- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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