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
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
1
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1968
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 14 x 20 cm
Admin History/Bio
In 1968, Jewish Family & Child Services used a mobile treatment centre known as The Trailer to reach out to Jewish youth.
Scope and Content
Item is a reproduction of a photograph of Jewish Family & Child Services' Trailer in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto taken in 1968.
Notes
A digital scan was made from a reproduction of the photograph that appeared on page four of a glossy brochure titled Jewish Family and Child Services: A Tradition of Caring that was published in Spring 1993.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
3
Material Format
graphic material
Date
12 May 1993
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of past presidents of Jewish Family & Child Service. Standing from left are: Gordon Wolfe, Marshall Kesten, Lorne Wolfson, Paul Forman, Yale Drazin, Les Scheininger, Howard Perlmutter, and Bernie Aaron. Seated from left are: former Jerome Diamond, Henry Goodman, Francis Storm, Morris Wayman, Rose Wolfe, and Gerald Slan.
Name Access
Aaron, Bernie
Diamond, Jerome D.
Drazin, Yale
Forman, Paul
Goodman, Henry G.
Kesten, Marshall
Perlmutter, Howard
Scheininger, Les
Slan, Gerald
Storm, Francis
Wayman, Morris
Wolfe, Gordon
Wolfe, Rose
Wolfson, Lorne
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
4
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1988
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a group photograph taken at the Dora Wilensky portrait presentation in Nov. 1988.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Subjects
Portraits
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
5
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1987
Physical Description
1 flyer : col. ; 28 x 22 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a flyer for an event - Domestic Violence: A Jewish Family Affair - scheduled to take place Tuesday, 10 March 1987 at the Lipa Green Building. It featured Barbara Harris, Executive Director of Transition Center, as its keynote speaker. David Currie, Chief Social Worker, Forensic Services at the Clarke Institute and Director of OPPORTUNITY, and Geraldine Waldman, a practicing family lawyer, were the panelists. Arlene Perly Rae, a local freelance journalist, served as moderator.
Name Access
Currie, David
Harris, Barbara
Rae, Arlene Perly
Waldman, Geraldine
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
6
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1988]
Physical Description
1 photograph : col. ; 10 x 15 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of teenagers seeling ribbons for child abuse awareness. Behind them is a poster that reads: "Help Prevent Child Abuse."
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
7
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1988
Physical Description
1 photograph : col ; 13 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of a dozen or so individuals in front of a Jewish Family and Child Services banner at the 1988 United Way Walkathon.
Name Access
United Way of Greater Toronto
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
8
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1988
Physical Description
1 photograph : col ; 10 x 13 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of individuals carrying Jewish Family and Child Service banners at the 1988 United Way Walkathon.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
United Way of Greater Toronto
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 9
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
9
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1988
Physical Description
1 photograph : col ; 10 x 13 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph taken at the 1988 United Way Walkathon. Visible in the photograph is a Jewish Family and Child Services banner.
Name Access
United Way of Greater Toronto
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 10
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
10
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Jan. 1996
Physical Description
1 photograph : col. ; 10 x 15 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of three individuals at a mezuzah affixing ceremony at Youthdale.
Name Access
Youthdale
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Subjects
Mezuzah
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing 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.
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 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 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 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 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
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 79
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
79
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1933-2011
Physical Description
ca. 4.8 m of texutal records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Jewish Family & Child was established in 1943 from the amalgamation of a variety of different social agencies formed as early as 1868. These included the Ladies Benevolent Fund, the Free Burial Society, Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, Jewish Children’s Bureau, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Ladies Maternal Aid Society. Much of its funding and support after its inception came from the United Jewish Welfare Fund.
The first executive director of the agency was Dora Wilensky. She was a trained social worker who served for twenty-eight years, until her untimely death from cancer in 1959. Jerome Diamond took over in 1960 and Gordon Wolfe succeeded him in 1981. Ron Levin briefly replaced Wolfe after his retirement in 2003, and was succeeded in 2006 by Dr. Richard Cummings who then retired in 2015. As of 2017, Brian Prousky is the organization’s current executive director.
During the early years, fees were established, but the agency never refused to assist clients because of their inability to pay. JF&CS became one of the first agencies to rely on trained social workers. It was also the first social agency in Canada to become unionized.
Over the years the agency’s role has changed and it has expanded significantly, in terms of its staff and services. After the Second World War it played a pivotal role supporting the Holocaust orphans who came to Canada as refugees, particularly in the area of locating foster parents for these children. By 1957, the agency hired its first counsellor and became a member of the United Community Fund of Greater Toronto. The year 1968 marked the start of JF&CS’ new program involving the use of a mobile treatment centre to reach out to Jewish street kids and in 1974 they established the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre.
In 1981, JF&CS was mandated by the Province of Ontario as a Jewish children’s aid society responsible for the care and protection of all Jewish youth in the GTA. In 1983 they established the Just-A-Second Shop at 3101 Bathurst Street, which took in used goods from the community to pass on to needy families. Two years later they established the Henry G. Goodman Home for developmentally challenged children on Wilmington Avenue. The following year marked the opening of the Elm Ridge Group Living Residence for elderly people. In 1988, they opened a special shelter for abused women and children, and in 1994, they introduced their Homework Club for kids.
The current mission of Jewish Family & Child is to support the healthy development of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention, protection, counselling, education, and advocacy services, within the context of Jewish values. Their services include counselling, rehabilitation and support, foster care, family services, and community services. These services are offered in a host of different languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, French, and English.
JF&CS is an independent organization that receives its funding from a variety of different sources such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Government of Ontario, and individual donations.
As of 2017, JF&CS has nearly 130 staff providing more than thirty community services with a budget of almost $20 million. Their main office is located in the Lipa Green Centre for Community Services at 4600 Bathurst Street. They also maintain offices and run services out of their downtown branch at 35 Madison Avenue, their York Region branch inside UJA’s 1 Open Door at the Lebovic JCC, and their Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre in midtown Toronto.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Wolfe, Gordon
Diamond, Jerome D.
Subjects
Charities
Children
Families
Nonprofit organizations
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.
Related Material
See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds (fonds 87); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).
Creator
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Accession Number
2004-5-101
2004-1-8
2002-10-38
2006-6-7 (Shelf 03-6,Orphan index cards)
2009-12-9
2010-4-1 (Shelf 34-1)
2010-10-5
2015-8/11
2015-9/1
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