Clara Ferrin-Bloom
From left to right: Group photo with Clara and David W. Bloom (third and fourth from left), interior of Myers and Bloom store, 1911, Leona G. and David A. Bloom, 1991
Clara Ferrin-Bloom was a Tucson native born to immigrant parents from Frankfurt, Germany: Joseph and Therese Marx Ferrin. A lifelong Tucsonan, she strengthened the city’s community through decades of public service with her devotion to education and philanthropic acts.
Clara was born on July 26, 1881, in the Ferrin family home, which was located at the corner of Meyer Avenue and Cushing Street in Barrio Viejo. Clara bore witness to the continuous development of the city of Tucson throughout her life, including during her early childhood, as she and her siblings received their early education at Congress Street School. The school, which opened in 1875, was the first in Tucson’s history to be publicly funded, and it offered instruction in Spanish and English to both boys and girls. On December 24th, 1900, the property was sold, and the building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Congress Street would eventually serve as the location of David Bloom & Sons Clothing Store, which Clara’s future husband owned from 1931-68.
Clara enrolled at the University of Arizona in 1893 at the age of twelve. During her seven years in college preparatory and university, young Clara showed immediate interest in leadership roles. She became president of the university’s Philomathean Literacy Society and eventually founded the UA Alumni Association in 1897. Clara graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree, which covered subjects ranging from literature to scientific courses in June 1901, in a class of only three students. As early as November 1901, only a mere five months after graduation, Clara was already showing her passion for education by establishing herself as a school teacher and participating in The Joint County Teachers’ Institute. During her eleven years as a dedicated teacher, Clara taught at a few schools, such as the original Drachman Elementary School and Safford Elementary School.
Outside of school, Clara was often found participating in multiple charities and causes. Her endeavors included being on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Health League, which served Tucsonans afflicted by tuberculosis, singing in a local Choral Club, attending UA Alumni dinners, and founding a Collegiate Club which was later absorbed into the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Additionally, Clara would help raise funds for what would later become Temple Emanu-El.
After an eleven-year tenure, she left her position as a teacher and married her husband David W. Bloom on June 9, 1912. David and Clara went on to have two daughters and three sons, including David A. Bloom, who, with the help of his wife Leona, ultimately established the Bloom Family Southwest Jewish Archives at the University of Arizona.
Clara’s family life did not keep her from serving Tucson’s community as a whole. Clara was still very active in the community, whether she was working in charities or in arts and crafts clubs. Some noble charitable work included aiding Tucson’s Mexican community via Associated Charities where Clara supplied families with clothes, food, work, and medical assistance as a “Chairman to Mexican Work.” Additionally, Clara supported U.S. troops with the Red Cross as a fervent volunteer during both World War I and World War II.
Showing her devotion to helping the youth of Tucson, her philanthropic actions included children as well. Clara assisted a public clinic ran by the Child’s Welfare Association of Tucson, and was on a reception committee for a new children’s tubercular ward only a few years after her own child, Harriet Theresa, passed away from tuberculosis meningitis at eight years old.
In 1952, she helped establish the Tucson Women’s Symphony Association (TWSA) as a founding member of the Board of Directors. During this period, funding for music education was significantly reduced, prompting the TWSA to fundraise for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Later in life, Clara would list being a part of TWSA as one of her proudest accomplishments, in addition to helping her mother raise funds for Temple Emanu-El with a letterwriting campaign. She was also a member of the Tucson Festival Society, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Southwest’s cultural heritage.
Clara Ferrin-Bloom died on April 17, 1973, just weeks after a public elementary school was named in her honor. Clara Ferrin Bloom Elementary School is still educating children to this day and is located on East Pima Street. At the time of Clara’s passing, she was also recognized as the eldest member of Temple Emanu-El.
Tucson Unified School District
Tucson Youth Music Center
Tucson Citizen
Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives
Matriarch's Legacy Lives, by Paul G. Alvin
Cholent and Chorizo, by Abraham Chanin
Jewish Settlers in the Arizona Territory, by Blaine Lamb
Arizona Daily Star
The First Hundred Years; the History of Tucson School District 1 Tucson, Arizona, 1867-1967, by James F. Cooper
Photo credits: Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives