In the ‘50s, Silver thrived in the business corridor in downtown Alexandria, and by 1960 had become the sole owner of Weiss and Goldring, an upscale specialty store that would help anchor the opening of the Alexandria Mall in 1973. The successful businessman-turned-politician has become one of the premier “architects” of the city’s ever-changing business landscape as he continues to help with the plans to revitalize downtown Alexandria, an area which was once the heart of the city.
Although it was a military assignment that first brought him to Rapides Parish in 1944, it was love that made him decide to locate permanently to the area. “I fell in love with an attractive, sparkling Southern girl. I was 21, and she was 16,” Silver reminisces about Marilyn Levy Silver, his bride of 64 years. Silver was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey. In high school, he was an athlete and graduated in the top 10 out of 600 graduates. After high school, Harry started pursuing a law degree at Rutgers University. “My dad and his two brothers had a law firm, so I grew up in and around the law,” notes Silver. However, in September 1942, he joined the Air Force to prepare to fight in World War II. After various assignments, Silver served as an athletic instructor and water-safety instructor in Abilene, Texas. “I would teach the soldiers how to swim through burning oil and how to survive by resting their chin on their helmet to keep them afloat,” he recalls.
By 1944, Silver was stationed at Esler Field in Pineville at the Air Force base. It was a move where he was destined to meet his future wife. At the Jewish Temple in Alexandria, Harry met Marilyn, who had grown up in Alexandria. In 1946, he was discharged from the Air Force. He returned to New Jersey to finish his law degree, attending both Rutgers and Columbia University simultaneously so he could finish his degree. He received his juris doctor from the School of Law at Rutgers University. But instead of remaining in the north to pursue a career as a lawyer, Harry moved back to Alexandria, and in 1948, married Marilyn Levy.
With his fashion and style sense, Silver was a natural to join the Levy family retail business in their Weiss and Goldring department store. In 1901, the family business was located at the corner of 2nd St. and Murray in Alexandria. When the business needed to expand in the early ‘50s, Weiss and Goldring relocated to downtown Alexandria at the corner of Third St. and DeSoto.
Even early on in his business career, Silver was recognized for his success and business savvy. In 1957, he was named the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Alexandria’s Outstanding Man of the Year. Besides working for the city by serving on the Alexandria City Council, Silver has served as the president of the Alexandria Chapter Mental Health Board, chairman of the Rapides Foundation, chairman of the United Way Board, vice president and board member of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Rapides Regional Hospital Board, board member of the YMCA, president of the Jewish Temple and president of the Hotel Bentley Corporation.
Not even a broken hip injury in April has been able to slow Silver down much. “I only missed one City Council meeting, and now I am down to walking with just a cane,” Silver notes, “I may be 90, but I believe I am progressive in my thinking and I want to continue to pursue things that will bring about a better quality of life for everyone in the city.”