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

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

David Pinkus' personal records series

Level

Series

Fonds

138

Series

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

object

philatelic record

Date

[ca. 1903]-2021

Physical Description

ca. 50 cm of textual records

ca. 120 photographs : b&w and col. ; 30 x 35 cm or smaller

other material

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting David Pinkus’ career and personal life. In addition to David’s education and employment, many records also provide insight into his active involvement with the Toronto Jewish community as well as his passion for sports and the City of Toronto.

Included are David’s secondary and post-secondary education records, certificates and awards, personal correspondence, invitations, greeting cards, scrapbooks, identification documents, licenses and permits, medical records, financial and insurance records, notes, newspaper clippings, address books, recommendation letters, application forms for jobs, and board appointments. Also included are records relating to his military service during the Second World War; his trips to Israel, Cuba, and the U.S.; and his collaborations with the Ontario Jewish Archives. Records that reflect his personal interests in sports and the Jewish community include historic photographs of sports teams, brochures and newspaper clippings pertaining to the Pavilion of Judaism at Expo 67, artworks featuring Jerusalem and synagogues, notated music of Yiddish-American songs, documents and historic letters in Yiddish and Hebrew, speeches and field-trip workbooks of Toronto’s Jewish community relationship building projects, and miscellaneous material such as personalized Hebrew New Year cards, tickets and promotional material of exhibitions, and the Handbook of Practical Cookery of Toronto Board of Education. Of note is his scrapbooks, which document the City of Toronto and the Ontario Jewish community. The scrapbooks are comprised mainly of photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, postage stamps, wartime ration books, brochures, and historic TTC tickets. This series also contains David’s portraits, photographs featuring him at various events, cassettes and microcassettes, and artifacts of his personal collection such as one brooch, pinback buttons, felt patches, and medals. A small number of pinback buttons and felt patches are part of the scrapbooks.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Also included are 4 audio cassettes, 2 microcassettes, 2 paintings, 2 prints, 34 pinback buttons, 8 felt patches, 1 brooch, 3 medals, 2 postage stamps, and 9 revenue stamps.

Access Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gerald Tulchinsky fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

149

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[185-?]-2017

Physical Description

4.36 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Tulchinsky (1933–2017) was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1933 to Harry Tulchinsky and Anne Tulchinsky (née Stemeroff). Gerald spent his childhood and teen years growing up in Brantford as one of four children. His parents owned and operated the Mayfair dress shop on Colborne Street. The Tulchinsky family were active members of their community and were involved with the Beth David Congregation and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. Anne received multiple awards for her volunteer work.

Gerald Tulchinsky left Brantford in order to attend university. He received his undergraduate degree from McGill University and went on to receive his PhD in history from the University of Toronto in 1971.

Gerald married his wife, Ruth Tulchinsky (née Rice), in 1961, and, after spending the first few years of their marriage in various Canadian cities, they settled in Kingston, Ontario. Tulchinsky and his wife had three children: Steve, Ellen and Laura.

Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky’s professional career as a historian began with a focus on Canadian business and labour; later, his research interests expanded to include Canadian Jewish history. He briefly taught at the University of Saskatchewan before becoming a professor at Queen’s University, where he taught in the history department from 1966 to 2000. During his time at Queen’s, Tulchinsky expanded interest in the field of Canadian Jewish studies through his encouragement and supervision of graduate students. As professor emeritus, he was involved in creating the Jewish studies program at Queen’s, which he later became the director of after his retirement from the history department in 2000. In 2005, Tulchinsky became the recipient of theLouis Rosenberg Award, which honoured his contributions to the field of Canadian Jewish studies.

It was also during this time at Queen’s that he became known as a leading scholar on Canadian Jewish history. Over the course of his career, he published six books, including "The River Barons Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation 1837–53," "Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Branching Out: The Transformation of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Canada’s Jews: A People's Community," "Joe Salsberg: A Life of Commitment," and "Shtetl on Grand." The latter is a collection of short stories based on his experiences growing up Jewish in Brantford.

In addition to his books, he wrote and edited dozens of articles on business, immigration, transportation, and antisemitism during his career. Towards the end of his life, he had been working on a book on the history of the Canadian clothing industry.

Tulchinsky died on 13 December 2017. He was eighty-four.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records created and accumulated by Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky. The records relate to his personal life and professional career. The majority of the records are textual and primarily consist of his research on J. B. Salsberg, Canadian Jewish history, business, labour, and the Canadian clothing industry. The records include photocopied research materials, such as articles, statistical reports, and scanned newspaper pages. The records also include research notes; interviews; correspondence; grant applications; photographs; six audio cassettes and two VHS tapes; newspaper clippings; and lecture notes and course syllabi; as well as drafts of Dr. Tulchinsky’s manuscripts, poems, short stories, and articles. Also included among the records are daily planners; some family photographs; birthday and congratulation cards; a passport; a travel diary; a record of the Tulchinsky family tree; Anne Tulchinsky’s volunteer awards and other records; and various materials related to the Tulchinsky family’s involvement in the Brantford Jewish community, the Beth David Congregation, and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

The fonds is divided into the following six series: 1. Drafts and manuscripts, 2. Research, 3. Personal and family, 4. Correspondence, 5. Teaching materials, and 6. Miscellaneous.

Notes

Associated material: Records of the parish of Gerald Tulchinsky are also held by Queen's University Archives.

Name Access

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Subjects

Authors

College teachers

Historians

Creator

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Places

Canada

Accession Number

2008-7-1

2014-8-4

2015-2-2

2016-2-7

2016-5-10

2017-9-4

2018-1-4

Source

Archival Descriptions