Baltimore fire destroyed the factory where she worked. Seeking a new job, Mary Sachs moved to Harrisburg. There, Sachs worked her way up from being a stock girl to becoming a business owner. She has often been noted as one of Harrisburg’s greatest business women and philanthropists. Sachs was also a devout Jewish woman who dedicated her life to serving others.
Recommended Citation
Schwarzmann, Robin, "Mary Sachs: Two Types of Beauty in Harrisburg" (2020). Student Scholarship. 2.
https://mosaic.messiah.edu/digitalhbg_st/2
Included in
American Studies Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Public History Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, United States History Commons
