Part Of

Henry Cassel fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

93

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1900]-2000, predominant 1929-1947

Physical Description

8 cm of textual records

3 albums (ca. 210 photographs)

2 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Heinz Kassel (1912-2009) (later changed to Henry Cassel) was a German refugee during the Second World War who was classified as an enemy alien by the British government. He spent two years in an internment camp for prisoners of war (POWs) in Quebec. He later became a naturalized Canadian citizen and enlisted in the Canadian military.

Heinz was born on October 25, 1912 in Aschaffenburg, Germany to Adolf and Olga Kassel. Adolf owned a successful banking business which he had inherited from his father. The family resided above the bank and lived a comfortable life during these early years. They moved to Frankfurt around 1920 after Adolf sold his business to buy a partnership in a bank there.

Heinz’s parents had hoped that he would one day become a corporate lawyer. In 1931, in preparation for his future career, he began studying law and economics at Frankfurt University. He enjoyed his initial university years. However, after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, he became alarmed when his non-Jewish university friends began ignoring him and when the German government passed laws forbidding Jews from practicing law in court. Determined to leave Germany and seek out a better life elsewhere, he begged his parents to immigrate with him to the United States. They refused to go, unwilling to leave behind the life they had worked so hard to build. In accordance with his parents’ wishes, Heinz relocated to nearby Italy instead of the US in 1934. He learned Italian and eventually secured a job with an engineering firm.

Sensing that the political climate in Italy was becoming dangerous for Jewish people, Heinz applied for immigration to the US in early 1939. Eager to leave Italy, he relocated to London to await the approval of his US visa. He left just in time: Britain declared war on Germany less than a week after his arrival. His parents, in turn, managed to escape to Holland. Soon after Britain’s declaration, all immigrants from enemy countries were considered enemy aliens and suspected of being spies.

On May 12, 1940, the British military arrested Heinz and interned him with other German immigrants and POWs. He believed his detainment was only a precautionary measure and that he would be cleared within a few days. However, the British shipped him to the Isle of Man where he remained for several months. Fearing an invasion, the British shipped 3,000 of the POWs, including Kassel, to Quebec, where he was briefly interned at a POW camp set up at the Plains of Abraham. In October 1940, he was moved with 736 other refugees to an abandoned railway yard (later known as “Camp N”) in Newington, near Sherbrooke, Quebec. While there, he confronted a great deal of antisemitism from the guards.

While he was interned in Quebec, the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) interviewed him and other Jewish prisoners in order to lobby for their release. Realizing that the internees were not POWs, the Canadian government declared the camp a refugee camp in 1941. By October 1942, the CJC was successful in helping Heinz secure employment with Benjamin Pape & Company in Toronto.

Heinz met Reta Freeman in Toronto and they were married in November 1944. Reta was born and raised in Toronto. After their nuptials, they were both briefly classified as enemy aliens and had to report to the RCMP on a regular basis. Shortly thereafter, Heinz enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army and was sent to basic training in Manitoba. On January 21, 1946 he was granted landed immigrant status, and in April of that year, he became a citizen.

After the war, Heinz learned that his parents as well as other relatives had been transported to concentration camps and had not survived. He was certainly one of the few fortunate ones to leave the country, despite the circumstances of his removal. He resented being interned for so long, but did not blame the British for rounding him up with other Germans based on their initial fears regarding enemy aliens. His feelings about Canada's treatment of him during that time, however, were not as sympathetic.

The couple lived their lives in Toronto. They first resided at 2346 Yonge Street. Heinz legally changed his name to Henry Cassel. He worked as an accountant and later was a controller for the United Jewish Welfare Fund. The couple had two children: Andrew (b. 1947) and Richard (b. 1951). Reta passed away in August 1962 and Henry later remarried Esther Cassel. He passed away at the age of 96 on February 15, 2009.

Custodial History

Records were created and accumulated by Henry Cassel. His sons donated them to the OJA after his death.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the life of Henry Cassel, particularly his attempt to emigrate from Europe prior to the Second World War and his internment in Canada as a German prisoner of war (POW). Included is personal correspondence between Cassel and his parents; correspondence written by Cassel to potential employers and Canadian Jewish agencies; legal documents and certificates, such as Cassel's birth certificate and passport; family photo albums documenting the family and lives of Henry Cassel and his wife Reta; Cassel's autobiography; a journal and notebook written by Cassel during his internment; and, other internment records, such as government forms and poems and songs written by internees. Also included are newspaper clippings, articles, financial statements, genealogical research, and antisemitic ephemera collected by Cassel. Of particular note are newsletters that were produced during the 1990s by ex-internees who had kept in touch over the years. Records are arranged into 16 files.

Notes

Textual records in the fonds were reduced from ca. 20 cm to 8 cm. Please see accession record for further details about the culled material.

Associated material notes: for related records at other archives, please see: the UJRA case files at the National CJC Archive in Montreal and the holdings at Library and Archives Canada (such as, the Directorate of Internment Operations series in the Department of National Defense fonds R112-0-2-E)

Name Access

Cassel, Henry, 1912-2009

Subjects

Europe--Emigration and immigration

Prisoners of war

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

See: Canadian Jewish Congress case files in RG 282 and accession #2005-10-1.

Creator

Cassel, Henry, 1912-2009

Accession Number

2010-4-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

14

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

1917-2011

Physical Description

2.82 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

As early as 1916 the Ezras Noshem Society (a mutual benefit society for Jewish women) started to raise funds to purchase and renovate what would become The Toronto Jewish Old Folks' Home (Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care’s forerunner) after its members recognized the need for a home in Toronto where the Jewish elderly could receive kosher meals and communicate with staff in their own language. Property at 31 Cecil Street was purchased in 1917 and sometime between September 1918 and January 1920 the Home officially opened there. The Home was run by a small staff and the women of Ezras Noshem who volunteered their time to make beds, cook kosher meals, do laundry and sponsor fundraising events. By 1938 the Home had expanded into its neighboring houses at 29, 33, and 35 Cecil Street and was caring for 115 residents. It provided residents with synagogue services, a hospital ward and social activities. At this time the Home also became a member of the United Jewish Welfare Fund.

In 1946, the need for a larger and more modern building prompted a fundraising campaign, which was headed by Abe Posluns, to purchase and build a new facility. In December 1954, the new building opened at 3650 Bathurst Street and consisted of two new institutions: The Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest Hospital. This location continued to expand over the years, including a new building for residents in 1968, an apartment building for seniors called the Baycrest Terrace in 1976, and a community centre known as The Joseph E. and Minnie Wagman Centre in 1977. These additions enabled Baycrest to expand its programs to include a day care program, recreational programs, and a Sheltered Workshop which was run in cooperation with the Jewish Vocational Service and provided residents with employment. In 1986 a new Baycrest Hospital was erected, and in 1989, the Rotman Research Institute, which is also affiliated with the University of Toronto, opened to create a research facility where top researchers could study and find new treatment methods for the elderly.

In recent years, Baycrest’s services and programs have continued to expand. In 2000, the Apotex Centre, the Jewish Home for the Aged and the Louis and Leah Posluns Centre for Stroke and Cognition opened to help residents with progressive dementia caused by vascular disorders. In 2001 a condominium building opened at 2 Neptune Drive for seniors, and in 2003 the Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic was established to provide out-patient services for seniors with memory disorders. Baycrest Centre also provides numerous cultural and religious programs for the inhabitants and the greater community, including a heritage museum, art exhibits and a Holocaust program.

Custodial History

Records were donated to the OJA in a series of accessions from a variety of sources, including the Baycrest Women's Auxiliary and the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the history, governance, and activities of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. Included are meeting notices, agendas and minutes, correspondence, reports, speeches, photographs, artifacts, constitutions, publications, press releases, financial records, event invitations, programs, a scrapbook, a poster, lists, theatrical scripts, newspaper clippings, brochures and booklets, flyers, a land deed, certificates, schedules, annual calendars, cards, questionnaires, and lists.

Fonds is arranged into eleven series: 1. Board of Directors and Executive Committee; 2. Annual General Meetings and Annual Reports; 3. Committees and meetings; 4. Women's Auxiliary; 5. Men's Service Group; 6. Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home; 7. Programs and services; 8. Religious services; 9. Fundraising; 10. Publications and publicity; and, 11. Events. Records are described to the file level with some item level descriptions.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 1102 photographs, 4 coins, 2 posters, 1 badge, 1 pin, 1 key chain, 1 postcard, and 1 pen.

Associated material note: related material at Library and Archives Canada includes a small Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds, and the Eric Exton fonds. For architectural records see the Irving D. Boigon fonds 243 at the City of Toronto Archives (Boigon was an architect who designed many of Baycrest's buildings between the 1970s and 1990s). Contact Baycrest Centre's Heritage Museum for committee records from the 1930s, and consult Baycrest's website to access electronic copies of current issues of Baycrest's publications.

Name Access

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care

Baycrest Hospital

Ezras Noshem Society (Toronto, Ont.)

Jewish Home for the Aged (Toronto, Ont.)

Jewish Old Folks Home (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Hospitals

Old age homes

Related Material

See Gordon Mendly Fonds 18, series 3-4; Jewish Vocational Services of Toronto fonds 75; United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds 67; accession # 2009-6-2; Dora Till Fonds 52; J. Irving Oelbaum Fonds 24; Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds 61, series 1-1; Gilbert Studios fonds 37; Ben Kayfetz fonds 62, series 3, file 3; JFWB fonds 87, series 6, files 5 and 6; JIAS fonds 9, series 7, file 1; Harold S. Kaplan fonds 27, series 1-4, and Morris Norman fonds 22.

Creator

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, 1917-

Accession Number

1982-11-1

1983-11-2

1988-2-7

1979-9-17

1979-9-23

1987-9-7

2004-5-50

MG 2 O 1A

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

17

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1936-1992

Physical Description

47 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

By 1919 the plight of post-war eastern European Jewry and the need for a united community voice for Canadian Jewry led to the creation of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Its founding meeting was held on March 16, 1919 in Montreal. Though it briefly maintained a tiny regional office in Toronto, the CJC remained inactive until 1933, when it fully reconvened by opening offices in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto. Egmont L. Frankel was the first president of the new central division in Toronto. While the national office in Montreal focused on the overarching issues of the social and economic rights of European Jewry, assistance for Jewish immigrants, and combating prejudice in Canada, the Toronto office dealt with local, violent anti-Jewish demonstrations as well as continuing discrimination both in employment and in access to public recreational facilities. The structure was based on regular national biennial plenary conferences, at which policies were delineated and national and regional executives were elected. Between plenary sessions, national and regional councils were in charge. These were augmented by the following standing committees: administrative, officers, personnel, financial, publications, and educational and cultural. Special committees were created to deal with issues such as: youth, community loans, kashruth, fundraising, Israel, Russian Jewry, and various emergency issues such as refugees, immigration, and housing.

During the 1930s the central division office moved several times and occupied offices in the following locations: Yonge Street, the Bond Street Synagogue, Scheuer House, the Zionist Building, and its long-term home at 150-152 Beverley Street, where it remained until its July 1983 move to the Lipa Green Building in North York.

The CJC's activities expanded to include taking responsibility for Jewish educational standards, but by 1941 its main efforts shifted to support for Canada’s war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the focus again shifted to Jewish immigration projects and the maintenance of Jewish identity in small communities. By 1950, the CJC’s use of the title “division” was changed to “region” to accommodate internal operational divisions within each region. Also, by then, the central region was busy expanding its programs for all Ontario Jewish communities, creating a province-wide council of youth groups, and working with the newly-created Bureau of Jewish Education (later Board of Jewish Education, now Mercaz). Standardization of kashruth rules in Ontario was implemented. As well, regular educational conferences and cultural events were held throughout the province, while province-wide fundraising efforts in support of Moess Chittin for relief projects in Israel and for local Congress activities were expanded. Many of its educational and cultural responsibilities necessitated working with other Jewish organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS), Hadassah, the Canadian Legion, B’nai Brith, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and the many landsmenshaften (Jewish mutual benefit societies, each formed by immigrants originating from the same Eastern European community).

During the 1960s, the central region began sending Moess Chittin relief shipments to Cuban Jews unable to acquire kosher foods for Passover. Its lobbying efforts included participation in the Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda, and its greatest success came with the introduction and implementation of Ontario’s fair employment and fair accommodation practices legislation, an achievement in which Congress played a pivotal role.

From 1971 to 1989 the major focus became international and national lobbying for, and providing support to, Soviet Jewry. Virtually all local and Canadian efforts to assist the Soviet Jewish “refusniks” were organized and coordinated in Toronto by the Ontario region office, which provided staff and funding for the many lobbying activities and public demonstrations that characterized this successful effort.

As of November 1975, the central region’s responsibilities in Toronto were radically altered. To improve cost efficiency in Toronto, CJC educational and social service program activities were merged with similar programs already provided by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal. The UJA assumed sole responsibility for these amalgamated programs in Toronto and was renamed Toronto Jewish Congress. The central region still retained province-wide responsibilities for Ontario’s smaller Jewish communities, and its office remained in Toronto. Also, following this reorganization, its name was changed to Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Although CJC no longer provided direct social and educational programs to Toronto, the TJC’s senior executive was, at the time, still obliged to continue to keep it notified about developments concerning previous Congress responsibilities.

From 1983, the Ontario Region's offices were located in the Lipa Green Building at 4600 Bathurst Street. It continued its work of financially supporting various Israeli institutions and fostering Canada-Israel relations. It also spearheaded the movement to support and protect Jews in Arab lands, especially in Syria. Funding for the CJC came from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, which restributed a portion of the funds raised by the local Jewish federations across Canada.

The CJC dissolved in 2011. Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) acts as the Jewish community's primary lobby group.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records of the Ontario Region office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Of primary importance in documenting this organization’s history are its minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees and the various standing, and short-term committees such as Community Organization, Finance, Fund Raising, Educational and Cultural, Research, Immigration, War Efforts, and Jewish Education. Most of these records are still managed all together within Fonds 17, Series 1. Fonds 17, Series 2 contains the general subject and correspondence files of these committees. Records in both series require further processing.

Records now found in Series 3 document the efforts of the Committee for Soviet Jewry in coordinating the activities of the many Toronto and Ontario organizations involved in assisting Soviet Jewry during the 1971 to 1989 period.

Series 4 consists of administrative and committee records of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies in Toronto from 1938 through 1967. These document its work rescuing the survivors of European Jewish communities, settling as many as possible in Ontario, and providing assistance to those attempting to obtain restitution payments.

Series 5 consists of the records of the Community Relations Committee (1938-1976). Responding to depression-era anti-Semitism in Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith together established in 1938 a new joint committee. Since then this Committee has documented racist threats in Canada; initiated advocacy activities to work for improved civil rights; promoted legislation combating hate; worked to ensure equality of access to employment, education and accommodation; and investigated specific incidents of discrimination. The Committee, for example, played a key role in achieving the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1944, and the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951, key steps leading to Canada’s current Human Rights Code. Although originally named Joint Public Relations Committee in 1938, a series of name changes later occurred; s follows: Joint Community Relations Committee, Central Region (1962-1978), Joint Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1978-ca. 1991) Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1991-present) Records in this series were reorganized into 5 sub-series and a further 9 sub-sub-series during the 2009 to 2011 period. For further details please view the database records for Fonds 17, Series 5. Although this series will eventually hold all CRC records up to 1992, only those prior to 1979 are currently fully processed.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 1839 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, 4 drawings, and 6 microfilm reels (16 mm).

Processing note: Processing of this fonds is ongoing. Additional descriptive entries will be added in future.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region

Subjects

Pressure groups

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records

Arrangement

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records.

Creator

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region (1919-2011)

Places

Ontario

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Maurice Solway fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

13

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1919-1989

Physical Description

11 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Maurice Solway (1906-2001) was a violinist, music teacher, composer, author and actor who lived and worked for most of his life in Toronto. Although he was highly respected as a musician in Toronto, and thoroughly immersed in the city’s musical culture from the 1920s until the 1980s, his greatest fame came to him later in life, as an actor in the Academy Award nominated NFB short film “The Violin”.

Maurice Solway's family lived at 164 York Street, Toronto, where he was born, in 1906. His parents, Jakob (b.1877) and Roza Solway (b.1877), had only just emigrated that year from Halofzen, Russia, where Jakob had been a musician and band leader. In Canada, Jakob adopted his father's trade and worked as a Kosher butcher, in Toronto’s St. John’s Ward. As a youth, Maurice played the violin in variety programmes with his sister, Dora, accompanying him on piano. His father was his first teacher, but he quickly showed enough promise to warrant private lessons with Harry Adaskin, and later with Dr. Luigi von Kunits, at the Canadian Academy of Music. He also studied at the Hambourg Conservatory in Toronto with Henri Czaplinsky and Geza de Kresz, starting in 1921.

Solway began his professional career with the New Symphony, which later became the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). During the 1920s, he also played in the Famous Players Cinema orchestras that accompanied silent films, and performed lunch concerts in Toronto hotel and department store orchestras, professional venues that would disappear by the 1930s.

From 1926 to 1928, Solway left Canada to study in Brussels with the highly regarded violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe. There he befriended other students of Ysaÿe, such as Nathan Milstein, William Primrose, Viola Mitchell, Robert Velton, and Joseph Gingold.

Upon his return to Toronto, Solway gave several recitals that were both critically and publicly well-received. Few such opportunities, however, existed in Canada at the time, and Solway was obliged to find work in-between solo concerts. He also suffered an injury to his left hand while moving a piano in 1929 that required him to adjust his technique for three fingers and interfered with his being able to play comfortably for a number of years.

He was married in 1930 to Anne Cass (1907-1994), and they had a son, Stephen. Facing his financial obligations to his new family, he opted for the more dependable income of orchestral playing versus the riskier and transitory life of a soloist. Besides classical music, he played with jazz groups like the Jolly Bachelor’s Orchestra, Oscar Peterson, Jerome Kern, and Percy Faith, and on numerous recordings for the CBC, CFCA, and CKGW radio stations. He also played chamber music with the Joyce Trio, founded by Simeon Joyce (piano) and featuring Charles Mathe (cello).

In 1952, Solway retired from the TSO, dedicating himself to his chamber playing and radio work. He founded the Solway String Quartet (SSQ) in 1947, with Marcus Adeney (cello), Nathan Green (viola) and Jack Groob (violin). The quartet played a mixed repertoire that included standard classical music with more widely recognized popular songs and new compositions, especially works by Canadian composers such as Howard Cable, John Weinzweig and Jean Coulthard. Sponsored by the Ontario Board of Education and the CBC, the SSQ played rural Ontario towns and broadcast concerts for a wide demographic of music listeners. In 1955, they performed the Canadian debut of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco Quintet for guitar and strings with Andres Segovia. The SSQ, with frequent changes in personnel, continued performing until 1968. Other players in the SSQ included Robert Warburton, Martin Chenhall, Murray Adaskin, Arthur Milligan, Charles Dobias, Eugene Hudson, Berul Sugerman, Joseph Pach and Ivan Romanoff.

In 1973, Solway was invited to act in a short children’s film “The Violin,” co-produced by George Pastic and Andrew Walsh. Solway also contributed the original music to the film, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1975. Following the success of the film, Solway also appeared on television, making guest appearances with Sharon, Lois and Bram, on the Elephant Show and Mr. Dressup. During this time, his wife Anne traveled with him and managed his appointments.

Solway was also a violin teacher throughout his career. In 1989, he published a preparatory book, Fiddling for Fun: the Visual and Aural Art of Violin Playing, in which he outlined a new theory for violin practice that proposed an easy to use visual system for familiarizing students with intervals and fingerboard positions.

He also wrote an autobiography, Recollections of a Violinist, in 1984, and continued to lecture and speak about music. In 1981 and 1983 he devised a lecture performance series to commemorate Ysaÿe, the proceeds of which went to the establishment of a music scholarship at the Royal Conservatory. As he began to play less frequently in the 1980s, he also began to compose more regularly, completing more than one hundred compositions, primarily works for solo violin and for violin and piano. As a composer, he returned frequently to folk themes and completed a series of songs based on his travels around the world. Among his folk themes are songs inspired by his visits to such diverse countries as Norway, Maui, Japan, Israel and Spain.

Maurice Solway was affiliated with the Beth Tzedec Synagogue and frequently contributed to charity concerts and fundraising efforts for organizations such as the Inner City Angels, a cultural society for disadvantaged children. He died in 2001 in Toronto.

Scope and Content

The Solway fonds is arranged into twelve files. The documents relate to Solway's professional activities as a musician, educator, composer, actor and author. These include printed texts, photographs, original music scores, promotional materials, programmes, audio cassettes, articles, correspondence, radioscripts and a video.

Notes

Includes 31 photographs, 2 v. of text, 1 videocassette (VHS) and 17 audio cassettes.

Name Access

Solway, Maurice, 1906-2001

Subjects

Musicians

Related Material

Fonds 25, Series 11, Item 9: Photo cabinet, photo #179 (oversized)

Photo cabinet, photo #501

Two titles in the archives library collection (1984-12-6) (1 title missing 15 Aug. 2006)

A vertical file has been created for Maurice Solway.

Creator

Solway, Maurice, 1906-2001

Accession Number

1988-10-9

1991-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Mimi Wise fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

16

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

[ca. 1915]-1994

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

15 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

8 artifacts

Admin History/Bio

Mrs. Mimi Wise (1920-2004) was a native Torontonian and an active member and supporter of the city's Jewish community. She volunteered her time with a number of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Book Fair, the Reena Foundation, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the North York Harvest Food Bank. She was known and respected for her many years of work and involvement with Hadassah-Wizo. Her primary focus was on education, with specific emphasis placed on the promotion of Israel within Canada. Mimi travelled to Israel many times during her life, often working as a trip co-coordinator.

Mrs. Mimi Wise was born in Toronto in 1920 to Joseph Marin and Sonia (Stern) Marin. She had an older sister Ruth (Steiner) and a younger brother Jay. The family lived across from the Woodbine Racetrack in the east end of Toronto known as the Beach, until 1928, when they moved to the Christie Street and Davenport Road area. Joseph Marin was one of the founders of the Beach Hebrew Institute and the family were active members of the shul. Mimi's parents were ardent Zionists and their home was often used as a meeting place for Zionists around the world, which included a visit from Golda Meir. Sonia Marin was a supporter of Hadassah-Wizo and of Pioneer Women.

Mimi attended McMurrich Public School and then Oakwood Collegiate High School. In 1938, she met her future husband, Dr. Sydney Wise, and the following year, Sydney began his medical internship at the Columbus Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Mimi stayed behind in Toronto and continued her studies at the University of Toronto. In 1941, she graduated with a degree in physiotherapy, although she never practiced. In 1942, Sydney and Mimi married and Mimi joined her new husband in the United States. In 1944, Sydney was sent overseas with the United States army and Mimi returned to Toronto and began work with the Combined Palestine Appeal. Upon his return to Toronto, Sydney became a pediatrician and opened his own practice. The couple later had two children, Mark and Joel.

In 1948, Mimi became the founding president of the Rishon Chapter of Hadassah-Wizo. During the 1950s and 1960s, she became further involved with Hadassah as the director of the Education Department, from 1957 to 1959, first vice-president from 1959 to 1961, and president of Hadassah Wizo of Toronto, from 1961 to 1963. Mimi also held the position of national co-chairman of the 1972 national convention in Toronto, and in 1973, organized the week-long "Shalom Israel" fair at Yorkdale Shopping Centre on the occasion of Israel's 25th anniversary.

In 2003, Mimi received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award from the Province of Ontario, in honour of her commitment to volunteerism. Mrs. Mimi Wise passed away in 2004.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Mimi's husband, Dr. Sydney Wise, who donated them to the Archives in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of records related to Mimi Wise's personal life and organizational activities. It includes photographs, textual records and artifacts. The textual records relate to Mimi's work with Hadassah, including her installation speech as president, certificates, programs for conventions and luncheons, an invitation to meet Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and several speeches. There is also an electronic copy of a 1944 memorial card for Joseph Marin.

The artifacts include two pairs of Pierre Cardin silk stockings given to Mrs. Wise in 1967 by the Baroness Alix de Rothschild; a president's pin set with pearls, given to Mimi in 1963 at the end of her term; a gold maple leaf pin worn by participants on a Hadassah trip to Israel; a pin given to Mimi inscribed with Guardian of Youth Aliyah, given in exchange for a monetary donation; a pin given to Mimi inscribed with MDA, which is the Mogen Dovid Adom ambulance service; and a Canadian Hadassah-Wizo diamond jubilee gold medallion given to Mimi in Jerusalem in 1977.

There are item level descriptions for all fifteen photographs, which include images of the Rishon Chapter and the National Executive of Hadassah-Wizo, family photographs, and portraits of Mimi.

Name Access

Wise, Mimi, 1920-2004

Subjects

Volunteers

Creator

Wise, Mimi, 1920-2004

Accession Number

2003-6-6

2003-9-3

2004-5-118

2006-3-13

2006-4-6

2006-7-2

2006-8-2

2006-8-14

2006-9-7

2010-1-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Harry Simon fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

23

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1931-[198-]

Physical Description

25 cm of textual records

17 photographs (6 negatives)

Admin History/Bio

Harry Simon (1909-1993) was born in Russia on 15 July 1909 and immigrated to Canada with his parents and two younger brothers in 1923. In 1930, he married Eva Millman and together they had two sons, Morris and Norman. Simon was involved in a number of labour unions and organizations during his lifetime, namely the Fur Workers' Union, the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Labour Zionist Movement.

In 1926, at the age of 17, Simon left his schooling in Toronto and went to work in a fur factory. He joined the International Fur Workers' Union and at the age of 20, Simon held the distinction of being the youngest business agent elected to a union in Canada. He joined the Canadian Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1933 and ran as a political candidate in the 1937 provincial election for the St. Andrew riding in Toronto.

Simon also served as the Canadian representative for the American Federation of Labour from 1944 to 1956. In 1956, he was appointed to the Canadian Labour Congress, becoming the CLC's Ontario regional director of organization until his retirement in 1974. Simon also held the position of national chairman of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada and as president of the Labour Zionist Movement of Canada. He was also a member of the national executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

After his retirement Simon often spoke about labour issues at various functions and events when requested. He died on 22 December 1993 at the age of 84.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of the records related to the professional career of Harry Simon. This includes meeting minutes, general correspondence, speeches, posters, flyers, booklets, programmes and photographs. The bulk of the material is in the form of correspondence sent to or from Harry Simon. There is also a small amount of biographical material and a number of photographs, which have been described at the item level.

Name Access

Simon, Harry, 1909-1993

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Labor leaders

Physical Condition

Some photographs require conservation work.

Arrangement

The files were originally arranged by Harry Simon according to organization. This original order has been maintained by the archivist.

Creator

Simon, Harry, 1909-1993

Accession Number

1988-5-6

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

31

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

Date

1919-1988

Physical Description

3.15 m of textual records

459 photographs

1 audiocasette

Admin History/Bio

The Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario (MCMAO) was formed and incorporated in 1919 under the name of the Associated Clothing Manufacturers. The Association's primary mandate was the representation of its membership in negotiations with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and later, the Toronto Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. The MCMAO membership was comprised of the manufacturing firms of men's clothing in Toronto and Hamilton and inlcuded companies such as Tip Top Tailors, Empire Clothing and Shiffer-Hillman among others. The Association was also involved in furthering the interests of the clothing industry in Ontario and with all matters pertaining to the clothing business in which the Association's membership was interested. The MCMAO was a represented member of the Apparel Manufacturers' Associatoin of Ontario and the Apparel Manufacturers' Council of Canada. The MCMAO ceased operation around 1989.

Custodial History

There is no information on the acquisition of these records. They came into the Archives in the early 1990s but the original source from the Association is unknown. The records were stored at the OJA's offsite storage location until 2008, when they were transferred to the OJA vault for processing.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the Association’s role in negotiations with the employee’s union on behalf of their membership, as well as their work in lobbying senior levels of government on such matters as labour relations, tariffs and taxes, and other issues related to the production of men’s and boys’ garments. The records include legal documents; executive and committee meeting minutes; financial records; arbitration, mediation and negotiation reports and correspondence; collective agreements; labour statistics; general correspondence files; parliamentary briefs, submissions and reports; and seminar photographs. There are also files related to specific bodies that the Association collaborated or corresponded with, such as the Toronto Club of Clothing Designers. Of particular interest are the files of the Overseas Garment Workers Commission, which documents the Associations' role in helping bring over Jewish refugees and other Displaced Persons as tailors and garment workers.

The fonds has been divided into twelve series: Legal; Board of Directors meeting minutes and agendas; Executive Committee / Executive Board meeting minutes and agendas; Annual and general meeting minutes and agendas; Negotiations Committee; Finance Committee; Public Relations Committee; Labour Relations Committee; Other committee meeting minutes and agendas; General correspondence; Parliamentary briefs, submissions, reports and correspondence; and Seminars.

Name Access

Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario

Subjects

Clothing trade

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

Queen’s University Archives holds records of the MCMAO dating from 1920 to 1969. These records appear to have originated from the same source and at one point the collection had been split in two. The fonds at Queen’s is complementary to the OJA’s fonds and together, the two fonds provide a complete picture of the MCMAO and its work.

Library and Archives Canada holds the records of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America fonds.

Creator

Men's Clothing Manufacturer's Association of Ontario (1919-1989)

Accession Number

2008-12-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

William Stern fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

33

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[ca. 1913]-1984

Physical Description

264 photographs (98 negatives) : b&w and col. ; 28 x 35 cm or smaller

2 folders of textual records

Admin History/Bio

William (Bill) I. Stern (1921-2007) was born Izick Stern in Toronto on 24 February, 1921, to Moishe (Morris) Shternshis (ca. 1893-1976) and Fanny Rumianek (ca. 1896-1991). He was an active and respected member of both the Toronto and Hamilton Jewish communities.

Bill began his education in Toronto at Grace Street and Givens Street elementary schools. He later attended the Central Technical Institute for chemistry. In the late 1930s, Bill left Central Tech to work for his father, but eventually returned to school until the start of the Second World War. At this time, Bill enlisted in the Royal Canadian Airforce and served as a Leading Aircraftsman for three years in France, Belgium and Germany. At the end of the war, he returned to Central Tech and completed his junior matriculation (grade 12) in January of 1946. In December 1946, Bill married his first wife, Toronto-born Laura Rubinstein (1923-1963). The couple had two children, Hershel (1953-) and Sheila (1957-1996).

From 1946 to 1951, Bill studied social work at the University of Toronto through a government sponsored program for war veterans. When he graduated, he practiced social work at several community institutions such as the Children's Aid Society, the University Settlement House and St. Christopher House, in Toronto. In 1956, he was offered a position as director of activities for the Hamilton Jewish Community Centre (JCC). He remained in Hamilton at this post until 1960 and then returned to Toronto as a divisional director of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, where he initiated the fund's Social Planning Department. In 1963, upon the death of his wife Laura, Bill returned to Hamilton as the director of the JCC, and later the executive director of the Hamilton Council of Jewish Organizations (CJO), a position which he held for nine years from 1964 until 1973.

After two years with the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Buffalo, Bill returned to Toronto in 1975 and briefly served two years as the executive director of the Canadian Zionist Federation, Central Region. He then returned to private practice, working as a community consultant and later as a job placement coach at the University of Toronto's School of Social Work.

Bill was an active supporter of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and the author of "You Don't Have to Be Jewish", a book on Jewish film. He held several positions with philanthropic organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest, and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was also a volunteer at the Ontario Jewish Archives. Bill lived in Toronto with his second wife of more than thirty years, Elizabeth Uptegrove (1952-), until his passing on 18 April 2007.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Bill Stern until they were donated to the Archives.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of photographs documenting the Stern and Rumianek families, individuals and organizations from the Hamilton and Toronto Jewish communities, as well as Bill Stern and his fellow servicemen during the Second World War.

The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Family photographs; Military photographs; Hamilton Jewish community photographs; Toronto Jewish community photographs; and Camp photographs. The photographs have been described at the item level and have been arranged chronologically. The textual material consists of two files containing records related to Bill Stern's professional and philanthropic career, as well as some family invitations.

Name Access

Stern, William, 1921-2007

Subjects

Communities

Families

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See "Stern family" clipping file

Creator

Stern, William, 1921-2007

Accession Number

1980-2-1

1981-9-4

1985-6-6

1986-1-8

1991-5-5

1991-5-6

1994-1-4

2004-5-96

2004-5-135

2004-5-141

2005-5-2

2005-5-9

2006-2-8

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Dora Till fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

52

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1921-1986

Physical Description

1.4 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Dora Till (1896-1987) was a leading member of the Toronto Jewish community. She helped found and served on the executives and boards of many organizations, including the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF), the Candian Jewish Congress Central Region, and the Baycrest Hospital Women's Auxiliary. She was honoured numerous times in her life with awards and tributes for her contributions to the Jewish community.

Till was born in New York City on 20 March 1896, one of six children of Max and Yeta Tobias. Her parents had emigrated from Poland prior to 1892. When Dora was four, the family moved to Toronto where Max Tobias worked as a tailor. In her teens, Till was an active member of two social clubs for girls, the Boot and Shoe Society (for mothers and children in need) and the Herzl Girls Club.

Dora Tobias married Morris S. Till on 21 May 1916, in Toronto. They had two children, Sigmund and Cecile, both of whom she outlived. Sigmund died tragically at the age of 11 after a sudden illness. Cecile married Frank Goldhar and they had two children, Sheila Anne and Meyer Garson.

In 1918, Till joined the Hebrew Maternity Aid Society and she served as its vice-president for the next fifteen years. This was the beginning of a lifetime career in family welfare, health care and services for the aged. Till helped found and was the first president of the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home located in Bronte and then Tollandale, which provided mothers and children in need with a two-week holiday in the country.

From the 1920s until the 1940s, Till served on several boards including the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, and the United Jewish Welfare Fund, as well as the Welfare Fund's Women's Division and Women's Service Council. In 1950, she became the first woman to be named honourary vice-president of the UJWF. In 1955, after many years affiliation with the Jewish Home for the Aged, Dora Till organized the newly built Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care's Women's Auxiliary, becoming its first president. She also served for 40 years on the executive board of the Family and Child Service Bureau, the precursor to Jewish Family & Child Services. Till was an active member of many other Jewish organizations, including the Naomi Chapter of Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, B'nai Brith Women, the Mount Sinai Women's Auxiliary, the Jewish Camp Council, and Toronto United Community Appeal - Community Chest. She was also a member of Goel Tzedec Congregation and its successor, Beth Tzedec Congregation.

Dora Till was honoured with several awards and tributes in her lifetime for her contributions to Jewish life, health and welfare in Toronto. In 1956, the Dora and Morris Till Bungalow at the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home was dedicated. In 1969, she was the first woman to recieve UJWF's Ben Sadowski Award for Jewish Community Service. As well, in 1977, she received the Queen's Silver Jubilee medal for outstanding community service. In 1983 a Baycrest Centre tribute dinner was held in her honour and in 1984, the top floor of the Baycrest Centre was dedicated to her. This was the culmination of a lifetime devoted to social welfare and community service, and it came just a few years before Till's death, on 22 November 1987.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Dora Till's granddaughter, Mrs. Sheila Gottlieb, until they were donated to the OJA in 1987.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of records documenting the personal and philanthropic activities of Dora Till, including her ongoing involvement with the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Women's Auxiliary, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, and to a lesser extent other organizations that she was involved or affiliated with. Till's records of the Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home are some of the few to have survived from this important social service organization.

The organizational records in the fonds include minutes, correspondence, reports, speeches, financial records, newsclippings, pamphlets, brochures, invitations, architectural drawings, and photographs, primarily of the Mothers and Babes Rest Home and the Baycrest Centre. As well, there are two artifacts: a Baycrest Centre pin and a gold shovel from the groundbreaking ceremony. The personal records in the fonds include family photographs and portraits, writings, newsclippings and general correspondence.

The fonds has been arranged into eight series: 1. Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home Association. 2. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Women's Auxiliary. 3. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Heritage Museum Committee. 4. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Furnishings Committee. 5. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care : other committees. 6. United Jewish Welfare Fund. 7. Other organizations. 8. Personal. The records have been described to the file level, while a selection of photographs have been scanned and described at the item level.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 197 photographs (54 negatives), 9 architectural drawings, and 2 objects

Name Access

Till, Dora, 1896-1987

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

For related material on the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, please see: Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds 61, Federation of Jewish Philanthropies fonds 66, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds 67, Ida Lewis Siegel fonds 15, and the Rebecca Kamarner family fonds 11.

For related material on the Baycrest Centre Women's Auxiliary, please see: Pat Joy Alpert fonds 77 and fonds 14.

For related material on National Council of Jewish Women please see fonds 38.

Arrangement

This fonds had previously been arranged and described as MG6 H. The current arrangement was implemented by the archivist in 2010 and as a result, several files from the former MG were culled or merged. Therefore, the former MG finding aid is no longer accurate.

Creator

Till, Dora, 1896-1987

Accession Number

1987-1-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

61

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1920]-1994

Physical Description

3 m of textual records (19 v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Schwartz-Reisman Jewish Community Centre, the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre (formerly the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre or BJCC) and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC) in Toronto are the current incarnations of what began, in 1919, as the Hebrew Association of Young Men's and Young Women's Clubs, later known as the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association of Toronto (YM-YWHA). The YM-YWHA, in turn, began as a merger between several other small athletic clubs operating in the city. The original mandate was strictly athletic, but soon broadened to include other areas of interest, in order to provide a sense of Jewish identity and camaraderie through physical, educational, cultural and community based programming. During the 1920s, the 'Y' became known simply as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) – the name under which it was incorporated in 1930.

For close to two decades, the ‘Y’ had rented rooms in the Brunswick Avenue and College Street area, including the basement facilities of the Brunswick Avenue Talmud Torah. By the mid-1930s, these facilities were overcrowded and unable to support the growing membership, particularly when the young women’s programming was reintroduced in 1936.

As a result, in 1937, the YM-YWHA constructed its own athletic building at 15 Brunswick Avenue, next door to the Talmud Torah, to ease the overcrowding. However, the ‘Y’ still had to make use of five scattered buildings to meet its needs, including the Central YMCA gym for its basketball teams. The early ‘Y’ was staffed by volunteers who were granted free memberships in exchange for their time and expertise.

On 3 February 1953, a new Jewish Community Centre was dedicated at the corner of Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue. By the end of the 1950s, the ‘Y’ was providing services for all ages, ranging from a nursery school to their Good Age Club for seniors.

As the Jewish community moved northward, so too did the ‘Y’, with the dedication of a new northern branch on 1 May 1961. This new branch, located at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, was created in order to address the athletic, educational, cultural and community needs of the expanding Jewish community in the north end of the city. Fourteen years later, an improved cultural and physical education wing was added as part of the completion campaign. This included the addition of the Leah Posluns Theatre and the Murray Koffler Centre of the Arts. In 1978, the YM-YWHA changed its name to the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto, in order to better reflect its broader role in the community. A new Northeast Valley branch was also established in Thornhill in the early 1980s and later closed in the late 1990s.

In 1994, the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto took over the operation of the northern branch, due to financial difficulties. At this point, all three branches became independent of one another and were no longer constituted as the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto. They each had independent boards of directors, while still receiving some of their operating funds from the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of the records created and accumulated by the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto -- which included the Bloor branch and the northern Bathurst Jewish Community Centre -- and its predecessor, the YM-YWHA. The records include textual records maintained by the office of the executive director, financial reports, architectural plans, Y-Times newsletters, program material, photographs and oral histories.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Executive director, Jewish Community Centre Archives Committee, Publication Committee, Communications Department, Sports Celebrity Dinner, and Combined Building Campaign Committee.

Notes

Includes 2539 photographs, 42 architectural drawings, 13 sound recordings, 4 artifacts, and 2 posters.

Name Access

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto

Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre

Subjects

Community centers

Related Material

See photo #2369-2646, 3412, 3519, 3804, 4201, 5004, 6125, accession #1986-7-8, MG2 N1a

Creator

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2004-6-6

2004-5-13

2004-5-2

1988-11-7

1988-4-9

1984-7-2

1983-12-1

1982-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Dr. Alexander Brown fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

95

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1934-1982

Physical Description

58 cm of textual records

125 photographs

1 print

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Alexander Brown (1909-1984) was a leader in the field of Jewish education in Toronto. He held various positions with Toronto’s Board of Jewish Education (BJE) and the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, and was actively involved with other Jewish organizations, such as the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF).

Brown was born in the Ukraine on 14 February 1909 to Louis and Bessie Brown. The family immigrated to Canada in 1920. Brown attended the Simcoe Street Talmud Torah and studied under Rabbi Jacob Gordon. He continued his education at the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago and returned to Toronto in 1933. Between 1934 and 1936 Brown served as the first executive secretary of the CJC, Central Region. From 1936 to 1937 he was an announcer for the Jewish Radio Hour, where he read the News of the Week. In 1945 he graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA and then again in 1948 with an MA in Oriental languages. Brown was married to Dorothy Mercovitch (1912-2009) of London, Ontario, and together they had two children: Martin and Paul.

Brown entered the field of Jewish education as the principal of Shaarei Shomayim Hebrew School from 1942 to 1948, as a principal of the AHS of Toronto and as dean of the Midrasha L'Morim. From 1957 to 1964 he worked as a consultant with the BJE in Toronto and then became the BJE's associate director until the early 1980s. He also was a member of the UJWF’s Study Committee on Jewish Education, the National Council of Jewish Education, the Toronto Zionist Council, and the Educational and Cultural Committee of the CJC. In 1969, he received an honourary doctorate in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois.

Dr. Brown died on 15 September 1984 at the age of 75.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Paul Brown, Dr. Brown's son, until their donation to the OJA.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual and graphic material documenting the professional activities of Dr. Alexander Brown. The bulk of the material relates to his involvement with the BJE and the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto. Included are meeting notices, agendas, and minutes, reports, studies, speeches, proposals, constitutions, correspondence, financial records, publications, questionnaires, photographs, booklets, articles, biographies, press releases, newspaper clippings, programmes, invitations, flyers, lists, applications, statistics, and a directory.

Records have been arranged into the following four series: 1. Board of Jewish Education; 2. Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto; 3. United Jewish Welfare Fund Study Committee on Jewish Education; and, 4. Jewish communal activities. Two files are attached directly to the fonds level. Records are described to the file level with a selection of item level descriptions.

Notes

Fonds was reduced from approximately 1.2 metres to 0.74 metres. Records that were culled include duplicate or damaged photographs, duplicate graduation programmes and invitations, duplicate UJWF Study Committee Interim reports that are located elsewhere in OJA's holdings, and other duplicated material. Also removed were American and other non-Canadian booklets.

Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.

Name Access

Brown, Alexander, 1909-1984

Gordon, Jacob, Rabbi

Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto

Board of Jewish Education (Toronto, Ont.)

United Jewish Welfare Fund (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Education

Physical Condition

The photographs are in poor condition. They have begun to curl and have become stiff from being stored in a dry environment. They should be flattened through humidification and encapsulated in mylar to prevent re-curling.

Related Material

See: Oral history interview with Dr. Brown (AC 140), Board of Jewish Education fonds 48, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds 67, AHS of Toronto MG2 G-1E, accession 1981-11-4, United Synagogue Day School accession 1990-5-2, accession 1991-12-5, and accession 1988-11-3. For photographs of Jewish schools see Gordon Mendly fonds 18, series 3.

Arrangement

Arrangement has been created by the archivist since there was no discernable original order.

Creator

Brown, Alexander, 1909-1984

Accession Number

2009-7-9

2010-12-9

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Vanek fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1906-1999

Physical Description

12 cm of textual records

10 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

David Vanek (1915–2008) was born on a farm in Whitchurch Township, York County, Ontario in 1915. He was the sixth of seven children born to Jacob and Jesse Vanek, Jewish-Russian immigrants from the Ukraine who immigrated to Canada in 1913. The family lived in the Newmarket-Oak Ridges area, where they owned a farm and the Vanek Grocery and Confectionary Store in Oak Ridges. The family also owned Cedarholm Park in Lake Wilcox, which had a bandstand and cottages and sold refreshments. They opened the park specifically for Jews who were being excluded from other nearby social venues. The family also lived in Toronto.

Vanek completed his elementary school education at Annette Street Public School and attended Richmond Hill High School and Harbord Collegiate. He was admitted to the honour law course at the University of Toronto. In 1936, he graduated with a bachelor of arts in honour law and went on to law school at Osgoode Hall. While in law school he worked for Carswell’s Canadian Law Abridgement and was editor of the Obiter Dicta student publication at Osgoode Hall. He received his bachelor of laws in 1939.

During the Second World War, Vanek served in the Canadian Intelligence Corps and Field Security in England from 1943 to 1945. Following his military service, he returned to Toronto where he tried private practice briefly before beginning a new career as a lecturer in the newly-created Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. He taught a variety of subjects, including legal bibliography, real property, and public international law.

A community activist, Vanek was the founder of the Lawrence Manor Ratepayers Association. In 1963, he ran for the Ontario Provincial Legislature as a Conservative candidate but failed to win the seat. He was the founder of the Credit Counselling Service of Metropolitan Toronto, which was established in 1965. Vanek was also actively involved in the new Reform congregation Temple Sinai and served as its third president.

In September 1968, Vanek was appointed to the magistrates' court. A few months later, the Provincial Courts Act came into being and he became a judge of the provincial court's criminal division. Vanek presided over and wrote judgements in many significant cases, including Weightman and Cunningham, involving the residual power of a trial judge to stop unfair prosecution, and Squires, involving the lawful exclusion of cameras from the courtroom. His best-known case was that of Susan Nelles, a nurse who was charged with the death of four babies at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in the early 1980s. He also served as president of the Ontario Provincial Judges' Association. In 1989, after twenty-one years on the bench, David Vanek retired. A decade later, he published his autobiography, "Fulfilment : Memoirs of a Criminal Court Judge," which documents his life and career.

David Vanek married Joyce Lester in 1942, and the couple had three children. Vanek died in 2008.

Custodial History

The records were donated to the Ontario Jewish Archives by David Vanek in July 2000. The records were used to help with the researching of his autobiography.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual records and graphic material that document Vanek's family history and career as a prominent lawyer and provincial court judge in Ontario. The fonds includes family records from Russia, newspaper articles, correspondence and documentation relating to his military service during the Second World War, and press clippings and photographs of his family and community activities. The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Personal records, Military service records, Occupational records, and Community organizations.

Name Access

Vanek, David, 1915-2008

Subjects

Judges

Lawyers

Creator

Vanek, David, 1915-2008

Accession Number

2000-7-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Shirley Baine fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

1936-1991

Physical Description

8 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Shirley (Gertzbein) Baine (1910-2005) was born in Lithuania in 1910. She came to Toronto to live with her extended family during the 1930s. She later married Arthur Baine, a widower who had two children. Together, they had three additional children of their own.

Soon after her arrival in Canada, Shirley Baine became very involved in the Mizrachi organization. She was first a member of the Bruria Girls, during the late 1930s, and then joined the Etzion women's chapter later in her life. The role of both groups was to raise funds and provide support for Palestine (and later Israel). In 1972, she was honoured by this chapter with an inscription of her name into their Golden Book. She died in Toronto in 2005.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Shirley Baine's activites in the Mizrachi movement as well as other initiatives. The fonds includes minutes of meetings, a dance program, a list of members from the Etzion chapter, correspondence, speeches, and a yiskor book.

Name Access

Baine, Shirley, 1910-2005

Subjects

Religious Zionism

Related Material

For related material on the Mizrachi movement, please see MG2 J1A.

Arrangement

By activity and chronological

Creator

Baine, Shirley, 1910-2005

Accession Number

2003-3-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

4

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1900]-2010

Physical Description

3.1 metres of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Sol Edell (1919-2000) was a prominant member of the Toronto Jewish community who initially pursued a career as a pharmacist and was later founder and president of the property development company, Elmdale Investments. He held positions as board member or chair in a wide variety of religious, educational and social service organizations and institutions both in Canada and Israel. In Toronto, these included: Clanton Park Synagogue, Adas Israel Synagogue, Jones Avenue Cemetery, Canadian Jewish Congress and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto (formerly Toronto Jewish Congress, and now the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto).

Edell was born in Toronto on 5 March 1919, the son of Pesach and Molly Edell. He attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the Toronto College of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, in 1943 while on leave of absence from the army. He was enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War and served in the signal corps.

After he completed his army service, he opened Edell’s Drug Store at 1978 Queen Street in Etobicoke in 1948, the first shomer Shabbat drug store in the city. He operated a second store at 494 Spadina Avenue in the late 1940s. In 1955 the Queen Street location was expropriated by the City of Toronto. Subsequently, Edell founded Elmdale Investments, the company which built and managed the Elmhurst Plaza in Etobicoke. He reopened the drug store, which was renamed Elmhurst Drugs in the plaza. He also invested in two retail textile stores, Deltex Drapery and Dodd’s Drapery which had been founded by group of businessmen including his cousin Israel Edell.

In 1952 he married Dolly Weinstock, the daughter of Moishe and Sylvia Weinstock. They lived in the newly developed suburb of North York with their four children: Ethel, Simcha, Malka and Joseph. After 10 years of marriage, Dolly died and in 1966, he married Celia Rogen Hoffman.

Sol Edell was a founding member and first president of the Clanton Park Congregation. He was actively involved in the construction of the synagogue and its development. He continued to be affiliated with Shomrai Shabbos where his grandfather Rabbi Yosef Weinreb had been the rabbi. He was also involved with Adas Israel, the synagogue in Hamilton where his wife Celia had been an active member.

He was chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region -- Toronto Jewish Congress Archives Committee, which subsequently became the Ontario Jewish Archives. During his tenure, the archives was responsible for the reconstruction of the Kiever Synagogue which had been built in the early 1900s but had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1960s.

Sol Edell was also involved in a number of Zionist organizations. He was the founding chair of the Aliyah Support Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, whose mandate was to assist Torontonians who had moved to Israel and ease their transition into Israeli society. He was also an active member of the Mizrachi organization and its affiliated institutions. Another one of Sol Edell’s interests was ensuring the preservation of local cemeteries. He was president of the Jones Avenue Cemetery and on the board of Pardes Shalom and the Bathurst Lawn Cemetery, Clanton Park section.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Sol Edell's business activities, community involvement and personal life. Included is correspondence, meeting minutes, photographs, financial records, legal records, publications, audio-visual material, invitations, newspaper clippings, artifacts, lists, reports, speeches, and architectural drawings.

The fonds is organized into the following eleven series: Personal; Edell's Drug Store and Elmhurst Pharmacy; Elmdale Investments; Deltex Drapery and Dodd's Drapery; Adas Israel Synagogue; Clanton Park Synagogue; Shomrai Shabbos; Aliyah; Cemetery and funeral home; Historical materials; and, Activities and organizations.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 739 photographs, 232 architectural drawings, 11 audio cassettes, 9 audio reels, 13 film reels, 7 videocassettes, 4 slides, 1 plaque, 4 badges, and 1 key.

Name Access

Edell Solomon, 1919-2000

Clanton Park Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Edell, Dolly

Edell, Celia

Edell's Drug Store

Elmhurst Pharmacy

Jones Avenue Cemetery

Canadian Jewish Congress/ Toronto Jewish Congress Archives

Aliyah Support Committee

Subjects

Business

Pharmacists

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Physical Condition

The bulk of the architectural drawings are currently being stored rolled up. They should be flattened and encapsulated in melinex.

Film and sound reels should be digitized.

Related Material

See fonds #5 for material related to Paul Edell.

See accession #2012-10/9 for material related to the Edell family.

Creator

Edell, Solomon, 1919-2000

Accession Number

2002-12-2

2008-8-29

2011-5-4

2012-10-9

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Hoffman family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

6

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

moving images

Date

1946-1981

Physical Description

17 cm of textual records

10 architectural drawings

ca. 9 film reels : 16 mm

Admin History/Bio

Max and Celia Hoffman were married in 1958 in Hamilton and had two sons. Max was the owner of Hamilton Plumbing and Heating Supplies. Both were active in a number of Jewish community organizations in Hamilton such as the Council of Jewish Organizations, Adas Israel synagogue and the Union of Jewish Congregations of America, Ontario Region. They were also involved in fundraising on behalf of Yeshiva University, which is located in New York City. Max Hoffman died in 1964 and Celia moved to Toronto in 1966 when she married Sol Edell.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of correspondence, ledgers, publications, home movies and architectural drawings relating to the family life, business and community activities of Max and Celia Hoffman. There are three series: Business Series, Community Activities Series and Personal Series.

Name Access

Adas Israel Congregation (Hamilton, Ont.)

Council of Jewish Organizations

Federation

Hoffman (family)

Subjects

Families

Creator

Hoffman family

Places

Hamilton (Ont.)

Accession Number

2002-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Fonds

Fonds

103

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1993

Physical Description

45.9 m of textual records

35 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Nachman Shemen, a rabbinic scholar, author, and Jewish civil servant, was born Nachman Boimoil in Chodel, Poland on 15 March 1912. His great-grandfather was a disciple of the founder of Hasidism in Poland, known as the “Seer of Lublin,” and both of his parents were descendants of Hasids and scholars. Shemen was ordained in Warsaw in 1929 at age seventeen by the chief rabbi of Warsaw, Rabbi Eliezer Ezra Kershenbaum of Lublin, and the famous scholar Rabbi Pinchas Eliezer Grosfershtand. In 1930, he settled in Toronto with his family, becoming a teacher at the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah until 1965. He was also a disciple of Rabbi Yehuda Lieb Graubart, spiritual leader of the city’s Polish Jewish community and an internationally respected rabbinic authority and author. In 1936, he married Toby Rosenberg and they had a son and three daughters.

From 1940 until his death in 1993, Shemen was a secretary of the Canadian Federation of Polish Jews, later known as the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, serving as secretary of the Toronto branch and executive secretary of the national executive. From 1954 to 1993, he was director of the Orthodox Division of the Canadian Jewish Congress, now known as the Kashruth Council of Canada.

Shemen was a prolific writer, contributing articles to periodicals not only in Canada, but also in the United States, Europe, South America, and Israel. Shortly after his arrival to Canada, Shemen began a journalistic career with the Toronto Hebrew Journal. Writing under seven pen names, his works appeared in numerous Yiddish dailies, weeklies, and periodicals around the world. From the mid-1950s, he served as the editor of Yidishe Nayes for a decade, a monthly bulletin published jointly by the Canadian Jewish Congress and the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto. He edited commemorative volumes for many Toronto Jewish organizations and wrote more than twenty books ranging from biographies of rabbis to works on fascism, Chasidism, and labour issues. He was also a founder and volunteer rabbi for the Torah V’Avodah Congregation.

Custodial History

The records of this fonds were housed in the basement study of Rabbi Shemen's home on Lonsmount Drive in Toronto until 1987, when a flood prompted an emergency effort by his family to rescue the collection. Material was not packed carefully, and was transferred to dry boxes without regard to size or subject. The flood also encouraged Shemen to offer the collection to the archives.

It was Shemen's intention to donate the material piecemeal as he reordered it, and to assist in its processing at the archives following his retirement; however, illness prevented him from doing so. The collection was instead transferred to the Ontario Jewish Archives in a state of disarray in several accessions between 1987 and 1991. Processing began in May of 1996 when funds were made available from the Canadian Council of Archives and other sources.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records that provide insight into the career and thought of Rabbi Nachman Shemen, an influential figure in Canadian Orthodox Jewry. It consists primarily of textual records, both in English and Yiddish, and includes minutes and correspondence related to Canadian Jewish Congress, the Kashruth Council of Toronto, the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, and the Kehilla of Toronto, as well as Shemen's own articles and monographs together with research material for his writings. Also included are Shemen's private correspondence with scholars and literary figures throughout the Jewish world. Of special interest is the plethora of ephemera collected over a half-century.

Notes

Associated material: For related material, refer to records at the Archives of Religious Zionism at Bar Ilan University in Israel.

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, 1912-1993

Torah V'Avodah Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Authors

Orthodox Judaism

Rabbis

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

For related material at the OJA, refer to the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah fonds, Canadian Jewish Congress fonds, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds, United Jewish Refugee and War Relief series and the Rabbi David Kirshenbaum accession.

Arrangement

Attempts were made to restore the collection as much as possible to its original order, which required educated guesswork. Duplicate and irrelevant material were culled, and the remainder cleaned as required. Records were arranged into a preliminary series. Further rearrangement of the series and rehousing of material have been carried out by archivists to improve accessibility and address conservation needs.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

David Pinkus fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

138

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

architectural drawing

philatelic record

sound recording

cartographic material

object

Date

1854-2021

Physical Description

ca. 2.4 m of textual records

ca. 600 photographs : b&w and col. (ca. 90 negatives); 30 x 35 cm or smaller

other material

Admin History/Bio

David Pinkus (1924-2021) was born on May 11, 1924, at the Toronto General Hospital to Isadore Pinkus (1887-1947) and Molly (Mollie) Pinkus (née Parelstein) (1892-1990). Isadore was born in Kiev Gubernia of the Russian Empire; Molly was born in Podolia Gubernia of the Russian Empire and later moved to Ukraine with her family. Isadore and Molly met and married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1910 and moved to Toronto in 1911. The Pinkus family settled in Kensington Market in around 1914 and was one of the first Jewish settlers to the Kensington neighbourhood. David spent his entire life living in the Kensington Market area. He lived on 83 Huron Street until 1927 when the Pinkus family moved to 34 Nassau Street, which has been the house of the Pinkus family ever since. David had two siblings: brother Max and sister Goldie.

In his childhood, David attended the Brunswick Talmud Torah daily and learned Hebrew. He had his bar mitzvah at the Kiever Shul. David attended William Houston School until 1930 and Ryerson Public School until grade eight. Later, he attended Harbord School for high school and was also involved with sports at Harbord Collegiate and YMHA. In 1947, David obtained his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto. After graduation, he worked at Goodyear for one year and returned to the University of Toronto as an instructor of engineering drawing and machine design. Later, he worked at various places such as Canadian Industries Limited in Maitland, Toronto Iron Works, and Avro Aircraft Limited.

David’s father, Isadore, was one of the founders of the Kiever Synagogue. David’s involvement with the Kiever Synagogue started in 1947, following Isadore’s death. David served as president and held positions on the executive of the Kiever Shul and played a principal role in the restoration of the shul. He also served on Toronto’s Board of Health as well as the boards of the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and St. Christopher House. In addition, David was an active community leader and local historian. He did genealogical research for many Toronto Jewish families. David had been recognized by the National Jewish Federation of North America as a Jewish community hero in 2011. He passed away on May 6, 2021.

Custodial History

Records received after the death of David Pinkus through Joseph Solomon, the executor of David Pinkus’ estate. Records have been selected by archivists following a site visit at David’s home at 34 Nassau Street, Toronto.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual records, graphic material, sound recordings, architectural drawings, artifacts, and a small number of philatelic records, most of which document David Pinkus’ career and personal life, the Pinkus family, the Kiever Shul, the Kiever Cemetery, as well as Mount Sinai Cemetery Association (Mount Sinai Memorial Park) and the Dawes Road Cemeteries (Amalgamated Dawes Road Trustees), of which the Kiever Congregation is a member organization. Also included are documents and photographs of other individuals and families, which David collected for his genealogical research, and those that are pertaining to Kensington Market and other congregations and cemeteries.

Textual records include correspondence; scrapbooks; education records; identification documents; research notes and clippings relating to David’s genealogical research; documents pertaining to his Kensington Market activism and community work; files on David’s engineering career and his role as president of the Kiever Shul; and files documenting the Pinkus family members, such as funeral documents, notebooks, family correspondence, voters’ lists, and records relating to Pinkus Fruit Co. and 34 Nassau Street. Also included are records documenting the Kiever Shul, which include meeting minutes, ledger books, financial documents, legal documents, membership lists and application forms, address books, high holiday service cards, and historic papers dating from the 1920s and 1930s. Textual records documenting the Kiever Cemetery, Mount Sinai Memorial Park, and the Dawes Road Cemeteries are mainly comprised of cemetery maps, burial plot cards, burial record books, by-laws and regulations, and meeting minutes. Also present are records pertaining to other congregations and cemeteries, such as constitution books, brochures, booklets, and copies of legal documents.

Photographs mainly feature David Pinkus and the Kiever Cemetery, with a small number featuring the Pinkus family members, the Junction Synagogue (Congregation Knesseth Israel), the Great Choral Synagogue of Kyiv, and those that David collected for his genealogical research.

Architectural drawings of this fonds include the restoration and renovation plan for the Kiever Shul and the alteration plan for Mount Sinai Cemetery Administration Building.

Also present are sound recordings, including cassettes and microcassettes of David Pinkus; and artifacts, including felt patches, pin back buttons, medals, Toronto foot-pedlar registration badges, and a wooden gavel of the Kiever Shul.

Fonds has been arranged into the following series: David Pinkus’ personal records; Kensington Market; David Pinkus’ genealogical research; the Pinkus family; the Kiever Shul; the Kiever Cemetery; Mount Sinai Memorial Park; the Dawes Road Cemeteries; and other associations, congregations, and cemeteries.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Also included are 22 architectural drawings, 7 maps, 4 audio cassettes, 2 microcassettes, 1 optical disc, 8 drawings, 2 prints, 1 photo collage, 34 pinback buttons, 15 Toronto padler-on-foot registration badges, 8 felt patches, 3 medals, 3 brooches, 1 wooden gavel, 2 tax tokens, 2 postage stamps, 1 sales tax stamp, and 9 revenue stamps.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: Books that were initially included in this fonds have been removed and incorporated into the OJA’s library collection. These books are: Spadina Avenue by Rosemary Donegan with an introduction by Rick Salutin, Toronto No Mean City by Eric Arthur revised by Stephen A. Otto, Canadian Jewish Directory edited by Edmond Y. Lipsitz, The Toronto Jewish Directory, and The Canada Year Book 1905 (second series).

HISTORY/BIO NOTE: Information is sourced from OH 413 and the content of the fonds.

Name Access

Pinkus, David, 1924-2021

Kiever Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Mount Sinai Cemetery Association (Toronto, Ont.)

Mount Sinai Memorial Park (Toronto, Ont.)

Dawes Road Cemetery (Toronto, Ont.)

Amalgamated Dawes Road Trustees (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Families

Synagogues

Genealogy

Cemeteries

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of 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.

Related Material

See accessions 2004-1-5, 2004-1-6, 2004-2-1, 2008-11-9, 2016-3-48, and 2021-10-1 for additional information on the Kiever Shul; and OH 413 for more information on David Pinkus and the Pinkus family.

Arrangement

Records came into the OJA with no discernible order. Arrangement has been imposed by the archivist.

Creator

Pinkus, David, 1924-2021

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

2021-7-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gerald Tulchinsky fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

149

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[185-?]-2017

Physical Description

4.36 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Tulchinsky (1933–2017) was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1933 to Harry Tulchinsky and Anne Tulchinsky (née Stemeroff). Gerald spent his childhood and teen years growing up in Brantford as one of four children. His parents owned and operated the Mayfair dress shop on Colborne Street. The Tulchinsky family were active members of their community and were involved with the Beth David Congregation and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. Anne received multiple awards for her volunteer work.

Gerald Tulchinsky left Brantford in order to attend university. He received his undergraduate degree from McGill University and went on to receive his PhD in history from the University of Toronto in 1971.

Gerald married his wife, Ruth Tulchinsky (née Rice), in 1961, and, after spending the first few years of their marriage in various Canadian cities, they settled in Kingston, Ontario. Tulchinsky and his wife had three children: Steve, Ellen and Laura.

Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky’s professional career as a historian began with a focus on Canadian business and labour; later, his research interests expanded to include Canadian Jewish history. He briefly taught at the University of Saskatchewan before becoming a professor at Queen’s University, where he taught in the history department from 1966 to 2000. During his time at Queen’s, Tulchinsky expanded interest in the field of Canadian Jewish studies through his encouragement and supervision of graduate students. As professor emeritus, he was involved in creating the Jewish studies program at Queen’s, which he later became the director of after his retirement from the history department in 2000. In 2005, Tulchinsky became the recipient of theLouis Rosenberg Award, which honoured his contributions to the field of Canadian Jewish studies.

It was also during this time at Queen’s that he became known as a leading scholar on Canadian Jewish history. Over the course of his career, he published six books, including "The River Barons Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation 1837–53," "Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Branching Out: The Transformation of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Canada’s Jews: A People's Community," "Joe Salsberg: A Life of Commitment," and "Shtetl on Grand." The latter is a collection of short stories based on his experiences growing up Jewish in Brantford.

In addition to his books, he wrote and edited dozens of articles on business, immigration, transportation, and antisemitism during his career. Towards the end of his life, he had been working on a book on the history of the Canadian clothing industry.

Tulchinsky died on 13 December 2017. He was eighty-four.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records created and accumulated by Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky. The records relate to his personal life and professional career. The majority of the records are textual and primarily consist of his research on J. B. Salsberg, Canadian Jewish history, business, labour, and the Canadian clothing industry. The records include photocopied research materials, such as articles, statistical reports, and scanned newspaper pages. The records also include research notes; interviews; correspondence; grant applications; photographs; six audio cassettes and two VHS tapes; newspaper clippings; and lecture notes and course syllabi; as well as drafts of Dr. Tulchinsky’s manuscripts, poems, short stories, and articles. Also included among the records are daily planners; some family photographs; birthday and congratulation cards; a passport; a travel diary; a record of the Tulchinsky family tree; Anne Tulchinsky’s volunteer awards and other records; and various materials related to the Tulchinsky family’s involvement in the Brantford Jewish community, the Beth David Congregation, and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

The fonds is divided into the following six series: 1. Drafts and manuscripts, 2. Research, 3. Personal and family, 4. Correspondence, 5. Teaching materials, and 6. Miscellaneous.

Notes

Associated material: Records of the parish of Gerald Tulchinsky are also held by Queen's University Archives.

Name Access

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Subjects

Authors

College teachers

Historians

Creator

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Places

Canada

Accession Number

2008-7-1

2014-8-4

2015-2-2

2016-2-7

2016-5-10

2017-9-4

2018-1-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Morley Torgov fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

108

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

1938-2011

Physical Description

5.2 m of textual records and graphic material

Admin History/Bio

Morley Torgov (b. 1927) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer and former commercial lawyer.

Torgov was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Allan (b. Russia, 8 July 1895-1964?) and Janey (née Colish) Torgov (b. England, 1901-d. Sault Ste. Marie, July 1926). Allan Torgov owned and operated a clothing store in Sault Ste. Marie named Allan's. Morley married Anna Pearl (née Cohen) in 1948 and had two children, Sarah Jane Steinberg and Alexander Torgov (b. 1959-d. 2009), and four grandchildren.

Torgov was educated at the University of Toronto, receiving his bachelor of laws degree from Osgoode Hall and was called to the bar in 1954. He became a partner in the law firm Olsch, Torgov, Cohen and specialized in commercial law. While practicing law in Toronto during the 1960s, he turned to writing. Torgov's first book, A Good Place to Come From (1974), a comic memoir of growing up Jewish in Sault Ste. Marie, was made into a CBC miniseries and won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. Torgov continued to write other books including the Outside Chance of Maximillian Glick (1982), which won him his second Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. The CBC produced a television series based on this work and the book was published in several languages. This success was followed by St. Farb's Day (1990), which won the Toronto Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award for fiction. Other published works include the Abramsky Variations (1977), the War to End All Wars (1998), Stickler and Me (2002), Murder in A-major (2008), and the Mastersinger from Minsk (2012).

Torgov's writings also include several screenplays for television and film and numerous essays and articles for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Montreal Gazette, the Canadian Lawyer and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Torgov has been honored by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, naming their annual award the TORGI after Torgov, the first recipient of that award in 1984. In 2005, he received the Order of Mariposa, a lifetime recognition award from the Leacock Society. In 2010, he received the Order of Canada as an acknowledgement of his contributions to Canadian society.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of material related to the life and work of Morley Torgov. Included are literary drafts and working papers, reviews, speeches, presentations, public addresses, memorabilia, sketches and drawings, photographs, correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles, and Torgov's original file folders with jottings of ideas and references for future use.

Notes

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: The scope and content for most of the file level descriptions are taken verbatim from the original description provided by Mr. Torgov at the time of donation and therefore is written in the first person.

Name Access

Torgov, Morley, 1927-

Subjects

Authors

Related Material

Researchers should consult the Morley Torgov fonds at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library for other records.

Arrangement

Records were arranged at the file level by the creator. This original arrangement has been maintained by the archivist.

Places

Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.)

Accession Number

1984-12-8

1986-12-6

1989-12-7

1990-12-10

1992-12-4

1995-12-4

1998-12-2

1999-12-3

2000-12-2

2002-12-6

2003-12-4

2004-12-1

2005-3-2

2005-12-3

2006-12-6

2007-12-16

2008-12-7

2011-12-3

2018-8-18

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Edelstein family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

111

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

text

Date

1890-2005

Physical Description

2 m of textual records

30 photographs

4 posters

2 artifacts

12 books

1 CD

Admin History/Bio

Isaac Edelstein (1889-Dec. 1954) was born to Ronya Edelstein (née Silver) ([18--?]-June 1921) and Abraham Edelstein (1846-[19--?]). The family moved to Canada in 1913, arriving in Quebec before settling in Toronto. Isaac, the eldest, had five siblings: Archibald, Bessy, Lilian, Goldie, and Harry. Isaac married Ida (Hebrew name: Chaya) (1898-1978), who immigrated to Canada from Gomel district in Homiel Province, Belarus.

Isaac was a tailor and Ida was a dressmaker. Isaac and Ida had two children: Rony (nickname Renne) Rabassa (b. 4 Jan. 1931) and Albert (nickname Abi) Edelstein (26 Sept. 1925-1 May 2021).

After meeting through shared involvement in Habonim, Albert married Ruth (née Blumenstein) (15 Sept. 1928-30 Mar. 2023) on 2 Jan. 1949. They had 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

Albert received vocational training as a watchmaker at Central Technical School, and spent the majority of his career as a retailer, operating a jewelry store with his wife Ruth. He was the president of the District Jewelers Association (1983-1984) and the chairman of the Queen Broadview Business Improvement Area in the 1990s. Ruth and Albert's children were educated in the Jewish day school system. Ruth was involved in the National Council of Jewish Women.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the personal lives of members of the Edelstein family and their communal affiliations.

Name Access

Edelstein (family)

Subjects

Families

Creator

Albert Edelstein

Accession Number

2000-1-1

2000-2-2

2000-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Pappenheim family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

113

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1906-2005

Physical Description

2.0 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Albert Pappenheim (1921-1984) was born to Jonas (1877-1941) and Irma (1881-1941) Pappenheim in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He had three siblings, Ernst (b. 1911), Karla (m. Goldschmidt) (1912-1989), and Ruth (m. Possen) (1915-2010). From 1936-1938, Albert studied at the Jewish Teachers Seminary (ILBA) in Wurzburg, Germany, but his studies were interrupted due to Kristallnacht. Albert was sent to study at a yeshiva in England, but was declared an illegal immigrant with the start of the war and was interned and sent to Canada in 1940. He was interned at Ile aux Noix in Richelieu River in Quebec along with other yeshiva students. Upon his release from the camp, he resumed his rabbinical studies and became a prominent rabbi and community leader in Toronto. He married Rhoda Helen (née Kabatznik) Pappenheim (1925-1987) who was born to Eli and Sarah Kabatznik. Rhoda studied to be a teacher at Toronto Normal School. Albert and Rhoda had a daughter Irma. Albert's sister and brother-in-law Karla and Max Goldschmidt emigrated to Palestine. Sister and brother-in-law Ruth and Leo Possen eventually joined Albert in St. Catharines after the war.

Albert received a BA in Oriental Languages in 1947 and MA in 1949 at the University of Toronto. He also continued his training at Yeshiva Torath Chaim Toronto under Rabbi Abraham Price and took the rabbinic exam in 1949. He led the Congregation B'nai Israel in St. Catharines, Ontario from 1948-1953. In 1953, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky to be the rabbi of Ohava Zion Congregation. While in Lexington, he was also a lecturer at the University of Kentucky in Hebrew and Biblical History. In 1956, he returned to Canada to be the rabbi of Beth David Congregation in Downsview, Toronto. Beth David amalgamated with B'nai Israel Synagogue in 1960 and with Beth Am Congregation in 1977. Albert also served on many rabbinical organizations and committees. He was the Chairman of the Education Committee for the United Synagogues of America, Ontario Region; Secretary of the Rabbinical Assembly, Central Region, Canada; and Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region. His service and contributions to the rabbinical community was recognized through an honourary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1975.

Custodial History

The records were donated by Irma Pappenheim, daughter of Albert and Rhoda Pappenheim in three accessions. Some of the letters created and accumulated in researching the Pappenheim family history were in the custody of her aunt Karla.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the life and activities of Rabbi Albert Pappenheim and his family, including genealogical research conducted by his daughter Irma Pappenheim. The majority of records document Albert's activities as a rabbi at B'nai Israel Congregation in St. Catharines, Ontario; Ohava Zion Congregation in Lexington, Kentucky; and Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am Congregation in Toronto. Records include sermons and related research, newspaper clippings, newsletters, bulletins, scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, and administrative records. Also included are copies and originals of family correspondence and related material chronologically documenting the Pappenheim family history from the 1930s onwards, including translations. Other records document Albert's personal life and education with some material related to his wife Rhoda and her mother Sarah Kabatznik and include posthumous tributes, letters, and clippings.

Fonds is arranged into six series: 1. Personal, 2. Posthumous material, 3. Sermons and writings, 4. Rabbinical activities and congregational records, 5. Genealogical research 6. Scrapbooks

Notes

Physical Description Note: Includes ca. 250 photographs, 4 scrapbooks, 2 CDs, 3 audiocassettes, 1 audio disc and 1 USB key.

Duplicate copies of genealogical research, sermon notes, and other publications were culled.

Arrangement

Original order was preserved whenever discernible with sermons and writings largely organized into subject files and genealogical research in chronological order.

Creator

Pappenheim (family)

Accession Number

2005-10-1

2017-1-14

2017-8-12

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

38

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[190-]-2002

Physical Description

2.6 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

The National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC) was the first national Jewish women's organization in Canada. The council had its beginnings among the urban elite, and played a strong role over the years in influencing public policy in such areas as relations with Israel, national unity, and the plight of world Jewry. The NCJWC is dedicated, in the spirit of Judaism, to furthering human welfare in the Jewish and general communities -- locally, nationally and internationally. It operated around three main pillars: service, education, and social action.

The National Council of Jewish Women was founded in the United States in 1893 by activist Hannah G. Solomon. In 1897, its first Canadian chapter was established in Toronto. In 1925, with seven chapters in Canada, a Canadian liaison position to the National Council of Jewish Women was created. A full-fledged “Canadian Division” of the NCJW was formed in 1934, with rules drafted at the first conference in Winnipeg three years later. Irene Samuel served as the Canadian Division’s first national president. In 1943, the division was renamed the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, and was officially incorporated in 1944, though it did not receive its letters patent until three years later. Even so, the NCJWC still retained some affiliation with the NCJW, whereby they paid per-capita dues to the Americans in return for program and administrative materials. In 1967 the NCJWC ceased these payments altogether, thereby separating from NCJW completely.

The early NCJWC focused on providing service to young girls and immigrants. They also involved themselves in contemporary politics through support for the war effort; the council donated vehicles to the Red Cross, turned Council House into a servicemen's centre, and even built several libraries at Canadian army camps. A national office opened ca. 1950 in Toronto, but until 1966 it moved to the national president's home city with every election. That year the office was permanently anchored in Toronto. In the 1950s and 1960s the council established Good Age clubs, the Irene Samuel Scholarship Fund, and developed the national Higher Horizons child-care and Newer Horizons elder-care programs. It expanded its overseas programs with support for the Israel Family Counseling Association and Ship-a-Box. The Soviet Jewry projects in the 1970s and 1980s reflected the council’s increasing emphasis on social action. Since the late 1990s, the council has focused on women's issues with efforts such as the Breast Self-Examination (BSE) program.

The NCJWC was governed by an executive council, led by a president. Vice-presidents were each responsible for one portfolio, such as membership, public affairs, etc., which were in turn made up of a number of national committees. The national executive was responsible for producing by-laws, guidelines, policies and procedures, as well as developing national service and social action programs. National also provided support and program materials to the sections, and held biennial meetings every other year from 1937 in cities across Canada. Its decentralized structure meant that while the national office remained in Toronto, officers of the executive have resided right across the country.

As of 1997, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada was an affiliate member of the International Council of Jewish Women, a member of UNESCO Canadian Subcommission of the Status of Women, and a member of the Coalition of Jewish Women Against Domestic Violence and the Coalition for Agunot Rights. Prominent past presidents include Mrs. Harry (Irene) Samuel, Mrs. Lucille Lorie, Dr. Reva Gerstein, Mozah Zemans, Mina Hollenberg, Sophie Drache, Thelma Rolingher, Helen Marr, Bunny Gurvey, Sheila Freeman, Penny Yellen, and Gloria Strom. The council’s national office moved to Winnipeg in November, 1993. As of 2006, the council still had 5 active sections in Canada: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.

Custodial History

NCJWC donated these records to the OJA after they had finished a historical exhibit and catalogue in 1997 called "Faith and Humanity," celebrating 100 years of NCJWC.

Scope and Content

The fonds documents NCJWC’s fundraising, social service and social action work in Toronto, in other cities across the country, and overseas. Records include conference and meeting programs, minutes, hand-written correspondence, speeches and reports, national newsletters, published histories, by-laws and policies, photographs, publicity material, historical subject files and artifacts. The records have been arranged into nine series: National biennial conventions and annual meetings; National Executive Council; National portfolios and committees; National program and event materials; National history research and subject files; International Council of Jewish Women; Toronto Section; Photos and audio-visual material; and National Council of Jewish Juniors, Toronto Section.

Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 2470 photographs, 13 architectural drawings, 2 artistic drawings, 3 badges, 3 medals, 1 pin, 28 audio cassettes, and 1 videocassette.

Name Access

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada

Subjects

Women

Related Material

See also: photographs 3207, 3192, 4140, 4067, 4066, 4434; Accession 1977-8-7 for National Council of Jewish Women of Welland; National Council of Jewish Juniors, photographs 458, 459, 460, 463, 464, 465, 466, 468; MG2 B-1K

Arrangement

Records have been arranged by function, in accordance with information gleaned from NCJWC's organizational charts and annual reports

Creator

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada

Accession Number

2001-8-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Ralph Hyman fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

35

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[193-?]-[1982?]

Physical Description

71 cm of textual records

ca. 25 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Ralph Hyman (1906–1989) was a Toronto journalist who also played an active role in Jewish community organizations. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1906, the son of Russian parents, Sarah and Hyman Radutsky. The name was changed to Hyman in Scotland. Several years after his birth, the family immigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, where they stayed until Ralph was seventeen. In 1924, they moved again, this time to Los Angeles. There, Ralph began his journalism career with the Glendale Times. In 1925, the family moved to Toronto, where Ralph got a job as a reporter for the Toronto Star. In 1928, he moved to the Mail and Empire. When the Mail and Empire merged with the Globe to form the Globe and Mail in 1936, he became a reporter and a political and feature writer. Ralph remained at the Globe and Mail unitl his retirement in 1971. A few months after his retirement, he returned to work as editorial consultant to the Canadian Jewish News. In 1972, he was appointed editor of that publication, a position he filled until his final retirement in 1980.

Ralph Hyman was active in the Joint Community Relations Committee, the Toronto Newspaper Guild and the Toronto Men's Press Club. He was married to Edith Etigson, and they had two children: Gerald David and Roger Leslie.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of records relating to the life and career of journalist and news editor, Ralph Hyman. The records include newspaper articles and books written by Ralph Hyman, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, periodicals, and ephemera.

Name Access

Hyman, Ralph, 1906-1989

Subjects

Editors

Journalists

Physical Condition

Newspaper articles are in poor condition.

Creator

Hyman, Ralph, 1906-1989

Accession Number

1990-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Toronto Hadassah-WIZO fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

71

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1924-2006

Physical Description

11 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

The first Canadian chapter of Hadassah was established in Toronto in 1916. Subsequent chapters emerged in other large Canadian cities thereafter. In 1919 several chapters organized to form the Hadassah Organization of Canada. And in 1921, Hadassah Canada joined the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), and subsequently changed its name to Hadassah-WIZO. The original goal of Hadassah was to raise funds for refugees in Eastern Europe. Later on, their mandate shifted to that of providing money and support for the Jews in Israel. Although it spent a great deal of time and resources raising funds for this cause, Hadassah-WIZO was a philanthropic organization that encouraged productivity rather than charity.

Today, Hadassah-WIZO is the largest organization of Jewish women in Canada. In addition to providing Jewish women with an opportunity to liaise with other women from the community and volunteer for a worthy cause, this organization also promotes some important national and international goals. These goals include: encouraging Jewish and Hebrew culture in Canada; extending the material and moral support of Jewish women in Canada to the people of Israel who require assistance; and cooperating with other organizations in the promotion of Canadian ideals of democracy.

The records in this fonds were created by the Toronto chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. The Toronto chapter is not only the oldest, but also one of the largest and most active affiliates of the 304 Hadassah-WIZO chapters in Canada. Some of the activities that it sponsors include the famous annual bazaar, which was started in 1924 and is one of the largest in North America. They also contribute to the support of a host of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO initiatives in Israel which include: the Nahalal School, the Netanya Technological High School, the Hadassim Children and Youth Village, several day care centres, women’s and youth clubs, the Hadassah-WIZO Canada Research Institute, and two medical centers. The Toronto chapter in particular sponsors youth aliyah, and raises funds and honours important volunteers through the organization of tribute dinners, golf tournaments, and other events. Finally, this chapter is also responsible for producing the Hadassah Reporter, which is the newsletter that documents the activities of the Toronto chapter.

Custodial History

The records were acquired from the main Hadassah office on Sheppard Ave.

Scope and Content

The records in this fonds document the activities of Toronto Hadassah-WIZO. They include the Hadassah magazine the Reporter as well as the national publication Orah. The fonds also consists of photographs, minutes of meetings, certificates, press clippings, correspondence, audio-visual material, posters and scrapbooks.

Notes

Associated material note: The Library and Archives of Canada also possesses material created by members of Toronto Hadassah.

Name Access

Toronto Hadassah-Wizo

Creator

Toronto Hadassah-Wizo (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

2003-3-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Ajalon Lodge fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

72

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

1929-1986

Physical Description

ca. 1.25 metres of textual records

ca. 15 scrapbooks

ca. 20 objects

Admin History/Bio

The Ajalon Lodge was first organized on 10 March 1929 as the Ajalon Club of Young Judaea. The founding members were Abe Bohnen, Hyman Cohen, Isaac Gringorten, George (Hamell) Himmelstein and Lou Hochman. The group met at the Zionist Institute at 206 Beverley Street in Toronto. The name was selected by Abe Bohnen and Mark Zimmerman, the Young Judaea supervisor, from a map of Palestine which hung in the Young Judaea library.

The first leader of the club was Morris Kertzer followed by Al Zimmerman. In 1930 the lodge began to record its activities in scrapbooks, which it later named the Ajalon Archives. The archivists over the years included Max Schwadron, Ben Marks, Myer Bromberg, and Willie Zimmerman.

The club was actively involved in Young Judaea literary, social, and fundraising activities. In 1935, the club graduated from the Young Judaea movement and become a lodge of the Zionist Order Habonim. By 1939 however, the Ajalon, Balfour, Bialik, and Jaffa lodges merged into the Toronto Habonim Lodge due the waning membership as many men went off to war. After the war, the four lodges returned to their original state. In 1940, the lodge acquired club rooms on the third floor of the Zionist Building and in 1944 several wives of lodge members organized the Ajalon Ladies Auxiliary. By 1953, Habonim became the Zionist Men’s Association of Canada, an affiliate organization of the Zionist Organization of Canada and by the 1960s, Ajalon Lodge became directly affiliated with ZOC. Over the course of its existence membership in the lodge has been between 40 and 90 members.

Ajalon Lodge participated in many fundraising campaigns for Jewish organizations in Toronto, such as the Jewish National Fund and the United Palestine Appeal. Many of its members also served on the board of directors for organizations such as the Toronto Zionist Council and Young Judaea. The lodge was involved in several fundraising initiatives, including the establishment of a kindergarten in Ashkelon, Israel in 1972. In later years the Ajalon Lodge was affiliated with the Zionist Organization of Canada.

Custodial History

The records were in the custody of both Willie Zimmerman and Meyer Bromberg before they were donated to the Archives in 1984, 1988, and 1994.

Scope and Content

This fonds primarily consists of the records collected and created by the Ajalon Archives Committee, under the direction of Max Schwadron, Ben Marks, Myer Bromberg, and Willie Zimmerman. The archives are organized into scrapbooks by year and relate first to activities of Ajalon Club as a chapter of Young Judaea and then to Ajalon Lodge as a chapter of the Zionist Order Habonim. Later scrapbooks represent the lodge’s activities as part of the broader Zionist network affiliated with the Zionist Organization of Canada. The scrapbooks consist of photographs, event invitations, pamphlets and flyers, correspondence, editorial writings, newsletters, newsclippings, meeting minutes, activity reports, and ephemera. They begin in 1929 and run to 1983.

Also included in the fonds are the meeting minutes, financial reports and general correspondence files of the lodge, as well as several artifacts collected by Meyer Bromberg while he was the acting archivist.

Name Access

Ajalon Lodge (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Zionism

Physical Condition

Some of the early scrapbooks are in poor condition. The pages are brittle and are crumbling along the edges. As well, the scrapbooks require tissue-paper linings between the pages to separate the various media contained within and to prevent any further degredation, particularly of the photographs. Many of the photos in the later scrapbooks require rehousing in acid-free melanex.

Related Material

Related material can be found in the Zionist Organization of Canada fonds 28, the Meyer Bromberg fonds, the Maurice Berg fonds and the Willie Zimmerman fonds 41.

Creator

Ajalon Lodge (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1984-11-2

1988-6-5

1994-10-3

2005-4-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

74

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1914-1986

Physical Description

35 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 79 cm or smaller

2 folders of textual records

Admin History/Bio

The Jewish Brigade was a member of the Great War Association in the 1920s. After its first president was installed in the early 1930s, the Royal Canadian Legion granted a charter for a Jewish veterans' branch. The brigade was renamed the General Wingate Branch in the mid-1940s after the British army officer Major General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO. Although Major Wingate was not Jewish, he was a passionate Zionist, hence the name.

At first, the branch met at a veteran’s hall at Crawford and College Streets in Toronto, but later purchased its own house at 1610 Bathurst Street. In 1968, the branch moved to Eglinton Avenue West. It was then located at the Zionist Centre on Marlee Avenue.

The branch held an annual memorial march and service at the Mt. Sinai Cemetery, and distributed poppies to raise funds for veterans and their families, hospitals and medical research. Members also gave speeches at schools on Remembrance Day. It closed in September 2018 after more than eighty years.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of photographs and textual records that document the activities and history of the General Wingate Branch 256. Included are images of parades, memorials, picnics and executive members. There is also one 1950s branch newsletter documenting the branch's purchase of Wingate House.

Name Access

Royal Canadian Legion. General Wingate Branch 256

Subjects

Veterans

Related Material

See also Fonds 51, series 5-3, file 15 for images of Remembrance Day ceremonies held by the General Wingate Branch 256.

Creator

General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Canada

Accession Number

1976-9-1

1987-12-1

2007-1-3

2007-12-10

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Vocational Services of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

75

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

moving images

Date

1947-2006

Physical Description

5.1 m of textual records and graphic material

1 DVD

Admin History/Bio

The Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) was established on 16 June 1947. After the Second World War thousands of survivors arrived in Canada in search of homes, education for their children and jobs. The returning servicemen, in turn, were also in need of employment. For the first two years of its existence, JVS catered exclusively to these two groups. By 1949, it had expanded its mandate to become a community-wide agency.

Max Enkin, the founder of the post-war "tailor scheme" became its first president and chairman of the board. Under this scheme, he and other members of his delegation were able to bring over 2,200 displaced persons to Canada as skilled tailors. Other members of the JVS board included Lipa Green, Sydney Harris, Dr. Albert Rose and Louis Lockshin. The executive director was Norman Stack. He served for a few years and was replaced by Milton Freidman in 1949. Freidman was a social worker who relocated to Toronto from Buffalo and spent close to 40 years in this position, retiring in 1985.

JVS's early mandate was to serve as a placement service for applicants and employers and to provide individual counselling services to its clients. Its office was situated above the original Tip Top Tailors building at 455 Spadina Avenue. It later moved its office to 152 Beverley Street and then in the 1960s to Tycos Drive. By the 1960s, JVS began to expand its services to all segments of society including newcomers, people with disabilities and from all sectors of life. The staff included social workers, psychologists, job counsellors and clerical staff.

During the 1980s, Bernie Berger became the new executive director. He served in that capacity until 1991. He was replaced by Ed Segalowitz. During this period, JVS set up a seniors' program called ATLAZ on the grounds of the Baycrest Home for the Aged. It was funded by the Bick family and was intended to create programs to keep seniors engaged. Today, this program is called the Al Green Resource Centre and provides employment, placement, training and volunteer opportunities to adults of all ages and with developmental disabilities. JVS also launched a youth program called Youthinc and a women's program.

Karen Goldenberg became executive director in 1998 and was replaced by Frank Markel in 2011 after her retirement. JVS has expanded its clientele, helping people from all backgrounds with diverse needs to identify their strengths and goals, develop skills, and achieve success in school, work and life. By 2009, it offered an expansive range of over 40 employment-related support programs and services throughout the Greater Toronto Area to thousands of unemployed and underemployed individuals and served 23,000 people. They operated out of 12 locations and have approximately 200 professionals on staff.

Kim Coulter became president and CEO in 2013.

Custodial History

The case files were located in the vault with no accession number. They were likely transferred to the OJA during the 1970s or 1980s. They were assigned accession number 2002-10/34.

The remaining records were in the possession of Amanda Batchelor of JVS, who had acquired the material from various past board and committee members for the creation of the 60th anniversary book.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities, programs, finances, operation and history of the Jewish Vocational Services. Included are meeting minutes, photographs, correspondence, surveys, reports, financial statements, certificates, bulletins, newsletters, newsclippings, press releases, anniversary books, and one DVD. The fonds is arranged into the following series: 1) Formation and history; 2) Board of Directors; 3) Executive board; 4) Annual general meetings; 5) Special and general meetings; 6) Committees; 7) Career, employment and training services; 8) Disability services; 9) Immigrant and newcomer services; 10) Women in New Roles (WINR); 11) Youth services; 12) Volunteer program; 13) Studies and reports; 14) Finance; 15) Personnel; 16) Planning and operations; 17) Publications and publicity; 18) Fundraising; 19) United Way; 20) Events; 21) Conferences and workshops.

Name Access

Jewish Vocational Services of Toronto

Subjects

Charities

Immigrants--Canada

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Creator

Jewish Vocational Services of Toronto (1947-)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2002-10/34

2008-9/6

2010-11/7

Source

Archival Descriptions

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

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

Sammy Luftspring fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

82

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1922-2000

Physical Description

2 scrapbooks ; 65 x 48 cm and 34 x 30 cm

Admin History/Bio

Sammy Luftspring was born on 14 May 1916 in Toronto's Ward neighbourhood. His parents were working-class Jews who emigrated from eastern Europe. Sammy began training as a youth at the Brunswick YMHA. He lived in Kensington Market and attended B'nai Brith summer camp as a youngster. In 1932 he started entering boxing matches. He competed in 105 fights and only lost five bouts, capturing the Golden Glove tournaments in weight classes ranging from bantamweight to welterweight. Sammy became famous for his fighting prowess and Jewish pride, always sporting a Star of David on his boxing shorts.

By 1933, he became the Ontario lightweight champion, representing the Elm Grove Athletic Club. That same year, he took part in the Christie Pits riot. Because of his accomplishments in the ring and his contribution to his community, he became a highly respected athlete within the Jewish community.

In 1936, he was selected for the Canadian team to take part in the Berlin Olympics that year. Although he was eager to compete, his parents and the community pressured him to boycott the games in protest over the Nazis' treatment of Jews in Germany. Luftspring and "Baby Yak," another famous local Jewish boxer, decided to participate instead in the alternate games in Barcelona, Spain, called the People's Olympics. After making the trip to Europe by ship, the two faced the disappointment of having the event cancelled after the Spanish Civil War broke out on the eve of the opening ceremonies.

After his return to Toronto, Luftspring began to box professionally. In 1938, he won the Canadian welterweight championship after a fifteen-round fight where he defeated Frank Genovese. He held the title for two years. During a fight in New York against Steve Belloise, Luftspring was poked in the eye, resulting in a detached retina. This injury left him blind in one eye, ending his boxing career.

By 1948, he began a new career as a boxing referee. He refereed for several decades, overseeing some of the most celebrated fights of that time. He also ran a nightclub in Toronto called the Mercury Club with three partners. It attracted famous entertainers such as Henry Youngman, Vic Damone, and Tony Bennett. He subsequently ran other nightclubs such as the Tropicana.

In addition to his boxing career, Sammy was also a devoted family man. He married his wife, Elsie, in 1938 at the McCaul Street synagogue. Three hundred and fifty people attended and hundreds waited outside of the synagogue to wish them well. They had two children: Brian and Orian.

His biography, Call Me Sammy, was published in 1975. Luftspring was given the great honour in 1985 of being inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He passed away on 27 September 2000.

Custodial History

The scrapbooks were created by Sammy Luftspring. He kept them at his house and when he passed away they were safeguarded by his son Brian.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of two scrapbooks that reflect Sammy Luftspring's personal life and various careers as a boxer, referee, author, and nightclub manager/owner. Scrapbooks contain correspondence, ephemera, newspaper clippings, brochures, autographs, coins, and approximately seven hundred photographs.

Personal records include photographs of Sammy and his family during his childhood, family weddings, trips and vacations, and other family events, such as birthday parties and his son's bar mitzvah. There are also letters and cards from Sammy's wife, children, grandchildren and friends, and other ephemeral items Sammy collected, such as ticket stubs from baseball games.

Professional records include images of Sammy training for upcoming boxing matches, portraits of Sammy posing in his boxing attire, images from the grand opening of the Mercury Club, photographs of Sammy as a referee, as well as photographs of Sammy at various celebrity boxing matches. There is also correspondence and a brochure documenting Sammy's incorporation into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and some correspondence regarding the publication and promotion of his book. Finally, there are numerous newspaper clippings relating to all of Sammy's professional endeavours.

Name Access

Luftspring, Sammy, 1916-2000

Subjects

Boxers (Sports)

Physical Condition

The scrapbooks are in poor condition. Many of the photographs, documents and clippings were glued to the pages and the pages have almost all fallen out of the bindings.

Related Material

1981-1-7

Arrangement

The scrapbooks have been kept intact and no arrangement has been done. However, some of the key images have been scanned and item level descriptions have been completed for them.

Creator

Luftspring, Sammy, 1916-2000

Accession Number

2009-10-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Ladovsky family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

83

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[ca. 1890]-2012

Physical Description

3.5 cm of textual records

185 photographs : b&w and col. and sepia toned ( 10 negatives, 4 slides, 3 contact prints) ; 26 x 20 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Aaron Ladovsky (1888-1960) was born in 1888 in Kielce, Poland. He immigrated to Toronto in 1906 at the age of 18. Soon after arriving, Aaron Ladovsky worked to help form a Jewish bakers’ union to advocate for collective rights among Jewish Bakers. In 1911 he married Sarah Eichler who was from his home town of Kielce, Poland. In 1912 he opened the United Bakers Dairy Restaurant at Dundas and Bay Streets (known then as Agnes and Terauley Streets respectively) in the heart of the Ward. That same year, the couple had twin sons, Herman and Samuel, who were born on September 23, 1912.

Only a short time later, in 1920, Aaron moved the location of his restaurant to 338 Spadina Avenue, just north of Dundas. He and his family lived in an apartment upstairs. Herman and Samuel attended Hester How Elementary School until 1919, Lord Lansdowne Public School once the family moved to Spadina, and later Central Commerce. The twins worked in the family business in the 1920s delivering fresh breads and buns by horse cart.

Aaron Ladovsky was involved in a number of community organizations. He was instrumental in founding the Kieltzer Society of Toronto in 1913, a community based immigrant-aid association extending aid to Kielcers in Poland and around the world. Ladovsky remained an active member of the organization until his death on April 5, 1960. His restaurant provided a welcome gathering place for the Jewish community, serving traditional dishes and maintaining a friendly open-door policy. Aaron Ladovsky was known for his generosity and claimed that no one, whether they had money or not, left his restaurant hungry. The United Bakers' menu was mainly based on Sarah’s original recipes, and continues to be so to this day.

During the Second World War, Herman served overseas as an electrician in the Canadian army show with comics Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. After returning from the war, he married Dora Macklin in 1947, a registered nurse from Regina. He also began to take over management of the family business. Later, his son Philip and daughter Ruth would follow in his footsteps, helping to run the restaurant with him and later taking over managment. United Bakers remained on Spadina Avenue for 66 years, until 1986 when it moved to its current location at 506 Lawrence Avenue West, off of Bathurst Street. Herman was an active fixture in restaurant until his death on January 6, 2002. He also supported and was involved in the work of the Ontario Jewish Archives over the years. Today, Philip and Ruth carry on the family tradition of running United Bakers Dairy Restaurant. In May 2012 the restaurant celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Custodial History

The records were donated in multiple small accessions by Herman Ladovsky from 1977 until 2004.

It appears as though previous archivists integrated some materials into a manuscript group relating to Aaron Ladovsky and then later deconstructed a portion of this group into original accessions. Also, a number of periodicals and textual materials from these accessions were integrated into various other manuscript groups and remain there.

One item, a Lord Lansdowne School anniversary booklet which contains a photocopy of Herman's student record, remained in the Aaron Ladovsky manuscript group. This item could not be identified as part of a previous accession, but has been integrated into the fonds as it appears to have been donated by Herman.

Photo #3050 was not associated with an accession number, but documents United Bakers Dairy Restaurant and was likely donated by Herman Ladovsky.

Recent accruals have been donated by Ruth Ladovsky.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of records documenting the Ladovsky family in Kielce, Poland and Toronto. It is primarily made up of photographs of Ladovsky family members in Kielce and Toronto, and of various organizations that Aaron and Herman were involved in. There are also a few textual records that document the Ladovsky family and their involvement in the Kieltzer Society.

Notes

Newspaper clippings were photocopied and placed in the Aaron Ladovsky vertical file.

Many photographs were originally cited with diifferent numbers. These numbers are mentioned below photo descriptions.

Name Access

Kieltzer Sick Benefit Society (Toronto, Ont.) (subject)

Ladovsky, Aaron, 1888-1960 (creator)

Ladovsky (family)

Ladovsky, Herman, 1912-2002 (creator)

United Bakers Dairy Restaurant (subject)

Related Material

Se MG 2B-1R

See vertical file on Aaron Ladovsky

Arrangement

Records have been organized by media and chronology due to low volume and disparate subject matter. Textual records have been arranged in 17 files. Photographs have been arranged chronologically and are largely described at the item level.

Places

Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1977-7-5

1978-12-7

1981-1-2

1983-11-6

1988-4-12

1993-10-1

1994-1-3

1999-11-4

2000-4-4

2004-5-21

2004-5-82

2008-4-9

MG 6 E6

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Dr. Rolf Lederer fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

84

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1970-2008

Physical Description

1 m of textual records

54 photographs : col. (37 negatives)

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Rolf Lederer was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1934. His family immigrated to South Africa in 1936 and Rolf remained there until 1961, earning his medical degree from Cape Town University. After completing his psychiatric training in Edinburgh and Boston, Rolf settled in Toronto in 1968. There he set up private practice as a general psychiatrist.

After moving to Toronto, Rolf became actively involved in the Jewish community and served on a number of committees. He was on both the local and national board of directors of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS) as well as a number of JIAS sub-committees, including the South African Jewish Association of Canada (SAJAC), the Local Case File Committee, and the Management Committee.

From 1985 to 1988 Rolf was chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress’s (CJC) Chaplaincy Services Committee. He was also a member of other CJC committees including the Jewish Cultural Council and the Joint Adult Education Committee. In addition, Rolf co-founded the Jewish Genealogical Society (JGS) in 1985 and served as the society’s president from 1987 to 1991. Finally, he was an active member of the B’nai Torah Congregation, serving as secretary and first vice-president in the early 1980s.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records that Dr. Lederer gathered as a board member of various Jewish organizations including JIAS, the South African Jewish Association of Canada (SAJAC), B'nai Torah Congregation, the Canadian Jewish Congress Chaplaincy Services Committee and the Jewish Genalogical Society (JGS).

Records include meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, committee membership lists, directories, reports, budgets, newsletters, brochures, and newspaper clippings. Also included are publications of the SAJAC journal, SAJAC News, and B'Nai Torah Congregation bulletins. Photographs document the JGS's cemetery projects at Roselawn Cemetery and Pape Avenue Cemetery.

Notes

Physical extent note: records that did not pertain to OJA's mandate and that were either duplicates or already in OJA's holdings were culled. In addition, publications that came with this accession were either added to OJA's library or removed if they were unrelated to Ontario's Jewish community or already a part of the library's holdings. National JIAS records were removed and offered to CJC's National Archives. The National Archives passed on the records as they receive the same records as regular donations directly from JIAS.

Name Access

Lederer, Rolf, 1934-

Physical Condition

Good.

Related Material

For additional material donated by Dr. Lederer, please see accession #2010-11/16, 2011-1/2, and 2011-6/4.

Arrangement

Fonds may need to be arranged into series at a later date.

Creator

Lederer, Dr. Rolf, 1934-

Accession Number

2010-6-10

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Toronto Hebrew Free Loan Association fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

85

Material Format

textual record

Date

1922-1999

Physical Description

6.6 m of textual records

Admin History/Bio

The original Toronto Hebrew Free Loan agency was formed in 1911 under the Associated Hebrew Charities. Its Hebrew name was G'milath Chasodim, which means to do good deeds. Initially all of the loans that it gave out were guaranteed by individuals from the community. This body went into debt in 1917. In 1922, with the administrative support of the Toronto Federation of Jewish Philanthropies and the financial support of B'nai Brith, a new free loan society was established.

The first president was Sam Kronick, the vice president was Nathan Phillips, and the treasurer was Elias Pullan—three extremely high profile citizens within the community and Toronto. The first meeting was held at the Zionist Institute on Beverley Street. By 1923 they had hired a secretary and executive secretary, Moses Oelbaum. The society was incorporated on 12 July 1924. Their mandate was to prevent pauperism and preserve the self respect of individuals. Many of the early loans that came in during that period were through referrals from other Jewish organizations. In 1925, they reviewed 625 applications and approved 510 loans which ranged from $25 to $200, allocating $9307.92 in total. They did not charge interest and had the borrower repay the loan at a rate of $2 to $10 a week.

In 1942 the Moses Oelbaum fund was established with capital of $10,000. Historically, B'nai Brith and the National Council of Women provided the funds for student loans. In 1957, the Scholarship Aid program began to operate under the auspices of the United Jewish Welfare Fund. By 1974, the THLA had given out over 5 million dollars in loans to over 20,000 families. In 1985, through a merger of Toronto's business, personal and educational loan agencies, the Toronto Jewish Free Loan Cassa was formed.

Today, the Loan Cassa has over 700 active clients and gives out over $1,500,000 in loans each year to the needy as well as in the form of scholarships and business start up loans. The rate of defaults has been extremely low, less than one percent. As a result, this program has helped strengthen the community by sustaining and investing in its members. The name was formally changed to Jewish Free Loan Toronto in 2012.

Scope and Content

The records consist of minutes of meetings, correspondence, financial statements, loan ledger books, loan guarantee cards, case files, cash books and receipts, court records relating to trusts and wills and other material.

Name Access

Toronto Jewish Free Loan Association

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Creator

Toronto Jewish Free Loan Association

Accession Number

1986-11/4; MG 201D; 1989-12/2, 1999-7/1; 2004-5/122.

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

Part Of

Sharon Chapter of Hadassah fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

90

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1918-1981, predominant 1952-1973

Physical Description

22 cm of textual records (4 v.)

16 microfiches of textual records

2 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Canada’s third chapter of Hadassah was organized in Brantford on January 2, 1918 by Mrs. Anna Selig (m. Raginsky) and sponsored by Mrs. Leah Lazarus primarily to assist with Canada’s war effort. In 1919, it joined with other Canadian chapters to form the Hadassah Organization of Canada. By 1921, Hadassah Canada had merged with the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) and changed its name to Hadassah-WIZO. In 1929, the Brantford chapter adopted the name Rose of Sharon, but abbreviated it to the Sharon Chapter of Hadassah.

As a member of Hadassah-WIZO, the Sharon Chapter shared its mandate of financially and socially supporting the peoples of Israel and promoting Jewish culture and ideals in Canada. Following the national organization’s mandate, its administration consisted of two levels: a general membership and an executive committee. The general membership voted on all issues and activities, while the executive committee ensured all tasks were completed. Although the chapter initially only elected one president, it began electing three presidents in 1943.

Mrs. Sam Fox served as the chapter’s first president over the charter membership of 30 women. Membership initially remained fairly constant, but grew to 92 members by 1962. All members paid annual dues, of which a small portion was used to pay the chapter’s expenses with the remainder being forwarded to the regional Hadassah council to pay administrative costs and donations.

Some of the fundraising activities Sharon Chapter organized include an annual birthday party (started in 1925), an annual bazaar (started in 1952), sewing circles, pot lucks, tea and garden parties, rummage and auction sales, and showers. The funds and other goods accumulated from these events were forwarded to the regional Hadassah council to support various Hadassah-WIZO projects, such as Youth Aliyah and the Acco Baby Creche. The Sharon Chapter also supported local projects, such as, assisting new immigrants, and entertaining servicemen at the local canteen during the Second World War.

The population of Brantford’s Jewish community began declining after the 1960s as younger generations moved to larger cities and were followed by their parents after retirement. By 1999, the Sharon Chapter’s membership had fallen to 24 women and meetings were being held only once a year. The Sharon Chapter likely closed around 2001; the same year that dwindling resources and membership forced the closure of Brantford’s synagogue, Congregation Beth David.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities, finances, special programs and fundraising events of Brantford’s Sharon Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. Included are meeting minutes, correspondence, photographs, ledgers, annual budgets, remittance forms, financial bulletins, financial statements, certificates, invitations, lists, notebooks, programmes, reports, recipes, speeches, news clippings, an auditorium lease, a contract, a theatrical script, and pledge cards.

Fonds has been arranged into five series: 1. Meetings; 2. Special projects and events; 3. Annual Bazaar; 4. Finance and accounting; and, 5. Administration. One item and one file are attached to the fonds-level.

Notes

Physical extent note: fonds was reduced from ca. 50 cm to 22 cm. See accession 2001-10-3 for further information about the culled material.

Name Access

Sharon Chapter

Hadassah-Wizo

Brantford

Subjects

Charities

Children

Related Material

For additional OJA records documenting the Sharon Chapter, see Sadie Stren fonds 78 and the Congregation Beth David fonds 88.

For additional OJA Hadassah-WIZO records, see Toronto Hadassah fonds 71, accessions 1996-11-1, 2008-3-3, and 2009-8-6.

For additional OJA records related to Brantford families and other Jewish organizations, such as the B'nai Brith lodge, please see accession #2001-10-3; #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.

See also the Hadassah-WIZO Organization of Canada fonds at Library and Archives Canada, reference #R3454-0-7-E.

Accession Number

2001-10-3

1979-9-21

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Frankel and Draper family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

104

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1895-2009

Physical Description

21 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Gottschall Frankel (1832–1918) and his wife Mina Meyer (1841–1921) were born in Biblis (Hessen) and Aschaffenburg, Germany, respectively. Gottschall died in Biblis and is buried in Alsbach, Germany. Mina passed away in Toronto and is interred in the old Holy Blossom Cemetery.

Leo Frankel (1864–1933) was one of nine children born in Biblis, Germany, to Gottschall and Mina. His siblings were Salmon (1874–1906), Benno (d. 1921), Ike (d. 1950), Louis (1879–1952), Maurice (1865–1935), Sigmund (1866–1936), Ida (1870–1952) (m. Levy) and Herman (1871–1939). Three of the siblings are buried in Montreal, and the rest are buried in Toronto.

Leo immigrated to Canada in 1881 at the age of seventeen. In 1886, he established Frankel Brothers (scrap metal and processing) in association with his brothers. The siblings were eventually succeeded by several sons of the original partners. The company subsequently became Frankel Steel Ltd. and Steel Structures Corporation.

Leo married Helena "Lena" Mayer of Florsheim, Germany, on 2 July 1890 in New York City. They had three sons: Egmont Leo (1891–1964), Carl Milford (1894–1984), and Roy Hecker (1896–1983). The family lived at 504 Jarvis Street, the former Goodman residence in Toronto, from 1908.

Carl married Dorothy Jacobs (1903–1987), who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents were Bernard Jacobs of Texas and Henrietta Altheimer of Arkansas. Carl and Dorothy had two daughters: Nancy Jean Frankel (b. 1928) and Carol Nina Frankel (1930–1999).

Carl was a prominent member of the Toronto Jewish community, active in Holy Blossom Temple, several Masonic lodges, and was a founder of the North Toronto YM-YWHA.

His daughter Nancy attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute and was confirmed at Holy Blossom Temple. She married Darrell (Drapkin) Draper (1922–1992) of Fort William/Port Arthur in 1949. Darrell had studied at the University of Toronto and became a lawyer and judge. The couple's three children are Dr. Paula Jean Draper (b. 1953), a historian; Phillip Jacobs (b. 1954), a real estate lawyer; and Kenneth Lewis (b. 1957). Collectively, the siblings have six children and several grandchildren. Nancy Draper has been a longtime volunteer at the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Nancy's sister Carol married Mandel Sprachman (1925–2002), the son of a renowned architect Abraham Sprachman of the firm Kaplan and Sprachman. Mandel followed his father into the profession, specializing in cinemas and theatres, including the award-winning restoration of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres (1985–1989).

The Frankel family genealogy is wide in scope, extending from Germany and England to the United States and Canada. One notable ancestor with German lineage is Israel Beer Josephat, who changed his name to Paul Julius Reuter and founded the Reuters News Agency.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the Frankel and Draper (Drapkin) families and their connected branches, such as the Jacobs (English in origin), Josephat, Meyer, and Altheimer (all German in origin) families. Records include: photographs of the exterior and interior of the Frankel home at 504 Jarvis Street, Toronto; formal individual and group photographs taken in Toronto and other cities of family members at various gatherings and of Nancy Frankel's confirmation class at Holy Blossom; pictures of Darrell Drapkin (later Draper) and his Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity brothers at the University of Toronto; group photographs of members of the Palestine Lodge of Masons, of which Carl and his brother Egmont were members; and a variety of candid shots in many locations including outside the Frankel family home in Biblis, Germany.

Textual records include: essays and programs concerning Holy Blossom, publications from Camp Wabi-Kon and Jarvis Collegiate yearbooks, and material from the Ulyssean Society at Hart House, the Oakdale Golf and Country Club, and the Carmel Chapter of Hadassah documenting Nancy's involvement with these organizations.

Objects include a souvenir matchbook from the wedding of Darrell Draper and Nancy Frankel and a membership coin and badge in a leather case documenting Carl Frankel's involvement with Masonic lodges.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 250 photographs, 3 objects,1 CD, and 1 video cassette.

Name Access

Draper (family)

Draper, Nancy (1928-)

Frankel (family)

Subjects

Families

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Koffler Centre of the Arts fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

100

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1967-2013

Physical Description

1.9 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Koffler Centre of the Arts was established in 1977 as part of the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue to enrich the cultural life of Toronto through arts education and exhibitions. The centre exists to encourage and develop the creative and artistic potential of the diverse community it serves. The Koffler Gallery as a public gallery and member of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries exhibits, interprets, and documents works of excellence in the visual arts with a focus on contemporary Canadian art, including the work of visual artists, emerging artists, and programming of special interest in the Jewish community.

The Koffler has offered an array of programmatic, education, and learning programs, including national and international art exhibitions, educational tours, and workshops, literary arts programs, art classes, lectures, concerts, film screenings, and theatre performances. The Koffler has also served public and private school students and their teachers through Koffler Gallery exhibition tours and workshops.

The Koffler Centre is governed by an executive board and standing and ad-hoc committees and is funded by endowments, donations, and sponsorhips as its primary sources of funding. The Koffler also receives annual operating support from the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and all levels of government, including the City of Toronto, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council. The staff consists of an executive director, curators, and administrative support staff.

In 2013, after five years of off-site programs, the Koffler Centre of the Arts opened its administrative offices and the new Koffler Gallery at Artscape Youngplace on Shaw Street in downtown Toronto. The Artscape Youngplace facilities showcase Koffler Gallery exhibitions, public programs, and expanded school and education programs, as well as Koffler cross-disciplinary programs: literary events, theatre readings and performances, concerts, workshops, and more.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities and functions of the Koffler Centre of the Arts and its role in bringing Jewish-inspired visual, dance, dramatic and musical arts to the community. Included are records related to its board of directors and committees, its former affiliation with the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre and the YM-YWHA, building campaigns, financial operations, art exhibitions, the Jewish Book Fair and Bookmark Project, educational programming, performances, and special events. Records include meeting minutes, memoranda, correspondence, committee reports, budget and financial statements, press clippings and reviews, program guides, art exhibition catalogues, artist statements and CVs, promotional material, photographs, architectural drawings, a sound recording, and moving images. The fonds is arranged into the following ten series: Board of directors, Committees, Planning and development, Financial and administrative, Public relations, Educational programming, Book fair, Art exhibitions, Performances and events, and the Bookmark Project.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Includes 672 photographs, 3 architectural drawings, 1 sound recording, and 7 moving images.

Name Access

Koffler Centre of the Arts

Subjects

Art centers

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Cowan family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

102

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1902-2002

Physical Description

90 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Saul Cowan (1910-2002) was the seventh of nine children born to Zvi Hirsh (Harris) Cohen (1872-1954) and Chana Leah (Annie) (née Gollom) Cohen (1873-1960). His siblings were Woolf Cowan (Colvin) (1896-1987), Kate Cowan (b.1898) (m. Wener), Jack Cowan (1900-1992), Rivka (Reva) Cowan (1902-ca.2002) (m. Lieberman), Moe Cowan (b.1904), Jeanne Cowan (b.1906) (m. Kallman), Norman Cowan (b. 1909) and Miriam Cowan (b. 1919) (m. Rose).

The Cowan family immigrated to Toronto from England with their six oldest children circa 1908. Harris worked as a tailor in England and as an operator in men's clothing factory Tip Top Tailors in Toronto.

Saul graduated from the University of Toronto in 1931 in honours philosophy.

In 1932, Cowan married Lillian Rosenthal (1910-1978), the daughter of Morris (1883-1967) and Nessie (Celia) (née Soren) Rosenthal (1881-1969). Together, they had two children, Michael (b. 1939) and Trudy (b. 1941). The Rosenthal family ran a boarding house on Hanlan's Point and had a place at Belle Ewart. In 1945, Morris and Celia purchased Wapaska Lodge on Muskoka Bay just outside Gravenhurst and ran it as a family resort from 1948-1965.

Lillian, who was a public school teacher, passed away in 1978 and the following year Saul married Libbie Aiken (d. 2006). Libbie had been the head physiotherapist at the Toronto General Hospital during the late 1940s.

Saul pursued a career with the North York Board of Education serving as both trustee and chairman from 1958 to 1976. He was also very involved with the Jewish community and the growing North York community. He was also involved with organizations such as B'nai Brith, Canadian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (CPPNW), and the North York Social Planning Committee. He was a founder of the York Finch General Hospital.

Trudy studied physical and occupational therapy at the University of Toronto but changed career direction when she moved to Calgary in 1969 and became involved in historical organizations such as the Glenbow Museum, the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, and the Lougheed House Conservation Society. She married Leonid Luker (b. 1937) in 1982.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the Cowan (Cohen) family and their connected branches including the Rosenthal, Soren, Gollom, Aiken, and Altshuller families. The records originated from Saul Cowan, his first and second wives, Lillian Rosenthal and Libbie Aiken, and his daughter, Trudy Cowan Luker. Records include photographs of family members at graduations, weddings, school, religious events, camping activities, and milestone celebrations. Textual records include traditional and email correspondence, marriage certificates, passports, immigration documents, family histories, theatre and concert programmes, and newspaper clippings. Many of the records document Saul Cowan's personal and professional activities. The majority of the material relates to the Cowan and Rosenthal families.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Includes 386 photographs, 2 audiotapes, and 6 objects.

Four books from the collection have been removed and integrated into the OJA's library holdings. These include titles Have I Ever lied To You Before? by Jerry Goodis, My Outlook by Jack Cowan, When Partners Become Parents by Carolyn Pape Cowan and Philip A. Cowan, and Front Page Challenge: History of a Television Legend by Alex Barris.

Name Access

Cowan (family)

Subjects

Families

Accession Number

2008-6-11

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

92

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1914-1993

Physical Description

1.2 m of textual records (2 v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

Joseph Baruch Salsberg (1902-1998) was a labour leader, political activist, politician, insurance salesman, and journalist. He was also active in various Jewish organizations, including the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, and the New Fraternal Jewish Association. He is well-remembered by contemporaries, such as Sam Lipshitz, as a “champion of the people," committed to social justice, the plight of the working class, and the preservation of Jewish culture.

J. B. was born in Lagow, Poland on November 5, 1902 to Abraham and Sarah-Gittel Salsberg. Abraham immigrated to Toronto in 1910 and J. B. followed with his mother and two younger sisters in 1913. They settled at 73 Cecil Street. Abraham and Sarah-Gittel had additional children in Canada: Nathan (b. 1915), Reuven (Bob or Robert, b. 1917), Betty, and Thelma. Abraham worked as a peddler in Toronto.

J. B. briefly attended Landsdowne Public School, but dropped out around 1916, against his parents' wishes, and took a job in a leather goods factory to contribute to his family’s income. J. B.’s parents had hoped he would become a rabbi and, despite his full-time employment, J.B. continued to study Torah with scholars at the synagogue on Centre Avenue.

In 1917, J. B. decided to pursue the ideas of Zionism and socialism and, abandoning his plans to become a rabbi, became involved in establishing the Young Poale Zion organization, a Labour Zionist youth group dedicated to secular aims. Around 1922, J. B. was made secretary general of the Young Poale Zion of America in New York, where he worked for one year. Shortly after returning to Toronto, he became the organizer for the Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union of North America in Chicago. J. B. married Dora Wilensky in 1927.

In 1926, J. B. joined the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). He was an active member of the CPC for 30 years, serving as the head of its Trade Union Department for two decades. In 1929 he was suspended from the party for one year as a dissenter. In 1932, he became the Southern Ontario District union organizer for the Communist Workers' Unity League.

It was as a member of the CPC that J. B. entered electoral politics. After a series of failed bids in municipal and provincial elections between 1935 and 1937, J. B. was elected alderman of Ward 4 in Toronto in 1938. He only held the position for one year. He was re-elected to this position in 1943, beating out Nathan Phillips, before being elected to the Ontario Legislature as the representative for the St. Andrew riding. J. B. sat as member of provincial parliament for the Labor-Progressive Party (the provincial wing of the CPC) for 12 years. For several years, he was the only elected Communist in North America. As MPP, he helped create legislation banning discrimination in public places and introduced a bill that would ensure fair employment practices in the province. He lost his seat to Allan Grossman in 1955 and unsuccessfully ran in the federal election later that year. Remembered by journalist Gordon Sinclair as “one of the best debaters in the house," J. B. was well-respected by members of all political parties. Out of admiration for J. B., Conservative Premier Leslie Frost named Salsberg Township in Northern Ontario in his honour.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, J. B. had grown increasingly concerned about reports of Soviet antisemitism and privately urged party leaders to pursue the issue. In 1956, when Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev exposed the transgressions of Stalin’s regime, J. B. went to Moscow as part of a CPC delegation. After meeting with Khrushchev himself, it became clear to J. B. that antisemitism was indeed a problem in the USSR and that his efforts to probe the situation were being stonewalled.

J. B. publicly expressed his concerns about Soviet antisemitism in a series of articles published in the Vochenblatt from October 25, 1956 to December 13, 1956. He finally left the Communist Party in 1957. However, he remained a member of the United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), a Communist Jewish fraternal organization.

Entering the business world, J. B. established the Model Insurance Agency Limited in 1957, where he served as president for several years. In 1959 J. B.’s wife, Dora, passed away. Around this time J. B. also resigned from the UJPO, along with other members who felt the organization needed to be more critical of the Soviet Union. They founded an alternative, non-Communist, left-wing Jewish organization, the New Fraternal Jewish Association, where J. B. served as president for several terms and edited its publication, Fraternally Yours.

In his later life, J. B. was active as an executive member of organizations, such as the CJC and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was the first chairman for the CJC Ontario Region’s Soviet Jewry Committee and the Committee for Yiddish. He also began writing an award-winning weekly column for the Canadian Jewish News. J. B. was awarded the CJC’s Samuel Bronfman Medal for distinguished service, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto’s Ben Sadowski Award of Merit. A strong supporter of Israel, he was involved in the creation of two Israeli medical centres that are named in his honour. He also helped establish the J. B. and Dora Salsberg Fund and the J. B. Salsberg Fund for Yiddish at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. J. B. passed away in 1998.

Custodial History

The records were donated to the OJA in a series of accessions. Material from accessions 1991-5-4 and 1992-9-4 were donated by J. B. Salsberg. The remaining material was donated by his estate after his death.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting J. B. Salsberg's personal, professional and Jewish communal activities. The bulk of the records are textual and relate to his membership in the CPC (later LPP), election campaigns, and Jewish communal work. Included is correspondence; photographs; reports; political writings; certificates; agendas; pamphlets; brochures; booklets; flyers; campaign literature; campaign notes; posters; newspaper clippings; press releases; articles; transcripts; speeches; telegrams; political platforms, briefs and submissions; statements; constitutions; resolutions; newspapers; meeting minutes; bulletins; periodicals; notebooks; notes; course guides and outlines; medallions; pins; plaques; donation receipts; event invitations and programmes; lists; blank employment applications; a school test; a study; a coin; a drawing; a sketch; an audio cassette; and a delegate card.

Records are arranged into the following five series: 1. Personal ; 2. Labour Zionism and union activities ; 3. Political career ; and, 4. Jewish community involvement. There are also four files and one item attached directly to the fonds.

Notes

Physical Description Note: Includes 53 photographs, 7 medallions, 11 pins, 4 posters, 2 plaques, 1 sketch, 1 drawing, 1 audio cassette, 1 desk name plate, and 1 coin.

Physical Extent Note: Fonds was reduced from approximately 7 metres to 1.5 metres. The culled material consisted primarily of published books, periodicals and pamphlets that had been collected by J. B. Salsberg. For further details about what was culled please view the accession records.

Associated Material Note: Queen's University Archive also has a J. B. Salsberg fonds, 14 hours of interview tapes with J. B. Salsberg and records of the UJPO are held by the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario (MHSO).

Name Access

Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998

Subjects

Labor leaders

Politicians

Related Material

For additional records in OJA's holdings, see: Ben Kayfetz fonds 62, series 8, file 2 ; accession 2008-11-2 ; accession 2004-1-4 ; and oral histories AC 71 and AC 226.

Creator

Salsberg, Joseph Baruch, 1902-1998

Accession Number

1991-5-4

1992-9-4

1998-2-2

1998-12-5

2004-5-28

2010-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

9

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1925-1989

Physical Description

31.8 m of textual records

319 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

The Jewish Immigrant Aid Society of Canada was established in 1920 by the newly-formed Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC). A Toronto branch was established in a storefront office on Spadina Avenue, but the organization was rudimentary. As the enthusiasm that spurred the founding of CJC died out, JIAS soon faltered. Then in 1922 it was taken over and reactivated under the cooperative support of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, B'nai B'rith, and the Council of Jewish Women. JIAS was legally incorporated on 30 August 1922. It also operated under the moniker of the Emergency Jewish Immigrant Aid Committee, and it changed its name to Jewish Immigrant Aid Services in 1954.

Charged with organizing emergency relief for European Jews in distress, JIAS became the central agency of the Jewish community to facilitate the lawful entry of Jewish immigrants into Canada, and provided them with welfare services, transportation, and assistance with accommodation and employment after their arrival. In addition, JIAS offered consultation services for sponsors of potential immigrants, ran a competitive foreign remittance service, and campaigned to counter the activities of unscrupulous steamboat agents, lawyers, and influence peddlers, or “shtadlanim,” who often victimized immigrants and sponsors alike.

In conjunction with similar efforts by the CJC, JIAS was also actively engaged in negotiating for the increased admission of Jewish immigrants to Canada. In 1923, the federal government instituted a permit-based immigration program and JIAS competed with travel agents and solicitors in the private sector for these limited quota permits. After combating the anti-immigration policies of the Depression era, the outbreak of war in 1939 virtually closed the already limited avenues for immigration.

JIAS Canada was organized into a national office in Montreal and regional offices in Winnipeg (Western Region), Toronto (Central Region), and Halifax (Eastern Region). The Central Region covered Ontario, and established a full-time head office in 1935 at 399 Spadina Avenue in Toronto (hence the Central Region was sometimes called simply the Toronto Office). The office later moved to 265 Spadina Avenue. JIAS Toronto’s board of directors met on a regular basis at different locations in Toronto, including 206 Beverley Street and in the Talmud Torah building at 9 Brunswick Avenue. The first JIAS Toronto board included notable Toronto residents such as Henry Dworkin, Mrs. Draiman, Mr. Kronick, Dr. Brodey and Mrs. Willinsky. The role of the board was to oversee the operations of the Central Region. It rendered decisions on issues relating to finances, procedures and policies, negotiations with the federal Immigration Branch, as well as individual cases that required their attention.

General meetings of the Central Region membership were held annually. The 1943 JIAS constitution states that regional annual meetings were to be held for “receiving and considering reports,” holding nominations and elections for the executive, and discussing JIAS’s program and policies.

In the post-war era, JIAS shifted its focus to renewed efforts on behalf of individual claimants and community support, while the focus for lobbying for a reversal of Canada's immigration policy fell increasingly under the jurisdiction of the CJC. A boom in immigration between 1947 and 1952 saw the arrival of large numbers of Jewish immigrants to all parts of Canada and the Toronto Office of JIAS renewed its efforts to meet the needs of this new influx. Major world events also sparked other waves of immigration from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, North Africa, and Russia, to which JIAS responded in turn. JIAS worked in conjunction with other immigrant aid societies such as HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, in the United States, to facilitate immigration to the United States, and later to Israel, where many of the immigrants and refugees coming to Canada had family and ultimately settled.

Custodial History

Custody of these records was transferred to the Ontario Jewish Archives by JIAS in 1983, as preparations were under way for the move to a new facility in North York. Much of the material was in four-cubic-foot boxes and in file cabinets.

The accession was divided into three sections: files which were at the JIAS office and had been retained in their original order; files which had been retrieved from a flood in the basement of 152 Beverley St. and consequently had been thrown into dry boxes without regard to order; files discovered in the furnace rooms at 150 and 152 Beverley St., intact but covered in coal dust. The bulk of the records were stored off-site, with dirty files being isolated from the rest.

The dust-covered materials were cleaned at an off-site location, placed in temporary boxes and transferred to the Archives and restored, as far as was possible, to their original order.

Clips were removed and replaced as appropriate with archivally acceptable ones. All materials were transferred to acid-free folders and boxes.

Scope and Content

Fonds contains the records of the Toronto Office (Central region) of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada. The fonds consists primarily of textual records: minutes, correspondence, financial records, reports, immigration files, naturalization case files, social service case files and the records of attempts to trace missing individuals. There are also photographs of special events, speakers and arriving immigrants.

The fonds represents an important resource for the study of Canadian Jewry, especially when taken in conjunction with the JIAS National Office records at the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives in Montreal, and those of the Western Office at the Library and Archives of Canada. It documents the means by which a particular Canadian ethnic community has dealt with the problems of rescue, settlement and government relations. These records also offer insight into the relationship between the Toronto Office and the other branches of JIAS, and invite comparison with similar agencies in the United States, as well as those of other ethnic groups in Canada.

The material collected includes information about the countries of origin, transportation routes, settlement and employment patterns of Jewish immigrants to Canada in the twentieth century. The documents also touch upon important related issues such as advocacy, sponsorship, admission processes, health and social problems.

These records cover several waves of immigration following the Second World War: Holocaust survivors in the late 1940s, Sephardic (North African) and Hungarian Jews in the 1950s, Russian and Czechoslovakian Jews in the 1960s, and additional Russians in the 1970s.

The records also contain significant information for those researchers looking to conduct genealogical research into Jewish immigrants and their descendents.

The fonds has been arranged with one sous-fonds, which contains the records of the National JIAS office in Montreal. In total there are 17 series. The Toronto office (main fonds) series are: 1. Board of Directors and Executive Committee Minutes; 2. Annual meeting proceedings; 3. Reports; 4. Legal ; 5. Administration; 6. JIAS Committees; 7. External committees; 8. Financial ; 9. Arrivals; 10. Immigration case files; 11. Social service assistance case files; 12. Photographs; 13. Miscellaneous. The National Office sous-fonds is divided into the following series: 1. National executive meeting minutes; 2. National annual meeting proceedings; 3. National annual reports; 4. Publications; and Photographs.

Notes

Physical description note: Physical extent is based on fully processed records. Additional accessions are not included (see Related Material note below).

Associated material note: The CJC National Archive, in Montreal, has additional JIAS records from 1920-1989 including 275 m of textual records and graphic materials (3250 photos): collection number I0037; alpha-numeric designation MA 4. The National Archives of Canada, Manitoba branch, in Winnipeg, has Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada JIAS textual records from 1923-1950 on 18 microfilm reels: Former archival reference number MG28-V114 (no replacement listed). The originals of these records are maintained by the Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada.

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

Other OJA records relating to JIAS may be found in the following accessions: 1979-9-5; 1988-5-2; 1991-10-5; 2006-3-11.

Creator

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto

Accession Number

1983-8-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Hillel Foundation, University of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

65

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

architectural drawing

Date

1945-1988

Physical Description

3.72 m of textual records, graphic material and architectural drawings

Admin History/Bio

The B’nai Brith Hillel Foundation was founded at the University of Illinois in 1923 by Rabbi Benjamin Frankel. The University of Toronto chapter was established in 1946, by which point there were over one thousand Jewish undergraduates at the university. Hillel’s mandate was to foster students’ Jewish identity, creating a religious, cultural, and communal environment and coordinating the activities of many affiliated sub-groups. Hillel was supported by the B’nai Brith Foundation and the United Jewish Welfare Fund (later the Toronto Jewish Congress), with increasing operational funding from the latter as the decades passed.

Hillel’s predecessor at the University of Toronto was the Menorah Society, founded in 1917 and disbanded in 1931 due to waning interest. In 1944 the Jewish Student Fellowship was formed, and on January 23, 1946 it was transformed into the University of Toronto B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation.

Hillel chapters were run with the guidance of a professional appointed by the B’nai Brith Hillel Foundations at American and Canadian Universities. During the period covered by this fonds, U of T Hillel had four directors: Rabbi Aaron Kamerling (director 1946-1970), Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezri (1970-1971), Ben Mayer (1971-1978), and Gerry Fisher (1978-1981). The director answered to a board of advisors, drawn from the university and Jewish communities, that was responsible for maintaining Hillel House, overseeing staffing, and representing the foundation to the public. Early chairmen of this board included Edward E. Gelber, Jack D. Pearlstein, Cyril Houser, Dr. Alexander Lipson, Sidney Midanik, and E. M. Sprackman.

At the day-to-day operations level, Hillel was run by an elected council of thirteen students under the director’s guidance. At U of T, the Hillel student council created and implemented a yearly program, edited the literary magazine and Hillelite bulletin, and over the years maintained the following standing committees: religious; cultural; house; social; publicity; art, music and drama; United Jewish Appeal; debates; membership; and seminar. The council met monthly and was required to call general meetings bi-monthly.

Hillel’s first administrative offices were at 492 Spadina Avenue, with programs held in various locations, including the B’nai Brith Youth Organization space at 750 Spadina Avenue, and local synagogues. From the beginning, Hillel joined forces with the B’nai Brith Youth Organization to raise funds for a permanent home on campus for Hillel. Programs in the early years included Shabbat services and lectures, arts performances, dances, personal counseling, and courses such as Jewish literature and Hebrew. Three times a year Hillel published the Scribe, a literary magazine addressing topics of Jewish heritage, life, and prominent figures. This was replaced in the 1950s by an annual magazine named Reflections. The Hillelite bulletin informed members of activities and events. Hillel continued to build the Judaica collection of its Norman Raitblat Memorial Library. It also sent delegates each year to the Hillel Summer Institute in New York State; the Brandeis Camp Institute, a leadership training program sponsored by the American Zionist Youth Commission; and, beginning in 1948, the Inter-Hillel Conference, which was hosted alternately by Queen’s University, McGill University, and U of T.

In 1950, Hillel acquired a house at 186 St. George Street. Hillel House was formally dedicated at Convocation Hall on January 21, 1951. In December 1977 Hillel House was destroyed by fire, after which its offices were moved to space in the YMHA building at Bloor and Spadina. Programs were hosted for several years at ‘The Lower East Side’ in the Newman Centre at 89 St. George Street. In June 1979 Hillel acquired office space in a house at 604 Spadina Avenue.

In the 1970s Hillel’s numbers across North America were in decline. In 1974 the Jewish student population at U of T was approximately 3000, but only 400 were registered members. This slump was apparently reversed by the end of the decade, however, when student interest grew enough that a general council of forty students was established to supplement the elected student council (steering committee). 1970s programs included conventions and retreats, United Jewish Appeal fundraising campaigns, a Shabbat co-op, a choir, the Coffeehouse lounge, a film series, a music club, a library society, an annual Purim Bash, an art festival, and counseling groups.

Hillel also served as the voice of Jewish students at the university. The U of T chapter participated in the fight against quotas for Jewish students and faculty, advocated for kosher food availability on campus, and was successful in persuading the university to avoid having examinations on Jewish holidays. In addition, Hillel often represented the views of the Jewish community to the general student population. It has been involved in the dissemination of Holocaust awareness material and in counteracting propaganda against Israel.

In 1970, partnering with the Jewish Student Federation of York University, Hillel established the Free Jewish University. Its courses were held on the U of T and York campuses and featured free courses covering a range of intellectual, personal and practical topics. Also in conjunction with York, Hillel published Or monthly newspaper and the Masada quarterly magazine. The latter evolved into a non-partisan newspaper, Migdal, which in turn became Images in the early 1980s. In addition, the Jewish Students’ Enquirer was published monthly, a joint publication of Jewish students at U of T, York University, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, and Seneca College.

In 1978, with a view to modernize and reinvigorate its image, Hillel changed its name to the Jewish Students’ Union–B’nai Brith Hillel. The decision involved some contention with the Hillel advisory board, and reflected a closer association with the Toronto Jewish Congress. A third unofficial organization name, J.U.S.T. (Jewish University Students of Toronto), was used for the monthly newsletter, J.U.S.T. News. This newsletter was briefly renamed The Rolling Scribe before being discontinued in 1980.

The 1980s saw Hillel coordinating the efforts and activities of a large number of interest groups: Student United Jewish Appeal, Toronto Student Zionists, Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, Jewish Residence Council, Jewish Studies Course Union, Student Mobilization for Jews in Arab Lands, Moadon Aliyah, Canadian Branch: North American Jewish Students Network, and Israeli Students Organization. Hillel is now represented on three Toronto universities and three college campuses.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists mainly of textual records created, received and maintained by Hillel directors from 1945 through 1988. The records document the directors’ administration and programming activities, Hillel events, and relations with outside organizations. The most concentrated set of records are those of Rabbi Kamerling from the 1940s and 1950s. The fonds is comprised of correspondence, memoranda, reports, newspapers and newsletters, publicity material, calendars of events, financial records, event programmes, and catalogues. There are blueprints of the proposed extension to Hillel House in the 1960s, the mid-1970s renovations, and the new Hillel House on Huron Street considered in 1978. The fonds also includes annual reports for 1953-1955 and 1960-1970, and a number of publications (incomplete sets): the Hillelite and the Hillel Scribe from the 1940s, the J.U.S.T. (Jewish University Students of Toronto) News, its successor The Rolling Scroll, and newspapers Masada, Migdal, Reflections, Or, and the Jewish Students’ Enquirer.

The fonds contains 130 photographs, predominantly black and white, in the form of prints, contact sheets and 35mm negatives. Aside from 32 head shots of speakers and performers from 1950s events, the photographs date from the 1970s. There are images of plays, meetings, special events, and executive members.

Fonds is arranged with each director’s files separate and in approximate alphabetical order by file name. The files are loosely based on subject/function, likely as they were originally created. Rabbi Kamerling’s records are in two groups since they were acquired in two accessions (see note below).

Notes

Availability of other formats: A small amount of material has been digitized.

Name Access

B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation at the University of Toronto

Related Material

See MG 9 for a more complete run of publications with which Hillel was involved (eg. Midgal, Images).

Arrangement

Processing of the collection maintained each director’s files separate and in their original order. Following the Hillel House fire in 1978, Rabbi Kamerling’s records (1945-1955) were acquired by the Archives. In 1986, additional Kamerling files were acquired (1946-1970). These overlapping sets of records were described and processed separately.

Creator

B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1978-3-7

1981-5-2

1988-11-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Ben Kayfetz fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

62

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1919-2001

Physical Description

93 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born on December 24, 1916 in Toronto, graduating from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a B.A. in modern languages. Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. In 1943, he joined the war effort, working for the Department of National Defense in Postal Censorship and was responsible for reviewing prisoner of war mail. After the war, Kayfetz traveled to British Occupied Germany where he worked as a censor of telecommunications with the Control Commission until 1947.

Upon returning to Toronto, he was hired as the National Director of Community Relations by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), and as the Executive (National) Director of the Joint Community Relations Committee (JCRC), a CJC - B'nai B'rith cooperative organization. He also served as the Central Region Executive Director of the CJC between 1973 and 1978. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups to develop anti-discrimination laws and for the protection of minority and religious rights. Kayfetz was also actively involved in promoting the welfare of Jewish Communities worldwide, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985, to study and report on the state of these Jewish Communities. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote Human Rights, he was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1986.

In addition to his professional activities, Kayfetz wrote articles for various Jewish publications under both his own name and the pseudonym, Gershon B. Newman, and gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), Canadian Jewish Historical Society and Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died in 2002.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of materials produced or acquired by Ben Kayfetz in both his personal and professional capacity. It includes biographical materials, minutes, correspondence, recorded CJC and JCRC meetings, memorabilia, transcripts and recorded versions of CHIN radio broadcasts he delivered, as well as various interviews, speeches, articles, book reviews and works he composed. Fonds also consists of minutes, agendas and other records of various Yiddish and historical associations Mr. Kayfetz was involved in.

Notes

Physical Description note: includes 20 photographs, 107 audio cassettes, 1 Beta video cassette and 1 object.

Fonds includes audio tapes 1-5, 7-32, 35-37, 39-42, 44-45, 47-50, 53-56, 58-64, 66-67, 70-85, A1-A5, A7-A9, A12-A14, A16-A20, A23-A28, A30, A32-A38 and A40-A43.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Ben, 1916-2002

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

Audio tapes AC 246-AC 275 belonged to Ben Kayfetz and are related to this fonds.

Creator

Kayfetz, Ben, 1916-2002

Accession Number

1975-012, 1976-10-4, 1980-12-13, 1982-2-2, 1983-6-2, 1985-4-2, 1987-2-3, 1996-5-4, 1998-3-22, 2000-11-4, 2004-3-1, 2004-5-20, 2006-2-9, 2006-8-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

64

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1859-1980, predominant 1977-1979

Physical Description

ca. 5178 photographs and other material

Admin History/Bio

The “Shuls Project” was the work of three University of Toronto architecture students, who in 1977 wrote a research paper on the eight Toronto synagogues built before World War II. Concerned at the lack of resources on these synagogues, Sidney Tenenbaum, Lynn Milstone and Sheldon Levitt foresaw the loss of communities’ recorded history as membership dwindled and elders passed on. The students conceived a project that would photograph and document every synagogue in Canada, gathering visual evidence, memorabilia, plaques and stories before they disappeared and history was lost. The students’ goal was to document synagogues’ architecture, art, and historical development through research, interviews and site visits.

The students secured a large portion of the required funding for the project from the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in Montreal, funding which was matched by the Canadian Jewish Congress. This financial support enabled Levitt, Milstone and Tenenbaum to begin their study, named “Shuls… A Study of Canadian Synagogue Architecture.” They began in the summer of 1977, traveling through the Western provinces. The next summer, they visited eight Maritime cities, Montreal and other Quebec communities. Financial support in the project’s second year was again provided by the Bronfman Family Foundation, along with the Canadian government and donations in kind from businesses, including Benjamin Photo Finishers in Toronto, and Polaroid. The summer of 1979 was spent in Ontario, with an added grant from Wintario. In total, the Shuls project team traveled over 24,000 kilometres, taking thousands of photographs and conducting several hundred interviews. Photographs were taken by Tenenbaum, with Levitt and Milstone assuming primary responsibility for researching synagogues’ history and gathering historic records. Interviews were conducted by all three researchers, in both English and Yiddish.

With no handy index of every shul in Canada, the researchers located small shuls by word of mouth. They spread word of their project and solicited assistance using press releases, letters to known communities, and slideshow presentations as they traveled. They would first examine a building to get an idea of a community’s character and heritage, then conduct interviews with designers, architects, rabbis and other prominent community members.

With the research and photographs created, the team compiled three catalogues of the Western, Eastern/Quebec, and Ontario phases of the project. These catalogues have entries on each synagogue that include historical summaries highlighting the founding, growth, mergers and decline of Jewish communities, their changing needs, changing architectural expressions and trends, and the evolving uses of synagogues over the course of the twentieth century. There are also building descriptions, some with critical comments by the authors, and lists of the photographs and slides produced.

The compilation of materials and preparation of these catalogues took place at the Project’s offices at 26 Ava Road in Toronto, and continued through the summer of 1980 when the Ontario catalogue was completed. In 1985, Tenenbaum, Milstone and Levitt published a book highlighting their work, called Treasures of a People: The Synagogues of Canada.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records created and collected by the team of students conducting the Shuls study from 1977 to 1980. The majority of the fonds is made up of graphic material, in the form of 35mm colour slides and black-and-white Polaroid prints and (print-size) negatives. There are approximately 5110 photographs in the fonds. Fonds also consists of notes and inventory forms of buildings' architectural features. There are no interview transcripts, but the fonds does include three audio cassettes with recorded interviews and shul tours. Reference materials used in researching the history of the shuls include dedication and anniversary commemorative books and programmes, newsletters, articles and newspaper clippings. In addition the fonds contains 47 blueprints, the majority from Montreal synagogues. The fonds is arranged in the following series: 1. Quebec synagogues; 2. Ontario synagogues; 3. Western Canada synagogues; 4. Eastern Canada synagogues; 5. Reference.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 92 cm of textual records, 42 architectural drawings, 3 audio cassettes, and 1 drawing.

Physical extent note: many of the slides were culled because they were felt to be reproductions. Some of the synagogue images in the research book may therefore not be included in the fonds.

Name Access

Shuls Project

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

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

Creator

Levitt, Sheldon

Milstone, Lynn

Tenenbaum, Sidney T.

Places

Canada

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Samuel Posluns fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

70

Material Format

cartographic material

graphic material

textual record

Date

1925-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

91 photographs : b&w ; 25 x 20 cm or smaller

1 map : 46 x 65 cm

Admin History/Bio

Samuel Posluns (1910–1994) was born in Toronto to Abraham Isaac Poslaniec (1870–1922) and Sheindel Saltzman (1872–1960). He had three brothers and three sisters: Joseph, Louis, Abe, Gertrude Miriam, Anne, and Sarah. His father, Abraham, established the family-run clothing firm Superior Cloak Company in 1916. In 1934, it was bankrupted and closed after a lengthy strike. In 1936, Samuel opened his own business, Popular Cloak Company. In 1967, the Posluns family purchased Tip Top Tailors, in partnership with entrepreneur Jimmy Kay. A year later they incorporated their new venture under the name of Dylex as a holding company for the Tip Top chain of stores.

During the Second World War, Samuel Posluns served as a member of the air force reserves. After the war, he was elected president of the United Jewish Welfare Fund in 1947. That same year, in collaboration with the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Jewish Labour Committee, Posluns helped lead the Tailor Project along with Max E. Enkin, which was aimed at helping Jewish displaced persons immigrate to Canada by securing them employment as tailors. A committed advocate for Jewish education, Posluns also served as the first president and founding chair of the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) in 1949. He remained honorary president for life and continued to attend meetings until health problems held back his participation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Posluns was also a founding board member of the North York General Hospital.

Samuel Posluns died in Toronto in 1994.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records related to the Posluns family and their clothing business, Popular Cloak Company. The records include correspondence, financial records, periodicals and newsletters, photographs, certificates and personal identification. The fonds also includes textual documents and photos documenting Samuel Posluns' involvement in the Tailor Project.

Name Access

Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)

Canadian Jewish Congress

Enkin, Max E.

Jewish Labour Committee

Popular Cloak Company

Posluns, Samuel, 1910-1994

Subjects

Clothing trade

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Immigrants--Canada

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Creator

Posluns, Samuel, 1910-1994

Places

Germany

Accession Number

1997-7-6

2004-5-79

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Beta Sigma Rho Fraternity fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

73

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1937-1994, predominant 1937-1972

Physical Description

12 cm of textual records

2 scrapbooks

Admin History/Bio

The Beta Sigma Rho fraternity was founded in 1910 at Cornell University in Ithica, New York by four Jewish veterinary students who were unable to obtain membership in existing fraternities because of their religion. Originally named Beta Samach, the purpose of the fraternity was to promote fraternal spirit and good fellowship among its members, to diffuse a liberal culture, to advance scholarship, and to further equity in college affairs. Although not formally stated in its constitution, the fraternity also served a social function allowing its members to develop friendships and to take part in social events, such as dances.

The fraternity began to expand nationally in 1914, and in 1920 the fraternity’s name was changed to Beta Sigma Rho. The fraternity expanded into Ontario in 1930 with the Eta Chapter at the University of Toronto. In 1944 a second Canadian chapter was opened at the University of Western Ontario, known as the Iota Chapter.

Membership in Beta Sigma Rho began to decline in the late 1960s, and in 1972 its national office merged with the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity for financial assistance. The chapter at Pennsylvania State University chose not to take part in the merger and became an independent fraternity under the new name Beta Sigma Beta.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities and history of the Beta Sigma Rho fraternity. The records are arranged into two series documenting the history of the fraternity's head chapter and Toronto's Eta Chapter. Included in the fonds are programmes from dinner-dances, shows and conventions, recruitment pamphlets, scrapbooks, newsletters, and an historical manuscript.

Notes

Information for History/Bio obtained from "An Introduction to Beta Sigma Rho" found in this fonds.

Some records were previously arranged as MG2 P1L.

Name Access

Beta Sigma Rho Fraternity (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Greek letter societies

Physical Condition

Scrapbooks are fragile.

Creator

Beta Sigma Rho Fraternity (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-11-2

1976-12-4

2004-5-83

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Catharines, Ontario fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

76

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1949-1999

Physical Description

66 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

In 1909, the congregation legally adopted the name Chavra B’nai Israel and R. J. Hoffman became the first president. Services were held at a variety of different homes, including those of Mr. Barnett and Mr. Zalavinsky.

After the synagogue was left a large bequest in 1917 by the Friedman family, the congregation decided to purchase the house that it had been renting earlier for $3,500. The partitions between the rooms were removed to construct the sanctuary. It still continued to house the Hebrew school and provide living accommodations for the teacher and shochtim.

Due to the expansion of the community after the First World War, the house became too small to accommodate the congregation. The community therefore began to plan for a new building. The Building Committee accepted a design submitted by Nicholson & McBeth and the shul was built by the Newman Brothers. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 14, 1924. Once the synagogue was completed, a larger ceremony took place in July 1925. Services were conducted according to Orthodox tradition and membership at that time was about 30 families.

The congregation adopted a constitution in 1945. The synagogue remained affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Mixed seating emerged during the later years of the decade; however, Orthodox rabbis continued to serve the synagogue for years to come.

In 1981, the synagogue was incorporated as a charitable and religious organization. It also joined the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism organization. At this time, membership began to decline and they were barely able to maintain a minyan for daily and Friday night services.

In May 2002, B’nai Israel celebrated the 100th anniversary of the community. The celebration included an extended Shabbat service featuring Cantor Howard Shalowitz from New York, followed by a gala dinner on Saturday night with entertainment by the Toronto band Bais Groove.

Custodial History

The records were donated by individuals who were members of the synagogue as well as Congregation B'nai Israel from 1976 until 2009.

Scope and Content

The records document the activities of Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Catharines, Ontario. The material consists of textual, graphic, architectural and electronic records.

The fonds include bulletins, board of governors meeting minutes and reports, anniversary books, correspondence, sisterhood records, financial statements, constitutional documents, committee reports, building plans, Hebrew school materials and other items.

Photo identification:

001. Hebrew school graduating class, 1962. Top row, from left to right: Michael Mandel, Rabbi Dr. Israel Freedman, David Cooperman, Jerry Uretsky. Bottom row, from left to right: Peter Cooperman, Bruce Nepan, Marilyn Granek, Lorraine Tator, Linda Sherman, Rick Uretsky, Howard Slepkov.

002. 1974 bar mitzvah class. Eden Orvitz, Jocques Kesselman, Kevin Semson, Mr. Leo Possen, Ross Metzer, Larry Ritchie, Auby Fenig, Leslie Goldford.

003. B’nai Brith Cub Scouts, Fall 1959. B’nai Israel Scout and Cub Pack. This photo was taken as the Troop prepared for a parade in honour of Baden Powell’s birthday.

004. Synagogue board. Top row, from left to right: Harry Offstein, Harry Rubin, Eddie Offstein, Max Silver, Harry Tomarin, Martin Revzin, Jack Engel. Bottom row, from left to right: Ben Fruitman, Dave Katzman, Jacob Cooperman, Joseph Halperin, Saul Granek.

005: Unveiling of Holocaust monument in St. Catharines, Ontario, ca. 1960s. Standing in foreground from left: Herman Majerowitz, Leo Posen, Rabbi Freedman, Jacob Jacobs. Standing centre, behind Rabbi Freedman is Rabbi Joseph Ben David.

Notes

Physical Description Note: Includes 25 photographs (jpg), 8 architectural drawings (jpg), and 1 document (jpg).

Name Access

Congregation B'nai Israel (St. Catharines, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Physical Condition

Records are in good condition.

Arrangement

The records are arranged at the file level by function.

Creator

Congregation B'nai Israel (St. Catharines, Ont.)

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Accession Number

1976-7-9; 2004-2-4; 2004-2-9; 2004-5-91; 2008-9-1; 2009-8-2; 2009-8-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Patricia Joy Alpert fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

77

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

Date

[ca. 1907]-2001, predominant 1990-2001

Physical Description

1.2 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Patricia Joy Alpert (1931-2001) was an internationally-acclaimed artist, teacher, and dynamic community leader, most notably serving as national president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO from 1996 to 1999. Pat was born in Toronto in 1931 to parents Oscar and Gertrude Pattenick. Oscar Pattenick, the son of Benjamin Pattenick and Pauline Goldenberg, was born in 1892 in Galicia and immigrated to Canada with his brother as a young man. The brothers ran a retail clothing business that expanded to several locations around Ontario, including Toronto and Bowmanville. Oscar married Gertrude Breslin (1896-1988) in 1917. She was one of fourteen children of Hyman Breslin and Sarah Pearl Papernick and had been raised in Toronto. Together the couple raised three children: Bernard (Boon), and twin girls Patricia and Pearl.

Pat and her sister showed artistic talent from an early age. After graduating from Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Pat enrolled at the University of Miami and graduated with a BA in art history in 1956. She started her career as a designer and display artist at the Simpson department store, doing freelance artwork and volunteering at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Pat married Herbert S. Alpert in 1958 and they had two daughters, Lisa and Nancy. Pat went back to school at Toronto Teacher's College and then taught kindergarten for eleven years for the North York Board of Education. She also earned a supervisor's art certificate and taught art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, North York Public Library, and Associated Hebrew Schools. Her artistic career took off in the 1970s, when her drawings were exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around North America. She typically drew human figures using ink.

Pat Alpert’s volunteer work began soon after her marriage, when she joined Toronto's Carmel chapter of Hadassah as a way to make new friends. In 1983, she became president of Toronto Hadassah-WIZO, serving until 1985. She continued with Toronto Hadassah as vice-president and corresponding secretary. Pat was deeply committed to Jewish life and to the State of Israel. Choosing Hadassah as the focus of her passion, she left her professional career in the 1990s to become a full-time volunteer. She served as chair of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Foundation, vice-president of National Hadassah, national president from 1996 to 1999 and president of Toronto Jewish National Fund from 1992 to 1994. Pat also held positions for Israel Bonds, Jewish Women’s Federation, B’nai Brith League for Human Rights, the Holocaust Centre of Toronto, Baycrest Women’s Auxiliary and board of governors, and Reena Foundation. Pat Alpert died on October 4, 2001, at the age of seventy.

Custodial History

Donated by Herbert Alpert in late 2001 or early 2002. No documentation for this donation could be found when it was assigned an accession number in October 2002 during an inventory of the vault. Pat Alpert's daughter Nancy Spring was contacted in 2009 to sign a deed of gift.

Scope and Content

Fonds contains records documenting Patricia Joy Alpert's personal, professional and volunteer-related activities. The records include textual material, photographs, and a sound recording of a radio show announcing an exhibit of Alpert's work. The records of Alpert's professional career as an artist and a teacher are comprised of curriculum vitae and brief biographies, exhibit records and correspondence. Samples of Alpert's drawings are included, dating from the 1940s to the 1970s. The records relating to Alpert's community leadership include a large number of speeches, clippings, articles, correspondence, cards and letters, meeting minutes, and unique diary entries meticulously detailing Hadassah business, conversations and controversies. There are minutes from the following entities: Hadassah National Officers, Hadassah National Executive Board, World WIZO Executive and Canadian Hadassah Foundation. Other organizations represented in the records include the Jewish National Fund, Baycrest Women’s Auxiliary, Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation, and State of Israel Bonds.

The personal records in the fonds include letters written by Pat to Herbert when he was working in England during parts of 1968-1970, letters exchanged between Pat and her daughters when the girls were at camp in 1971 and 1973, and a collection of clippings spanning twenty years in which Alpert appears. As well, there is a notebook of Pat's Torah observations, thoughts and quotations. The personal series also contains records of Gertrude Pattenick's: a handwritten homemaker's guide and recipe book, ca. 1907, and several letters exchanged between Gertrude and Oscar before and during their marriage. One file contains the obituary of Gertrude and the condolences received by Pat.

There are approximately 3175 photographs (218 negs and 45 slides) in the fonds. These are of Hadassah conferences and annual conventions, meetings, social events, Hadassah projects in Israel (contact sheets) and images of Alpert's drawings. Many of the photographs were originally in four scrapbooks Alpert created: three to highlight the events of her Hadassah presidency and one she titled "Important Moments" that spans the 1980s and 1990s. The scrapbook files (in box 3) contain photographs, clippings and a number of event programs. The photographs include images of Alpert at special events and conventions, as a speaker, meeting people, socializing and travelling in Israel and to international Hadassah events around the world.

The poster in the fonds is for an event organized by the Women's Auxiliary of Baycrest Centre in 1981, the second annual Camerata concert and gala reception.

The fonds is arranged in 6 series: 1. Personal; 2. Professional; 3. Toronto Hadassah; 4. Hadassah-WIZO Canada; 5. Jewish National Fund; 5. Hadassah-WIZO of Canada Foundation; Other organizations.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes ca. 3175 photographs (218 negatives and 45 slides), 1 cassette tape and 1 poster.

Name Access

Alpert, Patricia Joy, 1931-2001

Hadassah-WIZO Organization of Canada (Subject)

Subjects

Artists

Teachers

Volunteers

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Arrangement

The arrangement of the fonds was constructed by the archivist. The scrapbooks were taken apart and the captions for each event provided the titles for the files.

Creator

Alpert, Patricia Joy, 1931-2001

Accession Number

2002-10-65

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Ellis I. and Fanny Shapiro fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

94

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1947-1995

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

6 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Ellis Irving Litch Shapiro (1905-2002) was born in Toronto to Annie and Joseph Shapiro. In 1934 he married Fanny Enushevsky (1910-1991) originally from Guelph, and had two children: Elaine (Glassman) and Barry. Ellis was very involved in the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto fundraising campaigns, as United Jewish Appeal campaign co-chairman. He also held positions in several other organizations, particularly during the 1930s to the 1960s. He was chairman of the Beth Tzedec Board of Governors, first vice-president of YM-YWHA, and chairman of the New Building Committee, president of the Jewish Camp Council of Toronto, president of B'nai Brith Toronto Lodge, president of Goel Tzedec Men's Club, and president of the first Combined Board of Goel Tzedec and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Synagogue. He was on the executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, on the Budget Committee of United Jewish Appeal of Toronto, treasurer of the Northwood Golf and Country Club, and a member of the Primrose Club. He was also noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) in Guelph, Ontario. Ellis' father and grandfather were founders of Goel Tzedec Synagogue on University Avenue in Toronto.

In 1930 Ellis founded, along with his partner Max B. Ennis, the Dominion Gasket and Manufacturing Company Ltd., of which he was president. He was also president of Faul and Timmins Incorporated, Buffalo.

Fanny was similarly involved with community organizations and held various positions on the auxiliary boards of the Jewish Home for the Aged, Baycrest Hospital, and the New Mount Sinai Hospital. She was also on the board of the Jewish Camp Council and the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home, on the executive of Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, and B'nai Brith Women. She was co-president of the UJWF Women's Service Council and campaign co-chairman of the United Jewish Appeal Women's Division.

Custodial History

Records were donated by Elaine Glassman, the daughter of Ellis I. and Fanny Shapiro.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual and graphic material relating to Ellis I. and Fanny Shapiro and their involvement with the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto fundraising campaigns. Included are congratualatory letters and cards, certificates, reports, meeting invites, agendas and minutes, UJWF correspondence and memoranda, a UJWF Women's Service Council constitution (1956), newpaper clippings and six photographs.

Name Access

Shapiro, Ellis I., 1905-2002

Shapiro, Fanny, 1910-1991

Subjects

Fund raising

Physical Condition

2 photographs have suffered water damage and are in poor condition.

Creator

Shapiro, Ellis I., 1905-2002

Shapiro, Fanny, 1910-1991

Accession Number

2005-8-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Philip Givens fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

51

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[192-]-1990

Physical Description

1.35 metres of textual records (20 vols.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

Philip (Phil) Gerald Givens, QC, (1922–1995) was a Canadian politician, judge, police commissioner, and active Jewish communal leader. He is is largely remembered as the fifty-fourth mayor of Toronto.

Phil Givens was born in Toronto, the only son of Hyman and Mary Gevertz (Gewercz). As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the University of Toronto in political science and economics in 1945. In 1947, he married the former Minnie “Min” Rubin. They had two children together: Eleanor and Michael.

Givens graduated as a lawyer from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1949; however, shortly thereafter, he decided to enter politics, running as a municipal school board trustee in 1950. In 1951, he was elected as alderman for Ward 5, serving in this capacity until 1960, when he was subsequently elected as a controller.

Givens was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1962.

Following the sudden death of Mayor David Summerville in 1963, Givens was appointed by City Council as the mayor of Toronto and was officially elected to the position in 1964, winning a close race against Allan Lamport. As mayor, Givens was automatically a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Executive and Council, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, the Consumer’s Gas Company Executive, the Toronto Hydro Commission and the governing boards of Toronto’s major hospitals.

Givens was publicly seen as an affable and populist mayor, but his tenure was not without controversy. His support for the construction of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and his decision to acquire Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture The Archer for the new Nathan Phillips Square were both highly controversial during his term in office. In particular, the Moore sculpture sparked intense controversy and public debate amongst council members and citizens alike, because traditional and representational public art pieces were the norm in Toronto at the time and The Archer sculpture was considered expensive, bold, and unrelatable. The controversy surrounding the statue’s purchase was still partly to blame for Givens’ 1966 election defeat to William Dennison. Ultimately, the sculpture was purchased with privately solicited donations and has become one of Toronto’s beloved and recognized landmarks.

Givens ran for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 and 1958 federal elections but was defeated in his bid to become member of Parliament for Spadina. In 1967, Givens entered national politics for the second time, winning a seat as a Liberal in Toronto’s York West riding. In 1971, he stepped down before the end of his term to campaign for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Again, running under the Liberal banner, Givens won his seat in York-Forest Hill. In the 1975 provincial election, he was re-elected as a member of Provincial Parliament in the Armourdale constituency.

In 1977, Givens retired from politics and was appointed as a provincial court judge and chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, serving in both capacities until 1985, when he left the Commission but continued in the judiciary as a civil trial judge until officially retired from public life in 1988.

In addition to his political career, Givens also worked briefly as a current affairs commentator for local radio broadcaster CHUM 1050 AM.

Givens was an ardent Zionist and a prominent leader of several Jewish communal organizations. He was the founder and first president of the Upper Canada Lodge of B’nai Brith and sat on the executives of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim, the Zionist Organization of Canada, the Toronto Zionist Council, Jewish National Fund, State of Israel Bonds, and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was chair of the United Israel Appeal-Israel Emergency Fund in 1967 and the United Jewish Appeal-Israel Special Fund in 1968. From 1973 to 1985, he was the national president of the Canadian Zionist Federation. In the 1990s, he served as the national chairman of the Committee for Yiddish of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Givens was the honouree of the Jewish National Fund’s Negev Dinner in 1968. He received the Human Relations Award from the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews in 1969 and the Award of Honour from the Toronto Regional Council of B’nai Brith in 1972.

Givens was also known to be a passionate sailor and was a member of both the Royal Canadian and the Island Yacht Clubs in Toronto.

Custodial History

The records were in the possession of Phil Givens until they were donated to the Archives in September 1990 by his wife.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the personal, professional and communal activities of Phil Givens. The bulk of the material is graphic and most of the photographs relate to his tenure as Mayor of Toronto and to his Jewish communal work. The records also include general correspondence, speeches, campaign material, scrapbooks, cartoons, certificates and awards, biographical writings, audio and visual materials and artifacts. The records have been arranged into nine series representing Givens’ various roles and activities and have been described to the file level and item level when necessary. These series are: 1. Personal life; 2. City of Toronto Alderman; 3. City of Toronto Controller; 4. City of Toronto Mayor; 5. Metropolitan Toronto Police Commissioner; 6. Provincial politics; 7. National politics; 8. Legal career; 9. Jewish communal service.

Notes

Physical Description Note: Includes ca. 915 photographs, 14 drawings, 1 print, 1 presentation piece, 27 objects, 4 DVD’s, 4 videocassettes and 1 audiocassette.

Physical Extent Note: Fonds was reduced from 5.5 m of records to 2.6 m of records. Please see accession record for further details regarding the records that were culled.

General Note: Previously cited as MG6 B

Associated material note: City of Toronto Archives: “Philip Givens fonds” (fonds 1301) and Series 363, Sub-series 2 “Mayor' Office journals” (fonds 200). Library and Archives Canada: “Correspondence and subjects” series (R4942-1-1-E) in the Stuart E. Rosenberg fonds (R4942-0-X-E); Henry S. Rosenberg fonds (R3946-0-9-E); Jewish National Fund of Canada fonds (R4347-0-1-E), “Subject series: Givens, Judge Philip G. – Toronto” (R4347-7-4-E); “Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports” series (MG31-H67), Zdzislaw Przygoda fonds (R6257-0-0-E) [Sir Casimir Gzowski monument committee records –chaired by Phil Givens]; B'nai Brith Canada fonds (R6348-0-9-E); Canadian Zionist Federation fonds (R9377-0-6-E).

Name Access

Givens, Phillip, 1922-1995

Givens (nee Rubin), Min

Subjects

Law

Politicians

Related Material

See Fonds 2: Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

See Fonds 18: Gordon Mendly fonds

See Fonds 28: Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

See Fonds 37: Gilbert Studios fonds (Negev dinners series, Zionist Building series, Portraits series).

Creator

Givens, Philip, 1922-1995

Accession Number

1990-9-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

2

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1898, [192-?]-1997

Physical Description

80 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a successful businessman and president of Tip Top Tailors. He had a distinguished military career in both the Canadian Army during the Second World War and in the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Benjamin was born in Toronto to David Dunkelman (1883–1978) and Rose (née Miller, 1889–1949). He had three sisters and two brothers: Joseph, a movie executive; Ernest, a manufacturer; Zelda; Veronica; and Theodora. His father, David, was a successful entrepreneur who established Tip Top Tailors in 1910. Both David and his wife Rose were fervent Zionists.

Benjamin attended Upper Canada College and, at the age of eighteen, visited Palestine for the first time. While in Palestine, he worked for a year on a kibbutz, mostly as a guard. During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; as major, he gained respect for his knowledge of mortars. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for his role in the final Allied assault on Germany. Two years later, Benjamin returned to Palestine to join the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As a commander, he captured Nazareth and brought northern Galilee under Jewish control. Near the end of the war, he met and married Yael Lifshitz (m. Dunkelman), a corporal in the Israeli army. Benjamin was elected national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada in 1977.

In addition to his work as a soldier, Benjamin was a successful businessman. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father stepped down; he was also director of Colonial Finance Corporation, president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre, and president of Renforth Developments. Besides operating the Dunkelman Gallery, Benjamin and his wife, Yael, ran the Constellation Hotel and Dunkelman’s Restaurant.

Dunkelman later wrote of his experiences in both wars in his autobiography "Dual Allegiance" (published by MacMIllan). As well as the DSO, Dunkelman was awarded the Fighter’s Decoration of the State of Israel (1970), and an Israel Bonds Award Dinner in Tribute to Ben Dunkelman (1977). He was a guest of honour both at a reception hosted by the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (1976) and at a 7th Brigade Reunion in Israel (1991).

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Benjamin Dunkelman's personal, business, and military activities. Included is personal and business correspondence and other records, maps, photographs, news clippings, and scrapbooks assembled by Dunkelman. The bulk of the records relate both to Dunkelman’s autobiography Dual allegiance and to his military career in the Second World War and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Other records relate to his business work with Tip Top Tailors, the Constellation Hotel, Dunkelman’s Restaurant, and the Dunkelman Gallery, as well as to his Zionist actvities, his writing and public speeches, and his personal life.

The fonds is organized into the following series: Personal records and correspondence, Zionist materials, Businesses, Second World War, Arab-Israeli War, Dual Allegiance, and Speeches.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 218 photographs, 60 maps, 7 postcards, 5 architectural drawings, and 3 albums.

Associated material note: see the Ben Dunkelman fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

Name Access

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Subjects

Authors

Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See fonds #39 (Rose Dunkelman fonds).

Creator

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Accession Number

2000-3-4

Source

Archival Descriptions