Joseph Dave Family Papers
M2004.12

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biographical Note

Administrative Information

Physical Description

Subject Keywords

Collection Inventory

Summary Information

Repository

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Title

Joseph Dave Family Papers

ID

M2004.12

Date

1923-2004

Extent

0.1 Linear feet

Location

Located in Special Collections, Row 6, Section 1.

Language

English

Abstract

Joseph Dave was the founder of Dave Steel Company, Inc., Asheville, North Carolina. The Joseph Dave Family Papers are related to the creation of Dave Steel Company, Inc. and to the personal life of Joseph Dave and his immediate family. Documents, letters, ephemera, newspaper clippings, biographies, and architectural details related to Dave's long career as a civil engineer are included in the papers. The small body of work represented in this donation is the foundation for a proposed later donation that will represent the scope and scale of Joseph Dave and his family's many contributions to the built environment and to the social and economic well-being of Asheville, NC through the years.

Dave Steel Company, Inc. is an Asheville manufacturing and construction business has has been a family business since 1929. Founded in January of 1929 by Joseph Dave at the Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue location, the company expanded and later moved to Meadow Road in 1987. Dave Steel currently employees approximately 90 workers and is managed by Joseph Dave's grandson Jeffrey Dave who succeeded his father, Jerry Dave, who now maintains a presence in the company as the Chairman of the Board.

Biographical Note

Joseph Dave was born in Kovno, Lithuania [Poland] on August 15, 1897. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1907 and settled in Durham, North Carolina. There were five children. His brother, Hyman and three sisters. Joseph Dave's original name was Yosel Teivo but due to a miscommunication during the immigration process, his records were changed to "Joseph Dave."

He was a graduate of Durham High School (1916) and following graduation he entered Trinity College, now known as Duke University. In the fall of 1917 he entered the University of Cincinnati Engineering co-op program and following a brief illness and several temporary employments, he re-enrolled in the Cincinnati program and graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1923. His employment during the years of his formal training included work with the American Tobacco Company, the Bull Durham Tobacco Company and the B&O Railroad and New York Central Railroad, the City of Cincinnati Park Commission, a powerhouse construction project in Louisville, Kentucky and as an engineer for the Corp of Engineers in the US Army.

Following graduation in 1923, Joseph Dave was hired by Don S. Elias, president of Southern Steel & Cement Company in Asheville. Both had attended Trinity College and found much in common. In 1923 he was also approached by S. Sternberg with an offer to work for Sternberg's small steel company, Sternberg & Company. After negotiation with Mr. Elias, Dave committed to work for Sternberg and to become his manager of sales and production. Not long after the amicable transfer, Mr. Sternberg purchased the steel part of the Elias business. The negotiations and transfer benefited all parties.

In Asheville Joseph Dave was active in civic affairs. His activities included work with the Asheville Lions Club, serving as its President in 1932 and work with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, also serving as the Director and Officer of the Chamber. He served as President of the Asheville Orthopedic Association and a member of the Board of Trustees for Asheville-Biltmore College. He was a member and a director of the Temple Beth-Ha-Tephila and supported the Salvation Army and the YMCA. Locally he also established the Joseph Dave Foundation, which originally promoted grants to children of employees for furthering their education and later was broadened to support religious and educational institutions.

In Cincinnati, Dave was on the Board of Directors of the Rockdale Temple and the Glen Manor Home for the Aged and served on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Hospital and the Jewish Community Center of Cincinnati. He was also on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and served as an honorary member until his death in 1983.

In regard to his profession, he was active in the Engineers Society in Cincinnati and in North Carolina and was a registered engineer in North Carolina and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He won the distinguished award from the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and was a member of the McMicken Society of the University of Cincinnati. He served as the Director of the American Institute of Steel Construction and also was co-founder of the Virginia-Carolinas Structural Steel Fabricators Association and co-founder of the Ohio Steel Fabricators Association.

He married Eva Rosenstein and they had two sons, Bernard and Jerome.

Administrative Information

Publication Information

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Rights

No restrictions. Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Accruals

At this time, no accruals are anticipated.

Creator

Jerome Dave

Contributors

Jan Schochet ; Sharon Fahrer ; History@Hand

Processing Information

Originally processed by Special Collections staff, 2005, 2012. Reprocessed with new finding aid by Jess Furst, December 2013.

Physical Description

Includes documents, correspondence, ephemera, and clippings.

Subject Keywords

Dave Steel Company, Inc. ; Joseph Dave ; Hyman Dave ; Jerry Dave ; Jeffrey Dave ; Jerome Dave ; small business ; steel industry

Collection Inventory