Morris E. Adelstein (Northwestern Engineering Company) Papers

Morris Adelstein was born in Des Moines, Iowa on June 2, 1894. His parents Meyer and Bailey Adelstein emigrated from Russia in 1890 or 1891 and settled in Des Moines. Meyer and Bailey separated and Bailey married a second time, but in 1910 left her second husband and homesteaded land in the Dakota Territory. Bailey Adelstein Martinsky moved with her two youngest daughters to Kadoka, South Dakota, where she started a store. Kadoka is near the Rosebud Sioux reservation. Morris and one of sisters remained in Des Moines. In 1916, Morris graduated from Highland Park College in Des Moines with a degree in engineering. Morris enlisted in the army in 1917 and was assigned to the 528th Engineers, where he became company clerk. After serving in France and Germany, he was discharged in 1919 at the rank of lieutenant. After the war, Morris joined his mother in Kadoka and was elected as the county engineer for several counties. Morris married Bertha Greenberg on 27 Jan 1924 in Sioux City, Iowa. Bertha Greenberg, daughter of Aaron Greenberg and Julia Miller, was born in 1904 in Russia. In 1924, Morris Adelstein and a banker formed Northwestern Engineering and the company flourished. Northwestern Engineering Company constructed many of the highways in South Dakota, the Beaver Creek arch bridge in Wind Cave National Monument, and much of the initial construction of Ellsworth Air Force Base. Stanford Mark Adelstein was born on August 19, 1931 in Sioux City, Iowa. Robert Adelstein was born in Rapid City, South Dakota on December 8, 1934. In 1945, the Adelsteins moved to Denver and became active in Temple Emanuel. In 1947, Morris Adelstein became involved with illegally supplying arms to Palestine before Israel became a state. Morris Adelstein helped create the General Rose Memorial Hospital. He was active in the Children’s Asthma Research Institute, National Jewish Hospital, the Denver Chapter of the United Jewish Appeal, and was on the executive committee of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC). Morris Adelstein died on December 17, 1968 in Denver, Colorado. Stanford Adelstein met Ita Korn at Temple Emanuel in Denver, Colorado while he was freshman at the University of Colorado. They were married on December 19, 1952. Stanford Adelstein joined Northwestern Engineering in 1957, after serving in the Army Corps of Engineers. Stanford Adelstein and his family moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, where he became president of Northwestern Engineering Company in 1968. Stanford Adelstein was a South Dakota State Representative and Senator for many years. He is also active in helping the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota, particularly in helping developing future engineers.