Accession Number
1993-1-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1993-1-9
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
1938-[ca.1980]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Goel Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto. Included are a script of a sisterhood play; copies of the religious-school newsletter Keren Ami; a program for Beth Tzedec's First Congregational (1955); a certificate for charter members of the North Toronto YMHA awarded to the law firm of Singer and Kert; a Young Judaea publication The Leader (1938), which includes a prize-winning address by Shelton Kert; and a menu from Old Ed's, one of Ed Mirvish's restaurants.
Administrative History
The Singer and Kert law partnership lasted from 1920-1965. Joseph Singer was a gold metalist at Osgoode Hall in 1911. He was the first Jewish Controller in Toronto, and legal adviser to the Primrose Club. At the time of his death in 1967 he had practiced law for 56 years.
Lawrence Kert helped organize the Associated Hebrew Schools and the Oakdale Golf and Country Club. He was on the board of Goel Tzedec Synagogue. When he passed away in 1976 he had been a lawyer for 56 years.
Name Access
Kert, Sheldon
Kert, Lawrence
Singer, Joseph
Goel Tzedec Synagogue
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1976-10-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1976-10-3
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
26 cm of textual records and graphic material
Date
1925-1960
Scope and Content
Accession consists of: Toronto Jewish Medical Association minute book (1925–1936); minutes, clinical records, research papers and other records of the Mount Sinai Clinical Association (1932–1953); Mount Sinai Hospital medical staff minute book (1943–1953); a copy of Dr David Eisen's publication "Toronto's Jewish doctors" (1960); and a photograph of the installation of officers of the Mt. Sinai Hospital Clinical Society (1939).
Use Conditions
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Dr. Eisen's "Toronto's Jewish Doctors" publication has been digitized and is available as a PDF file. The photograph of the officers' installation has also been digitized and is available as a JPEG image.
Subjects
Hospitals
Physicians
Name Access
Eisen, David
Pollock, Ira
Mount Sinai Hospital
Toronto Jewish Medical Association
Source
Archival Accessions
Name
Dr. Coleman Solursh
Material Format
sound recording
Interview Date
3 Jan. 1985
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Dr. Coleman Solursh
Number
OH 40
OH 41
Subject
Physicians
Societies
Occupations
Medical care
Interview Date
3 Jan. 1985
Quantity
2
Interviewer
Morris Silbert
Total Running Time
040A: 34 minutes 040B: 31 minutes 041A: 11 minutes
Conservation
Copied August 2003
Use Restrictions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Biography
Coleman Solursh was born in Toronto in 1906. He graduated as a physician in 1932. He worked as a lodge doctor. He was involved in the Toronto Jewish Lodge Doctors Association. He worked in the field of family medicine and was appointed chief of the Department of Family Practice at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was appointed associate chief of medicine at Baycrest, Jewish Home for the Aged. He married Zelda Singer, a third-generation Canadian. Zelda's maternal grandfather was appointed colonization chairman in 1897 for Baron de Hirsch settlement for Jewish immigrants. Zelda's father, Manny Singer, was the first Jewish pharmacist in Toronto. Zelda's uncle, Fred Singer, was the first Jewish member of parliament for Ontario.
Material Format
sound recording
Language
English
Name Access
Solursh, Coleman
Silbert, Morris
Mount Sinai Hospital
Singer, Zelda
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Geographic Access
Toronto (Ont.)
Original Format
Audio cassette
Copy Format
Audio cassette
Digital file
Transcript
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 40, OH 41 - Solursh\OH40_001_Log.pdf
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 40, OH 41 - Solursh\OH40_002_Log.pdf
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 40, OH 41 - Solursh\OH41_001_Log.pdf
Source
Oral Histories

In this clip, Dr. Coleman Solursh describes a meeting between executives from the Toronto Jewish Lodge Doctors' Association and representatives from various Jewish Lodges. The meeting resulted in significant changes to the way medical services and payment were provided to the physicians.

In this clip, Dr. Coleman Solursh describes his role as Chief of the Department of Family Practice in the new Mount Sinai Hospital in 1953. He explains how this department pioneered the model for family practice within a hospital setting across Canada.

Name
Lillian Gollom
Material Format
sound recording
Interview Date
8 Dec. 1986
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Lillian Gollom
Number
OH 122
Subject
Families
Women
Occupations
Antisemitism
Hospitals
Interview Date
8 Dec. 1986
Quantity
1
Interviewer
Morris Silbert and Nancy Draper
Total Running Time
OH122_001: 31.05 minutes
OH122_002: 17.07 minutes
Conservation
Copied August 2003
Use Restrictions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Biography
Lillian Gollom (née Slovens) was born in Russia in 1903. She came to Toronto around 1907. She attended Ogness Public School and Canada Business College. She married Nat Gollom in 1924. They had a son and a daughter. Lillian was actively involved with the "Sinai's" and served as president of the organization in 1939. The fund-raising efforts of the the "Sinai's", Ezrat Nashim and "Twigs" assisted with the establishment of the first Mount Sinai Hospital on Yorkville Avenue. Lillian was a volunteer at the hospital. She remained active with the Sinais and involved with the establishment of the second Mount Sinai Hospital on University Avenue. Afterwards, the organization's focus shifted to fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Material Format
sound recording
Language
English
Name Access
Mount Sinai Hospital
Dworkin, Dorothy
Canadian Cancer Society
Singer, E.F.
Gollom, Lillian
Geographic Access
Toronto
Original Format
Audio cassette
Copy Format
Audio cassette
Digital file
Transcript
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 122 - Gollom\OH122_001_Log.pdf
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 122 - Gollom\OH122_002_Log.pdf
Source
Oral Histories

In this clip, Lillian Gollom discusses the establishment and early days of the first Mount Sinai Hospital. She describes the fundraising efforts of Ezrat Nashim, the Sinais, and the Twigs.

In this clip, Lillian Gollom relates anecdotes pertaining to the impact of the Great Depression on Jewish families in the early 1930s.

Part Of
Rabbi Sheldon Steinberg fonds
Level
Item
ID
Item 248
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rabbi Sheldon Steinberg fonds
Level
Item
Item
248
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1974
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the president and board of Mount Sinai Hospital after the mezuzah affixing ceremony.
Name Access
Mount Sinai Hospital
Subjects
Hospitals
Mezuzah
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 262
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
262
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1919]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 21 x 26 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy photograph and corresponding negative of the Workmen's Circle Peretz Shule in Montreal. The photo features the students and teachers on the front steps of the school.
Notes
Acquired May 1974.
Name Access
Peretz Shule
Workmen's Circle
I.L. Peretz
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Students
Teachers
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Montréal (Québec)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1184
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1184
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1935
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the Workmen's Circle mandolin orchestra.
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Mandolin orchestras
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1977-1-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1185
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1185
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1936
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Individuals in the photograph include Sam Shopsowitz (with accordian), Mannie Farber, Percy Lipshitz, Muni Frumhartz, [Mr. Gluskin?], and Al Rosenberg.
Name Access
Shopsowitz, Sam
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Mandolin orchestras
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1977-1-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2443
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2443
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1960]
Physical Description
2 photographs : (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Director: Mrs. Diamond.
2nd row, rear: Norman Nelson.
Name Access
Nelson, Norman
Diamond, Mrs.
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Choirs (Music)
Jews--Music
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2444
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2444
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1937
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Photo is a group shot of campers and staff at Camp Yungvelt with posters which read: "War is murder, the promoters - murderers" and "We want our fathers with us and not in war."
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Camp Yungvelt
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Demonstrations
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Pickering (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2445
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2445
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1965
Physical Description
2 photographs : (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Teacher is Mrs. Reinhartz.
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
I.L. Peretz
Subjects
Students
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2446
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2446
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1960
Physical Description
2 photographs : (1 negative)
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
I.L. Peretz
Subjects
Children's costumes
Children's theater
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2447
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2447
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1960
Physical Description
2 photographs : (1 negative)
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
I.L. Peretz
Subjects
School boards
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2448
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2448
Material Format
graphic material
Date
2 Dec. 1965
Physical Description
2 photographs : (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Head table from left to right: Mrs. M. Rosenberg; Mrs. Atkin; Joe Silver; I. Matenko; Wargan; Norman Nelson (chairman); Dr. J. Diamond (director, Bureau of Jewish Education); Mrs. Reinhartz (principal, Peretz Shul); Mrs. Dworkin; I. Immergluck; Mrs. B. Nelson.
Name Access
Arbeiter Ring
Arbeter Ring
Atkin, Mrs.
Diamond, Dr. J.
Dworkin, Mrs.
I. L. Peretz
Immergluck, I.
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Nelson, Mrs. B.
Nelson, Norman
Reinhartz, Mrs.
Rosenberg, Mrs. M.
Silver, Joe
Wargan
Workmen's Circle
Subjects
Students
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3054
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3054
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
This is a composite photograph.
Name Access
Workmen's Circle
Arbeiter Ring
Arbeter Ring
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1979-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3664
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3664
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1910]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Scope and Content
Left to right: Abraham Rhinewine; Mrs. Rhinewine; Max Helfand; [unknown]; [unknown]; [unknown]; [unknown]; Sheiner; Paul Frumhartz.
Name Access
Arbeiter Ring
Arbeter Ring
Workmen's Circle
Rhinewine, Abraham
Rhinewine, Mrs.
Helfand, Max
Sheiner
Frumhartz, Paul
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1984-10-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3693
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3693
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1920]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Scope and Content
Identified in this photograph in the second row, third from right: Abe Magerman.
Name Access
Magerman, Abe
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Workmen's Circle
Subjects
Youth
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1983-6-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3961
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3961
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1936
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Notes
Photo by Simon.
For identification see accession record.
Name Access
I.L. Peretz
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Education
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1986-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3962
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3962
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1937
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Notes
For identification see accession record.
Photo by Simon.
Name Access
I.L. Peretz
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Education
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
1986-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3963
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3963
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1938
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w
Notes
Photo by Schlochter.
Name Access
I.L. Peretz
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Education
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1986-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4231
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4231
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1915
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
For identification, see accession record.
Name Access
National Radical School
Workmen's Circle
I.L. Peretz
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
Subjects
Education
Picnics
Children
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
High Park (Toronto, Ont.)
Accession Number
1986-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4233
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4233
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1929
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
For identification, see accession record.
Name Access
Ladies' Auxiliary
Workmen's Circle
Arbeter Ring
Arbeiter Ring
I.L. Peretz
Subjects
Education
Women
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1986-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
1
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1923]
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 23 x 30 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of Dorothy Dworkin (seated in the centre) with members of the Mount Sinai Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, Toronto. Celia Goldstein stands in the back row on the right and Mrs. Salkovitch stands in the back row, second from the right.
Notes
The negative and one of the prints are copies made by the OJA after acquiring the photographs.
Name Access
Goldstein, Celia
Salkovitch, Mrs.
Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital Ladies Auxiliary
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 9
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
9
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1930]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 9 cm
Admin History/Bio
Dr. Simon G. Fines was the Superintendent at the Old and New Mt. Sinai Hospital. He later became the Director of the New Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Name Access
Fines, S. G.
Fines, Simon G.
Mount Sinai Hospital
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 14
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
14
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1915]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm
Scope and Content
Identified is: second row (left to right): -- , -- , -- , -- , ? Rigelhaupt, Joseph? Daniluk, -- , --.
Bottom row (left to right) : -- , -- , Boris Litman, Morris Langbord, -- , Paul Frumartz, -- , ? Riba.
Rigelhaupt (or Rigelhoff), was the choirmaster.
Notes
Inscription of title in Yiddish, recto, bottom.
Inscription, recto, lower left: BY SIMON.
Name Access
Arbeiter Ring
Camp Yungvelt
Daniluk, Joseph
Frumartz, Paul
Langbord, Morris
Litman, Boris
Riba
Rigelhaupt
Rigelhoff
Subjects
Camps
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 15
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
15
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1932]
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 22 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of Dorothy Dworkin and group at Mount Sinai Hospital. In the back row, from left to right are: hospital president, Ephraim Frederick Singer, Dora Dworkin, [unknown], nurse, and Dr. Maxwell Bochner. In the front row, from left to right are: a nurse, a woman in a wheelchair who may have been one of the hospitals permanent patients who the nurses acquired much affection for, and Miss Pickels, the hospital superintendent.
Name Access
Bochner, Maxwell
Mount Sinai Hospital
Pickels, Miss
Singer, E. F.
Singer, Ephraim Frederick
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 18
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
18
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1930]
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 25 x 19 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of a Dr. Simon Fines using a stethoscope to listen to the heartbeat of a little boy at old Mount Sinai Hospital. Dorothy Dworkin, a nurse, and Ephraim Frederick Singer, President, are standing behind them from left to right. The photograph appears to have been taken for publicity purposes.
Notes
Stamp on verso: Daylight Studio Photographer, 361 Queen St. East, Toronto.
Name Access
Mount Sinai Hospital
Singer, E. F.
Singer, Ephraim Frederick
Subjects
Hospitals
Nurses
Physicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 20
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
20
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[193-?]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 9 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of Dr. Simon G. Fines and Dora Dworkin at Mount Sinai Hospital staff Christmas party. Though founded by Jews, Mount Sinai held Christmas parties since it had always served more non-Jewish patients than Jewish ones.
Notes
Associated material note: see book entitled: "From Generation to Generation: A History of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital" by Lesley Marrus Barsky, p. 31, for another photograph from this Christmas party.
Name Access
Fines, S. G.
Fines, Simon G.
Mount Sinai Hospital
Subjects
Christmas
Parties
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 10; Item 21
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dorothy Dworkin fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
10
Item
21
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[194-?]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 9 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of Dora Dworkin and Ephraim Frederick Singer, president of the New Mount Sinai Hospital, at a dance sponsored by the Sinais.
Name Access
Mount Sinai Hospital
Singer, E. F.
Singer, Ephraim Frederick
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Accession Number
2005-4-5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Isaac Matenko fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 89
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Isaac Matenko fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
89
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Date
1911-1971, predominant 1911-1935
Physical Description
6 cm of textual records
17 photographs
Admin History/Bio
Isaac Matenko (1874–1960) was a founder, teacher, and principal of the I. L. Peretz School. He worked tirelessly to preserve and promote secular Jewish culture and the Yiddish language in Toronto. He was also a prominent member of local Jewish organizations, such as the Socialist-Territorialist Club and the Yiddish Kultur Gesellshaft.
Isaac was born on 1 February 1874 in the town of Makariv, located in the Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. He married Elke Yelia Moshkevitch (1878–19 November 1953) on 4 August 1900 in Yekaterinoslav (today Dnipro). They immigrated from czarist Russia to Toronto in 1906, passing first through New York with their two children, Percy (30 June 1901–May 1987) and Theodore (1903–1906, died of measles at Ellis Island), and Yelia’s three sisters, Dvora, Bracha, and Celia, and Isaac’s younger half-brother, Paul Frumhartz. They had two more children after arriving: Abraham (14 August 1908–October 24, 1989) and Shoshana (Sue) (1911–2001). Although he had been a teacher in Russia, Isaac worked as an operator in a cloak factory in Toronto, where he was instrumental in forming the union (likely the Cloakmakers’ Union of Toronto, which later affiliated with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union).
As a child, Isaac received a traditional Jewish education. This, combined with his self-taught secular education and the teachings of Yiddish nationalist Dr. Chaim Zhitlovski, informed his future career and philosophies. He was described as an idealist by his friends, whose dedication to Yiddish culture and language motivated him to bring this knowledge to a younger generation.
On 11 July 1911, Isaac and his fellow Socialist-Territorialist members established the Toronto Yiddish National-Radical School. By 1916, it had been taken over by the Workmen’s Circle and renamed the I. L. Peretz School, after the well-known Yiddish author and playwright. The school began in a rented room at the Zionist Institute on Simcoe Street, moving to larger locations on Richmond Street West, then Beverley Street as it grew. Eventually, several more branches opened, such as the Maria Street school that Isaac was affiliated with. He taught at the school for free in the evenings after working during the day in a shop. His brother Paul was also a founding teacher at the school.
Isaac was described by family, friends, and community members as a passionate teacher with an iron will. He was well-versed in Jewish knowledge, with a desire to pass it on to a younger generation and his fellow union members. He remained involved in the school and in teaching, even after retirement. He died on 2 June 1960 at the age of eighty-six.
Custodial History
These records were donated to the OJA by Sue Levy, daughter of Isaac Matenko.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records documenting Isaac Matenko's involvement with the Workmen's Circle and other Jewish organizations. Included are photographs, programmes, certificates, I. L. Peretz School jubilee books, a songbook, a yearbook, articles, and newsclippings.
Fonds has been arranged into one series for the Workmen's Circle. There are also two files attached to the fonds-level. The records are described at the series and file-level, with some item-level descriptions.
Name Access
Arbeiter Ring
Arbeiter Ring Schools
Arbeter Ring
Camp Yungvelt
Frumhartz, Paul
I.L. Peretz
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Matenko, Percy
National Radical School
Peretz Shule
Workman's Circle
Workmen's Circle
Subjects
Schools
Teachers
Yiddish language
Related Material
For additional Workmen's Circle records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1980-2-2, 1983-6-3, 1984-10-1, 1986-4-1, 1992-1-2, 1997-2-1, 1998-3-32, 2004-5-41, 2004-5-105, and fonds 30.
For additional Camp Yungvelt records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1986-4-1, 1991-12-4, 1993-6-6, 1999-5-1, 2004-5-37, 2005-6-4, 2006-12-3, photographs # 2964, # 4014, # 6021, MG2N1K, Benjamin Brown fonds 49, and Dorothy Dworkin Fonds 10 (item 14).
Creator
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Accession Number
1987-11-4
1991-4-2
2007-5-3
2007-6-28
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ellis I. and Fanny Shapiro fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 94; Item 6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ellis I. and Fanny Shapiro fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
94
Item
6
Material Format
graphic material
Date
4 Nov. 1977
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 8 x 5 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a passport photograph of Fanny Shaprio.
Name Access
Shapiro, Fanny
United Jewish Welfare Fund
Women's Service Council
Jewish Home for the Aged (Toronto, Ont.)
Mount Sinai Hospital
Baycrest Hospital
Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home
National Council of Jewish Women
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Accession Number
2005-8-1
Source
Archival Descriptions