Accession Number

2003-8-1

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

6.6 m of textual records and graphic materials

Date

[198-]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records relating to Markson's design work for the Holocaust Centre, for Jewish Family & Child Services, and for the film, Growing up in America. These records include textual records, slides, negatives, photographs, films, and sound recordings in various formats.

Use Conditions

Donor retains copyright. Material can be made available for viewing and reference at the OJA. Researchers who require copies for personal use or publication must obtain permission from donor first.

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

Subjects

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Name Access

Markson, Morley

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2006-3-16

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

81 photographs and other material

Date

[ca. 1937]-1998

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records relating to the life and weightlifting career of Bill Gryfe. The textual records are photocopies of correspondence, clippings, and certificates from a family album. The photographs are scanned copies from this same album and include images of Bill with various individuals and images of weightlifting teams and individuals that he had coached. There are two trophies: one is a Grand Order of Israel bowling award and one is an award presented to Bill in 1979 by the JCC for over fifty years of service. There is also a CD with Bill Gryfe's memoirs and some additional photographs of Bill at a young age and of him at various weightlifting events and on vacation.

Administrative History

Bill Gryfe was an early member of the YMHA. He began as a weightlifter and in 1931 became a barbell coach of the YMHA weightlifting team.

He coached at many national and international competitions such as the Canada games, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan American Games, and the Maccabean Games. He also officiated and refereed at national and international competitions including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Throughout his life, Bill was devoted to the promotion of physical fitness and competitive weightlifting. He was a founder of the Ontario Weightlifting Association and its first president in 1968. He also organized the national-championship weightlifting competitions, held annually at the Canadian National Exhibition, an institution that had a distinct effect on his life from his earliest years when it was first established by Bill Oliphant in 1935. Over the years, Bill Gryfe received numerous awards and citations, including a nomination for the Order of Canada in 1982. Bill died in 2005 at the age of ninety-five.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes 3 cm of textual records, 2 items, and 1 electronic record.

Subjects

Weight lifters

Name Access

Gryfe, Bill

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2006-4-4

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w (tif)

5 documents (tif)

1 folder of textual records

1 DVD

1 videocassette

Date

1941-2004

Scope and Content

Accession consists of copies of electronic copies of photographs, postcards and telegrams as well as newsclippings, a video and a DVD documenting the career of Sam Shapiro in the RCAF and his time as a Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft 3 in Poland.

Administrative History

Sam Shapiro enlisted as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1940. He received his wings in Brantford and was sent overseas in April 1941 as a sergeant pilot. He was in Squadron ten and flew eight successful missions before his plane was shot down over Holland in August 1941, killing two of the crew.

Shapiro was captured by German forces on 17 August 1941 and was taken to Stalag Luft 3 camp in Poland, where the "Great Escape" took place. Shapiro was not part of the breakout, but did help dig the tunnel that allowed seventy-six of his fellow prisoners to escape.

While a Prisoner of War, Shapiro was promoted to warrant officer. He was liberated on 16 April 1945 and arrived in England five days later. Shortly after arriving home in 1945, Shapiro received the YMCA sports badge for his conduct in the POW camp and the Canadian Volunteer Service medal. He married his fiance Geraldine Perlman in 1945.

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.

Subjects

Canada--Armed Forces

World War, 1939-1945

Name Access

Shapiro, Sam.

Stalag Luft 3

Perlman, Geraldine

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2006-12-4

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

0.3 m. of textual records and other material

Date

1973-2005

Scope and Content

The records in this accession consist of early minutes of the Executive Committee, high holiday sermons, sidureem (booklets) that were produced by the synagogue for Shabbat and the holidays, a cassette containing instructions for bar/bat mitzvah children, a CD of music entitled "Solel Sings "Kids" Songs!", and a videotaped recording of the 25th Anniversary celebration of the shul.

Custodial History

The records were donated to the OJA from their archives committee. This committee will be responsible for overseeing future transfers and for helping to establish an information management program within the synagogue.

Administrative History

Solel Congregation was established in1973. It is a reform synagogue, situated in Mississauga, that currently has a membership of 300 families.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Solel Congregation (Mississauga, Ont.)

Places

Mississauga (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2007-6-35

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (jpg)

Date

1965, 1980

Scope and Content

Accession consists of two scanned photographs documenting Ruth Gorbet in two Little Theatre productions. The first photograph is of Ruth playing Sherry in a local production of Bus Stop in 1965. The second image is of Ruth playing Yenta in Fiddler on the Ruth in 1980.

Custodial History

These photographs were donated as part of the Small Jewish Ontario Communities initiative. The donor kept the originals and provided the OJA with the scans.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Communities

Theater

Name Access

Gorbet, Ruth

Places

Owen Sound, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-6-40

Material Format

textual record (electronic)

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

16 documents (pdf and jpg)

7 photographs (jpg)

Date

1954-1992

Scope and Content

Accession consists of scanned copies of material reflecting Lee Jourard's involvement in theatre in the Belleville area. There are eight theatre programmes, most of them of plays produced by the Belleville Theatre Guild, in which Jourard was a cast member and/or on the backstage crew. The records also include scanned newspaper clippings about Jourard's talks and plays (including photographs), and seven scanned copy photographs of Jourard.

The photographs are as follows:

01. A Thurber Carnival programme, 1964

02. Albert-St Catharines Review Playbill, Dec 3 1960

03. Belleville Advertiser, June 1971, page 21. Cast of The Drunkard. Lee Jourard in top hat far left.

04. Belleville Advertiser, June 1971, page21. Lee Jourard and Linda Archer dressed for their roles in The Drunkard.

05. Belleville Intel, April 17 1969, page 3.

06. Belleville Intel, Feb 13 1970. Flo Yannover as Queen Mother Yoland in the Lark.

07. Lee Jourard talk advert.

08. Programme Diary of Anne Frank, 1992.

09. Belleville Theatre. Lee Jourard in A Man For All Seasons.

10. Belleville Theatre. Photo of Lee Jourard at Rehersal, 1962.

11. Belleville Theatre Programme, 1962.

12. Birth announcement for Matthew Jourard, 1994.

13. Lee Jourard in costume receiving news of birth of grandson Mathew Joseph Jourard, 1994.

14. Cable Communications, Vol 43, No 10, Oct 1977.

15. Lee Jourard. CableVue 4 went colour, 1977.

16. Lee Jourard as Robert de Baudricourt and Milton A. Crystal as Brother Ladvenu in The Lark, March 1, 1970.

17. My Three Angels, 1960.

18. The Drunkard, June 2 to 12, 1971. Lee Jourard as Lawyer Cribbs and Edward Middleton as Stewart Arnott.

19. The Lark, 1970.

20. The Man Who Came to Dinner, 1956.

21. You Can't Take It With You, cast photo on stage, 1954.

22. You Can't Take It With You programme, 1954.

Administrative History

Entertainer Lee Jourard is well-known in the city of Belleville for his support of the arts and his community involvement. He worked as a broadcaster for CJBQ radio, was the first Community Programs Director at the Cablevue 4 television station, and was a founding member of Belleville's Cultural Awards Committee and the Harbour Improvement Committee. He is a longtime member of the Belleville Theatre Guild, having been in the cast and crew of many of its producations from the 1950s through the 1990s. Jourard is also a member of the Bay of Quinte Power Squadron and the Moira River Conservation Authority Advisory Board. In 2007 he was named Senior of the Year in the City of Belleville.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Theater

Name Access

Jourard, Lee

Places

Belleville, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-6-33

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

9 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

1 document (jpg)

Date

[191-]-1980

Scope and Content

This accession consists of nine electronic copies of original photographs documenting the Nash family of St. Catharines, Ontario. Included are studio portraits and snapshots, taken in St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie. Also included is one electronic copy of a typwritten remembrances of Buncie Nashman written by Harold Nash and Rhonda Applebaum.

The photographs are as follows:

1. Rose Nash and Tzeine (sister) – two young women in photo, possibly before marriage to Jack.

2. Clara Cohen with baking at cottage at Port Dalhousie (not Rose as suspected) perhaps 1940s.

3. Jack and Rose Nash

4. Nash children, ca. 1930. Top, left to right: Molly, Maurice. Bottom, left to right: Dorothy, Ruth.

5. Nash family, 21 May 1929.

6. Maurice Nash in uniform (air force) with cousin, Henry Wexler, in US Army early 1940s.

7. Maurice Nash in uniform (air force) with cousin, Henry Wexler, in US Army, and unidentified woman, early 1940s.

8. Nash women at Harold’s 50th birthday party, 1980.

9. Harold and Eleanor in Port Dalhousie with cousins, ca. 1935.

Custodial History

The original photographs are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the photos in June 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-06-05.

Use Conditions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Subjects

Families

Name Access

Nash family

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-6-36

Material Format

textual record

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w (jpg)

1 textual record

Date

1923-2004

Scope and Content

Accession consists of one issue of the Jewish Standard, from June 2004, two scanned copy photographs of Sid Slepkov during the Second World War, and one scanned copy photograph of Sid's father Morris in front of his clothing store, the Fashion Cloak and Fur Co. in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The photographs are as follows:

1. Sydney Slepkov in decompression chamber, Second World War.

2. Morris Slepkov outside his store, 1923.

3. Sydney Slepkov, 1944.

Custodial History

The original photographs are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the photos in June 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-06-04.

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.

Subjects

World War, 1939-1945

Business

Communities

Name Access

Slepkov, Sid

Slepkov, Morris

Places

St. Catharines, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-6-11

Material Format

textual record (electronic)

graphic material (electronic)

technical drawing (electronic)

Physical Description

9 documents (pdf and jpg)

9 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

1 technical drawing (jpg)

2 drawings (jpg)

Date

1917-[1981?]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of electronic copies of documents, photographs, and portraits that pertain to Belleville's Sons of Jacob Congregation, to the activities of the Belleville chapter of Hadassah-WIZO, and the Tobe family of Belleville. The records date from 1917 to circa 1981 and include: the congregation's constitution (1972) and a certificate from The United Synagogue of America recognizing it as a member synagogue of the Conservative movement (1961); Hadassah-WIZO documents including certificates relating to donations, photographs, and an advertising bookmark; a plan of the Sons of Jacob Memorial Park (oversized); and various photographs of the Tobe family of Belleville.

There are also two photographs made of oversize drawings (portraits) of persons unidentified but probably related to the Tobes.

Verso of 04.jpg reads: "June 28, 1981. To my friends, Bluma. Zeke Tobe. Happy memories! Bill Palmatier."

Verso of 06.jpg reads: "About 1917. Bellville [sic] Ontario. Dave, Zeke, Bluma, Sam & Abe. Abe was about 5 years when this was taken. His dad 'Moses' (age 42) had died about this time leaving their mom to raise 6 children with very little means of support and she could not speak English."

Custodial History

The records originally belonged to Abe Tobe of Belleville. They were retained by Miri Cohen, president of the shul, when Mr. Tobe passed away in March 2007, to be preserved by the synagogue.

Descriptive Notes

Photographs of oversize portraits by Daniel Ehrenworth.

Subjects

Communities

Name Access

Tobe, Abe

Places

Belleville, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2007-7-10

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

19 photographs : b&w

1 folder of textual records

2 books

1 CD

1 vest

1 hat

Date

1938-1986

Scope and Content

This accession consists of material documenting the donor's family, particularly her father, Nathan Rivelis. The items include a vest and hat worn by her father during the late 1950s as part of the Lion's Club. It also consists of an oral history of her father conducted in 1983; his school primer and English reader; photographs of the business and Hebrew classes; certificates; and, finally, newspaper clippings.

Administrative History

The Rivelis family owned a large clothing store in North Bay from 1926 until 1986 called Rivelis. They sold men's and women's mid-range clothing and became famous in town for their annual sale held on 16 November. The business grew from a small family-run store to a large department store with twelve employees.

In addition to running the business, Nate Rivelis was also involved in the local Lion's Club and was the president of this organization from 1957-1958. He was the only Jewish member at that time. In addition, he also served as the president of the Hebrew school during the 1940s.

Subjects

Business

Communities

Name Access

Rosen, Rheta

Rivelis, Nathan

Places

North Bay (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-9-2

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

architectural drawing (electronic)

Physical Description

37 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg) + 2 identification keys

16 documents (28 jpgs)

2 architectural drawings (jpg)

Date

[189-]-2004

Scope and Content

Accession consists of scanned copies of original records documenting the Jewish community in Cornwall. The records relate to various individuals in the community, including the donor, as well as organizations such as B'nai Brith, Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society, and the Beth-El Congregation. The items include scans of cemetery plans, burial certificates, photographs, meeting minutes, memorial books and various legal documents.

Photographs are as follows:

01. Sixtieth anniversary of D-Day program.

02. Abe and Rose Goldhamer, Long Sault Rapids before the seaway, ca. 1941.

03. Al Burnes in uniform. Al lived in Cornwall and moved to Toronto, [between 1939 and 1945].

04. Archie Dover, first person buried in the new cemetery, pg. 1, 1962.

05. Archie Dover, first person buried in the new cemetery, pg. 2, 1962.

06. Beth El Synagogue, exterior, nd.

07. Beth El Synagogue, interior, nd.

08. Birdie Phillips Miller.

09. B’nai Brith, ca. 1961. [obverse]

10. B’nai Brith, ca. 1961. [reverse]

11. B’nai Brith entertaining seniors from Glen Stor Dun Lodge, 1964.

12. B’nai Brith girls temporary charter, 1967.

13. B’nai Brith Youth Organization temporary charter, 1967.

14. Boys playing hockey behind the shul, 1930s. Back row, left to right: unidentified, Jack Abrugov, Murray Berns, Julius Kolomier. Front row, left to right: unidentified, Jack Goldhamer, unidentified, unidentified, unidentified.

15. Braham Goldhamer on piano.

16. Cemetery plan from office of LP Stidwill, civil engineer and Ontario land surveyor, April 18 1958.

17. Cemetery plan, nd.

18. Construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Robert Saunders Dam, 1957.

19. B’nai Brith emergency meeting minutes, 1967.

20. Entertainer, Helen Goldhamer and her father, Julius Miller.

21. General meeting regarding building of the synagogue, pg. 1, Oct. 5, 1924.

22. General meeting regarding building of the synagogue, pg. 2, Oct. 5, 1924.

23. B’nai Brith Cornwall Lodge, 1961. [obverse] Pictured are, Standing left to right: Moe Helperin, Peter Solway, Oscar Niduvitch, Louis Dubinsky, Alex Abugor, Sam Nyman, Moe Schulman, Bernard Miller, I. Martin, Saul Schulman. Seated left to right: Mark Goldhamer, Sam Smolkin, Saul Kaye, Mrs. Eddie Cantor (guest speaker), Rabbi Matts, Julius Miller.

24. B’nai Brith Cornwall Lodge, 1961. [reverse]

25. Hebrew School, ca. 1958.

26. Helen, Mark and Brham Goldhamer, ca. 1958.

27. Helen Goldhamer on the St. Lawrence just west of Cornwall.

28. Helen Goldhamer speaking.

29. Helen Goldhamer thanking guest speaker.

30. Joel Horovitz, bar mitzvah programme, 1954.

31. Julius Miller and daughter Helen Goldhamer with father Moses Miller (seated) and grandson Braham Goldhamer at age 2.

32. Julius Miller and wife Birdie in front of their furniture company’s first truck, ca. 1946.

33. Julius Miller Grove invitation to ceremony, 1969.

34. Julius Miller Grove letter, 1969.

35. Julius Miller Grove plaque, ca. 1969.

36. [Phillips family?], ca. 1900.

37. Annette Phillips and Mary Phillips, ca. 1948.

38. Julius Miller presented with a pin by Mrs. Eddie Cantor at an Israel Bonds drive, 1961.

39. Nathan Phillips with unidentified boy.

40. Left to right: Annette Phillips, Mary Phillips, Birdie Phillips Miller and Riva Phillips, 1940s.

41. Left to right: Archie Dover, Julius Miller and Rabbi Lewin at the Memory Board dedication.

42. Left to right: Helen Goldhamer, Sarah Vineberg, Mrs. M. Phillips, Birdie Phillips Miller, Annette Phillips, ca. 1938.

43. Succot. Left to right: Margot Miller, Jack Miller and Braham Goldhamer, ca. 1956.

44. Left to right: Mark Goldhamer, Iruim Thaw, Saul Schulman and guest speaker, ca. 1961.

45. Nathan and Sam Phillips, ca. 1920.

46. Legal letter regarding the deed to the cemetery, pg. 1, 1929.

47. Legal letter regarding the deed to the cemetery, pg. 2, 1929.

48. Markus Goldhamer RCAF discharge papers, pg. 1, 1945.

49. Markus Goldhamer RCAF discharge papers, pg. 2, 1945.

50. Markus Goldhamer RCAF photo, Second World War.

51. Mary Phillips, life member of Hadassah-WIZO card, April 5, 1954.

52. Memorial book, pg. 1, 1926.

53. Memorial book, pg. 2, 1926.

54. Memorial book, pg. 3, 1926.

55. Memorial book, pg. 4, 1926.

56. Memory board.

57. Moses Miller.

58. Original minutes forming the B’nai Brith chapter in Cornwall, pg. 1, 1934.

59. Original minutes forming the B’nai Brith chapter in Cornwall, pg. 2, 1934.

60. Original minutes forming the B’nai Brith chapter in Cornwall, pg. 3, 1934.

61. Original minutes forming the B’nai Brith chapter in Cornwall, pg. 4, 1934.

62. Part of crowd at the annual dinner in Beth El Synagogue hall.

63. Photocopy of Hebrew Ladies’ Aid meeting minutes, pg. 1, Nov. 29, 1922.

64. Photocopy of Hebrew Ladies’ Aid meeting minutes, pg. 2, Nov. 29, 1922.

65. President of B’nai Brith Mark Goldhamer speaking. Helen Goldhamer seated to his left.

66. Riva Phillips beside Julius Miller Furniture shop, 1950s.

67. Thank you card to Mark Goldhamer, pg. 1.

68. Thank you card to Mark Goldhamer, pg. 2.

69. [Phillips family?], ca. 1900.

Custodial History

The original records are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the records in September 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-09-04.

Subjects

Communities

Cemeteries

Name Access

Goldhamer, Mark

Places

Cornwall (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2007-8-9

Material Format

textual record (electronic)

graphic material (electronic)

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 compact disc

21 photographs (electronic) : b&w and col.

16 textual records (22 jpg files)

Date

[192-]-[198-]

Scope and Content

This accession consists of scanned copies of original documents and photographs depicting the Jewish community of North Bay and the Brown family. The records relate to various individuals in the community, including the donor, as well as the Sons of Jacob Congregation. The items include scans of photographs, correspondence, employment contracts with various spiritual leaders, newspaper clippings, and High Holiday lists.

The compact disc contains a scan of the Synagogue's letters-patent from 1924. The original textual records include a copy of the Synagogues' constitution from the 1950s and a photocopy of a cartoon drawing depicting members of the North Bay B'nai Brith lodge.

Custodial History

The original records are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the records in August 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-08-17.

Descriptive Notes

Associated material note: Herb Brown fonds 029 and fonds 032, series 02 at the Nipissing University and Canadore College Archives and Special Collections.

Places

North Bay (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2007-6-30

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

17 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

1 document : col. (jpg)

Date

[ca. 1955]-[2003?]

Scope and Content

Accession is comprised of family and community photographs of two generations of the Albert family of Belleville. Images include rabbis Moses Lewin and Walter Seligman, friends, events such as bar mitzvahs, Ethnic Day and a Purim Party, and the Trenton Airbase Jewish Servicemen memorial. People pictured are identified in the finding aid. There is also one electronic copy of a newsclipping about Rabbi Moses Lewin.

The photographs are as follows:

01. Joe Burke far right Norman Albert in middle Ruth Goldberg far right, 1950s.

02. Belleville Community Picnic at the Albert's Summer House.

03. David Albert, 1960.

04. David Albert bar mitzvah with Rabbi Seligmann and wife.

05. Ethnic Day at the Shul, mid-1970s.

06. Florence Yannover.

07. Jacob Albert with grandsons, 1958.

08. Left to right: Ruth Lear and Becky Shulmann and Sarah Lightstone in back.

09. Left to right: Selma Bochnek, Shirley Osborne, Ethel Burke, Walter and Mrs Seligmann at synagogue dinner dance.

10. Mark and Michelle and David Albert, March 20 1971, bar mitzvah.

11. Norm and Lil and Jacob Albert and Rose.

12. Purim Party, 1957.

13. Purim Party. Joe Burke and Mynra Crystal of Peterborough, April 1957.

14. Rabbi Moses Lewin.

15. Shulman Departure, May 1985.

16. Trenton Airbase Jewish Servicemen Memorial, ca. 2003.

17. Ted and Eleanor Schwab.

Subjects

Communities

Families

Name Access

Albert, Carole

Albert, Norm

Places

Belleville (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-2-4

Material Format

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

5 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

1 photograph : col.

2 documents : col. (jpg)

Date

[1910?]-2008

Scope and Content

Accession consists of six photographs of the Greenspoon family of Sudbury, Ontario. There are also two scanned documents: Moe Greenspoon's 1918 birth certificate and his statement of service in the Canadian Armed Forces, issued in 1990.

Photographs include the following:

01. Benjamin and Fanny Greenspoon ca. 1910. (photograph was a reprint of a scanned original)

02. Paul Allan Greenspoon with grandfather Benjamin and his second wife at bar mitzvah, ca. 1966.

03. Greenspoon family gathering ca. 1942. L to R (back): Nathan, Doris, Moses (Moe), Max, Sydney, Irving, Bill, Ruth, Louis. L to R (front): Dave, wife Ann, Ben, Fanny, Harry, wife Millie.

04. Greenspoons at the Nahala dedication plaque in Israel, Oct. 1972. L to R: Rose (married to Max), daughter Elaine, Max, son Ira, Ira's wife Merle, and Ben in front.

05. Zady's Boyz - basketball team of all the grandsons with Moe, 2008.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Canada--Armed Forces

Communities

Families

Name Access

Greenspoon, Moe

Places

Sudbury, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2008-3-2

Material Format

textual record

textual record (electronic)

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

6 documents : b&w and col. (jpg)

Date

[1915?]-[200-]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of brochures from the Cherney family businesses: their furniture store of fifty years, followed by Cherney Realty, established after 1984. Also included are a pamphlet on the Erica Cherney Inspiration Fund of the Community Counselling and Resource Centre of Peterborough. There is also a memorial card for the death of Harry Cherney in 1984. Electronic records include articles about Cherney's and Erica Cherney, City of Peterborough Awards of Merit for Harry and Erica Cherney, and four photographs.

Photograhps are as follows:

01. Award of Merit, Erica Cherney, 1977.

02. Award of Merit, Harry Cherney, 1981.

03. Harry Cherney on a sailboat, ca. 1978.

04. 40th Anniversary of Cherney Store, 1975. Left to right: Myer and Harry and Lou Cherney.

05. Rebecca Cherney, ca. 1915.

06. Tree of Life donated in honour of Harry Cherney.

07. Cherney business story in Peterborough Industrial Review, 1975.

08. Erica Cherney article in Business Advantage February, 1997, page 13.

09. Cherney ad, 1975.

10. Harry Cherney newspaper article about his death, Peterborough Examiner, December 29 1984, page 1.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Business

Communities

Name Access

Cherney, Erica

Places

Peterborough (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-3-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

7 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

Date

[ca. 1910]-1984

Scope and Content

Accession consists of two photocopied letters exchanged between Rose Brewda and Campbellford District High School in 1984 after her visit with students to speak as a survivor of the Holocaust. Two photocopied newspaper clippings relate to this visit. The scanned photographs include aerial photographs of three of the Brewda's four livestock farms; three were in Peterborough and one in Lindsay. There are two older family portraits with Rose's Zaidie taken in Rumania before the Second World War, one of the Brewda family in the 1950s, and one of Rose dancing with her son Irvin at his bar mitzvah, the first one held in Peterborough's new shul in 1965. Photo identification, L to R:

Formal portrait, ca. 1918: Rose's mother Ita, Zaidie Isaac Hert, father Nathan Rosenberg, older sisters Mindle and baby Rivka

In front of house, ca. 1930: Rose (in polka dots), Mindle, mother Ita, toddler Chai, Zaidie Isaac Hert, brother Mayer, sister Rivka. Sister Zisel was missing.

Brewda family on farm, ca. 1957: Kalman and Rose, children Ethyl, Joseph and Irvin.

Descriptive Notes

Textual records are photocopies.

Places

Peterborough (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2008-6-3

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 textual records (5 jpg files)

15 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

Date

1981

Scope and Content

This accession consists of records related to the dedication of the Pearl and Carl Cole Athletic Wing at the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre in May 1981. The money for the wing was donated in their honour by their sons, Bruce and Ted.

The records consist of fifteen digital scans of photographs originally taken at the dedication ceremonies on 10 May 1981 along with a digital scan of the speech given by Ted Cole at the event. Also included is a digital copy of a brunch invitation and of two letters written to Pearl and Carl by Rabbi Irwin Schild and Rabbi Michael Stroh, as well as two hard copy invitations to the dedication ceremonies.

Custodial History

The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives in June 2008 for digitization.

Use Conditions

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

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-6-10

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

graphic material

textual record (electronic)

textual record

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w and sepia (2 jpg) ; 14 x 9 cm

1 textual record (7 jpg files)

1 folder of textual records

Date

[ca. 1870]-2008

Scope and Content

This accession consists of records documenting the Posluns family of Toronto. They include two scanned copies of photographs and one original, depicting various members of the Posluns family such as the family patriarch, Yosef ben Abraham and a copy photograph of the Tip Top Tailors building under construction in 1928.

The textual records consist of one electronic copy of a short history of the Posluns family, taken from Samuel Bernstein's biography, as well as a copy of a YMHA bulletin cover page from June 15, 1934, featuring a message from the president, Louis Posluns.

Custodial History

The records were loaned to the OJA on June 17, 2008 to be copied and returned to the donor.

Administrative History

A history of the Poslaniec (Posluns) family can be found online at: http://www.posluns.com/tree/pdfs/poslaniec.pdf

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.

Name Access

Posluns, Wilfred, 1932-2010

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-8-4

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

4 photographs : b&w (jpg)

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

Date

[194-]-2005

Scope and Content

This accession consists of textual records and photographs documenting the Belleville Jewish community and the Sons of Jacob Synagogue. The textual records include a dedication book from the Synagogue as well as documents related to the synagogue's reunion weekend in 2005. The photographs depict the Judaeans basketball team, a Young Judaea conference, the synagogue's dedication ceremonies, and a children's Purim play.

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.

Subjects

Communities

Purim

Synagogues

Places

Belleville (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-8-18

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

47 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

2 textual records (pdf)

Date

1919-2000, predominant 1940s

Scope and Content

Accession consists of forty-seven digital copies of family photographs and photocopied documents belonging to the Wichefsky (later Witchel) family of Sudbury, Ontario. The photographs are images of family members, the family's cabin near town, and their friends. There is also a Yiddish language letter from the yeshiva in Poland attesting to David Wichefsky's graduation and a family tree.

Administrative History

Doris Witchel Laskin is the daughter of Jacob Witchel and granddaughter of Rabbi David Wichefsky. David Wichefsky was Sudbury's first rabbi and Hebrew teacher. He arrived in 1894 and together with his wife Esther raised seven children. The family name was later changed to Witchel. David's son Jacob, the second eldest, was born before the family immigrated. Jacob married Bella Cohen in Montreal in 1918. They had six children: Doris, Jess, Shirley, David, Thora, and William (Bill). The Witchels are related to the Moses and Magder families of Sudbury.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Language note: Yiddish

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-8-19

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

10 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

Date

[193-]-1995

Scope and Content

This accession consists of ten electronic copies of photographs documenting the Laskin family and the Jewish community of Thunder Bay. The photographs depict a 1937 royal coronation parade float created by the Jewish community, as well as a portrait of Saul Laskin and members of the Laskin family and some photos of Saul during his political election campaign and during a store giveaway. Also included is the sod turning ceremony of the new synagogue and the street naming of Saul Laskin Drive in Thunder Bay. Also identified in the photographs are: Murray Stitt, Rabbi Sternberg, and Mayor Norman Wilson.

Custodial History

The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the OJA for the small Jewish communities project for copying.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Communities

Families

Places

Thunder Bay (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-8-23

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

5 cm textual records

22 photographs : b&w (4 jpg)

Date

ca.1928-1994

Scope and Content

Accession consists of textual records and photographs pertaining to the interrelated Bogomolny and Greenspan families of Niagara Falls. Included is correspondence and speeches relating to Hadassah, a 1957 Sisterhood cookbook, a Hadassah-WIZO 75th anniversary Commemorative Book, a syngagogue yearbook 1960-1961, B'nai B'rith certificates of Abe Bogomolny's, programmes and invitations to special events, two picture postcards and other family photographs, newspaper clippings relating to the Bogomolnys, and immigration documents from 1928. Also included is a senior undergraduate research paper written by Gerald Enchin (originally of Kitchener), entitled, "A Locational Analysis of the Kitchener-Waterloo Jewish Community," 1971.

Custodial History

Many of these records were collected and created by Jennie Greenspan Bogomolny, mother of the donor. They were passed to Brenda upon Jennie's death and kept until they came to the OJA.

Administrative History

Brenda Bogomolny Enchin is the daughter of Jennie Greenspan and Abe Bogomolny. Jennie was 8 years old in 1928 when she came to Canada with her mother and three brothers. Jennie's mother, Faige Bracha Pomerantz, posed as a widow coming to marry Morris Greenspan, even though they were already married. Morris had come ahead to Ontario where his brother Samuel was already settled. The accession includes documents from the rabbi in Poland attesting to Faige's widowed status so that she could get into Canada. Jennie's older brother was Joseph (father of Eddie and Brian Greenspan). Her younger brother, Abram, is living in Dundas as of 2008. The youngest child was Samuel, who was born in Sept. 1927 just a month after Morris had left Poland, so he met his youngest son a year later. Samuel died at age 48 in 1975.

Brenda’s mother Jennie married Abraham Bogomolny in 1946. He came to Niagara Falls in the 1930s, and with his brother Hymie opened the Niagara Rug Company, with braided and woven rugs. They were the biggest suppliers to department stores like Woolworths and Eaton’s. There was a fire in May 1968. Jennie was an elementary school teacher, she taught at Memorial School where the Greenspan children went, and Battleford Elementary School, which now gives out the Jennie Bogomolny Citizenship Award every year.

Use Conditions

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

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-6-13

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

38 photographs (jpg) : b&w and col.

Date

[190?-1990]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photographs documenting the Chana and Mayer Wisotsky family as well as Dora (Sherr) and her husband Morris Isen. Included are wedding and family portraits, photos of family members in military uniform during the Second World War, images of family celebrations, photos of family businesses, and images of Morris Isen performing with his orchestra. Identified in the photographs are: Anne Sillen, Jack Sillen, Ben Sherr, Dora Wisotsky, Marvin Wain (Wisotsky), Abe Benson, Dora (Sherr) Isen, and Morris Isen.

Administrative History

The Wisotsky family were Ukrainian immigrants who came to Canada around 1908. Chana and Mayer Munny Wisotsky had 13 children, seven of whom remained in Ukraine. Three of their five children and a grandchild (Jack Sillen), came with them in 1908, with two other children, Ben and Annie, following in 1912. The Wisotskys lived originally in Toronto. Ben Wisotsky eventually married Dora Wetstein and moved to the United States in the 1930s. Annie Wisotsky married Abe Benson, who ran a successful auto paint/gas station on Dufferin near Dupont during the 1920s and 1930s.

Morris Isen had a successful career as a trumpet player in the 1930s and 1940s; he was involved in radio orchestra, CBC television and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Families

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-9-7

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records and other material

Date

1952-1997

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records related to the Jewish community of Sudbury, Ontario, and specifically to Rabbi Rosenthal. The records include a delegate list for the sixty-first semi-annual conference of the Eastern Canadian Council of B'nai Brith as well as a delegate's badge belonging to Rabbi Rosenthal; one piece of correspondence; two dinner invitations with the mayor of Sudbury; a Survivors of the Shoah tribute booklet, as well as a photograph of Rabbi Rosenthal with Dr. Chomsky; and two photographs of children at a Hanukkah party at the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Sudbury. There is also a sound recoring of Cantor David Bagley with the Beth Sholom Synagogue choir in Toronto.

Identified individuals in the photographs include: Dorothy Greenspoon, Claudia Greenspoon, Annabelle Grimson, Lynne Waisberg, Sally Ann Braverman, Miriam Rosenthal, Rochelle Jaffe, Goldie Greenspoon, Alexis Singer, Judy Kahn, Hana Suk, Lilian Rosenthal, Jonathan Spiegel, Pauline Rottenberg, Arthur Moses, Stanley Jaffe, Mitchell Spiegel, Leslie Rosenthal, Victor Greenspoon and Jack Greenspoon.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of the donor, who is the daughter of Rabbi Rosenthal, until they were donated to the Archives on Sept. 16, 2008.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: records include 3 photographs, 1 badge and 1 sound recording.

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-9-11

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

39 photographs (jpgs) ; b&w and col.

Date

1945-[200-]

Scope and Content

This accession consists of 39 electronic copies of original photographs depicting various members of the Abramsky family of Kingston, their former family homes, dedication ceremonies, family events, buildings that once housed Jewish owned businesses and organizations, photos taken on a Jewish walking tour of Kingston, as well as one image of a victory parade with Abramsky's store featured in the background.

Custodial History

The original photographs are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned for scanning as part of the Small Jewish Communities project.

Use Conditions

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

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-6-7

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

6.82 m of textual records and other material

Date

1935-2008

Scope and Content

Accession contains records documenting the administration, programs and events of Beth Jacob Synagogue in Kitchener, from 1935 to 2008. Non-textual records include photographs, architectural drawings, artifacts, and a couple of books. The textual records include newsletters, correspondence, financial ledgers, community directories, event programmes, membership lists and dues ledgers. There is considerable material on the Talmud Torah, including teaching materials, curricula, student guides, notes on parent meetings, and correspondence. There are approximately 40 photographs in the accession, of which 25 are from one 1985 shul event. Other records relate to the cemetery, memorial plaques, adult education, nursery school, Sisterhood, youth programs, bar and bat mitzvots, clubs and chevra kadisha. There are several artifacts: Rabbi Rosensweig's quill pen, athletic trophies and medallions, I.D. bracelets, Tree of Life plaques, a Hadassah Convention name tag with ribbon from 1951, and an (empty) copper mezuzzah. Records of the Kitchener-Waterloo Hebrew Day School will form a second fonds when the accession is described (see accession file folder for proposed arrangement scheme). The Hebrew Day School records include parents and staff handbooks, procedure manual, teaching materials, certificates, correspondence, governance documents, student records and attendance books with class lists.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Cemeteries

Synagogues

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2008-10-4

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

6 m of textual records and other material

Date

1939-2000

Scope and Content

The accession consists of records and artifacts created or collected by Rabbi David Monson during his career. This includes his annual journals, marriage registers (1939-2000), newspaper clippings, photographs, awards, certificates, letters, a vinyl record, and several artifacts. The artifacts include objects of recognition from Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem and from a Negev Tribute in 1977, and items of regalia clothing from the Order of the Masons. There are also two scrapbooks of clippings: one documents Beth Sholom Synagogue in the 1940s, and the other is about the University of Waterloo in the 1960s.

Among the photos in this collection is the confirmation of Iona Feldt (m. Silverberg) daughter of Samuel (Shmeal) Feldt.

Administrative History

Rabbi David Monson was born in Ottawa in 1917. He was educated at Yeshiva University and later was ordained by the Rabbinical College of Canada of Montreal in 1939.

He served as a rabbi for Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto from 1939 until 1943. During the war, he served as a Chaplain with the Canadian military until 1945. After his return to Toronto, he founded Beth Sholom Synaogogue and served as rabbi there until his retirement in 1985. During his tenure, he officiated his first bat mitzvah in 1953, introduced a mixed choir to the service, and allowed men and women to sit together in the sanctuary.

Rabbi Monson was a founding member of the Canadian Council for Christians and Jews. Over the years, he served on the Ontario Police Services Commission and many other government committees. He also helped establish Or Yehuda, a community centre for underprivileged Iraqi and Romanian children in Israel. As well, he was also instrumental in the establishment of the University of Waterloo. He organized the Hebrew Association of the Blind, and was named by the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to the Board of the Canada Council. He was also active in the Order of the Masons. Finally, Rabbi Monson was a great supporter of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Centre. Through his persistent efforts, the small hospital he first visited during the Six Day War was transformed into a modern, state-of-the-art facility.

During his career he became widely known as the "people's rabbi", due to his ability to connect with community members from all branches of Judaism as well as non-Jews. He died on July 28, 2008, at 91 years of age. His wife Susan predeceased him and he left behind one child, Judith Waldman.

Descriptive Notes

Associated material note: Library and Archives Canada possesses 30 cm of records created by Rabbi Monson as well.

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2009-8-9

Material Format

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

48 photographs : b&w and col. (1 jpg) ; 21x 25 cm or smaller

Date

[ca. 1910]-[ca. 1980]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of family snapshots and portraits of members of the Zet family of St. Catharines. They include images of the donor's grandmother, Sadie (Hyatt) Zet, and grandfather Morris Zet, their friends, children and grandchildren. Among the events documented are the wedding of Bernice Zet to Albert Shecter in 1946 at the Congregation B'nai Israel, officiated by Rabbi Herschel Shapiro (who officiated weddings from 1931-1956), and summer scenes at Crystal Beach including Bernice Zet, Freda Caplan, Claire Zet and Deborah Caplan. There are several photographs of a group of high school girls, including Anne Granek, Minnie Lefstein, Ann Caplan, Ethel Friedman, Sylvia and Frieda Greenberg, Rae Rosenberg, and Eve Luntz. There is also an image of twenty little girls dressed in white holding British flags on the occasion of the opening of the shul in 1925, and one of Celia Taube with her children. As well, there are pictures of "the gang" of couples at social occasions in the 1950s. Persons pictured include Bayla Katzman, Joel Zeldon, Anne Granek, Abe Herzog, Margaret Zeldon, Jenny Katzman, Joe Katzmean, Gert Granek, Bea Magder, Dave Kates, Sybil Cowitz, Elsie Kates, Chippie (Helen) Feldman, [unknown man], Syd Magder, Dolly Cooperman, Eleanor Lambert, Sarah (Sookie) Slepkov, and Sheila Newman.

Finally, there is a ca. 1908 portrait of Berel and Nachama Kaplan, great-aunt and uncle of the donor.

Administrative History

Morris Zet (Zatulove) immigrated to Toronto in 1913 at age 18. In Romania his family enjoyed prosperity as dairy farmers, but after being conscripted into the Russian army, he left, walking from Russia to Austria. After a year in Toronto, Morris moved to St. Catharines, where he boarded with the Adelsteins. There, he made a living peddling to the many workers building the Welland Canal. In 1917, Morris married Sadie Hyatt (her brother changed the family name to Goldberg in Canada), who had come to Toronto in 1914. Morris opened a men’s wear store on St. Paul’s Street in St Catharines called Zet’s Clothing. Ten years later in 1929, he closed this store and opened Zet’s Men’s Wear in nearby Thorald, though the family continued to live in St Catharines. In 1935, Sadie opened Zet’s Ladies Wear across the street in Thorald. Morris and Sadie Zet had 3 daughters whom they raised in St Catharines: Anne, Clare and Bernice. Anne is the donor's mother. She married Kelley Granek in St. Catharines in 1939. Clare married Sam Kranitz in 1940; Bernice married Albert Schecter of Toronto, also at the St. Catharines shul, in 1946.

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

Physical Desription note: two of the photographs are colour copies.

Subjects

Communities

Families

Name Access

Zet, Morris

Zet, Sadie

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Annual Campaign series

Level

Series

Fonds

67

Series

17

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1938-2008

Physical Description

2.18 m of textual records and other materials

Admin History/Bio

Superseding the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the first Annual Campaign of the new United Jewish Welfare Fund took place in 1938. It combined the appeals of 37 organizations into one, eliminating much of the inefficiency and competition of the previous twenty years. Money raised was for agencies and causes new and traditional, local and overseas. Recipients included; the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services, Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Relief Agencies, the Joint Distribution Committee, and Palestine. In 1938, Campaign could be completed within a mere two weeks and raised $161,000. This figure rose to $348,000 in 1942 and surpassed one million dollars in 1951. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, Campaign was combined with the CJC and the United Palestine appeals into a new, combined campaign and re-named The United Jewish Appeal (UJA).

With different local and world challenges and crises over time, annual campaigns have had a variety of foci: for example, the plight of Displaced Persons in Europe after the Second World War; the 1957 Rescue Campaign for refugees in Russia, Europe and North Africa; the first Emergency Campaign in 1967 in response to the Six Days’ War; and Operation Exodus 1990-1991, which raised funds to aid Soviet Jews.

Early Campaign leadership was provided by lay people. Chairmen of the Campaign Cabinet included Samuel Godfrey, Ben Sadowski, Samuel J. Granatstein, Bernard Vise, Morris S. Till, and Samuel J. Zacks. A small administration committee carried out daily operations, but the bulk of the fundraising work was performed by the Service Council, a group of volunteers who planned, canvassed and evaluated each campaign, as well as organizing educational programs and public meetings. A Women’s Service Council and a Young Peoples’ Service Council also played key fundraising roles.

Canvassing was conducted by volunteers from each professional or trade Division, such as doctors, lawyers, retail sales, etc. The volunteers were responsible for canvassing the members of their own group. A special Women’s Campaign had its own chair, sub-committees and programming. Divisions were further added to reflect the amounts of donations, Top Gifts, and Major Gifts for example. By the 1980s, the Service Councils had given way to professional Campaign Associates employed by UJWF. With further changes to UJWF/UJA Federation’s structure, Campaign first fell under the Financial Resource Development Department, then Integrated Development, and, in 2009, the Centre for Philanthropy. It is now supported by the Donor Relations Management, Donor Research, and Missions/VIP departments which cater to the diverse interests of individual donors.

Through the 1940s and 1950s, face-to-face canvassing was the norm, with donor’s names and gifts published in the UJWF annual report. By the 1960s, an expanding community and a need for efficiency increased the use of the telephone, with regular telethons involving hundreds of volunteers. In 1970, a regular springtime Walk with Israel was included within the rest of Campaign events. In the 21st Century, the internet is used to solicit donations, publicize campaign news and events, and register volunteers for telethons and events like the Walk.

Scope and Content

Series consists of two sub-series, Walk with Israel (sub-series 17-1) and General Campaign Records (sub-series 17-2).

Notes

Physical description note: Includes photographs, videocassettes, posters, DVDs, artfacts and books.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

17

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1936-1992

Physical Description

47 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

By 1919 the plight of post-war eastern European Jewry and the need for a united community voice for Canadian Jewry led to the creation of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Its founding meeting was held on March 16, 1919 in Montreal. Though it briefly maintained a tiny regional office in Toronto, the CJC remained inactive until 1933, when it fully reconvened by opening offices in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto. Egmont L. Frankel was the first president of the new central division in Toronto. While the national office in Montreal focused on the overarching issues of the social and economic rights of European Jewry, assistance for Jewish immigrants, and combating prejudice in Canada, the Toronto office dealt with local, violent anti-Jewish demonstrations as well as continuing discrimination both in employment and in access to public recreational facilities. The structure was based on regular national biennial plenary conferences, at which policies were delineated and national and regional executives were elected. Between plenary sessions, national and regional councils were in charge. These were augmented by the following standing committees: administrative, officers, personnel, financial, publications, and educational and cultural. Special committees were created to deal with issues such as: youth, community loans, kashruth, fundraising, Israel, Russian Jewry, and various emergency issues such as refugees, immigration, and housing.

During the 1930s the central division office moved several times and occupied offices in the following locations: Yonge Street, the Bond Street Synagogue, Scheuer House, the Zionist Building, and its long-term home at 150-152 Beverley Street, where it remained until its July 1983 move to the Lipa Green Building in North York.

The CJC's activities expanded to include taking responsibility for Jewish educational standards, but by 1941 its main efforts shifted to support for Canada’s war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the focus again shifted to Jewish immigration projects and the maintenance of Jewish identity in small communities. By 1950, the CJC’s use of the title “division” was changed to “region” to accommodate internal operational divisions within each region. Also, by then, the central region was busy expanding its programs for all Ontario Jewish communities, creating a province-wide council of youth groups, and working with the newly-created Bureau of Jewish Education (later Board of Jewish Education, now Mercaz). Standardization of kashruth rules in Ontario was implemented. As well, regular educational conferences and cultural events were held throughout the province, while province-wide fundraising efforts in support of Moess Chittin for relief projects in Israel and for local Congress activities were expanded. Many of its educational and cultural responsibilities necessitated working with other Jewish organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS), Hadassah, the Canadian Legion, B’nai Brith, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and the many landsmenshaften (Jewish mutual benefit societies, each formed by immigrants originating from the same Eastern European community).

During the 1960s, the central region began sending Moess Chittin relief shipments to Cuban Jews unable to acquire kosher foods for Passover. Its lobbying efforts included participation in the Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda, and its greatest success came with the introduction and implementation of Ontario’s fair employment and fair accommodation practices legislation, an achievement in which Congress played a pivotal role.

From 1971 to 1989 the major focus became international and national lobbying for, and providing support to, Soviet Jewry. Virtually all local and Canadian efforts to assist the Soviet Jewish “refusniks” were organized and coordinated in Toronto by the Ontario region office, which provided staff and funding for the many lobbying activities and public demonstrations that characterized this successful effort.

As of November 1975, the central region’s responsibilities in Toronto were radically altered. To improve cost efficiency in Toronto, CJC educational and social service program activities were merged with similar programs already provided by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal. The UJA assumed sole responsibility for these amalgamated programs in Toronto and was renamed Toronto Jewish Congress. The central region still retained province-wide responsibilities for Ontario’s smaller Jewish communities, and its office remained in Toronto. Also, following this reorganization, its name was changed to Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Although CJC no longer provided direct social and educational programs to Toronto, the TJC’s senior executive was, at the time, still obliged to continue to keep it notified about developments concerning previous Congress responsibilities.

From 1983, the Ontario Region's offices were located in the Lipa Green Building at 4600 Bathurst Street. It continued its work of financially supporting various Israeli institutions and fostering Canada-Israel relations. It also spearheaded the movement to support and protect Jews in Arab lands, especially in Syria. Funding for the CJC came from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, which restributed a portion of the funds raised by the local Jewish federations across Canada.

The CJC dissolved in 2011. Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) acts as the Jewish community's primary lobby group.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records of the Ontario Region office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Of primary importance in documenting this organization’s history are its minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees and the various standing, and short-term committees such as Community Organization, Finance, Fund Raising, Educational and Cultural, Research, Immigration, War Efforts, and Jewish Education. Most of these records are still managed all together within Fonds 17, Series 1. Fonds 17, Series 2 contains the general subject and correspondence files of these committees. Records in both series require further processing.

Records now found in Series 3 document the efforts of the Committee for Soviet Jewry in coordinating the activities of the many Toronto and Ontario organizations involved in assisting Soviet Jewry during the 1971 to 1989 period.

Series 4 consists of administrative and committee records of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies in Toronto from 1938 through 1967. These document its work rescuing the survivors of European Jewish communities, settling as many as possible in Ontario, and providing assistance to those attempting to obtain restitution payments.

Series 5 consists of the records of the Community Relations Committee (1938-1976). Responding to depression-era anti-Semitism in Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith together established in 1938 a new joint committee. Since then this Committee has documented racist threats in Canada; initiated advocacy activities to work for improved civil rights; promoted legislation combating hate; worked to ensure equality of access to employment, education and accommodation; and investigated specific incidents of discrimination. The Committee, for example, played a key role in achieving the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1944, and the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951, key steps leading to Canada’s current Human Rights Code. Although originally named Joint Public Relations Committee in 1938, a series of name changes later occurred; s follows: Joint Community Relations Committee, Central Region (1962-1978), Joint Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1978-ca. 1991) Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1991-present) Records in this series were reorganized into 5 sub-series and a further 9 sub-sub-series during the 2009 to 2011 period. For further details please view the database records for Fonds 17, Series 5. Although this series will eventually hold all CRC records up to 1992, only those prior to 1979 are currently fully processed.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 1839 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, 4 drawings, and 6 microfilm reels (16 mm).

Processing note: Processing of this fonds is ongoing. Additional descriptive entries will be added in future.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region

Subjects

Pressure groups

Access Restriction

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

Arrangement

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

Creator

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region (1919-2011)

Places

Ontario

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

Series

Fonds

17

Series

2

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1948-1998

Physical Description

ca. 7 metres of textual records and other material

Scope and Content

Series consists of the general office subject and correspondence files of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Included is correspondence, memos, reports, speeches, bulletins, news releases, conference proceedings, promotional material, news clippings, photographs, videos, and sound recordings. The records relate to a wide variety of topics, such as small communities, Yiddish culture, Holocaust survivors and remembrance, Jewish youth and seniors, fundraising initiatives, neo-nazis, Cuban Jews, education, and human rights issues and legal cases.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 390 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, and 4 drawings.

Files created by the United Jewish Relief Agencies have been removed and may now be found within Fonds 17, Series 4.

Files created by the Committee for Soviet Jewry have been removed and may now be found within Fonds 17, Series 3

Files created by the Joint Community Relations Committee have been removed and may now be found within fonds 17, Series 5.

Access Restriction

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

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

Maurice Solway fonds

Level

File

Fonds

13

File

6

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1974-1985

Physical Description

1 videocassette (ca. 25 min.) : duplicate, col. VHS and other material

Admin History/Bio

"The Violin" was a short film by Andrew Welsh and George Pastic, released in 1974, and featuring Maurice Solway as the old man. The producers approached Maurice Solway about being in their film while making initial casting inquiries among Solway's students in regard to the children’s roles in the film. Eventually, they persuaded Solway to star in the film, shot on Ward Island, Toronto, in 1972 and 1973. Solway also wrote the original music and became the film's principle promoter, speaking in schools and at screenings of the film. The film promotes peace and understanding through the power of music and the exchange of knowledge and friendship between the old and the young. In 1975 it was nominated for an Academy Award. The spin-off book was published in 1976. Solway, with the managerial assistance of his wife, Anne, took on the role of promoting the film and saw it as his crowning achievement, the expression of what he wanted to be remembered for, after a career in music and education. The film was made for $25,000 and eventually grossed over $700,000. It was broadcast frequently on CBC in Canada, and CBS in the United States. It was even given a special screening for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

Scope and Content

This file includes a VHS copy of the original short video of "The Violin" , the accompanying book, correspondence, and promotional materials related to Maurice Solway's speaking tours in promotion of the film. These materials include a picture postcard and numerous posters and programmes for specific speaking and performance engagements associated with the release and screenings of the film. Also included are two hand-coloured children's illustrations of violins with accompanying letters to Solway, from children who had seen the film and wrote to express their appreciation. "The violin: a children's story" (McGraw-Hill: 1976) also uses stills from the film. The text was written by Robert Thomas Allen, from the story by Pastic and Welsh. Solway's score for the film is reproduced in the back of the children's book.

Notes

Includes 1 videocassette (VHS), 1 v. of text, 1 folder of textual records, and 3 graphic images (2 illustrations, 1 picture postcard).

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Morris Norman collection

Level

Collection

Fonds

22

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1856-1995

Physical Description

1.1 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Morris Norman (b. 1946) is a chartered accountant living and working in Toronto. He is an avid collector of Canadiana, specifically Judaica. He purchases lots at auction and donates them to the Ontario Jewish Archives, as well as other institutions.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of the individual items collected at auction by Morris Norman. The records relate to the Toronto Jewish community and Ontario Jewry and include textual documents, photographs, near-prints, publications, artifacts, posters and broadsheets, sound recordings, and ephemera. Most of the items relate to various Jewish organizations, businesses, synagogues and individuals, and to Christian missionary work in Toronto. The material has been described at the file level, or where appropriate, the item level.

There are also four distinct series of records which document Berul Sugarman, who was a concert violinist and orchestral leader; the Franklin family, who owned a large amount of property in Toronto in the late 1800s and early 1900s; radio and television scripts written by Wayne and Shuster, Henry Karpus and Russell Bradley; and a collection of Turofsky photographs.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 49 objects, 25 photographs, 7 audio recordings and 4 prints.

Name Access

Norman, Morris

Norman, Jessie

Creator

Norman, Morris (1946-)

Accession Number

1995-9-3

1995-9-4

1995-9-8

1996-6-3

1996-7-3

1996-9-1

1997-7-1

1998-1-1

1998-3-44

1998-7-2

1999-10-1

2000-7-4

2000-12-3

2001-3-3

2001-4-3

2001-8-5

2001-10-6

2001-11-1

2002-4-1

2002-5-1

2002-7-1

2002-9-1

2002-10-5

2002-10-58

2002-12-3

2003-5-3

2003-10-6

2004-7-4

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

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

61

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1920]-1994

Physical Description

3 m of textual records (19 v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Schwartz-Reisman Jewish Community Centre, the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre (formerly the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre or BJCC) and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC) in Toronto are the current incarnations of what began, in 1919, as the Hebrew Association of Young Men's and Young Women's Clubs, later known as the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association of Toronto (YM-YWHA). The YM-YWHA, in turn, began as a merger between several other small athletic clubs operating in the city. The original mandate was strictly athletic, but soon broadened to include other areas of interest, in order to provide a sense of Jewish identity and camaraderie through physical, educational, cultural and community based programming. During the 1920s, the 'Y' became known simply as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) – the name under which it was incorporated in 1930.

For close to two decades, the ‘Y’ had rented rooms in the Brunswick Avenue and College Street area, including the basement facilities of the Brunswick Avenue Talmud Torah. By the mid-1930s, these facilities were overcrowded and unable to support the growing membership, particularly when the young women’s programming was reintroduced in 1936.

As a result, in 1937, the YM-YWHA constructed its own athletic building at 15 Brunswick Avenue, next door to the Talmud Torah, to ease the overcrowding. However, the ‘Y’ still had to make use of five scattered buildings to meet its needs, including the Central YMCA gym for its basketball teams. The early ‘Y’ was staffed by volunteers who were granted free memberships in exchange for their time and expertise.

On 3 February 1953, a new Jewish Community Centre was dedicated at the corner of Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue. By the end of the 1950s, the ‘Y’ was providing services for all ages, ranging from a nursery school to their Good Age Club for seniors.

As the Jewish community moved northward, so too did the ‘Y’, with the dedication of a new northern branch on 1 May 1961. This new branch, located at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, was created in order to address the athletic, educational, cultural and community needs of the expanding Jewish community in the north end of the city. Fourteen years later, an improved cultural and physical education wing was added as part of the completion campaign. This included the addition of the Leah Posluns Theatre and the Murray Koffler Centre of the Arts. In 1978, the YM-YWHA changed its name to the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto, in order to better reflect its broader role in the community. A new Northeast Valley branch was also established in Thornhill in the early 1980s and later closed in the late 1990s.

In 1994, the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto took over the operation of the northern branch, due to financial difficulties. At this point, all three branches became independent of one another and were no longer constituted as the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto. They each had independent boards of directors, while still receiving some of their operating funds from the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of the records created and accumulated by the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto -- which included the Bloor branch and the northern Bathurst Jewish Community Centre -- and its predecessor, the YM-YWHA. The records include textual records maintained by the office of the executive director, financial reports, architectural plans, Y-Times newsletters, program material, photographs and oral histories.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Executive director, Jewish Community Centre Archives Committee, Publication Committee, Communications Department, Sports Celebrity Dinner, and Combined Building Campaign Committee.

Notes

Includes 2539 photographs, 42 architectural drawings, 13 sound recordings, 4 artifacts, and 2 posters.

Name Access

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto

Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre

Subjects

Community centers

Related Material

See photo #2369-2646, 3412, 3519, 3804, 4201, 5004, 6125, accession #1986-7-8, MG2 N1a

Creator

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2004-6-6

2004-5-13

2004-5-2

1988-11-7

1988-4-9

1984-7-2

1983-12-1

1982-12-2

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

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Personal series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

1

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1900]-2000

Physical Description

49 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Sol Edell, the son of Paul and Mollie Edell, was one of five siblings. He and Dolly Weinstock, the daughter of Moishe and Sylvia Weinstock, had two daughters and two sons and lived in Toronto. After Dolly died in 1961, he married Celia (née Rogen) Hoffman, a widow, in 1966. He became the stepfather to the two sons of Max and Celia Hoffman who had been residents of Hamilton. Some members of the family remained in Toronto while others moved to other parts of Canada, the United States and Israel. Sol Edell was actively involved in or provided financial support to many educational, professional and religious organizations.

Scope and Content

Series includes correspondence, invitations, publications, photographs, family films and a sound recording. The series is made up of seven sub-series: Associations, Charities, Community Activities, Education and Extra-Curricular Activities, Life Cycle and Family Events, Religious, and Residence.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 12 photographs, 7 film reels, 1 audio reel, 1 plaque, 4 badges, and 47 architectural drawings.

Name Access

Hoffman, Max

Hoffman, Celia

Rho Pi Phi

Harbord Collegiate

Subjects

Education

Greek letter societies

Physical Condition

Film and sound reels should be digitized.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Adas Israel Synagogue series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

5

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1958-2008

Physical Description

21 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Adas Israel is an orthodox congregation that was founded in the 1920s. The original building was on Cannon Street in downtown Hamilton. After the arrival of Rabbi Morton Green in 1958, a decision was made to move the synagogue to the western suburbs of Hamilton. The new building was built in 1961 and also included the Hamilton Hebrew Academy Day School. Since its move, synagogue membership has increased from 75 families to 350 families. Sol Edell became a member in 1966 after he married Celia Hoffman who was a member of the congregation. He did not attend the synagogue and had no regular involvement but did supervise a number synagogue renovation projects.

Custodial History

The material in this series was originally collected by the Hoffman family who were members of the congregation in the 1960s. Sol Edell became a member of the congregation after his marriage to Celia Hoffman in 1966. After her death in 1973, he inherited the material that she had collected and he continued to receive material from the congregation since he maintained his membership until his death in 2000.

Scope and Content

Series consists of correspondence, blueprints, photographs, audiotapes and films relating to the establishment and construction of the new synagogue in 1961. It also includes correspondence and anniversary books documenting a variety of synagogue activities such as the dedication of the synagogue and a tribute dinner honouring Rabbi Mordechai Green. Also included are synagogue bulletins from 1958 to 2000. The series is made up of 6 sub series: Building, Clergy, Religious, Programmes, Administration and Finance, and Publications.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 27 photographs, 3 audio reels, 1 film reel, 15 architectural drawings, and 1 key.

Name Access

Green, Morton, Rabbi

Hoffman, Celia

Hamilton Hebrew Academy Day School

Subjects

Architecture

Education

Synagogues

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

6

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1953-2008

Physical Description

54 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Clanton Park Synagogue was an orthodox synagogue that began as a shteibel in 1955 in the newly built up area of North York. Originally, services were held in homes or rented quarters. In 1957, land was purchased on Lowesmoor Avenue, and in 1961, the synagogue building was dedicated. The congregation, which initially consisted of 20 families, has grown steadily over the years and now has a membership of over 300 families. Sol Edell was one of the founding members of Clanton Park. He was president of the synagogue and served on the Board. He was involved in the purchase of the property and supervised the construction, the renovation and upkeep of the building. As well, he was active in the programmes sponsored by the synagogue such as the Long Life Club, which provided activities for seniors. He attended services on a daily basis and retained his membership until his death in 2000.

Scope and Content

Series consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, architectural drawings, and films relating to the establishment, construction and renovation of Clanton Park Synagogue. It also includes correspondence, anniversary books, photographs, films and videotapes of various synagogue activities and events including: religious celebrations, social programs, anniversary dinners and rabbinical installations. Also included are synagogue bulletins and membership lists as well as financial and legal records. Finally, series also consists of architectural drawings and textual records documenting Clanton Park's cemetery and Sisterhood.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 648 photographs, 16 architectural drawings, 4 slides, 7 audio cassettes, 5 audio reels, 5 film reels, and 4 videocassettes (VHS).

Name Access

Long Life Club

North York

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Cemeteries and funeral homes series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

9

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1953-2000

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

One of Sol Edell’s interests was ensuring the preservation of Jewish cemeteries. He was the president of the Jones Avenue cemetery, a member of the Board of Pardes Shalom and also served as chair of the Cemetery Committee of Clanton Park. He designed the archway at the entrance to Clanton Park's section located in the Roselawn Cemetery. He was also the synagogue’s representative on the Board of Directors of Steeles College Memorial Park.

Scope and Content

Series consists of correspondence relating to the operation of various cemeteries and funeral homes including the Jones Avenue Cemetery, which was established in the late Nineteenth century. Also included is correspondence and financial reports from Steeles College Memorial Park. As well, there is a plot map of the International Workmen's Circle section in the Mount Sinai Cemetery, Bathurst Lawn Cemetery and Jones Avenue Cemetery. Finally, there are photographs of the Pardes Shalom Cemetery and three audio-visual recordings of Jones Avenue Cemetery.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 11 photographs, 4 architectural drawings, and 3 videocassettes.

Name Access

Pardes Shalom

Dawes Road

Jones Avenue

International Workmen's Circle

Roselawn

Steeles College Memorial Chapel

Mount sinai Cemetery

Subjects

Cemeteries

Funeral homes

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Heritage series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

10

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[1967?]-1993

Physical Description

34 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Sol Edell was active in the collection, preservation and exhibition of historical material relating to the history of Canadian Jewry. He was one of the founders and Chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region / Toronto Jewish Congress Archives (later the Ontario Jewish Archives). Among his achievements were the restoration of the Kiever Synagogue and organizing the showing of the exhibit Journey into Our Heritage. In addition, he was a financial supporter of the Baycrest Museum, the Jewish Historical Society of Canada and a member of the Toronto Jewish Historical Society.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting Sol Edell's heritage related activities, particularly his involvement with the Ontario Jewish Archives. Included are meeting notices, agendas and minutes, correspondence, financial and legal records, photographs, flyers, press releases, brochures, administrative records, reports, lists, notes, sound records, architectural drawings, exhibit material, grant applications, invitations, and programmes.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 10 photographs, 3 audio cassettes, and 5 architectural drawings.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region / Toronto Jewish Congress Archives

Toronto Jewish Historical Society

Historical Society of Western Canada

Baycrest Heritage Museum

Kiever Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Journey into Our Heritage

Subjects

Architecture

Nonprofit organizations

Synagogues

Access Restriction

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

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

Personal series

Life cycle and family events sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

4

Series

1-5

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1900]-2000

Physical Description

37 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Sol Edell had a large family and a large circle of friends and aquaintenances. Consequently, he was invited to many circumcisions, weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs. He also set up several memorial funds in memory of his sister and wives.There are also documents in this sub-series that relate to family members.

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of correspondence, receipts, diplomas, photographs and films documenting various family celebrations, vacations and home life. There is a selection of invitations, cards and benchers sent by the Edell, Weinstock and Hoffman families as well as ones that they received from family and friends. In addition, there are newspaper clippings and notices of the deaths of Edell family members and friends as well as correspondence and receipts relating to memorial funds set up in their memory. The sub-series also contains films of family and friends taken at home, on vacation and at family celebrations.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 10 photographs, 7 film reels, and 1 audio reel.

Name Access

Hoffman family

Weinstock family

Edell, Dolly

Edell, Celia

Subjects

Families

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Yom Hashoah sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-14

File

19

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

32 photographs b & w, ; 20 cm x 25 cm

1 audiocassette

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs, correspondence, programmes, flyers, press releases, and meeting minutes for the 1985 Yom Hashoah commemoration of the Holocaust Centre. Photographer: Joe Black.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Canadian Gathering sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18-1

File

3

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1984-1985

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

3 buttons, 3.5 cm in diameter

2 posters, 39 x 55 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of promotional material and correspondence for the Canadian Gathering of Holocaust Survivors.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Canadian Gathering sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18-1

File

6

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 videocassette

16 photographs: col. ; 13 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of a program, video recording, and photographs from the Canadian Gathering of Holocaust Survivors. Identified in the photographs are: Harold Troper, Rabbi Dow Marmur, Irving Abella, Rosalie Abella, Edith Land, Nathan Leipciger, Lou Silberman.

Name Access

Abella, Irving, 1940-2022

Land, Edith, 1928-2013

Leipciger, Nathan, 1928-

Marmur, Dow, 1953-

Troper, Harold, 1942-

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Holocaust Education Week sub-series

Book fair programs sub-sub-series

Level

Sub-sub-series

Fonds

67

Series

28-15-1

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1977-1992

Physical Description

ca. 5 cm of textual records

1 photograph

Scope and Content

Records consist of documents from the Jewish Book Fair. Records include: flyers, programs, meeting minutes, and correspondence.

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

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