Ike Kempner

Ike Kempner was a prominent merchant and Jewish leader in Little Rock, Arkansas. Kempner had his hand in at least twenty-eight separate Arkansas firms, most notably Kempner Brothers Shoe Store and Ike Kempner and Bros. Women's Clothing. In the 1910s Kempner was the manager of Gus Blass Dry Goods Company, co-owner of Kempner Brothers Shoe Store, director of German National Bank, director of Merchants Lighting Company, and director of Arkansas Cold Storage. In that decade he was also the treasurer of City Market & Arcade Company, owner of the Kempner Opera House, and co-owner of the Gem Theatre and Royal Theatre. He also invested heavily in the real estate and business markets of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Kempner was also the president of the Concordia Association, the leading Jewish social club in the city.

Kempner lived with cigar manufacturer Isaac Kempner, David Kempner, and Jacob Kempner at 1001 West Fifth Avenue. He was interred at Oakland Hebrew Cemetery in Little Rock.

References

• The Book of Arkansas (Little Rock: Arkansas Gazette, 1913), 46.
• Carolyn Gray LeMaster, "A Corner of the Tapestry: A History of the Jewish Experience in Arkansas, 1820s-1990s," (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Pres, 1994), 113.