- Accession Number
- 2015-3-5
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-3-5
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- 2013-2015
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of textual records documenting the history of the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks (THMP) and Sidney Freedman's role as founder. Included are writings created by Sid Freedman reflecting on mixed burial issues and the history of THMP (this writing accompanies audio recordings Freedman had created on this topic in 1997). Also included is correspondence between Freedman and Bill Draimin as well as a copy of Freedman's farewell letter to THMP's Board.
- Use Conditions
- Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and donor prior to accessing the records.
- Descriptive Notes
- Related material note: AC 237-240
- Subjects
- Cemeteries
- Name Access
- Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2019-1-4
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2019-1-4
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- ca. 2 cm of textual records
- 1 textual record (docx)
- Date
- 2017-2019
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of textual records documenting the history of the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks (THMP) and Sidney Freedman's role as founder. Included are: printouts of email correspondence that touch on issues of interfaith burial; funding, specifically the Sidney Freedman Endowment Fund; and THMP's relationship to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. There is also a short version of the speech Sidney delivered on the occassion of a tribute dinner in 2016.
- Administrative History
- Sidney Freedman was born in 1928 in Ivansk (Iwanska) Poland. In 1929 the family of eight immigrated to Canada, first to Winnipeg, and then in 1933 to Toronto. He put himself through law school by working in construction jobs and opened a law firm after graduation. He later became president of Temple Sinai and became interested in the operation of cemeteries. In 1970 he purchased the land that would become Pardes Shalom Cemetery and later founded the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks.
- Use Conditions
- Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
- Subjects
- Cemeteries
- Interfaith marriage
- Name Access
- Beit Olam (Toronto, Ont.)
- Pardes Chaim (Toronto, Ont.)
- Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks
- UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2019-2-7
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2019-2-7
- Material Format
- textual record (electronic)
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 8 textual records (electronic)
- 1 folder
- Date
- 2017-2018
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of material collected and/or created by Sidney Freedman. The accession includes four hard copy records and eight records in electronic format. The hard copy records include a memoir of Ivansk Poland around the time of his birth, a visit to Poland and Ivansk in 2006, and an essay titled "The Book of Job and Related Matters." There is also a copy of the The Funeral Chronicle with an article by Mr. Freedman. The electronic records include Mr. Freedman's speech at the dedication of Pardes Shalom Cemetery, and essays/stories titled "Ecrite Intimes," "Holocaust Memorials," "Hungarian Rhapsody," "Israel and Palestinians," "O Canada," "Pride and Celebrity," and "The Enduring Hatred."
- Custodial History
- The donor emailed the eight records in electronic records to an OJA archivist in February 2019; he mailed the hard copies shortly thereafter to the same archivist shortly thereafter.
- Administrative History
- Sidney Freedman was born in 1928 in Ivansk (Iwanska) Poland. In 1929 the family of eight immigrated to Canada, first to Winnipeg, and then in 1933 to Toronto. He put himself through law school by working in construction jobs and opened a law firm after graduation. He later became president of Temple Sinai and became interested in the operation of cemeteries. In 1970 he purchased the land that would become Pardes Shalom Cemetery and later founded the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks.
- Descriptive Notes
- Scope: Regarding the speech he made at the Pardes Shalom dedication, the donor noted: "Some of the comments I made at that time were adopted as a legend in THMP's promotional material. In reading it however I see how I schmaltzed up the audience with gratitude to the number of institutions and people who really didn't deserve it. The story about our priorities as to number one of first paying back invested monies to buy land etc. was completely false. In fact the only contribution came later as the archives will show when in serving the land a commercial loan from the predecessor to federation came up with something like $350,000 in increments which got paid back at 10% interest cumulatively and retired on five years. On that basis the speech I gave was feel-good but not one that was at all accurate in terms of who assisted in establishing the cemetery."
- Subjects
- Authors
- Cemeteries
- Essays
- Name Access
- Freedman, Sidney
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- 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