- 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
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- General community activities series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 11
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1950-2010
- Physical Description
- 77 cm of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- In addition to his ongoing involvement with Clanton Park, the Canadian Jewish Congress Archives, the Aliyah Support Group, Jones Avenue Cemetery, Shomrai Shabbos and Adas Israel, Sol Edell undertook special projects on behalf of a wide array of Jewish organizations. These include cultural (Toronto Cantorial Scholarship Fund), educational (Netivot Hatorah and Yeshivat Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot), religious (Union of Jewish Orthodox Congregations), social welfare (Association of Jewish Seniors and Co-Ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly) and Zionist (Canadian Friends of Yeshivat Hakotel and State of Israel Bonds) organizations.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of records documenting Sol Edell's involvement with a wide variety of Jewish educational, social and religious organizations and institutions in Canada, the United States, and Israel. Included are meeting minutes, publications, reports, photographs, correspondence, invitations, programmes, financial records, an architectural drawing, and a sound recording. While many of these organizations such as Eitz Chaim, Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot (educational), Mizrachi Organization of Canada, Emunah Women (Zionist) and Beth Jacob V’Anshe Drildz (synagogue) are orthodox, others such as Associated Hebrew Day Schools (educational), State of Israel Bonds (Zionist) and Co-ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly (social welfare) have no religious affiliation.
- Notes
- Physical description note: includes 26 photographs, 1 audio cassette, and 1 architectural drawing.
- Name Access
- Eitz Chaim
- Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot
- Mizrachi Men’s Organization
- Emunah Women
- Beth Jacob V'Anshei Drildz (Toronto, Ont.)
- Associated Hebrew Day Schools
- State of Israel Bonds
- Co-ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly
- Camp Moshava
- Harbord Collegiate
- Netivot Hatorah
- Union of Jewish Orthodox Congregations
- B'Nei Akiva
- Toronto Committee for Bikur Cholim Hospital
- Subjects
- Charities
- Children
- Education
- Fund raising
- Older people
- Religion
- Zionism
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- General community activities series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 11
- File
- 32
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 2010
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a 50th jubilee booklet.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1959-2010
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of Sol Edell's personal correspondence and general correspondence with a wide range of Jewish communal organizations.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions