Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Heritage series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

10

File

49

Material Format

textual record

Date

1977-1981

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, a brochure, and a list of Toronto synagogues up to 1938.

Name Access

Ontario Jewish Archives

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

83

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

10 photographs : col. ; 13 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

File contains colour photographs courtesy of Joey Silver, of various Toronto synagogues: Chevra Shas; Bet Haknesset Talmud Torah Divnei Israel Hamezrachim (?) - Eastern Children's Congregation; and Chevrah Tefferet Israel Anshei New York.

Name Access

Chevra Shas (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

14

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

4 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

File contains photographs of the shuls of Belle Ewart and Jackson's Point.

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Belle Ewart (Ont.)

Jackson's Point (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2022-11-3

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 book

Date

2022

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting City Shul, a Reform synagogue in downtown Toronto. Included is "Siddur Shirat HaLev: The City Shul Community Prayerbook." The siddur was designed by Baruch Sienna and edited by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein. Baruch described the siddur thus: "A contemporary, illustrated, liberal siddur for Shabbat, weekday, and festivals." The siddur features content from Canadian poets (e.g., Leonard Cohen, A. M. Klein) and artists. According to the donor, the siddur was "the product of many volunteer congregants over several years of effort."

Use Conditions

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Descriptive Notes

Availability of other formats: Three pages of the siddur are available as digital files: page 80 (available as a PDF file), and page 98 (available as a JPEG file), and page 160 (available as a PDF file).

Rights: Copyright © 2022, City Shul. Translations, readings, and commentaries from Mishkan T'filah, World Union Edition: A Progressive Siddur, copyright © 2010 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

Subjects

Reform Judaism

Siddurim

Synagogues

Name Access

City Shul (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

George Morrison fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

99

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1978]

Physical Description

161 slides : col. ; 35 mm

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of 161 colour slides documenting various synagogues in Toronto and the outlying region.

Notes

Creator note: There is no information on the exact provenance of this fonds. The donor was George Morrison, but it is unclear if he was also the photographer and if so, why these photographs were originally taken.

Name Access

Morrison, George

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Beth Isaiah Congregation fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

59

Material Format

textual record

Date

1929-1976

Physical Description

65 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

The Guelph Hebrew Congregation, precursor of Beth Isaiah Congregation, was established in the early 1900s by the Jewish families which settled in Guelph shortly after 1900. Rev. Pearl was the congregation's first spiritual leader and teacher. Services were held in private homes until 1925, when the congregation purchased a building at the intersection of Surrey and Dublin Streets and remodeled it as a synagogue. An extension was added to this building in 1935 to meet the needs of the increasing membership. Planning for a new synagogue began in the early 1940s, and construction was completed in 1949 of the new synagogue on the same site. The name of the congregation was changed to Beth Isaiah, in honour of congregation member Isaiah (Sidney) Acker, who was killed on active service on 3 November 1942, while with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Over the years, congregation members formed other organizations whose activities were tightly intertwined with the congregation, given the relatively small size of Guelph's Jewish community. These organizations included the Beth Isaiah Congregation Hebrew School, the Guelph Jewish Welfare Fund, the Ir Shalom Chapter of Hadassah, and the B'nai Brith Guelph Lodge. The B'nai Brith Guelph Lodge was chartered in Apr. 1942. It held the first Brotherhood dinner in Canada in 1947, which gave impetus to the formation of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. Beth Isaiah celebrated the 100th anniversary of the congregation in 2004.

Scope and Content

The fonds documents the activities, membership, and finances of Beth Isaiah Congregation and affiliated organizations, including the Beth Isaiah Ladies' Auxiliary, Beth Isaiah Congregation Hebrew School, the Guelph Jewish Welfare Fund, the Ir Shalom Chapter of Hadassah, and the B'nai Brith Guelph Lodge. The records in the fonds include financial records, membership ledgers, meeting minutes, correspondence and newsletters, and fundraising materials. The fonds also includes blueprints and other records relating to the construction of Beth Isaiah Synagogue in 1949.

Name Access

Beth Isaiah Congregation (Guelph, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Creator

Beth Isaiah Congregation (Guelph, Ont.)

Places

Guelph (Ont.)

Accession Number

1985-3-11

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Pinkus fonds

The Kiever Shul series

Level

Series

Fonds

138

Series

5

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

architectural drawing

object

Date

1912-2016

Physical Description

ca. 76 cm of textual records

ca. 150 photographs : b&w and col. (29 negatives) ; 22 x 28 cm or smaller

other material

Admin History/Bio

The Kiever synagogue, also known as the Kiever Shul, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Toronto. It was founded in 1912 by a small congregation of Jewish immigrants from the Kiev Gubernia of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) and formally incorporated in 1914 by the granting of the Letters Patent by the Provincial Secretary. The congregation’s formal name is "The First Russian Congregation of Rodfei Sholem Anshei Kiev." According to the earliest congregational records, Max Bossin was president in 1912. At first, services were held in members’ homes and later in a rented house on Centre Avenue in The Ward. Not being able to afford a rabbi, services were led by members, including Cantor Herschel Litvak.

In 1917, sufficient funds were raised to mortgage a house at 25 Bellevue Avenue on the outskirts of Kensington Market. The congregation relocated there, and the facilities were enlarged in 1921 with the acquisition of a second house. In 1927, a new synagogue, which was built on the site of the two houses and designed by a Jewish architect named Benjamin Swartz in the Byzantine Revival style, was completed to accommodate increasing number of congregants. During the construction from 1924 to 1927, religious services were conducted at the home of Mr. Silverman at 29 Wales Avenue. Equipped with a rabbi and a proper synagogue, the Kiever was able to play a larger role in the Toronto Jewish community. The shul offered Yiddish and bar-mitzvah lessons, a youth minyan led by Fischel Cooper, a credit society, as well as a women’s auxiliary.

Several decades later, the Kiever’s membership declined in the 1950s and 1960s due to demographic changes—Jews began leaving the downtown core for the north end of town. The synagogue building deteriorated. In 1973, the Archives Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region decided to help preserve it, and by 1982, sufficient funds had been raised to restore the building. In 1979, the Kiever Synagogue became the first building of Jewish significance to be designated a historical site by the province of Ontario and has been protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act since then.

Some of the founders included: Molly and Isadore Pinkus, B. B. Smith, Yehudah Leib "Louis" Bossin, Isaac Mosten, Jake Dubin, Harry Cohen, and Wolf Ganz. The congregation's first and longest-tenured rabbi was Solomon Langner, who served from around 1929 until his death in 1973. Sheldon Steinberg served as rabbi from the time of Langner's death until the mid-1990s. David Pinkus served as president of the Kiever Shul from the late 1970s to 2011. As of 2022, the synagogue president is Adam S. Cohen.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting the administration and activities of the Kiever Synagogue. Included are financial documents, tax forms, insurance documents, receipts and invoices, the 50th jubilee book, accounting ledger books, address books, membership lists and application forms, printed copies of emails, correspondence, meeting minutes, by-laws and regulations, legal documents, certificates, cemetery deeds, funeral record books, files on construction and restoration, seats arrangement charts, raffle tickets, High Holiday service cards, artworks, and historic papers dating from the 1920s and 1930s. Also included are photographs featuring the Kiever Shul, two architectural drawings, and a wooden gavel.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Also included are 9 architectural drawings, 1 photo collage, 4 sketches, 2 drawings, 1 wooden gavel, and 1 optical disc that contains 225 MB photographs.

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2010-6-3

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w (jpg)

Date

[194-]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a scanned photograph of a bar mitzvah celebration at the Shedlover Synagogue. The photograph was taken from the balcony where the women would sit during services. The man standing in front of the leaded window in the centre is Max Fruchtman, who was president of the shul at that time.

Custodial History

Linda Fruchtman, the secretary of the Shedlover Young Men's Society, brought in the photograph. She retains the original.

Administrative History

The Shedlover shul was located at 134 D’Arcy. It was a small synagogue of immigrants from Szylow, Poland. It has been completely torn down.

Use Conditions

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Descriptive Notes

The synagogue is sometimes referred to as the Shidlower shul.

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

85

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Feb. 1973

Physical Description

79 photographs (negatives) : col.

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs of an inauguration celebration for Clanton Park Synagogue. Included are images of speakers delivering speeches, guests seated at their tables, musicians playing their instruments and people dancing.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

91

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1974

Physical Description

39 photographs : col. (negatives)

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs of an event at the Clanton Park Synagogue.

Notes

Title transcribed from envelope.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Paul Edell fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

5

Material Format

textual record

Date

[191-]-1978

Physical Description

13 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Paul Edell (1882-1966) was the owner of a Toronto printing business and a prominent member of Shomrai Shabbos Congregation.

Edell was born in Poland and emigrated to Toronto in 1910. He married Molly Weinreb in 1915 and they had 5 children: David, Sol, Ethel, Connie and Sara. When he arrived in Canada he found work as a clerk and salesman. He later apprenticed as a printer and in 1921, he opened his own business, Royal Printing, at 113 Elizabeth Street in Toronto. Edell continued to work at the business until his retirement in the 1960s. His customers included many Jewish businesses, institutions and organizations. Edell was also involved in a number of community activities, mostly centered around religious matters. He served as president of Shomrai Shabbos Congregation for many year and was also involved in the maintenance of the Jones Avenue cemetery. He passed away in 1966.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of records related to Paul Edell's business and community activities. Included is business and synagogue correspondence, property documents, certificates and a ledger book.

Name Access

Edell, Paul, 1882-1966

Royal Printing

Shomrai Shabbos

Subjects

Businesspeople

Immigrants--Canada

Synagogues

Physical Condition

Ledger book is in poor condition and requires conservation work.

Related Material

For records related to Paul Edell's son, please see the Solomon Edell fonds 4.

For further records on the Edell and Weinreb families, see accession 2012-10-9.

Creator

Edell, Paul, 1882-

Accession Number

2002-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Pinkus fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

138

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

architectural drawing

philatelic record

sound recording

cartographic material

object

Date

1854-2021

Physical Description

ca. 2.4 m of textual records

ca. 600 photographs : b&w and col. (ca. 90 negatives); 30 x 35 cm or smaller

other material

Admin History/Bio

David Pinkus (1924-2021) was born on May 11, 1924, at the Toronto General Hospital to Isadore Pinkus (1887-1947) and Molly (Mollie) Pinkus (née Parelstein) (1892-1990). Isadore was born in Kiev Gubernia of the Russian Empire; Molly was born in Podolia Gubernia of the Russian Empire and later moved to Ukraine with her family. Isadore and Molly met and married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1910 and moved to Toronto in 1911. The Pinkus family settled in Kensington Market in around 1914 and was one of the first Jewish settlers to the Kensington neighbourhood. David spent his entire life living in the Kensington Market area. He lived on 83 Huron Street until 1927 when the Pinkus family moved to 34 Nassau Street, which has been the house of the Pinkus family ever since. David had two siblings: brother Max and sister Goldie.

In his childhood, David attended the Brunswick Talmud Torah daily and learned Hebrew. He had his bar mitzvah at the Kiever Shul. David attended William Houston School until 1930 and Ryerson Public School until grade eight. Later, he attended Harbord School for high school and was also involved with sports at Harbord Collegiate and YMHA. In 1947, David obtained his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto. After graduation, he worked at Goodyear for one year and returned to the University of Toronto as an instructor of engineering drawing and machine design. Later, he worked at various places such as Canadian Industries Limited in Maitland, Toronto Iron Works, and Avro Aircraft Limited.

David’s father, Isadore, was one of the founders of the Kiever Synagogue. David’s involvement with the Kiever Synagogue started in 1947, following Isadore’s death. David served as president and held positions on the executive of the Kiever Shul and played a principal role in the restoration of the shul. He also served on Toronto’s Board of Health as well as the boards of the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and St. Christopher House. In addition, David was an active community leader and local historian. He did genealogical research for many Toronto Jewish families. David had been recognized by the National Jewish Federation of North America as a Jewish community hero in 2011. He passed away on May 6, 2021.

Custodial History

Records received after the death of David Pinkus through Joseph Solomon, the executor of David Pinkus’ estate. Records have been selected by archivists following a site visit at David’s home at 34 Nassau Street, Toronto.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual records, graphic material, sound recordings, architectural drawings, artifacts, and a small number of philatelic records, most of which document David Pinkus’ career and personal life, the Pinkus family, the Kiever Shul, the Kiever Cemetery, as well as Mount Sinai Cemetery Association (Mount Sinai Memorial Park) and the Dawes Road Cemeteries (Amalgamated Dawes Road Trustees), of which the Kiever Congregation is a member organization. Also included are documents and photographs of other individuals and families, which David collected for his genealogical research, and those that are pertaining to Kensington Market and other congregations and cemeteries.

Textual records include correspondence; scrapbooks; education records; identification documents; research notes and clippings relating to David’s genealogical research; documents pertaining to his Kensington Market activism and community work; files on David’s engineering career and his role as president of the Kiever Shul; and files documenting the Pinkus family members, such as funeral documents, notebooks, family correspondence, voters’ lists, and records relating to Pinkus Fruit Co. and 34 Nassau Street. Also included are records documenting the Kiever Shul, which include meeting minutes, ledger books, financial documents, legal documents, membership lists and application forms, address books, high holiday service cards, and historic papers dating from the 1920s and 1930s. Textual records documenting the Kiever Cemetery, Mount Sinai Memorial Park, and the Dawes Road Cemeteries are mainly comprised of cemetery maps, burial plot cards, burial record books, by-laws and regulations, and meeting minutes. Also present are records pertaining to other congregations and cemeteries, such as constitution books, brochures, booklets, and copies of legal documents.

Photographs mainly feature David Pinkus and the Kiever Cemetery, with a small number featuring the Pinkus family members, the Junction Synagogue (Congregation Knesseth Israel), the Great Choral Synagogue of Kyiv, and those that David collected for his genealogical research.

Architectural drawings of this fonds include the restoration and renovation plan for the Kiever Shul and the alteration plan for Mount Sinai Cemetery Administration Building.

Also present are sound recordings, including cassettes and microcassettes of David Pinkus; and artifacts, including felt patches, pin back buttons, medals, Toronto foot-pedlar registration badges, and a wooden gavel of the Kiever Shul.

Fonds has been arranged into the following series: David Pinkus’ personal records; Kensington Market; David Pinkus’ genealogical research; the Pinkus family; the Kiever Shul; the Kiever Cemetery; Mount Sinai Memorial Park; the Dawes Road Cemeteries; and other associations, congregations, and cemeteries.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Also included are 22 architectural drawings, 7 maps, 4 audio cassettes, 2 microcassettes, 1 optical disc, 8 drawings, 2 prints, 1 photo collage, 34 pinback buttons, 15 Toronto padler-on-foot registration badges, 8 felt patches, 3 medals, 3 brooches, 1 wooden gavel, 2 tax tokens, 2 postage stamps, 1 sales tax stamp, and 9 revenue stamps.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: Books that were initially included in this fonds have been removed and incorporated into the OJA’s library collection. These books are: Spadina Avenue by Rosemary Donegan with an introduction by Rick Salutin, Toronto No Mean City by Eric Arthur revised by Stephen A. Otto, Canadian Jewish Directory edited by Edmond Y. Lipsitz, The Toronto Jewish Directory, and The Canada Year Book 1905 (second series).

HISTORY/BIO NOTE: Information is sourced from OH 413 and the content of the fonds.

Name Access

Pinkus, David, 1924-2021

Kiever Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Mount Sinai Cemetery Association (Toronto, Ont.)

Mount Sinai Memorial Park (Toronto, Ont.)

Dawes Road Cemetery (Toronto, Ont.)

Amalgamated Dawes Road Trustees (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Families

Synagogues

Genealogy

Cemeteries

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Related Material

See accessions 2004-1-5, 2004-1-6, 2004-2-1, 2008-11-9, 2016-3-48, and 2021-10-1 for additional information on the Kiever Shul; and OH 413 for more information on David Pinkus and the Pinkus family.

Arrangement

Records came into the OJA with no discernible order. Arrangement has been imposed by the archivist.

Creator

Pinkus, David, 1924-2021

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

2021-7-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

81

Material Format

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a newspaper article, "Shul has historical interest" from The Canadian Jewish News (1979).

Name Access

Kiever Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

115

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

31 photographs : col. slides and 1 b&w neg.; 10 x 13 cm and 35mm

Scope and Content

File consists unidentified 35mm slides and a b&w negative image, unused graphic material accumulated during the creation of the exhibit and catalogue.

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Congregation Beth David fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

88

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1916]-1996, predominant 1940-1996

Physical Description

38 cm of textual records (9v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Brantford Hebrew Association, Congregation Beth David’s precursor, was founded in 1907 when Rabbi Backer officiated Brantford’s first public Jewish religious service in an upper hall on George Street. Services had previously taken place in the homes of Jewish families, who had begun settling in the area around the turn of the century. By 1911, services had moved to the old Conservative Hall at Dalhousie and King Street. In 1915, the congregation purchased a building at 33 Palace Street and remodeled it into a synagogue. This building was also used as a community centre and for the Congregation’s Hebrew school.

On October 13th, 1911 the congregation was incorporated, and the following year it purchased land for a cemetery in the northeast corner of Mount Hope Cemetery. Due to increasing membership, a new synagogue was built at 50 Waterloo Street in 1948. In January 1950, the congregation changed its name to Beth David in honour of member David Axler, who died during the Second World War while training as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The congregation was at its peak in the 1960s with 150 member families. However, membership drastically fell after the children of this generation moved to larger cities and their parents followed after retirement. By 1999, only 28 families remained as members and services were reduced to being held on the High Holidays and special occasions, such as, b'nai mitzvah. Dwindling resources and membership forced the congregation to close around 2001. Throughout its existence, over 30 rabbis served the congregation, including Rabbi Saul Wolfe Gringorten (ca. 1910-1923). Its cemetery continues to be looked after by Allan Norris, a past president of the congregation.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the acitivities, religious programs and services, membership, and finances of Congregation Beth David, as well as the recognition and honours awarded by and to Brantford's Jewish community. Included are meeting minutes, photographs, plaques, a key, a marriage register, general ledgers, ledgers and lists of membership dues and receipts, audited financial statements, budgets, correspondece, bulletins, office stationary, newsclippings, certificates, library book cards, bookplates, rabbi contracts, and surveys.

Fonds has been arranged into the following six series: 1. Meetings ; 2. Religious programs and services; 3. Finances & accounting ; 4. Administrative functions ; 5. Bulletins ; and, 6. Events.

Notes

Includes 10 microfiches of textual records, 5 architectural drawings, 11 photographs (4 negatives), 3 plaques, 1 mounted letter and 1 key.

Fonds was reduced from ca. 1 metre to ca. 45 cm. See accession 2001-10-3 for further information about the culled material.

Name Access

Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

Communities

Synagogues

Physical Condition

The binding on some of the general ledgers is fragile and coming apart. They have been stored flat to reduce any strain.

The architectural drawings have some tears and should be flattened.

Related Material

Please see the Sadie Stren fonds 78 for other records documenting Brantford's Jewish community and the Beth David Congregation, including the synagogue's original letters of incorporation.

For other photographs documenting Congregation Beth David, see: accesssion 1976-6-5 (photo # 1133); accession 1976-6-6 (photos # 1138, 1137, 1136); accession 1976-6-13; accession 1986-2-2 (photos #3593-3595, 3856, 3889-3894), photo #918; and, photo #578.

For records related to Beth David's namesake, David Axler, and photographs of its cemetery, please see accession #2004-5-71.

For records of Rabbi Gringorten, see accession #2009-2-5 and 2008-11-3

For additional records related to Brantford families and other Jewish organizations, such as the Hadassah chapter and B'nai Brith lodge, please see accession #2001-10-3; MG 2J29a, #2009-7-1, 1978-11-4, 1977-8-16, 1992-8-3, 1980-1-14, 1978-1-2, 2008-7-1, photo# 109, photo# 755, and photo #758.

Arrangement

Fonds is arranged to the file-level, but only described to the series-level. Three file-level descriptions exist for files attached directly to the fonds. Photographs with existing item-level descriptions were also attached to the fonds.

Creator

Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)

Places

Brantford (Ont.)

Accession Number

2001-10-3

1978-11-4

1981-12-2 / MG3 B16

1976-6-8

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Pinkus fonds

The Kiever Shul series

Photographs of the Kiever Shul file

Level

File

Fonds

138

Series

5

File

2

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1935-[201-?]

Physical Description

122 photographs : b&w and col. (2 negatives) ; 22 x 28 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs featuring the Kiever Shul from different periods of time, including before and after the restoration that took place in the 1980s; photographs of 1935 Kiever outing; and those that depict a Torah reading at the Kiever. Also included are photographs featuring Sydney Bossin and Morris Cohen at the Kiever. Sydney Bossin was Max Bossin’s son.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Catharines, Ontario fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

76

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1949-1999

Physical Description

66 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

In 1909, the congregation legally adopted the name Chavra B’nai Israel and R. J. Hoffman became the first president. Services were held at a variety of different homes, including those of Mr. Barnett and Mr. Zalavinsky.

After the synagogue was left a large bequest in 1917 by the Friedman family, the congregation decided to purchase the house that it had been renting earlier for $3,500. The partitions between the rooms were removed to construct the sanctuary. It still continued to house the Hebrew school and provide living accommodations for the teacher and shochtim.

Due to the expansion of the community after the First World War, the house became too small to accommodate the congregation. The community therefore began to plan for a new building. The Building Committee accepted a design submitted by Nicholson & McBeth and the shul was built by the Newman Brothers. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 14, 1924. Once the synagogue was completed, a larger ceremony took place in July 1925. Services were conducted according to Orthodox tradition and membership at that time was about 30 families.

The congregation adopted a constitution in 1945. The synagogue remained affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Mixed seating emerged during the later years of the decade; however, Orthodox rabbis continued to serve the synagogue for years to come.

In 1981, the synagogue was incorporated as a charitable and religious organization. It also joined the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism organization. At this time, membership began to decline and they were barely able to maintain a minyan for daily and Friday night services.

In May 2002, B’nai Israel celebrated the 100th anniversary of the community. The celebration included an extended Shabbat service featuring Cantor Howard Shalowitz from New York, followed by a gala dinner on Saturday night with entertainment by the Toronto band Bais Groove.

Custodial History

The records were donated by individuals who were members of the synagogue as well as Congregation B'nai Israel from 1976 until 2009.

Scope and Content

The records document the activities of Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Catharines, Ontario. The material consists of textual, graphic, architectural and electronic records.

The fonds include bulletins, board of governors meeting minutes and reports, anniversary books, correspondence, sisterhood records, financial statements, constitutional documents, committee reports, building plans, Hebrew school materials and other items.

Photo identification:

001. Hebrew school graduating class, 1962. Top row, from left to right: Michael Mandel, Rabbi Dr. Israel Freedman, David Cooperman, Jerry Uretsky. Bottom row, from left to right: Peter Cooperman, Bruce Nepan, Marilyn Granek, Lorraine Tator, Linda Sherman, Rick Uretsky, Howard Slepkov.

002. 1974 bar mitzvah class. Eden Orvitz, Jocques Kesselman, Kevin Semson, Mr. Leo Possen, Ross Metzer, Larry Ritchie, Auby Fenig, Leslie Goldford.

003. B’nai Brith Cub Scouts, Fall 1959. B’nai Israel Scout and Cub Pack. This photo was taken as the Troop prepared for a parade in honour of Baden Powell’s birthday.

004. Synagogue board. Top row, from left to right: Harry Offstein, Harry Rubin, Eddie Offstein, Max Silver, Harry Tomarin, Martin Revzin, Jack Engel. Bottom row, from left to right: Ben Fruitman, Dave Katzman, Jacob Cooperman, Joseph Halperin, Saul Granek.

005: Unveiling of Holocaust monument in St. Catharines, Ontario, ca. 1960s. Standing in foreground from left: Herman Majerowitz, Leo Posen, Rabbi Freedman, Jacob Jacobs. Standing centre, behind Rabbi Freedman is Rabbi Joseph Ben David.

Notes

Physical Description Note: Includes 25 photographs (jpg), 8 architectural drawings (jpg), and 1 document (jpg).

Name Access

Congregation B'nai Israel (St. Catharines, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Physical Condition

Records are in good condition.

Arrangement

The records are arranged at the file level by function.

Creator

Congregation B'nai Israel (St. Catharines, Ont.)

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Accession Number

1976-7-9; 2004-2-4; 2004-2-9; 2004-5-91; 2008-9-1; 2009-8-2; 2009-8-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

954

Material Format

graphic material

Date

23 Nov. 1941

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a copy photograph of a wedding at the Hebrew Men of England Synagogue (the Londoner Shul), Toronto, Nov. 23, 1941.

Name Access

Londoner Shul

Subjects

Weddings

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1975-12-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

87

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1980

Physical Description

37 photographs : b&w (26 negatives) ; 9 x 13 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs of an unidentified Clanton Park Synagogue event. Included are images of a choir performing and speakers making speeches. Identified in the images is Sol Edell.

Notes

Photographs are by Paul Brown.

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Annual Campaign series

Walk with Israel sub-series

Community March for Israel 1994 sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

17-1-20

File

25

Material Format

textual record

Date

1993-1994

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Project Renewal is a joint project between the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Begun in 1978, it involves Diaspora populations in empowering distressed communities in Israel. The project has had an impact on over 120 cities and neighborhoods throughout Israel.

Scope and Content

File contains records relating to the costs of funding a variety of causes, functions and activities in Israel. A list of the costs of causes for youth specifically, came from the JAFI's Communications Division. The other sheets were compiled by UJA and comprise funding proposals for Project Renewal and a list of equipment needed by communities in Israel with the costs associated with each. The youth-related costs are a connection to the 1994 March's theme, which focussed on the needs of teenage olim (immigrants).

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds

Men's Service Group series

Fundraising sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

14

Series

5-4

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

24 Apr. 1963

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of meeting minutes.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Research Records sub-series

Advocacy, General sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-4-9

File

158

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence and reports on various subjects being researched by the CRC.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Documentation sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-17

File

6

Material Format

textual record

Date

1981-1982

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence regarding procedures for Phase I of the Holocaust Documentation Bank Project.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

File

40

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1992-1994

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph: col., ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence and an information sheet related to the Holocaust Centre's involvement in Holocaust-themed exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Name Access

Royal Ontario Museum

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds

Liaison Project series

Level

Series

Fonds

87

Series

10

Material Format

textual record

Date

1941-1943

Physical Description

5 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

In 1941 the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, the Jewish Child Welfare Association and the Young Men's Hebrew Association initiated an experimental program known as the Liaison Project to help children adjust to normal social situations through guided group activities. A liaison worker was hired as a staff member of all three agencies and was responsible for assisting the YMHA with programming and the referral of children in need of case work service; placing referrals from the case work agencies into appropriate YMHA groups; following the progress of each child placed into YMHA groups; and, conferencing with case workers. A Liaison Committee provided direction for the project, managed its publicity and looked after its budget. Through the program two new groups were created at the YMHA: the “Protected Group” for 9 year old boys who displayed aggressive behaviour at the YMHA, but were not suitable for case work; and, the “Special Group” for working female clients of the JFWB and the Jewish Big Sisters Committee between the ages of 18 and 21 with below average intelligence. The Liaison Project continued to operate just after the formation of the Jewish Family and Child Services in 1943; however, it likely petered out soon afterwards.

Scope and Content

Series consists of textual records documenting the JFWB's participation in the Liaison Project. Included are meeting minutes, financial statements, correspondence, and staff memos.

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and the head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing some of the records.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Koffler Centre of the Arts fonds

Bookmark Project series

Level

File

Fonds

100

Series

10

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

2002

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a call for submissions, submissions by artists, correspondence, a copy of the speech presented by Carolyn Bell Farrell, curator of the Koffler Gallery at the reception for the 2002 Bookmark Project, and a program guide for the 2002 Jewish Book Fair.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Koffler Centre of the Arts fonds

Bookmark Project series

Level

Series

Fonds

100

Series

10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

2002-2010

Physical Description

17 cm of textual records

48 slides : col. ; 35 mm

Admin History/Bio

The Bookmark Project was a part of FLEX, an ongoing program of site-works and interventions at the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre, organized by the Koffler Gallery and coinciding with the annual book fair at the BJCC.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting the Koffler Centre of the Arts Bookmark Project. Included are Bookmark Project guidelines, submissions by individual artists with written statements identifying the relationship of their bookmark to the project theme, CVs, media releases, press clippings, slides and correspondence.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds

Administration series

Correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

9

Series

5-2

File

31

Material Format

textual record

Date

1964-1965

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence and lists for projects dealing with Moroccan immigrants.

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds

Administration series

Subject files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

9

Series

5-3

File

41

Material Format

textual record

Date

1951

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing the records.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Harold S. Kaplan fonds

Architectural projects series

Level

Series

Fonds

27

Series

1

Material Format

architectural drawing

graphic material

textual record

Date

1913-1968

Physical Description

348 architectural drawings

123 photographs

2 cm of textual records

Scope and Content

The series consists primarily of architectural drawings and photographs of buildings designed or renovated by Kaplan & Sprachman, or by Harold Kaplan following the dissolution of Kaplan & Sprachman in 1965. Many projects are documented through only a few interior and exterior photographs of the building or photographs of architectural models and drawings. The architectural drawings include floor plans, elevations, sections, mechanical and electrical plans and lot plans. Approximately a third of the drawings are originals done in pencil, while the remainder are blueprints, blueline prints and other reproductions.

The series is organized chronologically into sub-series by the buildings worked on: Loew's Theatre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto (now the Elgin Theatre); Loew's Uptown Theatre, 764 Yonge Street; Loew's Winter Garden Theatre (189 Yonge St., Toronto); the Jewish Home for the Aged; the Kaplans' homes in North York and in an apartment or condominium bulding, Park Towers; Atlas Radio Corporation; R.J. Sapera's store at Sheppard Ave. E. and Willowdale Ave.; Mr. & Mrs. P. Cooper's residence (Pembroke); the Primrose Club, Russell Hill Rd. & St. Clair Ave., Toronto; Precast Building Products (Vaughn Township); Thorncliffe Theatre (East York); and, Mr. & Mrs. S. Greenberg's residence, 19 Dellbank Drive.

Sub-sub-series are defined for the series of projects undertaken at Loew's Theatre, and at the Uptown Theatre. These sub-sub-series are organized by the original project reference code or by date when a reference code is not available.

In some cases, the project materials include plans prepared by other architects who carried out earlier work on the building in question, or by contractors for Kaplan & Sprachman projects. The sub-sub-series for Uptown Theatre projects includes, for example, photostatic reproductions of the 1919 theatre plans by Thomas W. Lamb.

Notes

The Thorncliffe Theatre plans were created by Mandel Sprachman, architect, son of Abraham Sprachman. Harold Kaplan's role in this project is not known.

Accession Number

2003-6-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

48

Material Format

graphic material

Date

June 1975

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm

Scope and Content

File contains three photographs student leaders involved in the Trailer Project, an outreach information campaign to raise awareness of Soviet Jewry issues in Ontario Jewish summer camps.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Projects and events sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1974-2006

Physical Description

0.8 m of textual records

312 photographs

3 audio cassettes

4 video cassettes

2 DVDs

4 architectural drawings

6 postage stamps

3 buttons

3 posters

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of records documenting various Holocaust Centre exhibitions, programs, and events. Records include: photographs, meeting minutes, correspondence, audio and video recordings, promotional items, flyers, and educational materials.

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Canada-Israel Secondary School Program series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

10

File

11

Material Format

textual record

Date

1983-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

The school moved to Talpiot in 1984-85. Most of the records in this file are from Givat in Washington.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

7

File

44

Material Format

textual record

Date

1966

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

The file consists of a bulletin, memoranda and correspondence.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28

Series

5

File

6

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[196-?]

Physical Description

16 photographs : b&w ; 10 x 14 cm

1 p

Scope and Content

The file consists of a letter written by Karl Silberman, Special Representative for Projects at Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal to George Liban concerning Aliyah Project photographs. the file also includes 3 Aliyah Project photographs taken by David Harris, and a set of mounted and captioned photographs - numbered 23 to 33.

Name Access

Karl Silberman

George Liban

David Harris

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

113

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 file of textual records

82 photographs, 20 x 25 cm and smaller

Scope and Content

File consists of part 1 of 2 parts of the original typescript and includes the original black and white photographs used in the Ontario Shuls catalogue. File contains pages 1 to 110 of the 220 page catalogue.

Notes

File forms part of a larger unit consisting of: Fonds 64, Series 2, Files 112 and 113.

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Arrangement

For conservation purposes, this loose-leaf manuscript has been stored within two file folders.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

114

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 file of textual records

82 photographs, 20 x 25 cm and smaller

Scope and Content

File consists of part 2 of 2 parts of the original typescript and includes the original black and white photographs used in the Ontario Shuls catalogue. File contains pages 111 to 220 of the 220 page catalogue.

Notes

File forms part of a larger unit consisting of: Fonds 64, Series 2, Files 112 and 113.

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Arrangement

For conservation purposes, this loose-leaf manuscript has been stored within two file folders.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

1316

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[between 1965 and 1975?]

Physical Description

4 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of four photographs of a bar mitzvah at the Kiever Shul. They depict a young man at various points in the temple.

Name Access

Kiever Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Bar mitzvah

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2558

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1941]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

"Mittle Shule" -- Miriam Daskin; Michael Herzog; Belle Freiman.

Others in lower graduating class.

Notes

Photo by Famous Studios, Toronto.

Subjects

Students

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-3-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Maurice Solway fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

13

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1919-1989

Physical Description

11 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Maurice Solway (1906-2001) was a violinist, music teacher, composer, author and actor who lived and worked for most of his life in Toronto. Although he was highly respected as a musician in Toronto, and thoroughly immersed in the city’s musical culture from the 1920s until the 1980s, his greatest fame came to him later in life, as an actor in the Academy Award nominated NFB short film “The Violin”.

Maurice Solway's family lived at 164 York Street, Toronto, where he was born, in 1906. His parents, Jakob (b.1877) and Roza Solway (b.1877), had only just emigrated that year from Halofzen, Russia, where Jakob had been a musician and band leader. In Canada, Jakob adopted his father's trade and worked as a Kosher butcher, in Toronto’s St. John’s Ward. As a youth, Maurice played the violin in variety programmes with his sister, Dora, accompanying him on piano. His father was his first teacher, but he quickly showed enough promise to warrant private lessons with Harry Adaskin, and later with Dr. Luigi von Kunits, at the Canadian Academy of Music. He also studied at the Hambourg Conservatory in Toronto with Henri Czaplinsky and Geza de Kresz, starting in 1921.

Solway began his professional career with the New Symphony, which later became the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). During the 1920s, he also played in the Famous Players Cinema orchestras that accompanied silent films, and performed lunch concerts in Toronto hotel and department store orchestras, professional venues that would disappear by the 1930s.

From 1926 to 1928, Solway left Canada to study in Brussels with the highly regarded violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe. There he befriended other students of Ysaÿe, such as Nathan Milstein, William Primrose, Viola Mitchell, Robert Velton, and Joseph Gingold.

Upon his return to Toronto, Solway gave several recitals that were both critically and publicly well-received. Few such opportunities, however, existed in Canada at the time, and Solway was obliged to find work in-between solo concerts. He also suffered an injury to his left hand while moving a piano in 1929 that required him to adjust his technique for three fingers and interfered with his being able to play comfortably for a number of years.

He was married in 1930 to Anne Cass (1907-1994), and they had a son, Stephen. Facing his financial obligations to his new family, he opted for the more dependable income of orchestral playing versus the riskier and transitory life of a soloist. Besides classical music, he played with jazz groups like the Jolly Bachelor’s Orchestra, Oscar Peterson, Jerome Kern, and Percy Faith, and on numerous recordings for the CBC, CFCA, and CKGW radio stations. He also played chamber music with the Joyce Trio, founded by Simeon Joyce (piano) and featuring Charles Mathe (cello).

In 1952, Solway retired from the TSO, dedicating himself to his chamber playing and radio work. He founded the Solway String Quartet (SSQ) in 1947, with Marcus Adeney (cello), Nathan Green (viola) and Jack Groob (violin). The quartet played a mixed repertoire that included standard classical music with more widely recognized popular songs and new compositions, especially works by Canadian composers such as Howard Cable, John Weinzweig and Jean Coulthard. Sponsored by the Ontario Board of Education and the CBC, the SSQ played rural Ontario towns and broadcast concerts for a wide demographic of music listeners. In 1955, they performed the Canadian debut of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco Quintet for guitar and strings with Andres Segovia. The SSQ, with frequent changes in personnel, continued performing until 1968. Other players in the SSQ included Robert Warburton, Martin Chenhall, Murray Adaskin, Arthur Milligan, Charles Dobias, Eugene Hudson, Berul Sugerman, Joseph Pach and Ivan Romanoff.

In 1973, Solway was invited to act in a short children’s film “The Violin,” co-produced by George Pastic and Andrew Walsh. Solway also contributed the original music to the film, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1975. Following the success of the film, Solway also appeared on television, making guest appearances with Sharon, Lois and Bram, on the Elephant Show and Mr. Dressup. During this time, his wife Anne traveled with him and managed his appointments.

Solway was also a violin teacher throughout his career. In 1989, he published a preparatory book, Fiddling for Fun: the Visual and Aural Art of Violin Playing, in which he outlined a new theory for violin practice that proposed an easy to use visual system for familiarizing students with intervals and fingerboard positions.

He also wrote an autobiography, Recollections of a Violinist, in 1984, and continued to lecture and speak about music. In 1981 and 1983 he devised a lecture performance series to commemorate Ysaÿe, the proceeds of which went to the establishment of a music scholarship at the Royal Conservatory. As he began to play less frequently in the 1980s, he also began to compose more regularly, completing more than one hundred compositions, primarily works for solo violin and for violin and piano. As a composer, he returned frequently to folk themes and completed a series of songs based on his travels around the world. Among his folk themes are songs inspired by his visits to such diverse countries as Norway, Maui, Japan, Israel and Spain.

Maurice Solway was affiliated with the Beth Tzedec Synagogue and frequently contributed to charity concerts and fundraising efforts for organizations such as the Inner City Angels, a cultural society for disadvantaged children. He died in 2001 in Toronto.

Scope and Content

The Solway fonds is arranged into twelve files. The documents relate to Solway's professional activities as a musician, educator, composer, actor and author. These include printed texts, photographs, original music scores, promotional materials, programmes, audio cassettes, articles, correspondence, radioscripts and a video.

Notes

Includes 31 photographs, 2 v. of text, 1 videocassette (VHS) and 17 audio cassettes.

Name Access

Solway, Maurice, 1906-2001

Subjects

Musicians

Related Material

Fonds 25, Series 11, Item 9: Photo cabinet, photo #179 (oversized)

Photo cabinet, photo #501

Two titles in the archives library collection (1984-12-6) (1 title missing 15 Aug. 2006)

A vertical file has been created for Maurice Solway.

Creator

Solway, Maurice, 1906-2001

Accession Number

1988-10-9

1991-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Mimi Wise fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

16

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

[ca. 1915]-1994

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

15 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

8 artifacts

Admin History/Bio

Mrs. Mimi Wise (1920-2004) was a native Torontonian and an active member and supporter of the city's Jewish community. She volunteered her time with a number of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Book Fair, the Reena Foundation, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the North York Harvest Food Bank. She was known and respected for her many years of work and involvement with Hadassah-Wizo. Her primary focus was on education, with specific emphasis placed on the promotion of Israel within Canada. Mimi travelled to Israel many times during her life, often working as a trip co-coordinator.

Mrs. Mimi Wise was born in Toronto in 1920 to Joseph Marin and Sonia (Stern) Marin. She had an older sister Ruth (Steiner) and a younger brother Jay. The family lived across from the Woodbine Racetrack in the east end of Toronto known as the Beach, until 1928, when they moved to the Christie Street and Davenport Road area. Joseph Marin was one of the founders of the Beach Hebrew Institute and the family were active members of the shul. Mimi's parents were ardent Zionists and their home was often used as a meeting place for Zionists around the world, which included a visit from Golda Meir. Sonia Marin was a supporter of Hadassah-Wizo and of Pioneer Women.

Mimi attended McMurrich Public School and then Oakwood Collegiate High School. In 1938, she met her future husband, Dr. Sydney Wise, and the following year, Sydney began his medical internship at the Columbus Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Mimi stayed behind in Toronto and continued her studies at the University of Toronto. In 1941, she graduated with a degree in physiotherapy, although she never practiced. In 1942, Sydney and Mimi married and Mimi joined her new husband in the United States. In 1944, Sydney was sent overseas with the United States army and Mimi returned to Toronto and began work with the Combined Palestine Appeal. Upon his return to Toronto, Sydney became a pediatrician and opened his own practice. The couple later had two children, Mark and Joel.

In 1948, Mimi became the founding president of the Rishon Chapter of Hadassah-Wizo. During the 1950s and 1960s, she became further involved with Hadassah as the director of the Education Department, from 1957 to 1959, first vice-president from 1959 to 1961, and president of Hadassah Wizo of Toronto, from 1961 to 1963. Mimi also held the position of national co-chairman of the 1972 national convention in Toronto, and in 1973, organized the week-long "Shalom Israel" fair at Yorkdale Shopping Centre on the occasion of Israel's 25th anniversary.

In 2003, Mimi received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award from the Province of Ontario, in honour of her commitment to volunteerism. Mrs. Mimi Wise passed away in 2004.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Mimi's husband, Dr. Sydney Wise, who donated them to the Archives in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of records related to Mimi Wise's personal life and organizational activities. It includes photographs, textual records and artifacts. The textual records relate to Mimi's work with Hadassah, including her installation speech as president, certificates, programs for conventions and luncheons, an invitation to meet Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and several speeches. There is also an electronic copy of a 1944 memorial card for Joseph Marin.

The artifacts include two pairs of Pierre Cardin silk stockings given to Mrs. Wise in 1967 by the Baroness Alix de Rothschild; a president's pin set with pearls, given to Mimi in 1963 at the end of her term; a gold maple leaf pin worn by participants on a Hadassah trip to Israel; a pin given to Mimi inscribed with Guardian of Youth Aliyah, given in exchange for a monetary donation; a pin given to Mimi inscribed with MDA, which is the Mogen Dovid Adom ambulance service; and a Canadian Hadassah-Wizo diamond jubilee gold medallion given to Mimi in Jerusalem in 1977.

There are item level descriptions for all fifteen photographs, which include images of the Rishon Chapter and the National Executive of Hadassah-Wizo, family photographs, and portraits of Mimi.

Name Access

Wise, Mimi, 1920-2004

Subjects

Volunteers

Creator

Wise, Mimi, 1920-2004

Accession Number

2003-6-6

2003-9-3

2004-5-118

2006-3-13

2006-4-6

2006-7-2

2006-8-2

2006-8-14

2006-9-7

2010-1-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gordon Mendly fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

18

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1955]-1973

Physical Description

1453 negatives ; b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Gordon Mendly (1904–1998) was born Gordon Gimpel Mendlevich in Kielce, Poland on 3 May 1904. He was the son of Israel and Masha Mendlevich. He immigrated to Canada in 1924 as a photographic apprentice and immediately began working out of his home at 305A Queen Street West. This first studio was called International Studio. In 1932, he started Famous Studios, which was located at his residence at 285 College Street. His final studio was at 3145 Bathurst Street, which he sold to fellow photographer Nir Bareket, upon his retirement in 1977. Mendly was married to Sarah (née Rawet) Mendly. He died on 5 January 1998, at the age of ninety-three.

As a studio photographer, Mendly photographed many members of the Jewish community in Toronto. He was also commissioned for weddings and special occasions, along with various events organized by Jewish organizations and agencies. In particular, it is the latter of these commissions that are most illustrative of the Toronto Jewish community. These include events such as the Zionist Organization of Canada's conventions, Cloakmaker Union rallies, and Jewish Old Folks’ Home bingo nights. His work has won awards in both Canada and the United States.

Mendly was also involved in many of the organizations that he photographed. He was the past president of the Herzl Zion Club; an executive member of the Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region, JIAS and Toronto B’nai Brith Central Region; board member of the Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest Hospital; vice-president of the Men’s Service Group of the Jewish Home for the Aged; on the executive of the Judaea Lodge, Knights of Phythias No. 52 and the Keltzer Sick Benefit Society; chairman of Jewish National Fund; affiliated with the Brunswick Avenue Talmud Torah and the American Society of Photographers; and co-chairman of the 1956-1961 UJA Metropolitan Division.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of approximately 1449 black and white and colour cellulose acetate negatives, dating from circa 1955 to 1973. The negatives consist of individual and group portraits, Toronto Jewish businesses, special events, meetings and conferences held by various Jewish organizations and agencies in Toronto, and a small sampling of commissioned wedding, anniversary and bar mitzvah portraits. The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Portraits, Events and organizations, Businesses, and Weddings, anniversaries and Bar Mitzvahs. The series have been described to the file and/or item level.

Name Access

Mendly, Gordon, 1904-1998

Subjects

Photographers

Physical Condition

Approximately 100 negatives, predominantly from the 1950s, are suffering from vinegar syndrome, as is evident from the odour emanating from them, as well as the general visual conditions. These negatives have been segregated from the rest of the collection and have been housed in boxes CS14-CS16

Some of the negatives are also suffering from “bluing” or “silver mirroring” -- the consequence of oxidative-reductive deterioration. Although this is a slow process, eventually the silver ions will create a fogged effect on the photograph, drastically reducing the quality of the image.

Creator

Mendly, Gordon, 1904-1998

Accession Number

2005-2-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Lipa Green fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

20

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[190-]-1979

Physical Description

42 cm of textual records

69 photographs : b&w and sepia (23 negatives) ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Lipa (Louis) Green (1899–1976) was born on 15 April 1899 in Usupow, Poland. He immigrated to Toronto in 1910 and later began work as a bricklayer. In 1924, Lipa married Fanny Green and had three sons: Abraham (Al), Harold and Sam; and three daughters: Deana (Weiman), Rookie (Goldstein), and Shavy (Tishler). In 1948, with partner, Arthur Weinstock, he founded the Greenview Construction Company, later to be renamed Greenwin. Green's sons, Al and Harold, along with Weinstock's son-in-law Al Latner, later became involved in the business.

Green was a prominent Jewish communal leader and philanthropist in Toronto and was affiliated with organizations such as the Labor Zionists (Farband), the Jewish Vocational Service and the Jewish Public Library. He was a strong advocate of the Yiddish language and was involved with many Yiddish committees, both at the local and national levels. The current building for Jewish agencies in Toronto is named the Lipa Green Building for Jewish Community Services.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Lipa's son, Harold, before being donated to the OJA in January 1978.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of records documenting Lipa Green's personal life as well as his professional and philanthropic endeavours. Included are financial documents, event invitations and programs, meeting minutes, photographs, personal, business and organizational correspondence, speeches and writings, a scrapbook, records on a cooperative Jewish summer resort near Pickering, Ontario, as well as some material produced by other organizations and collected by Green during the course of his life. Most of the personal correspondence, speeches and other writings are in Yiddish, including Green's reminiscences on his life in Poland and his bar mitzvah. The files have been grouped according to personal records, business records, organizational records and ephemera.

Name Access

Green, Lipa, 1899-1976

Subjects

Businesspeople

Immigrants--Canada

Philanthropists

Physical Condition

Some of the photographs are in very poor condition and require conservation work.

Related Material

See Gordon Mendly Fonds 18 for a portrait of Lipa Green.

Arrangement

The records had been previously arranged as MG6 A. Many of the files were kept or combined, but several new files were also created to better reflect the records in the fonds. Several files were also culled as they did not relate to the mandate of the OJA. See the accession record for further information on the culled materials.

Creator

Green, Lipa, 1899-1976

Accession Number

1978-1-4

2004-5-150

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Harry Simon fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

23

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1931-[198-]

Physical Description

25 cm of textual records

17 photographs (6 negatives)

Admin History/Bio

Harry Simon (1909-1993) was born in Russia on 15 July 1909 and immigrated to Canada with his parents and two younger brothers in 1923. In 1930, he married Eva Millman and together they had two sons, Morris and Norman. Simon was involved in a number of labour unions and organizations during his lifetime, namely the Fur Workers' Union, the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Labour Zionist Movement.

In 1926, at the age of 17, Simon left his schooling in Toronto and went to work in a fur factory. He joined the International Fur Workers' Union and at the age of 20, Simon held the distinction of being the youngest business agent elected to a union in Canada. He joined the Canadian Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1933 and ran as a political candidate in the 1937 provincial election for the St. Andrew riding in Toronto.

Simon also served as the Canadian representative for the American Federation of Labour from 1944 to 1956. In 1956, he was appointed to the Canadian Labour Congress, becoming the CLC's Ontario regional director of organization until his retirement in 1974. Simon also held the position of national chairman of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada and as president of the Labour Zionist Movement of Canada. He was also a member of the national executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

After his retirement Simon often spoke about labour issues at various functions and events when requested. He died on 22 December 1993 at the age of 84.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of the records related to the professional career of Harry Simon. This includes meeting minutes, general correspondence, speeches, posters, flyers, booklets, programmes and photographs. The bulk of the material is in the form of correspondence sent to or from Harry Simon. There is also a small amount of biographical material and a number of photographs, which have been described at the item level.

Name Access

Simon, Harry, 1909-1993

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Labor leaders

Physical Condition

Some photographs require conservation work.

Arrangement

The files were originally arranged by Harry Simon according to organization. This original order has been maintained by the archivist.

Creator

Simon, Harry, 1909-1993

Accession Number

1988-5-6

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

William Stern fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

33

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[ca. 1913]-1984

Physical Description

264 photographs (98 negatives) : b&w and col. ; 28 x 35 cm or smaller

2 folders of textual records

Admin History/Bio

William (Bill) I. Stern (1921-2007) was born Izick Stern in Toronto on 24 February, 1921, to Moishe (Morris) Shternshis (ca. 1893-1976) and Fanny Rumianek (ca. 1896-1991). He was an active and respected member of both the Toronto and Hamilton Jewish communities.

Bill began his education in Toronto at Grace Street and Givens Street elementary schools. He later attended the Central Technical Institute for chemistry. In the late 1930s, Bill left Central Tech to work for his father, but eventually returned to school until the start of the Second World War. At this time, Bill enlisted in the Royal Canadian Airforce and served as a Leading Aircraftsman for three years in France, Belgium and Germany. At the end of the war, he returned to Central Tech and completed his junior matriculation (grade 12) in January of 1946. In December 1946, Bill married his first wife, Toronto-born Laura Rubinstein (1923-1963). The couple had two children, Hershel (1953-) and Sheila (1957-1996).

From 1946 to 1951, Bill studied social work at the University of Toronto through a government sponsored program for war veterans. When he graduated, he practiced social work at several community institutions such as the Children's Aid Society, the University Settlement House and St. Christopher House, in Toronto. In 1956, he was offered a position as director of activities for the Hamilton Jewish Community Centre (JCC). He remained in Hamilton at this post until 1960 and then returned to Toronto as a divisional director of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, where he initiated the fund's Social Planning Department. In 1963, upon the death of his wife Laura, Bill returned to Hamilton as the director of the JCC, and later the executive director of the Hamilton Council of Jewish Organizations (CJO), a position which he held for nine years from 1964 until 1973.

After two years with the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Buffalo, Bill returned to Toronto in 1975 and briefly served two years as the executive director of the Canadian Zionist Federation, Central Region. He then returned to private practice, working as a community consultant and later as a job placement coach at the University of Toronto's School of Social Work.

Bill was an active supporter of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and the author of "You Don't Have to Be Jewish", a book on Jewish film. He held several positions with philanthropic organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest, and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was also a volunteer at the Ontario Jewish Archives. Bill lived in Toronto with his second wife of more than thirty years, Elizabeth Uptegrove (1952-), until his passing on 18 April 2007.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Bill Stern until they were donated to the Archives.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of photographs documenting the Stern and Rumianek families, individuals and organizations from the Hamilton and Toronto Jewish communities, as well as Bill Stern and his fellow servicemen during the Second World War.

The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Family photographs; Military photographs; Hamilton Jewish community photographs; Toronto Jewish community photographs; and Camp photographs. The photographs have been described at the item level and have been arranged chronologically. The textual material consists of two files containing records related to Bill Stern's professional and philanthropic career, as well as some family invitations.

Name Access

Stern, William, 1921-2007

Subjects

Communities

Families

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See "Stern family" clipping file

Creator

Stern, William, 1921-2007

Accession Number

1980-2-1

1981-9-4

1985-6-6

1986-1-8

1991-5-5

1991-5-6

1994-1-4

2004-5-96

2004-5-135

2004-5-141

2005-5-2

2005-5-9

2006-2-8

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Brown fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

49

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1902-1949

Physical Description

ca. 1500 architectural and technical drawings

6 photographs : b&w ; 38 x 30 cm or smaller

16 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Brown (ca. 1888-1974) was the first practicing Jewish architect in Toronto. Born in what is now Lithuania, he arrived in Toronto at an early age and soon after, quit school to take a job in a garment manufacturing factory to help out his impoverished family. Not finding this career to his liking, Brown enrolled in the Ontario School of Art and Design with the intention of becoming an artist. When this profession proved financially unfeasible, Brown decided to pursue a career in architecture. After completing his high school equivalency, he enrolled in the University of Toronto architectural program, graduating in 1913. Soon after, Brown opened up a practice with fellow architect Robert McConnell, which lasted until the early 1920s. After the partnership ended, Brown set up an independent practice, which he maintained until his retirement in 1955.

Scope and Content

The fonds documents Brown’s design work and renovations of existing buildings through his original drawings, renderings, and building blueprints. The fonds consists of approximately 1500 drawings that are organized into about 150 projects. These projects include single-family residences, apartment buildings, commercial and industrial buildings, as well as synagogue and other community buildings. Many of Brown's buildings were designed in the Art Deco style, with some containing Georgian, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Tudor and Romanesque elements.

Brown's most important commissions include the Beth Jacob Synagogue located on Henry Street, which was one the largest synagogues in Toronto, and the Balfour Building, an office tower built in the Art Deco style. The designs of Mendel Granatstein’s mansion, which contained a retractable roof for Sukkoth, and a colour sketch of the Primrose Club, which is currently the University of Toronto Faculty Club, may also be of interest to researchers. The fonds also includes some of Brown's files containing articles and illustrations from architecture and design journals of the early twentieth century, which he used as a resource to assist him with his work.

Fonds includes six photographs, one of the Balfour Building, one of Cumberland Hall, and four of Brown as a young man.

Notes

Architectural plans of a lead mine in Burnt River Ontario have been sent to the Kawartha Lakes Archives.

Name Access

Brown, Benjamin, 1890-1974

Subjects

Architects

Creator

Brown, Benjamin, 1890-1974

Accession Number

1975

1987-9-3

1989-10-6

2004-5-109

2004-5-139

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Dora Till fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

52

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1921-1986

Physical Description

1.4 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Dora Till (1896-1987) was a leading member of the Toronto Jewish community. She helped found and served on the executives and boards of many organizations, including the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF), the Candian Jewish Congress Central Region, and the Baycrest Hospital Women's Auxiliary. She was honoured numerous times in her life with awards and tributes for her contributions to the Jewish community.

Till was born in New York City on 20 March 1896, one of six children of Max and Yeta Tobias. Her parents had emigrated from Poland prior to 1892. When Dora was four, the family moved to Toronto where Max Tobias worked as a tailor. In her teens, Till was an active member of two social clubs for girls, the Boot and Shoe Society (for mothers and children in need) and the Herzl Girls Club.

Dora Tobias married Morris S. Till on 21 May 1916, in Toronto. They had two children, Sigmund and Cecile, both of whom she outlived. Sigmund died tragically at the age of 11 after a sudden illness. Cecile married Frank Goldhar and they had two children, Sheila Anne and Meyer Garson.

In 1918, Till joined the Hebrew Maternity Aid Society and she served as its vice-president for the next fifteen years. This was the beginning of a lifetime career in family welfare, health care and services for the aged. Till helped found and was the first president of the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home located in Bronte and then Tollandale, which provided mothers and children in need with a two-week holiday in the country.

From the 1920s until the 1940s, Till served on several boards including the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, and the United Jewish Welfare Fund, as well as the Welfare Fund's Women's Division and Women's Service Council. In 1950, she became the first woman to be named honourary vice-president of the UJWF. In 1955, after many years affiliation with the Jewish Home for the Aged, Dora Till organized the newly built Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care's Women's Auxiliary, becoming its first president. She also served for 40 years on the executive board of the Family and Child Service Bureau, the precursor to Jewish Family & Child Services. Till was an active member of many other Jewish organizations, including the Naomi Chapter of Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, B'nai Brith Women, the Mount Sinai Women's Auxiliary, the Jewish Camp Council, and Toronto United Community Appeal - Community Chest. She was also a member of Goel Tzedec Congregation and its successor, Beth Tzedec Congregation.

Dora Till was honoured with several awards and tributes in her lifetime for her contributions to Jewish life, health and welfare in Toronto. In 1956, the Dora and Morris Till Bungalow at the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home was dedicated. In 1969, she was the first woman to recieve UJWF's Ben Sadowski Award for Jewish Community Service. As well, in 1977, she received the Queen's Silver Jubilee medal for outstanding community service. In 1983 a Baycrest Centre tribute dinner was held in her honour and in 1984, the top floor of the Baycrest Centre was dedicated to her. This was the culmination of a lifetime devoted to social welfare and community service, and it came just a few years before Till's death, on 22 November 1987.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Dora Till's granddaughter, Mrs. Sheila Gottlieb, until they were donated to the OJA in 1987.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of records documenting the personal and philanthropic activities of Dora Till, including her ongoing involvement with the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Women's Auxiliary, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, and to a lesser extent other organizations that she was involved or affiliated with. Till's records of the Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home are some of the few to have survived from this important social service organization.

The organizational records in the fonds include minutes, correspondence, reports, speeches, financial records, newsclippings, pamphlets, brochures, invitations, architectural drawings, and photographs, primarily of the Mothers and Babes Rest Home and the Baycrest Centre. As well, there are two artifacts: a Baycrest Centre pin and a gold shovel from the groundbreaking ceremony. The personal records in the fonds include family photographs and portraits, writings, newsclippings and general correspondence.

The fonds has been arranged into eight series: 1. Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home Association. 2. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Women's Auxiliary. 3. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Heritage Museum Committee. 4. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Furnishings Committee. 5. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care : other committees. 6. United Jewish Welfare Fund. 7. Other organizations. 8. Personal. The records have been described to the file level, while a selection of photographs have been scanned and described at the item level.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 197 photographs (54 negatives), 9 architectural drawings, and 2 objects

Name Access

Till, Dora, 1896-1987

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

For related material on the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, please see: Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds 61, Federation of Jewish Philanthropies fonds 66, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds 67, Ida Lewis Siegel fonds 15, and the Rebecca Kamarner family fonds 11.

For related material on the Baycrest Centre Women's Auxiliary, please see: Pat Joy Alpert fonds 77 and fonds 14.

For related material on National Council of Jewish Women please see fonds 38.

Arrangement

This fonds had previously been arranged and described as MG6 H. The current arrangement was implemented by the archivist in 2010 and as a result, several files from the former MG were culled or merged. Therefore, the former MG finding aid is no longer accurate.

Creator

Till, Dora, 1896-1987

Accession Number

1987-1-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Vanek fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1906-1999

Physical Description

12 cm of textual records

10 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

David Vanek (1915–2008) was born on a farm in Whitchurch Township, York County, Ontario in 1915. He was the sixth of seven children born to Jacob and Jesse Vanek, Jewish-Russian immigrants from the Ukraine who immigrated to Canada in 1913. The family lived in the Newmarket-Oak Ridges area, where they owned a farm and the Vanek Grocery and Confectionary Store in Oak Ridges. The family also owned Cedarholm Park in Lake Wilcox, which had a bandstand and cottages and sold refreshments. They opened the park specifically for Jews who were being excluded from other nearby social venues. The family also lived in Toronto.

Vanek completed his elementary school education at Annette Street Public School and attended Richmond Hill High School and Harbord Collegiate. He was admitted to the honour law course at the University of Toronto. In 1936, he graduated with a bachelor of arts in honour law and went on to law school at Osgoode Hall. While in law school he worked for Carswell’s Canadian Law Abridgement and was editor of the Obiter Dicta student publication at Osgoode Hall. He received his bachelor of laws in 1939.

During the Second World War, Vanek served in the Canadian Intelligence Corps and Field Security in England from 1943 to 1945. Following his military service, he returned to Toronto where he tried private practice briefly before beginning a new career as a lecturer in the newly-created Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. He taught a variety of subjects, including legal bibliography, real property, and public international law.

A community activist, Vanek was the founder of the Lawrence Manor Ratepayers Association. In 1963, he ran for the Ontario Provincial Legislature as a Conservative candidate but failed to win the seat. He was the founder of the Credit Counselling Service of Metropolitan Toronto, which was established in 1965. Vanek was also actively involved in the new Reform congregation Temple Sinai and served as its third president.

In September 1968, Vanek was appointed to the magistrates' court. A few months later, the Provincial Courts Act came into being and he became a judge of the provincial court's criminal division. Vanek presided over and wrote judgements in many significant cases, including Weightman and Cunningham, involving the residual power of a trial judge to stop unfair prosecution, and Squires, involving the lawful exclusion of cameras from the courtroom. His best-known case was that of Susan Nelles, a nurse who was charged with the death of four babies at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in the early 1980s. He also served as president of the Ontario Provincial Judges' Association. In 1989, after twenty-one years on the bench, David Vanek retired. A decade later, he published his autobiography, "Fulfilment : Memoirs of a Criminal Court Judge," which documents his life and career.

David Vanek married Joyce Lester in 1942, and the couple had three children. Vanek died in 2008.

Custodial History

The records were donated to the Ontario Jewish Archives by David Vanek in July 2000. The records were used to help with the researching of his autobiography.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual records and graphic material that document Vanek's family history and career as a prominent lawyer and provincial court judge in Ontario. The fonds includes family records from Russia, newspaper articles, correspondence and documentation relating to his military service during the Second World War, and press clippings and photographs of his family and community activities. The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Personal records, Military service records, Occupational records, and Community organizations.

Name Access

Vanek, David, 1915-2008

Subjects

Judges

Lawyers

Creator

Vanek, David, 1915-2008

Accession Number

2000-7-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Shirley Baine fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

1936-1991

Physical Description

8 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Shirley (Gertzbein) Baine (1910-2005) was born in Lithuania in 1910. She came to Toronto to live with her extended family during the 1930s. She later married Arthur Baine, a widower who had two children. Together, they had three additional children of their own.

Soon after her arrival in Canada, Shirley Baine became very involved in the Mizrachi organization. She was first a member of the Bruria Girls, during the late 1930s, and then joined the Etzion women's chapter later in her life. The role of both groups was to raise funds and provide support for Palestine (and later Israel). In 1972, she was honoured by this chapter with an inscription of her name into their Golden Book. She died in Toronto in 2005.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Shirley Baine's activites in the Mizrachi movement as well as other initiatives. The fonds includes minutes of meetings, a dance program, a list of members from the Etzion chapter, correspondence, speeches, and a yiskor book.

Name Access

Baine, Shirley, 1910-2005

Subjects

Religious Zionism

Related Material

For related material on the Mizrachi movement, please see MG2 J1A.

Arrangement

By activity and chronological

Creator

Baine, Shirley, 1910-2005

Accession Number

2003-3-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

4

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1900]-2010

Physical Description

3.1 metres of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Sol Edell (1919-2000) was a prominant member of the Toronto Jewish community who initially pursued a career as a pharmacist and was later founder and president of the property development company, Elmdale Investments. He held positions as board member or chair in a wide variety of religious, educational and social service organizations and institutions both in Canada and Israel. In Toronto, these included: Clanton Park Synagogue, Adas Israel Synagogue, Jones Avenue Cemetery, Canadian Jewish Congress and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto (formerly Toronto Jewish Congress, and now the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto).

Edell was born in Toronto on 5 March 1919, the son of Pesach and Molly Edell. He attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the Toronto College of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, in 1943 while on leave of absence from the army. He was enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War and served in the signal corps.

After he completed his army service, he opened Edell’s Drug Store at 1978 Queen Street in Etobicoke in 1948, the first shomer Shabbat drug store in the city. He operated a second store at 494 Spadina Avenue in the late 1940s. In 1955 the Queen Street location was expropriated by the City of Toronto. Subsequently, Edell founded Elmdale Investments, the company which built and managed the Elmhurst Plaza in Etobicoke. He reopened the drug store, which was renamed Elmhurst Drugs in the plaza. He also invested in two retail textile stores, Deltex Drapery and Dodd’s Drapery which had been founded by group of businessmen including his cousin Israel Edell.

In 1952 he married Dolly Weinstock, the daughter of Moishe and Sylvia Weinstock. They lived in the newly developed suburb of North York with their four children: Ethel, Simcha, Malka and Joseph. After 10 years of marriage, Dolly died and in 1966, he married Celia Rogen Hoffman.

Sol Edell was a founding member and first president of the Clanton Park Congregation. He was actively involved in the construction of the synagogue and its development. He continued to be affiliated with Shomrai Shabbos where his grandfather Rabbi Yosef Weinreb had been the rabbi. He was also involved with Adas Israel, the synagogue in Hamilton where his wife Celia had been an active member.

He was chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region -- Toronto Jewish Congress Archives Committee, which subsequently became the Ontario Jewish Archives. During his tenure, the archives was responsible for the reconstruction of the Kiever Synagogue which had been built in the early 1900s but had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1960s.

Sol Edell was also involved in a number of Zionist organizations. He was the founding chair of the Aliyah Support Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, whose mandate was to assist Torontonians who had moved to Israel and ease their transition into Israeli society. He was also an active member of the Mizrachi organization and its affiliated institutions. Another one of Sol Edell’s interests was ensuring the preservation of local cemeteries. He was president of the Jones Avenue Cemetery and on the board of Pardes Shalom and the Bathurst Lawn Cemetery, Clanton Park section.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Sol Edell's business activities, community involvement and personal life. Included is correspondence, meeting minutes, photographs, financial records, legal records, publications, audio-visual material, invitations, newspaper clippings, artifacts, lists, reports, speeches, and architectural drawings.

The fonds is organized into the following eleven series: Personal; Edell's Drug Store and Elmhurst Pharmacy; Elmdale Investments; Deltex Drapery and Dodd's Drapery; Adas Israel Synagogue; Clanton Park Synagogue; Shomrai Shabbos; Aliyah; Cemetery and funeral home; Historical materials; and, Activities and organizations.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 739 photographs, 232 architectural drawings, 11 audio cassettes, 9 audio reels, 13 film reels, 7 videocassettes, 4 slides, 1 plaque, 4 badges, and 1 key.

Name Access

Edell Solomon, 1919-2000

Clanton Park Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Edell, Dolly

Edell, Celia

Edell's Drug Store

Elmhurst Pharmacy

Jones Avenue Cemetery

Canadian Jewish Congress/ Toronto Jewish Congress Archives

Aliyah Support Committee

Subjects

Business

Pharmacists

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Physical Condition

The bulk of the architectural drawings are currently being stored rolled up. They should be flattened and encapsulated in melinex.

Film and sound reels should be digitized.

Related Material

See fonds #5 for material related to Paul Edell.

See accession #2012-10/9 for material related to the Edell family.

Creator

Edell, Solomon, 1919-2000

Accession Number

2002-12-2

2008-8-29

2011-5-4

2012-10-9

Source

Archival Descriptions