Frances Rosenthal Kallison

Frances Rosenthal was born November 29, 1908 in Fort Worth, Texas to Mosco “Mose” Aaron Rosenthal (1877 – 1936) and Mary Neumegen Rosenthal (1878 – 1971) who were married in 1903. Frances’ father was a native Texan. He was the owner and operator of Rosenthal Furniture Company in Fort Worth for most of his adult life until he retired due to the illness which took him at the age of fifty-six. Frances was the couple’s only child.

Frances had learned to ride while still a young girl in Fort Worth. The family store was downtown on Throckmorton Street and she was known to hop on the backs of draft horses that drew the wagon loads of furniture between the store and the barn behind their home. They lived on Leuda Street on Fort Worth’s south side. The family was Jewish, but Frances attended public elementary school at the Eighth Ward School, now named De Zavala, on College Avenue. She attended most of her high school years at Fort Worth Central High School, transferring to an Episcopal school in Dallas where she graduated in 1925.

Frances attended Vassar College and the University of Chicago. She had first enrolled at Vassar but found it not to her liking, so she transferred to University of Chicago, graduating in 1929 with a degree in economics. She had hoped to work in the field of banking and finance, but the Great Depression prevented that from happening at that time.

Frances met her future husband on a trip to San Antonio about a year later. There at a Jewish youth event, she met Perry Kallison, a San Antonio native and son of a Russian immigrant who made his living in ranching, making harnesses, eventually expanding into a farm and ranch supply store. Perry and Frances were married at the downtown Menger Hotel on March 8, 1931 and the couple resided in the San Antonio area thereafter. They lived on the Kallison family ranch, called the Diamond K, northwest of town and situated north of Castroville. Perry was active in the various family businesses and Frances became deeply involved as well. The ranch was already progressive, raising cattle, fine horses and crops, and became known for its palomino horses and polled Hereford cattle.

Perry’s father was Nathan Kallison, an well known resident of San Antonio since around 1899. Kallison’s Store once was a block long business located in the 100 block of South Flores Street. The building still stands. Nathan and Perry’s brother Morris helped to grow the business and also developed more than two dozen other properties downtown. Perry was likewise very active and regularly involved in the business. The store evolved from a farm and ranch store to a department store which remained open until the late 1960s. One of the last family-named businesses downtown was called Kallison’s Western Wear. Symbols of the business included the concrete cowboy that stood on the roof and western themed murals painted on the sides of the building. The ranching operation also grew as the business grew. Early on, half the acreage was cultivated and half was used for grazing and working cattle.

An elementary school is named for Nathan Kallison. There is now a subdivision called Kallison Ranch and other properties also use the Kallison Ranch name. When the Government Canyon State Natural Area was created, now some 12,000 plus acres, about 1,000 acres came from the Kallison Ranch.

At least two books deal with family members. “He Soared with Eagles, a Visionary Whose Achievements Transformed and Inspired a Dynamic Great City” by descendant Jack B. Kallison and Alex Scharlack which concerns Morris, his heritage and his achievements and is from 2011. “The Harness Maker’s Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas” by descendant Nick Kotz from 2013. The Kallison Western Wear concrete cowboy is shown on the cover art of the Kotz book. Both books may still be found.

At the same time that the ranch was in operation and Frances was devoting time to it, she was also active in social issues. She joined and later served as president of the San Antonio chapter of National Council of Jewish Women. Her interests there included efforts to improve conditions for needy and disabled San Antonio children and to mainstream them in the local education system. The family hosted soldiers during World War II to the ranch. There, they were treated to a taste of Texas hospitality with barbecue and horseback rides. She was a founding member of the San Antonio Visiting Nurses Service and served on the boards of the Witte Memorial Museum, the San Antonio Museum Association, the San Antonio Conservation Society and others.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse has been around for decades. One of its most notable functions is to familiarize and educate youth in equestrian affairs by working with 4H and other youth organizations. It was originally conceived as a volunteer mounted posse made up of excellent horsemen to assist the county sheriff’s office. It was founded by Sheriff Owen Kilday in 1947 to combine the features of a social organization and provide the ability to field a group that could offer emergency response to the county if and when needed. The original concept was that each member would carry only honorary deputy sheriff commission, but in emergencies, they could be sworn in and be legally permitted to carry weapons. The initial concept was a men’s group, but Frances was one of the founders of the Ladies’ Auxiliary to the BCSMP, also formed in 1947.

The mounted posse continues to make ceremonial rides and sponsors youth rodeo events at its arena. As an aside, the Ladies’ Auxiliary was occasionally invited to make film and television appearances. The group once appeared in an episode of the 1950s western series called “The Cisco Kid.” They also have uncredited appearances in two films: “Two Guys from Texas,” from 1948, and “Rio Grande,” a John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara film from 1950. It was a John Ford film and despite its name, the outdoor sequences were all filmed in Utah. The latter film held its premiere screening at the downtown Majestic Theater in San Antonio. The whole day, there were activities including introductions of Wayne and O’Hara along with Republic Studio executives. High school bands performed and Maureen O’Hara was given an honorary membership in the Ladies’ Auxiliary.

Frances had a life long passion for history, especially Jewish history in Texas. She was a co-founder of the Texas Jewish Historical Society. After having written many articles for various publications, she obtained a master’s degree from Trinity University in 1977. Her master’s thesis was entitled “100 Years of Jewry in San Antonio.”

Perry Kallison died in 1999 and Frances followed him in death five years later, in 2004. Both are interred at Temple Beth El Cemetery in San Antonio. Frances became the first Jewish woman to be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame when she was posthumously honored in 2016.

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