Name

Mel Lastman

Number

OH 290

Subject

Religion

Families

Interview Date

1 Jun. 2006

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Ellen Scheinberg

Total Running Time

60 min.

Conservation

Copied November 2006

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Melvin Douglas Lastman was born in Toronto on 9 March 1933, the son of Rose and Louis Lastman. Raised in the Kensington Market area, he attended Ryerson Public School and Central High School of Commerce, where he was president of the school council. Lastman left high school to work at an appliance store and, in 1955, opened his own appliance store. By the late 1960s, he owned a chain of forty stores, Bad Boy Appliances, throughout Ontario. Lastman lived in North York and, in 1969, ran successfully for the North York Board of Control. In the 1972 municipal election, he was elected as mayor of North York, a position he held for twenty-five years until North York became part of the newly created City of Toronto on 1 January 1998. With the provincially-mandated creation of the new City of Toronto by the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto and the six local municipalities, Lastman decided to run for mayor against the other major contender, former City of Toronto mayor Barbara Hall. He won the 1997 election and was sworn in on 1 January 1998. Lastman was easily re-elected in the 2000 mayoralty election; however, in February 2003, Lastman announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the November municipal election.

In 1953, Mel Lastman married Marilyn Bornstein. They have two married sons and six grandchildren.

Material Format

moving images

Name Access

Anshei Minsk Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Lastman, Mel

Scheinberg, Ellen

Geographic Access

Toronto

Kensington Market

Original Format

Digital videocassette

Copy Format

DVD

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman remembers playing as a child at the Minsk Shul in Kensington Market.

Name

Edna Jacobs

Number

OH 125

Subject

Families

Travel

Education

Occupations

Antisemitism

Girl Guides

Religion

Volunteers

Interview Date

Dec. 1985, Mar. 1986

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Nancy Draper

Total Running Time

Side 1: 36 minutes Side 2: 46 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

Edna Jacobs (née Frankel) was born on 20 March 1904 in Toronto. Her parents, Sigmund and Paula Frankel, were early immigrants from Germany. Edna attended Havergal from kindergarten through high school. She studied general arts for two years at the University of Toronto. She married Arthur Jacobs, the son of Rabbi Solomon Jacobs, in 1936. Together, they had one daughter, Patsy, and a baby who died during infancy. Edna was involved with the Girls Club and the Junior Council of Jewish Women.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Toronto Girl's Club

Toronto Council of Jewish Women

Geographic Access

Toronto

Germany

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 125 - Jacobs\OH125_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 125 - Jacobs\OH125_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Edna Jacobs shares memories from a trip she and her family took to Biblis, Germany to celebrate her grandparents’ golden anniversary.

In this clip, Edna Jacobs reminisces about several prominent Toronto Jewish families.

Name

Rabbi Dr. David Monson

Number

OH 70

Subject

World War, 1939-1945

Religion

Interview Date

1 Dec. 1982

Quantity

1

Interviewer

(not stated, likely Jack Lipinsky)

Total Running Time

OH70_001: 27 minutes OH70_002: 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

Rabbi David Monson came to Toronto from Ottawa in June 1939 to serve as the rabbi of the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue. He served on the board of the Brusnswick Talmud Torah. He was a member of B'nai Zion and B'nai Brith and was the long-serving rabbi of Beth Shalom.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Monson, David

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region

Shaarei Shomayim Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Lipinsky, Jack

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 70 - Monson\OH70_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 70 - Monson\OH70_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Rabbi Monson discusses his early positive working relationships with rabbis within the Toronto Jewish community and explains how sectionalization became a post-war phenomenon.

In this clip, Rabbi Monson discusses the role and responsibilities of the Canadian Jewish Congress in Toronto from 1939 to 1948.

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.

Name

Dr. Esther Volpe and Ida Siegel

Number

OH 161

OH 162

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

4 Jan. 1971

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Eva Kayfetz and Stephen Spiesman

Total Running Time

OH161 Side 1: 47 minutes OH161 Side 2: 47 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Toronto Historical Society lecture

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Esther Volpe (née Shulman) was born on 24 February circa 1898. As a child, she and her family briefly lived in Romington, Ontario and Havlock, Ontario. Her family later settled in Toronto. In her youth, she participated in the Herzl Girls' Club. She attended University of Toroonto in the Faculty of Arts. She married Dr. Aaron Volpe in 1921. Esther was involved in several Jewish organizations, including the old Mount Sinai Medical Auxillary, Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, UJA Appeal, JIAS and BBYO and non-Jewish organizations, including Toronto Local Council of Women. She represented the Jewish community of Toronto on the Wartime Price and Trade Board and helped organize the Ontario Food Council.

Ida Siegel (née Lewis) (1885–1982) was born on 14 February 1885 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1894, Ida and her family moved to Toronto. On 14 February 1905, Ida married Isidore Hirsch Siegel. They had six children. An extremely active communal leader, Ida helped found Daughters of Zion in 1899, the Herzl Girls Club in 1904 and Hadassah in 1916. In the mid-1920s, Ida established the Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home,a camp for poor women with young children. She helped organize the first free Jewish dispensary in Toronto, which eventually developed into Mount Sinai Hospital. Ida was also very active in womens peace movements, the Toronto Board of Education and the Toronto Bureau (elected to board, 1930-36) of Jewish Education. In 1917, Ida helped to organize Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, which later became the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Volpe, Esther

Siegel, Ida

Kayfetz, Eva

Speisman, Stephen

Hadassah-WIZO

National Council of Jewish Women

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In 1947, Esther Volpe was elected president of the National Council of Jewish Women. In this clip, Esther discusses how, with the support of the United Welfare Fund, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and JIAS, she helped make arrangements for groups of Jewish refugees who settled in Toronto.

In this clip, Esther Volpe explains her involvement in the creation of the Good Age Club, the first recreational program for Jewish seniors.

In this clip, Ida Siegel relates anecdotes from her childhood growing up in downtown Toronto.

Name

Dora Till

Number

OH 151

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Labor

Labor unions

Women

Occupations

Interview Date

4 May 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

46 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

Dora Till (née Tobias) was born in New York City in 1896. She came to Toronto in 1900. She married Morris Till in 1918. They had one daughter, Cecile. As a youth, Dora was involved with Herzl Girls and the Boot and Shoe Society. Dora was active in community service and contributed greatly to social service work. She was co-founder and first president for the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, vice president of the Hebrew Maternity Aid Society, a board member for the Jewish Family and Child Services, an executive for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, honorary vice president of United Jewish Welfare Fund, on the board of Canadian Jewish Congress and past president of the Naomi Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Herzl Girls Boot and Shoe Society, 1920

Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home

Baycrest Hospital

United Jewish Welfare Fund

Beth Tzedec Synagogue

Timothy Eaton Company

Till, Dora

Geographic Access

Toronto

Bronte

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Dora Till discusses some of the services provided by Hebrew Maternity Aid.

Dora Till was co-founder and first president for Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home. In this clip, Dora describes the efforts to solicit and fundraise on behalf of the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home.