THE VOLGA GERMANS IN PORTLAND
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People > Stories > Zinnte Pfund

Zinnte Pfund

Many of the Volga German families in Portland were in the garbage hauling business, but there were also specialists in collecting scrap metals. One such specialist was a Jewish man who regularly came through the Albina neighborhood with a horse and wagon. This man was known for bargaining with the residents over the price of scrap metals in what was probably a combination of Volga German dialect and Yiddish. He was known by the nickname of Zinnte Pfund, which roughly translates to "tin by the pound."

It is likely that this man was Sam Schnitzer, a Russian immigrant who started a one-man scrap business in 1906 called Alaska Junk Company. This company would later become Schnitzer Steel Industries, a global leader in metals recycling. The Schnitzer family is well known in Portland for their philanthropy. 

Source

Story told by Harold Kammerzell (December 2015).
Last updated November 12, 2016.
Copyright © 1998-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About This Website
    • Reviews
  • History
    • Historical Timeline
    • Migration to Russia
    • Emigration from Russia
    • Settlement in America
    • Migration to Portland
    • Little Russia
    • A Short History of Albina
    • World War I
    • The Volga Relief Society >
      • Portland Volga Relief Society Subscribers 1921
    • World War II
    • Assimilation and Dispersion
  • Beliefs
    • Churches >
      • Albina Seventh-day Adventist Church
      • First United Mennonite Baptist Church
      • Ebenezer German Congregational Church
      • Free Evangelical Brethren Church >
        • German Evangelical Congregational Brethren Church
      • Second German Baptist Church
      • St. Pauls Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • Second German Congregational Church >
        • Evangelical Congregational Church
      • Zion German Congregational Church >
        • Rivercrest Community Church
    • Pastors
    • The Brethren
    • Denominations >
      • German Reformed Church
      • German Evangelical Synod of North America
      • Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • German Congregational Church
      • Seventh-day Adventists
      • United Church of Christ
  • People
    • Our People
    • Notables
    • Pioneers 1881-1892
    • Stories
    • Photographs
    • Help Identify These People
  • Community
    • Characteristics
    • Businesses >
      • Bakeries Retailers and Services
      • Garbage Haulers
      • Grocery and Meat Markets
      • Restaurants >
        • Helsers on Alberta
        • McCormick & Schmicks
        • Wildwood
      • Saloons and Taverns
      • Suppliers and Manufacturers
    • Employers
    • Education
    • Sports
    • Maps
    • Documentary
  • Traditions
    • Foods
    • Folk Medicine
    • Expressions
    • Weddings
    • Holidays
    • Folk Music
    • Funerals and Burial Sites
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Books and Video
    • Works Cited