- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Community Relations Committee series
- Anti-Semitism cases sub-series
- Level
- File
- ID
- Fonds 17; Series 5-3; File 226
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Community Relations Committee series
- Anti-Semitism cases sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 5-3
- File
- 226
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1938
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a memo describing antisemitic action against Mr. Stemeroff when he moved into a new home.
- Notes
- Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Accession Number
- 1976-6-13
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 1976-6-13
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Physical Description
- 22 photographs : b&w and sepia (5 negatives) ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
- Date
- [ca. 1900]-1942
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of photographs documenting the Moldaver and Rovinsky families of Brantford, Ontario.
- Subjects
- Families
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2009-2-5
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2009-2-5
- Material Format
- object
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 30 cm of textual records
- 1 artifact
- Date
- 1902-1981
- Scope and Content
- The records consist of material produced by Rabbi Saul Gringorten and his son I. M. Gringorten. They include certificates and identification for Rabbi Gringorten and his wife, along with his son I. M. Gringorten. In addition, the accession includes a great deal of correspondence in both English and Yiddish from the father and son during the 1940s, particularly during the period when the rabbi resided in the United States. Some material also documents I. M. Gringorten's involvement in the United Zionists organization during the 1940s. Finally, this accession includes a chuppah (marriage canopy) that was first used in 1910 by Saul Wolf Gringorten in Brantford, Ontario. The chuppah is made out of a tallis with embellishments sewn into the centre. The chuppah was subsequently used by various members of the Gringorten family.
- Administrative History
- Saul Wolf Gringorten and his wife Rachel Gringorten (nee Melnick) were born in Poland in 1876 and 1881 respectively. They moved to Canada in 1910 with their eldest child Morris. They subsequently had five more after their arrival. Their children included: Israel Morris (I. M.), Jennie, Jacob, Esther, Louis and Isaac.
- Rabbi Gringorten served as spiritual leader, teacher, shochet and mohel for the Brantford Jewish community after his arrival for thirteen years. He would also be on call in northern and western Ontario where the communities were too small to support a rabbi. He then moved to Toronto during the early 1920s and became the principal of a Jewish school. The family lived at 26 Cecil Street at that time and then moved to 393 Markham Street during the late 1920s or early 1930s. He became active in the Jewish community, serving as vice-president of the Sons of Jacob, a board member of the Folks Farein and the first Trustee of the Old Folks Home.
- Rabbi Gringorten and his wife moved to California during the mid-1940s in order to live in a climate that was better for their health. Rachel passed away in 1947 and the Rabbi followed in 1959.
- Their oldest son, Israel Morris Gringorten, was born in Poland in 1904. He was educated in Brantford and later graduated from the University of Toronto. He served during the Second World War from 1943 until 1945. After his discharge, he spent his career working as an auto parts manufacturer with Canada Motor Products Ltd. He was an ardent Zionist who served as president of the United Zionists - Revisionists of America during the 1940s. He and his wife had four children.
- Use Conditions
- 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.
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Descriptive Notes
- Language: Records are in Yiddish and English.
- Access restriction: One file contains medical information and is closed.
- Subjects
- Families
- Name Access
- Gringorten, Saul Wolfe
- Gringorten, Rachel
- Gringorten, Israel Morris
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- ID
- Fonds 78; File 3; Item 37
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 78
- File
- 3
- Item
- 37
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [between 1939 and 1945]
- Physical Description
- 2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
- Scope and Content
- This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of a group of Jewish women at a flying school in Brantford, Ontario. The women are being shown by two military servicewomen how to fold a parachute. The school officer is pictured on the far left. Also identified are:
- The school officer, Anne Tulchinsky, Kay Solomon, Rose Bloom, Mrs. Furman of New York (wife of New York district attorney and speaker on Youth Aliyah).
- Subjects
- Flight schools
- Portraits, Group
- 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
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1978-11-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- ID
- Fonds 78; File 3; Item 35
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 78
- File
- 3
- Item
- 35
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [between 1939 and 1945]
- Physical Description
- 2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- Lieutenant Stren was a member of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) unit during the Second World War.
- Scope and Content
- This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Lieutenant Maurie Stren of Brantford, Ontario, taken during the Second World War. Lt. Stren is pictured in his military uniform.
- Name Access
- Canada. Canadian Army. Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- Subjects
- Portraits
- 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
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1978-11-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- ID
- Fonds 78; File 3; Item 39
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 78
- File
- 3
- Item
- 39
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 1939
- Physical Description
- 2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 21 x 26 cm and 10 x 12 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- The Brantford B'nai Brith lodge received its charter in 1932.
- Scope and Content
- This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of the installation dinner of the officers of the Brantford B'nai Brith lodge. The dinner was held at Kerby House. The photograph depicts a large assembled crowd seated at several banquet tables.
- Notes
- Title taken from writing on photograph.
- Name Access
- B'nai B'rith. Brantford Lodge, No. 1154
- Subjects
- Portraits, Group
- 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
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1978-11-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- ID
- Fonds 78; File 3; Item 36
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 78
- File
- 3
- Item
- 36
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [between 1939 and 1945]
- Physical Description
- 2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
- Scope and Content
- This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Flight Officer Sam Finkelstein of the RCAF, pictured in his military uniform.
- Name Access
- Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force
- Subjects
- Portraits
- 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
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1978-11-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Address
- 216 Beverley Street
- Source
- Landmarks
The Apter Synagogue was formed by a group of people who came to Toronto from the area of Opatow (Apt) in Poland around the turn of the century. They first established a small synagogue on Centre Avenue near Dundas Street in the Ward. In 1918, in anticipation of more Apter immigrants coming to Toronto after the First World War, the synagogue was sold and a larger one purchased on Beverley Street. Both the synagogue members and the Apter Friendly Society met there.
- Address
- 216 Beverley Street
- Time Period
- 1918-unknown
- Scope Note
- The Apter Synagogue was formed by a group of people who came to Toronto from the area of Opatow (Apt) in Poland around the turn of the century. They first established a small synagogue on Centre Avenue near Dundas Street in the Ward. In 1918, in anticipation of more Apter immigrants coming to Toronto after the First World War, the synagogue was sold and a larger one purchased on Beverley Street. Both the synagogue members and the Apter Friendly Society met there.
- History
- In later years, a bitter controversy between the synagogue and society erupted and the building was sold.
- Category
- Political
- Religious
- Private Clubs
- Source
- Landmarks
- Accession Number
- 2013-7-8
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2013-7-8
- Material Format
- textual record
- moving images
- graphic material
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 optical disc (48:20 min.) : col. ; DVD
- 35 photographs : col. ; 16 x 11 cm
- Date
- 2006-2012
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of records related to the military career of Corporal Tamar Freeman, particularly her 6-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Included is postcard and email correspondence sent to her parents detailing issues of camp life, her religious observance, as well as her role as a medic; a DVD of the film "Sisters in Arms" written and directed by Tamar's sister, Beth Freeman; newspaper clippings and articles on Tamar and the film "Sisters in Arms"; photographs of Tamar receiving an award from the Canadian Jewish Congress, of her family greeting her at the airport upon return to Canada, a portrait of Tamar with another soldier and General Hillier, as well as images taken of fellow soldiers and the surroundings while in Afghanistan.
- Administrative History
- Corporal Tamar Freeman (1967-) is the daughter of Harvey and Gilda Freeman. She began her military career as an army reservist in 1990. As a reservist, she committed one day per week and one weekend per month to working in hospitals on board ships and in defence research facilities. In 2006, she joined the regular infantry as a medic in the Second Field Ambulance unit. She served in Kandahar for 6 months between 2006 and 2007 as a medic treating wounded soldiers, Afghan allies and civilians. She also served as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team at a village medical clinic. She received the Alan Rose Award for International Human Dignity from the Canadian Jewish Congress in 2007. Corporal Freeman is currently stationed at Base Borden in Ontario.
- Use Conditions
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Descriptive Notes
- Use restrictions note: Personal emails are confidential and require the permission of Tamar Freeman before accessing.
- Subjects
- Afghan War, 2001-
- Soldiers--Canada
- Name Access
- Freeman, Tamar
- Places
- Afghanistan
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2016-4-16
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2016-4-16
- Material Format
- moving images
- Physical Description
- 3 DVDs
- Date
- 2006-2007
- Scope and Content
- Video recordings of Transnistria Survivors' Association's annual commemomoration ceremonies (Haskara) that took place at Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto in 2006 and 2007.
- Administrative History
- Founded in 1994, the Transnistria Survivors’ Association works to provide a voice for and raise awareness of a lesser known group of Holocaust survivors. Transnistria was the Romanian authorities’ name for the former Ukrainian region located between the Rivers Dniester and Bug. It was placed under Romanian administration following the German and Romanian conquest of Ukraine in the summer of 1941. Prior to the Second World War, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish population in Europe; but beginning with the Citizenship Revision Laws of 1938, the Jews of Romania were deprived their citizenship rights and became the targets of repressive antisemitic policies and laws. Neighbours turned on neighbours. Thousands of Jews were murdered in pogroms, either by Romanian or German troops, Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or the local population. In 1941, the Jews who remained alive in the Provinces of Bucovina and Bessarabia were deported to camps and ghettos in Transnistria. Thousands were jammed into freight trains while others were marched by foot. Many died along the way. Between 1941 and 1944, it is estimated that German and Romanian authorities, along with Ukrainian collaborators, murdered or caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Some of those who survived these tragic circumstances, especially from Bucovina and Bessarabia, and made a new home in Toronto gathered together to lend each other support and to tell their largely unknown story of oppression and survival. The Transnistria Survivor’s Association organized yearly Hazkarah (memorial) services and its dedicated members continue to share their extraordinary stories of survival through speaking engagements at schools, colleges and synagogues. Past presidents include:
- 1. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly
- 2.Osias Nadel
- 3.Etti Ziegler
- 4.Lou (Leizer) Hoffer
- As of 2017, the current President is Joe Leinburd.
- Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Name Access
- Transnistria Survivors Association
- Hoffer, Lou
- Places
- Transnistria (Ukraine : Territory under German and Romanian occupation, 1941-1944)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2016-7-5
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2016-7-5
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- graphic material (electronic)
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 41 photographs : b&w and col. (1625 kb jpgs) ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
- Date
- 1932-2013
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of records documenting the Latchman Triplets. Included are family photographs of Donald, Marvin and Victor Latchman, a family portrait taken at the wedding of Philip and Sally Latchman, class photos, summer camp photos, and images of the triplets' 75th and 80th birthdays (5 November 2013).
- Identified in photographs are: Donald and Annette Latchman, Victor and Rosalie Latchman, Marvin and Shirley Latchman, Philip and Sally Latchman, Morris Latchman, Vera Latchman Berrin, Mari Latchman Lipton, Irv Lipton, and Belle Latchman.
- Textual records include Beth Sholom Bulletin June-August 1997, Beth Sholom Brotherhood Ball and Installation 1971, photocopies of news paper articles about the triplets, class photos and letter regarding payment of King's Bounty.
- Administrative History
- Philip and Sally (Sugarman) Latchman were married in 1932. In November 1933, Sally gave birth to identical triplets Donald, Marvin and Victor. In celebration, they were sent the King's Bounty of 3 British pounds. The boys were interviewed every year on their birthday by Toronto newspapers until they decided to stop the publicity. The family lived in the Bloor-Markham area until the boys were 11. The family then moved to Montclair Avenue where the boys attended Forest Hill Public School. They had their bar-mitzvahs at the Hebrew Men of England Synagogue. The triplets' father, Philip Latchman was a founding members of Beth Sholom Synagogue. Donald Latchman was on the board and Rosalie Latchman was active in the congregation.
- Philip and his younger brother Morris Latchman started Federal Farms Limited in 1948 on 150 acres of Holland March in Brantford, Ontario. They grew vegetables: potatoes, carrots, celery and rutabegas. They also had a potato chip company Mad Hatter Snack Foods which was Kosher for Passover. Federal Farms Ltd. went public in 1961 and Loblaws bought 51% of the shares.
- Donald attended Ryerson business school and founded Latchman Insurance Brokers. He married Annette Bachst, a Holocaust survivor who grew up in New York.
- Marvin attended Ryerson business school then worked for Federal Farms at the Ontario Food Terminal. Later he became a real estate broker. He married Shirley Wolkofsky.
- Victor worked on the family farm and at Federal Fruit Company at the Ontario Food Terminal. Victor took a business course at Shaw's Business School. In 1966 he bought Taylors shoes, a business at 2934 Dundas Street. West started in 1920 by Sid Taylor. Victor helped start the Junction Business Improvement Association and was twice pesident of Junction Gardens BIA. He retired in 2009. Victor and Rosalie Greenspan (d. 2014) were married at Beth Sholom in 1958 by Rabbi David Monson. Their children are Howard, and Faith and Mitchell Sherman. Their grand-children are Matthew, Jennifer and Russell Sherman. Victor and Rosalie were honoured at Beth Sholom Synagogue on 26 October 2013 for their 55th wedding anniversary.
- In 2012 at age 78, the triplets believed themselves to be the oldest male identical triplets alive in Canada.
- Use Conditions
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Descriptive Notes
- RELATED MATERIALS NOTE: Federal Farms Limited fonds at Simoce Country Archives. ASSOCIATED MATERIALS NOTE: See accession 2016-12\45 (Victor Latchman) and 2002-10\66 (Morris Latchman).
- Subjects
- Agriculture
- Families
- Name Access
- Latchman, Donald
- Latchman, Marvin
- Latchman, Victor
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2018-4-4
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2018-4-4
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- ca. 35 photographs : b&w and col. ; 33 x 27 cm or smaller
- Date
- 1891-2013
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of material documenting members of Harvey Freeman's family, several of whom served in the armed forces. Included are: family photographs, a Krugel family tree, a copy of Itzik Kriegel (Harvey's grandfather)'s army discharge, an attestation paper for Louis Krugel (Harvey's uncle), a signed program for a "stag whoopee dinner and night of blissful freedom" in honour of Lou Krugel's approaching marriage, and printed images of Harvey's daughter Tamar Freeman in Afghanistan. One of the photographs depicts Louis Krugel with professional wrestler and actor Tor Johnson, aka the Swedish Angel.
- Photo Caption (001): Wellesley Public School, [ca. 1915]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (002): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (003): Buba Sluva with Sara, Moe, Lou, and Harry, 1909. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (004): Berel Krugel in front of 22 Gerard Street West, Toronto, [ca. 1919]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (005): Wedding, 28 September 1926. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (006): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (007): Baba Tzluva with Harry, [189-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (008): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (009): Shabbat dinner, [ca. 1940]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (010): Norman, Buba Sluva, and Bert, [ca. 1922]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (011): Family portrait, 1909. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (012): Harry and Sara, 1916. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (013): Louis Krugel, [192-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (014): Louis Krugel and unknown man posing with boxing gloves, [1918?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (015): Louis Krugel, 1918. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (016): Harvey Freeman at Camp Borden, 1945. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (017): Unknown. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (018): Louis Krugel and unknown man, 1918. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (019): Louis Krugel with Tor Johnson, aka the Swedish Angel, [194-]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (020): Signed portrait of Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Photo Caption (021): Louis Krugel, [192-]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
- Administrative History
- Harvey Freeman was born on May 22, 1928. As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and went on to join the militia, where he was the lone Canadian Jewish bagpiper.
- Harvey made his living in business, working in different areas including furniture manufacturing and property management. As part of a change in lifestyle, he took up marathons in his early seventies.
- Harvey has four children.
- Use Conditions
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Descriptive Notes
- ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: Records for Harvey's daughter Tamar can be found in Accession 2013-7-8.
- Subjects
- Afghan War, 2001-
- Families
- Soldiers--Canada
- Name Access
- Freeman, Harvey
- Freeman, Tamar
- Johnson, Tor, 1903-1971
- Places
- Afghanistan
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2018-12-6
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2018-12-6
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 19 cm of graphic material and textual records
- Date
- 1931-1999
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of material documenting Brown family. Included are: business records, clippings, correspondence, eulogies, notes, an issue of the LIFE Institute's L.i.f.e.lines newsletter, photographs, résumés and cover letters, school records, and vital statistics. A significant amount of the material documents the donor's father, Jack Brown, a community leader in Brantford, Ontario, and friend of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Of note are autographed pictures of Former Prime Ministers Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Jean Chrétien.
- Administrative History
- The son of Rose and William Brown, Jack Irving Brown was born in Toronto on January 4, 1926. His family moved to Brantford, Ontario when he was a boy. Upon graduating from high school, Jack went to work at his father's retail store. When he eventually bought the store, he renamed it Brown's of Brantford. In addition to running his business, Jack held leadership positions with the Beth David Congregation, Brant Liberal Association, and the Rotary Club of Brantford. Upon moving to Toronto, he became president of the LIFE Institute at Ryerson University.
- Jack and Joy Brown (née Greenberg) had four children: Andrew, Marlene (1952-2007), Holli (b. 1954), and Harriette (b. 1958). Later in life, Jack and Joy separated. For the final years of his life, Jack's companion was Rheta Rhosen. Jack died on September 23, 1999.
- Subjects
- Businesspeople
- Families
- Stores, Retail
- Name Access
- Brown (family)
- Brown, Andrew, 1950-
- Brown, Harriette, 1958-
- Brown, Jack, 1926-1999
- Brown, Rose
- Brown, William
- Chrétien, Jean, 1934-
- Katzman, Marlene, 1952-2007
- Trudeau, Pierre Elliott, 1919-2000
- Verkade, Holli, 1954-
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Part Of
- Sadie Stren fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 78
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- graphic material (electronic)
- Date
- [189-]-1997
- Physical Description
- 15 cm of textual records
- 176 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- 2 photographs (jpg) : b&w
- Admin History/Bio
- Sadie Stren (1915-2014) was born on April 19, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. Her father and mother had come from a small town in Russia. Samuel Goldberg, her father, arrived to stay with family in Brantford, Ontario in 1910 and began working as a peddler. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1912 where he worked for the Ford Motor Company and later owned a confectionary store. Emma, Sadie’s mother, came from Russia to reunite with Samuel after he began living in Detroit and the couple married and started a family there.
- Sadie grew up in a predominately Jewish neighbourhood in Detroit with her parents and her sister Sarah. She graduated from what is now Wayne State University and worked as a social studies teacher in Detroit for approximately 10 years, until she married at age 31. Sadie first met her husband, Maurice "Maurie" Strenkovsky (1910-1995), while visiting relatives in Brantford. By the time the two had met, Maurie was going by the last name Stren, although it is not certain when he began to do so. He served in the Second World War and corresponded with Sadie during their courtship. The two married in 1947, five years after meeting. The couple initially lived in Detroit, where their son David was born on August 28, 1948, but soon moved to Brantford, where Sadie gave birth to a daughter, Patti, on August 8, 1949. Maurie became a manufacturer of surgical dressing and continued in this profession until his retirement.
- When Sadie first moved to Brantford, she joined several Jewish women’s organizations, including Hadassah. She continued to be actively involved in both Jewish and non-Jewish community organizations for the remainder of her life. She ran and taught the Beth David Sunday school in Brantford for many years, and in 1976, was honoured for her work as Sunday school supervisor by the Beth David Sisterhood. During her time in Brantford, Sadie served on the board of directors for eight different organizations, and was the president of four. She was a member of the board of directors for the Family Service Bureau and was elected president in 1966. She was also a past president of the University Women’s Club and a former board member of the YM-YWCA. Her husband was quite active in the community as well. Maurie Stren’s commitments included serving as president of B’nai B’rith Brantford from 1965-1966 and as District Governor of the Lions Club from 1963-64, among other things.
- Upon moving to Toronto, Sadie became a member of the Baycrest Women’s Auxiliary and volunteered at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Aphasia Institute.
- Sadie was an amateur historian who served as the Brantford Jewish community's archivist and historian for a number of years. She had been collecting sources of Brantford Jewish history in her home since at least the 1970s in order to assemble the history of Brantford's community. Sadie was also an author who wrote about the history of the Brantford community, spoke at conferences, and was a contributor to the Canadian Jewish Historical Society Journal in 1981. She passed away on December 9, 2014.
- Custodial History
- The records were donated by Sadie Stren in five different transfers from 1976-2006. The first accession was received as a part of the small communities project in 1976 and included only photographs. Subsequent accessions included photographs and textual documents relating to both Sadie’s family and the Brantford community. Sadie is an author and she acquired some of the materials when researching the history of the Brantford community.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of material created and collected by Sadie Stren related to the Brantford Jewish community, as both a member of the community and an author researching its history. Among the records are newspaper and article clippings, correspondence, research notes, records of the Brantford Hebrew Association, miscellaneous printed and published material, Hadassah minutes, records related to Congregation Beth David and its Hebrew school and photographs.
- The Brantford Hebrew Association records include 3 ledger books which span the years between 1909 to 1952, legal documents for the Association including the original letters patent incorporating the Brantford Hebrew Association in 1911.
- Notes
- Some of the photographs are modern copies of older photographs.
- Some early accessions contained photocopies of orginal documents that were eventually donated in later transfers. These photocopies were culled.
- Many photographs were described at the item level at the time they were accessioned, but there are quite a few photographs in the fonds which have not yet been described in detail.
- Name Access
- Stren, Sadie, 1915-2014
- Subjects
- Immigrants--Canada
- Volunteers
- Related Material
- For additional material related to the Brantford Jewish community see also accession #1978-11-4, accession #2009-2-5, oral history #AC91, and accession #2004-5-71.
- Creator
- Stren, Sadie, 1915-
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1976-6-9
- 1977-5-6
- 1978-11-3
- 2005-11-10
- 2006-12-1
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Congregation Beth David fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 88
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- [ca. 1916]-1996, predominant 1940-1996
- Physical Description
- 38 cm of textual records (9v.) and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- The Brantford Hebrew Association, Congregation Beth David’s precursor, was founded in 1907 when Rabbi Backer officiated Brantford’s first public Jewish religious service in an upper hall on George Street. Services had previously taken place in the homes of Jewish families, who had begun settling in the area around the turn of the century. By 1911, services had moved to the old Conservative Hall at Dalhousie and King Street. In 1915, the congregation purchased a building at 33 Palace Street and remodeled it into a synagogue. This building was also used as a community centre and for the Congregation’s Hebrew school.
- On October 13th, 1911 the congregation was incorporated, and the following year it purchased land for a cemetery in the northeast corner of Mount Hope Cemetery. Due to increasing membership, a new synagogue was built at 50 Waterloo Street in 1948. In January 1950, the congregation changed its name to Beth David in honour of member David Axler, who died during the Second World War while training as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
- The congregation was at its peak in the 1960s with 150 member families. However, membership drastically fell after the children of this generation moved to larger cities and their parents followed after retirement. By 1999, only 28 families remained as members and services were reduced to being held on the High Holidays and special occasions, such as, b'nai mitzvah. Dwindling resources and membership forced the congregation to close around 2001. Throughout its existence, over 30 rabbis served the congregation, including Rabbi Saul Wolfe Gringorten (ca. 1910-1923). Its cemetery continues to be looked after by Allan Norris, a past president of the congregation.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records documenting the acitivities, religious programs and services, membership, and finances of Congregation Beth David, as well as the recognition and honours awarded by and to Brantford's Jewish community. Included are meeting minutes, photographs, plaques, a key, a marriage register, general ledgers, ledgers and lists of membership dues and receipts, audited financial statements, budgets, correspondece, bulletins, office stationary, newsclippings, certificates, library book cards, bookplates, rabbi contracts, and surveys.
- Fonds has been arranged into the following six series: 1. Meetings ; 2. Religious programs and services; 3. Finances & accounting ; 4. Administrative functions ; 5. Bulletins ; and, 6. Events.
- Notes
- Includes 10 microfiches of textual records, 5 architectural drawings, 11 photographs (4 negatives), 3 plaques, 1 mounted letter and 1 key.
- Fonds was reduced from ca. 1 metre to ca. 45 cm. See accession 2001-10-3 for further information about the culled material.
- Name Access
- Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)
- Subjects
- Architecture
- Communities
- Synagogues
- Physical Condition
- The binding on some of the general ledgers is fragile and coming apart. They have been stored flat to reduce any strain.
- The architectural drawings have some tears and should be flattened.
- Related Material
- Please see the Sadie Stren fonds 78 for other records documenting Brantford's Jewish community and the Beth David Congregation, including the synagogue's original letters of incorporation.
- For other photographs documenting Congregation Beth David, see: accesssion 1976-6-5 (photo # 1133); accession 1976-6-6 (photos # 1138, 1137, 1136); accession 1976-6-13; accession 1986-2-2 (photos #3593-3595, 3856, 3889-3894), photo #918; and, photo #578.
- For records related to Beth David's namesake, David Axler, and photographs of its cemetery, please see accession #2004-5-71.
- For records of Rabbi Gringorten, see accession #2009-2-5 and 2008-11-3
- For additional records related to Brantford families and other Jewish organizations, such as the Hadassah chapter and B'nai Brith lodge, please see accession #2001-10-3; MG 2J29a, #2009-7-1, 1978-11-4, 1977-8-16, 1992-8-3, 1980-1-14, 1978-1-2, 2008-7-1, photo# 109, photo# 755, and photo #758.
- Arrangement
- Fonds is arranged to the file-level, but only described to the series-level. Three file-level descriptions exist for files attached directly to the fonds. Photographs with existing item-level descriptions were also attached to the fonds.
- Creator
- Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)
- Places
- Brantford (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 2001-10-3
- 1978-11-4
- 1981-12-2 / MG3 B16
- 1976-6-8
- Source
- Archival Descriptions