Agudas Israel Congregation

Morris Kaplan is used to giving his time, energy and money to Henderson County. Last week he had to adapt to receiving kudos from others as he celebrated his 94th birthday.

If it were up to Kaplan, the milestone would pass by much like any other day.

But although 94 is not a convenient number for division, those who know of Kaplan's contributions were thinking of the number 60. He moved to Hendersonville 60 years ago, married his wife, Anne, 60 years ago, and has been serving his synagogue and his community for all of those six decades.

He seemed genuinely bemused by all the fuss as he sat in the living room of his Blythe Street home last week with Anne. Neatly dressed in a shirt and brown pants with suspenders and a striped tie, he looked the part of elder statesman. A gold Star of David on a chain hangs around his neck and a simple gold wedding band adorns his left hand.

Kaplan was the center of attention at the Hendersonville Kiwanis Club meeting Thursday as fellow members shook his hand and extended birthday greetings following a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

He is a man who routinely puts the welfare of others ahead of himself, said Skip Fendley, who worked with Kaplan at the Interfaith Assistance Ministry, an interdenominational crisis assistance organization.

"He's a natural leader and he has this community at heart," Fendley said. "I appreciate the heart of this man and everything that he does."

The Kiwanis Club birthday recognition for Kaplan is a scene that will be repeated today as friends and family join in a open house reception at Agudas Israel Synagogue in Laurel Park.

Although Kaplan downplays his contributions to Henderson County, a box full of plaques in a hall closet -- so many that the couple lost count years ago -- tells the story of a lifetime of service.

He has a James H. McDuffie Memorial award for Outstanding Community Leadership, the Civitan Citizen of the Year Award, the Richard C. & Vilna Sauer Leadership Award and the WHKP Top 50 Community Leaders Award. Another plaque is from the Hendersonville Urban Renewal Commission, which he chaired for 10 years. Agudas Israel Congregation honored him with an award as well as one from the Community Foundation of Henderson County. Kaplan served as a member of the board of the Henderson County Public Library for 31 years, 29 years as chairman (1970-1999). The library's Kaplan Auditorium is named for him. Three awards are from the Kiwanis Club of Hendersonville, which he served as president and chairman of the loan and scholarship committee -- one for distinguished service, one for outstanding layman and one for the club's shoe program, which he founded and which provides shoes and socks for needy children.

Born July 29, 1911, in Greenport, N.Y., Kaplan moved with his parents, Hyman and Hannah and brothers Louis, Bernard and Seymour, to Carbondale, Pa., in 1918, later settling with them in Scranton, Pa., in 1920.

Like many young American men of his time, his life was by World War II. Drafted by the Army in 1942, he completed basic training in Miami, then went to radio school in Madison, Wisc. He attended Radar School in Boca Raton, Fla., and trained more at Langley Field in Virginia and at Morrison Field in Florida. Kaplan did radar maintenance on Army aircraft during the war, serving with the 459th Bomb Group in Cherignola, Italy in 1943.

During the war, he became friends with a Hendersonville man, Sammy Williams. Williams had a sister named Anne. One look at a wallet photograph of a young woman with long dark hair and a beautiful smile and Kaplan was smitten.

"He showed me pictures of his sister and I asked him if he thought it would be all right if I wrote to her and he said 'sure.'"

It took Anne two weeks to decide to respond to Kaplan, who had attached a note to the bottom of a letter her brother sent, Mrs. Kaplan said. She in turn wrote a short note to Kaplan at the bottom of a letter she sent to her brother.

"Then, the letters started coming," she said as she laughed.

Kaplan came straight to Hendersonville from Italy after the war ended in 1945. He married his sweetheart and began a new life here, in a town he had only visited a few times. Kaplan went to work with his brother-in-law and father-in-law at Louis Williams & Sons, a hardware and plumbing business on Seventh Avenue. He retired from the business in 1978. The Sammy Williams Senior Center at 301 N. Justice St. in Hendersonville is named for Kaplan's brother-in-law, who is also active in various community organizations.

The couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Aug. 26. They have two grown children, David and Eileen, two grandchildren, Lara and Jeffrey, and an infant great-granddaughter, Arianna.

"It was a beautiful little town when I came here," Kaplan said. "Things really changed when GE came in (1955). We had the influx of engineers and the company just transformed the town, because the employees wanted to have good schools for their children and they wanted to have a good place for them to grow up."

His friend Bert Greenberg, president of the Agudas Israel Synagogue, said that Kaplan himself has transformed the town as well.

"This is a man who came here in 1945 and dedicated his life to both his synagogue and his community," Greenberg said. "I call him Mr. Asphalt, he's all over. He's over 6 foot tall and he's got a heart 6-foot-6."

There are not many local organizations that Kaplan has not served with at one time or another.

His community, religious and organizational activities span a range of interests -- the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Friends of the Henderson County Library, the Greater Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce, Jewish War Veterans, Pardee Hospital Interfaith Chaplaincy Board, the United Way and the Henderson County Family YMCA, to name a few. He was present at the creation of many of the organizations that have worked to make civic life better.

Kaplan's value to the organizations he has been involved with lies in his ability to get things done, said Priscilla Cantrell, former executive director of the Community Foundation of Henderson County. Kaplan was a founding director and charter board member in 1982 and worked with Cantrell for many years.

"He's the type of person that when he sees something needs to be done, he knows how to bring the right people together to make things happen for the good of the community," she said. "He's one of these people too that does things quietly. People just don't know all the things he has done because he's so quiet about it. He doesn't do it to be thanked or acknowledged in any way. I'd love to live to be his age and be able to do all the things he's done."

At 94, Kaplan says he has his share of health problems. He is on his third pacemaker, his hearing is deteriorating and he usually walks with a cane.

"I think considering everything, he is in great shape," Mrs. Kaplan said as she looked at her husband and gently patted his leg.

But his mind is as sharp as ever. Reading and writing poetry are favorite pursuits, and his keen observance of life is reflected in his musings. His love of Old Testament Psalms inspires him to write verses on a variety of subjects from library books to his family and his temple, Kaplan said.

"To pray is to act, our blessings to repay, God will accept our prayers if we serve man in our day," he wrote in a poem called Am I My Brother's Keeper?

He credits his longevity to two things -- marrying the right woman and being active in helping others at every opportunity.

"You can best serve God by serving others, getting involved in something outside of yourself is important," he said with a smile. "It's been a good life here."

Morris Kaplan
Community, Religious and Organizational Activities

Agudas Israel Congregation
Board of Trustees, current member
Member, 1945 - present
Past President
Past Lay Leader
Past Sunday School principal and teacher

American Legion
Member, Oct. 5, 1945 - present

B’nai B’rith, Hendersonville
Charter member, Jan. 3, 1949 - present
Past president, 1955-1956

Community Foundation of Henderson County
Past Founding Director and Charter Board Member, 1982-1987
Contributing member - present

Friends of the Henderson County Public Library
Life Member

Greater Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce
Past Director
Past committee member
Board of Directors

Henderson County Ministerial Association
Member, 1989-- present

Henderson County Public Library
Past member of the Board (31 years), 1968-1999
Chairman for 29 years, 1970-1999

Henderson County study commissions (multiple):
City, county government and school consolidation, child care, etc.
Chairman, Child Care Review Committee

Hendersonville Cleanup Committee
Chairman, 1979

Hendersonville Urban Redevelopment Commission of Henderson County
Appointed to board 1966
Past member for 13 years, 1966-1979
Chairman for 10 years, 1968-1979

Jewish War Veterans
Member, Oct. 5, 1945 - present

Kiwanis Club
Member 1955-present
Past President, 1965
Past Chairman of Shoe Program (44 years from its inception in 1955)
Past Chairman, Loan & Scholarship

Northwestern Bank/First Union National Bank
Board of Directors, 1973 - present

Pardee Hospital Interfaith Chaplaincy Board
Charter Member & Emeritus, 1981-present

Parent Teacher Organization, Hendersonville High School
Past President, 1965

American Red Cross
Past Board Member

Second Wind Hall of Fame
Past Board of Directors

United Jewish Appeal for Overseas Relief
Chairman
Member, 1948-present

United Religions Initiative (URI)
Chairman
Member steering committee, 2000-2004
Member - present

United Way
Past Committee Member

Veterans of Foreign Wars
Member, Oct. 5, 1945 - present

Western North Carolina Community Action Advisory Committee
Past Charter Board Chairman 1969