Part Of
Maurice Solway fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 13
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
Ajalon Lodge fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 72
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
Shirley Baine fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 3
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
Na'amat Canada Toronto fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 130
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Na'amat Canada Toronto fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
130
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
object
Date
[195-]-2018
Physical Description
1.1 m of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Na’amat Canada Toronto is a chapter of Na'amat Canada, a Jewish non-profit volunteer women’s organization whose goal is to improve the lives of women, children, and families in Israel and Canada. Na'amat was founded in 1925 under the name the Women's Organization for the Pioneer Women of Palestine, an organization connecting the labour Zionist movement in Palestine with Jewish communities in Canada and the United States. The need for a women’s organization arose in the context of a feminist movement in which women sought to become equal partners in founding the State of Israel by lobbying for maternity leave laws, the creation of daycare centers near places of employment, and equal-pay legislation.
A Toronto chapter was established in 1948. In 1966, Pioneer Women (Na'amat) became autonomous in Canada, and the next year it incorporated in Canada as Pioneer Women's Organization Incorporated. In 1987, Pioneer Women's Organization Incorporated officially changed its name to Na'amat Canada Inc. The organization’s mission includes safeguarding the status of women and children, responding to humanitarian concerns, promoting Zionism and Jewish identity, and strengthening bonds between Israel and the Diaspora. To accomplish its goals, Na’amat members organize fundraisers, solicit donations, engage in targeted marketing, attract new members, and obtain publicity among other activities.
Na'amat Canada Toronto is governed by a council comprised of volunteers that represent the membership across Toronto. More specifically, the council consists of a Toronto president, a Toronto vice-president, an immediate past president, a Toronto office administrator, a membership committee chair, a fundraising committee chair, club presidents, a communication/technology chair, a Toronto technical consultant, a programming/education chair, a leadership chair, a membership experience person, a membership advisor, a school supplies chair, an Israel Day Festival chair, and Dollars for David co-chairs.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of materials relating to Na'amat Canada Toronto which document the organization's fundraising, educational, and publishing activities in the Toronto area from the 1950s until 2018. The fonds is comprised of the following series: publications, administrative records, fundraising and event ephemera, Na'amat Israel, Na'amat USA, newspaper clippings, and clubs.
Name Access
Na'amat Canada Toronto
Subjects
Charities
Women
Zionism
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.
Creator
Na'amat Canada Toronto
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
2019-3-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2013-11-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-11-1
Material Format
graphic material
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
27 photographs : b&w and col. (26 tiff) ; 21 x 26 cm
1 document (electronic)
Date
1948-[198-], predominant 1948-1968
Scope and Content
Accession consists predominantly of photographs documenting the athletic career and family life of Maurice Strauss. Included are photos of Maurice performing gymnastic stunts and with his family in Belgium prior to coming to Canada, Maurice with his wife and children in Ontario, and shots of Maurice practicing his weightlifting and competing at various locations across Ontario including, the Brunswick Y, the Bloor YMHA (now known as the Miles Nadal Community Centre), and the Northern Y (now the Prosserman Centre on the Sherman campus). Also included are images of Maurice in Israel at the Maccabiah Games and shots of his son, Joel, competing in various weightlifting competitions. Finally, accession also includes a memoir in which Maurice recounts his memories of living in German occupied Belgium during the Second World War.
Identified in the photographs are: Maurice Strauss, Ruth Strauss, Dave Strauss, Daniel Strauss, Joel Strauss, Ida Strauss, Urin Strauss, Helen Strauss, George Chuvalo, Nate Mudrick (?), and Sherwin Desser.
Custodial History
Records were donated by Daniel Strauss, Maurice's son.
Administrative History
Maurice Strauss, a weightlifting champion, was born in Poland in 1929. When he was two, he moved to Brussels with his parents and older sister. A younger brother was born in Brussels. Like his father, Maurice eventually became a tailor. His father made strategic moves to protect the family, such as sending Maurice's sister to work as a maid for a non-Jewish family. Maurice wa able to move around freely by using the papers of a friend who was shot. His youngest brother did not make it out alive: he died of tuberculosis in the concentration camps. Maurice, his sister, and parents came to Toronto in 1929.
Eventually, Maurice opened up Sunny Cleaners at Sunnyside. In 1964, he opened a menswear store at Yonge and Eglinton called Maurice Menswear. He had acumen as a businessman despite his grade seven education. He owned three laundry mat locations
He married Ruth Speigel in 1956. She was from a cultured family. Maurice went on to university, as he felt that this was important. He studied business and French and received an honours degree. He attempted to go to Teachers College but didn't get in. He did, however, received a business degree at the age of fifty-eight. At sixty, he taught at a high school in Etobicoke; he also taught at CHAT.
His weightlifting career began in Brussels. When he came to Toronto, he was at an advantage because of his European training, which was more advanced than Canada's athletic training. When he arrived in Toronto, he worked out at the YMHA on Brunswick and then at the newly opened YMHA at Bloor. He also coached weightlifting there.
The family was raised in Bathurst Manor on Baycrest Avenue, where Maurice bought a home in 1957. Maureice had three sons. While the children grew up, they went to the Bathurst JCC regularly. "It was their religion," according to son Daniel. Son Joel was also a successful weightlifter and participated in the Commonwealth Games.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-12-67
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-12-67
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
4 cm of textual records
Date
1959-1981
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material related to the history of the Jewish Community in London, ON. It includes: a copy of "The Jewish Community of London, Ontario, A Self Survey" issued by the Research Committee Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region, April, 1959, outlining the history from 1861; three copies of "The Organization of the Jewish Community of London" by Alan M. Cohen, 1973, part of a project to advance the systematic study of the structure, functions and behavior of Jewish communities of the contemporary world and was commissioned by The Study of Jewish Community Organiation in 1972; a letter addressed to Alan Maurice Cohen from Lerner & Associates, Barristers & Solicitors, enclosing a copy of the Letters Patent of the London Jewish Community Foundation and a draft By-law No. 1 for its operation and governance.
Name Access
Cohen, Alan Maurice
Places
London, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Maurice Solway fonds
Photographs file
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 13; File 1; Item 16
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Maurice Solway fonds
Photographs file
Level
Item
Fonds
13
File
1
Item
16
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1983]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 25 x 21 cm
Notes
Photo by Tony Hauser.
Black and white print is a copy from a colour negative.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2004-7-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2004-7-2
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 m of textual records
1 microfilm reel
Date
1889-2004, predominant 1950-1980
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual records documenting the Toronto Zionist Council. Included is a microfilm reel of correspondence between the Zionist Organization of Canada and various European offices (1889-1915), reports of the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (1907), correspondence, meeting minutes, Director's reports, daily appointment books, Let the Truth Be Told newsletters, a programe for the 28th regional convention, and a Golden Jubilee dinner program (1957). Also incuded are United Jewish Welfare Fund Board of Directors meeting minutes, and Israel and the Jewish World newsletters (2000-2004).
Also included are four scrapbooks documenting related groups such as the Balfour Club of Young Judaea (1934-1941); Hadassah-WIZO (1941); United Palestine Appeal (1942, 1945) and the Zionist Organization of Canada (1953-1954, 1958).
Custodial History
These records appear to have originated from the Toronto Zionist Council offices on Marlee Ave., but could in fact, be the provenance of the Zionist Organization of Canada, Central Region.
Subjects
Zionism
Name Access
Toronto Zionist Council
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-9-19
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-9-19
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
1983
Scope and Content
Accession consists of an annual review of the Canadian Zionist Federation-Central Region (CZF) including a New Year's message delivered by Judge Philip G. Givens, president of the CZF.
Custodial History
There is no information on the acqusition of this material
Subjects
Zionism
Name Access
Canadian Zionist Federation, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
Places
Toronto, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 590
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
590
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1982
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm
Scope and Content
File consists of two photographs from the Walk with Israel. In one photo, a large group crosses Sheppard Avenue West and proceeds south on Bathurst Street. In the other photo, people approach the registration table. Paul Godfrey is identified.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Godfrey, Paul, 1939-
Subjects
Zionism
Places
Bathurst Street (Toronto, Ont.)
Sheppard Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Mimi Wise fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 16
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
ID
Fonds 23
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
William Stern fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 33
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
ID
Fonds 52
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
David Vanek fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 1
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
Solomon Edell fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 4
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
ID
Fonds 6
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
Part Of
David Pinkus fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 138
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
Morley Torgov fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 108
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
ID
Fonds 111
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
ID
Fonds 113
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
Ralph Hyman fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 35
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
Sadie Stren fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 78
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
Sammy Luftspring fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 82
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
ID
Fonds 83
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
Cowan family fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 102
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
Ben Kayfetz fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 62
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
ID
Fonds 64
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
ID
Fonds 70
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
Philip Givens fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 51
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
ID
Fonds 2
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
Part Of
Brenda Richards fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 26
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Brenda Richards fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
26
Material Format
graphic material
object
textual record
Date
1965-1980
Physical Description
37 photographs and other material
Admin History/Bio
Brenda Richards was born in Toronto, attended Ryerson Public School and Harbord Collegiate, and then enrolled in Central Technical School to study commercial art. Brenda was later employed as an art teacher at Humewoood Public School and continued teaching and assisting until she retired at age 60. Her husband Alfred or "Alf" managed a George Richards men’s clothing store.
Following the death of their 21 year old son, the Richards wished to assist other young men and became involved in the Scouting movement. They became the leaders of the 159th 'B' Cub Pack, which met at Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto on Wednesday evenings. In the terminology of Scouting, using characters from Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book’, Alfred, the Cubmaster, was known as “Akela” and Brenda, the Assistant Cubmaster was “ Baloo” (the Bear). At its peak, the Cub pack had approximately 36 members but dissolved in 1970. During Brenda’s career in the Cub movement, she was awarded several “Good Service” medals by the Scouting Council of Canada.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of personal records and artifacts accumulated by Brenda Richards during her service as Assistant Cubmaster of the 159th 'B' Toronto Cub Pack. These include Cub and Cub leader regalia and memorabilia, a collection of photographs of the Cub pack and two scrapbooks documenting their activities. The scrapbooks include photographs, poems and other writings by cub members, news clippings and lists of badges earned by various cubs. Also of note are 4 original drawings by Richards.
Notes
Physical description note: Includes 1 folder of textual records, 2 scrapbooks, 4 drawings, 6 badges, 5 pins, 2 medals, 1 whistle, and 1 woggle.
Fonds is part of the Ontario Jewish Archives' project to acquire material created by the 159th Cub Pack, which was a Jewish troop. The project also includes an oral history interview with Brenda Richards conducted by Martin Wolfish.
Name Access
Richards, Alfred
Richards, Brenda
Shaarei Shomayim Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)
Creator
Richards, Brenda
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
2003-5-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Henry Weingluck fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 44
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Henry Weingluck fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
44
Material Format
multiple media
Date
[ca. 1939]-1985
Physical Description
60 cm of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Henry Weingluck (1902-1987) was an artist and Toronto art gallery owner, who immigrated to Canada in 1948 after being imprisoned in concentration camps in France during the Second World War. Weingluck was born in Zawiercie, Poland on May 7th, 1902, to an Orthodox Jewish family. He was the son of Alter Weingluck, a footwear designer. He studied at art academies in Crakow, Copenhagen, and Berlin and was a pupil of Professor Max Lieberman, president of Berlin's Academy of Arts prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany. Weingluck often depicted Jewish themes in his paintings, in a style he called "academic impressionism." He exhibited in Paris with Kandinsky and Chagall, as well as at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Jewish Museum, Berlin. He painted portraits of such prominent figures as Albert Einstein, Max Schmelin, Yehudi Menuhin, and Chaim Weizmann.
From 1933 to 1942, Weingluck lived in France and, during the Nazi occupation of France, was imprisoned in eight concentration camps from 1942 to 1945. The Nazis made use of his artistic talent as a barracks designer and portraitist. During this time, the Germans confiscated 375 of his paintings. After the war, Weingluck moved to Tangiers, Morocco, and then emigrated to Canada to join his brother in Toronto. Henry opened H. W. Art Gallery, at 665 College Street, around 1948, and then Weingluck's Art Gallery and Gift Shoppe at 623 College Street, in the 1950s. In 1950, he married his wife Rae (née Simon) Weingluck (1904-1987), whom he met in Canada. Henry died in Toronto in 1987.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of material related to the personal life and artistic career of Henry Weingluck. The records pertain to the following: his experiences during the war and in the work camp at Beaulieu, France; his emigration to Canada; his restitution claims for artworks confiscated by the Nazis; his exhibitions; and his art gallery on College Street in Toronto. These records include personal and professional correspondence, certificates, photographs, newspaper clippings, personal writings, publications, programmes, exhibition catalogues, designs and sketches, and artifacts.
Notes
Physical description note: includes 30 photographs, 1 audio cassette, 22 designs and sketches, and 16 objects.
Associated material note: the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives (Montreal) has a collection of paintings and other records of Henry Weingluck.
Name Access
Weingluck, Henry, 1902-1987
Subjects
Artists
Physical Condition
Some of the records are in fragile condition.
Related Material
See also the Ontario Jewish Archives' news clippings file under "Weingluck, Henry"
Creator
Weingluck, Henry, 1902-1987
Accession Number
1988-2-11
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Henry Rosenbaum fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 121
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Henry Rosenbaum fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
121
Material Format
graphic material
graphic material (electronic)
textual record
Date
1928-2015
Physical Description
247 photographs : b&w and col. (1 negative); 20 x 25 or smaller
13 cm of textual records
Admin History/Bio
Henry "Hanoch" Rosenbaum (1925-2015) was born in Radom, Poland. He was the second youngest of eight children born to Rachel Rosenbaum (née Katz) and Moshe Rosenbaum.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Herny learned the fate of Radom's Jewish civilian population. Two thirds of Radom's Jewish population were victims of mass murder and perished in the extermination camp Treblinka, immediately following the first liquidation of Radom's large ghetto in August 1942. Henry's parents, two siblings, and their families were among the innocent victims murdered during the Holocaust.
Henry Rosenbaum met his wife Bella Rotbard (1925–2012) while living in an Italian DP camp after the war. Although Bella was also from Radom, she did not know the Rosenbaum family. Bella's parents, her sixteen-year-old sister, and four-year-old brother, as well as most of her parents' extended families, were also victims of the Holocaust.
While in Italy, the Joint Distribution Committee funded "mock kibbutzim," preparing Holocaust survivors for immigration to Palestine and kibbutz life. Bella, a one-time member of the secular Jewish youth movement Hashomer Hatzair, believed that she was destined to be a "kibbutznik," a member of a kibbutz.
In 1946, Bella and Henry immigrated to Palestine as part of the Bricha. The Bricha supported the illegal immigration of Holocaust survivor refugees to Palestine. They spent their first few days in Atlit, a British Mandate detainee camp and soon settled on kibbutz. Bella married Henry in 1946 and moved to an apartment in Ramat Gan. During this time Henry served in the IDF’s motor pool.
Henry, Bella, and their young daughter Brenda (b. 1949) immigrated to Toronto in 1952. With the assistance of a relative, Henry gained employment in a print shop sweeping floors. Henry soon advanced to machine operator and in 1961 opened his own print shop, Trio Press Limited.
Bella worked in the garment industry, sewing collars onto shirts and earned her wages through piece work. She continued working in manufacturing up until the birth of her second child Murray (b. 1961).
Henry Rosenbaum was an active life-long member of the Radom Society and served as editor for their quarterly Yiddish and English journal the Voice of Radom.
Custodial History
Material was in possession of Henry Rosenbaum's daughter Brenda Bornstein.
Scope and Content
Fonds illustrates the family history of Henry Rosenbaum and the life he and his wife Bella Rosenbaum rebuilt in Canada. Photographs document: early life in Poland, displaced persons camp in Italy, immigration to Palestine, military service in the Israel Defense Forces, family life in Israel, immigration and settlement in Canada and many milestone events and celebrations in Toronto, Ontario. Additional photographs of the Radom Society in Toronto. The majority of the photographs were assembled in a scrapbook created by their daughter Brenda Bornstein in celebration of her parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary (1976). In addition, there is a more comprehensive biography written by Henry and Bella's son-in-law Eric Bornstein.
Fonds consists of records relating to Henry Rosenbaum and his affiliation with B’nai Radom. Included are programs and souvenir booklets from the 1962 unveiling of a monument in memory of the Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of Radom and Vicinity (Poland), annual Holocaust remembrance (Yizkor) events published in 1987 and 2010; and a 50th Anniversary of Liberation publication. Books include a Yiddish language bound copy of the Voice of Radom from 1963-1965, an English language bound copy of the Voice of Radom 1983–1989 and Henry Rosenbaum’s personal memoir published in 1995. In addition, there are eight photographs of Henry's great-grandchildren, and a photo of Henry with his daughter Brenda.In addition there is a collection of speeches written by Henry Rosenbaum primarily for family milestone events such as weddings, birthdays, bar mtizvahs, and bat mitzvahs. In addition there is a copy of a presentation made to the Radom Congregation on the occasion of Israel's twenty-fifth year of independence, a Hebrew-language letter of congratulations, and several personal letters written by Murray Rosenbaum (the latter are addressed to his parents while travelling to Israel and Europe). The personal speeches written and delivered by Henry were in honour of the following relatives: Rivi Anklewicz, Marshall Lofchick, Murray Rosenbaum, Elana Aizic, Regina Goldstein, Brenda Rosenbaum, Eric "Ricky" Bornstein, Murray Severin, Robin Severin-Weingort, Rachel Bornstein, Susan Szainwald, Daniel Bornstein, Sholom Rosenbaum, Bella Rosenbaum, Linda Goldstein, and Leon Aizic.
Subjects
Holocaust survivors
Creator
Rosenbaum, Henry, 1925-2015
Places
Poland
Italy
Palestine
Israel
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
2015-10-5
2017-2-13
2019-7-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Zelda Young fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 135
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Zelda Young fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
135
Material Format
sound recording
Date
1982-1988
Physical Description
236 audio reels : 1/4 inch
Admin History/Bio
Zelda Young (?–2023), daughter of Sam and Manya Yuchtman, was a Canadian talk show host who worked extensively in radio and television in both Canada and the United States. Her father, Sam Yuchtman (1910–1979), was a Toronto broadcaster best known for hosting radio shows in Yiddish and English oriented towards the Toronto Jewish community. Sam was born in Lublin, Poland, and moved to Winnipeg as a teenager. In 1942, Sam teamed up with Max Mandel, a well-known folksong singer and radio personality. Together, they managed and hosted the radio show, The Jewish Hour (also known in Yiddish as Di Yidishe Shtunde), on the CKTB radio station in St. Catherines.
The Jewish Hour, firstly launched in 1936 in Toronto, was sponsored by the Toronto Yiddish newspaper called the Kanader Nayes (1936–1954), which was owned and operated by Dorothy Dworkin. The show was one of several Jewish radio programs broadcasted under that or similar names in Jewish population centres around North America. For many years, the show was predominantly in Yiddish. In the summer of 1946, Sam Yuchtman brought the show back to Toronto on CHUM, Toronto’s first new post-war radio station. Later, Sam launched The Jewish Hour on Toronto radio stations CKFH and CHIN in 1948 and 1966 respectively. The show became the longest-running Jewish radio program in Toronto. Following Sam's retirement in 1976, the show was taken over by his daughter Zelda and hosted as The Zelda Show, being broadcasted only in English. Since then, Zelda dedicated herself to hosting and producing The Zelda Show in association with CHIN.
For more than thirty years, The Jewish Hour attracted listeners of different age groups, religions, genders, and nationalities. Zelda Young, as the producer and host of the show, continued to provide listeners with a variety shows featuring guest interviews, Israel news and world news, health issues, Yiddish and Hebrew music, as well as other topical news. Her radio show was also aired in Florida from 1998 to 1999 and in Vancouver from 1995 to 2000.
In addition to her extensive radio work, Zelda also hosted and produced the Zelda Young Show, formerly called Tapestry, a television talk show, which aired from 1986 to 1993 on Toronto’s CITY-TV (now known as Citytv).
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of audio reels related to the Toronto Jewish Hour on CHIN Radio. The reels contain pre-recorded segments for the radio show, as well as interviews, jingles, spots, and music, aired between 1982 and 1988.
Fonds is organized into 26 series, by segment title, as follows: Rabbi Witty segment; Rabbi Shild segment; Monte Kwinter segment; Rabbi Monson segment; Table Talk; Dialogue; Your Money; Spotlight on Science; Mideast Report; Edward’s Choice; Movie Review; Real Estate Tips; Fashion Talk; Helpful Leasing Hints; Sports Talk; Sports Trivia; Ben Kayfetz segment; Focus on Medicine; Aliyah Corner; Page One; David Mirvish Book Review; Book Reviews with Eleanor Johnston; Travel World; Na’amat Pioneer Women segment; Canada-Israel Committee; and General Interviews, Jingles, Spots, Music, and Introductions.
Subjects
Broadcasters
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
Library and Archives Canada holds audio reels and transcripts for Sam Yuchtman's Jewish Hour radio programme at CKFH radio, CFGM radio and CHIN radio in Toronto (1957-1982).
Accession Number
1986-12-5
1988-3-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Henry Cassel fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 93
Source
Archival Descriptions
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
Dr. Alexander Brown fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 95
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
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 103
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
Toronto Hadassah-WIZO fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 71
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
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 79
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
79
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1933-2011
Physical Description
ca. 4.8 m of texutal records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Jewish Family & Child was established in 1943 from the amalgamation of a variety of different social agencies formed as early as 1868. These included the Ladies Benevolent Fund, the Free Burial Society, Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, Jewish Children’s Bureau, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Ladies Maternal Aid Society. Much of its funding and support after its inception came from the United Jewish Welfare Fund.
The first executive director of the agency was Dora Wilensky. She was a trained social worker who served for twenty-eight years, until her untimely death from cancer in 1959. Jerome Diamond took over in 1960 and Gordon Wolfe succeeded him in 1981. Ron Levin briefly replaced Wolfe after his retirement in 2003, and was succeeded in 2006 by Dr. Richard Cummings who then retired in 2015. As of 2017, Brian Prousky is the organization’s current executive director.
During the early years, fees were established, but the agency never refused to assist clients because of their inability to pay. JF&CS became one of the first agencies to rely on trained social workers. It was also the first social agency in Canada to become unionized.
Over the years the agency’s role has changed and it has expanded significantly, in terms of its staff and services. After the Second World War it played a pivotal role supporting the Holocaust orphans who came to Canada as refugees, particularly in the area of locating foster parents for these children. By 1957, the agency hired its first counsellor and became a member of the United Community Fund of Greater Toronto. The year 1968 marked the start of JF&CS’ new program involving the use of a mobile treatment centre to reach out to Jewish street kids and in 1974 they established the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre.
In 1981, JF&CS was mandated by the Province of Ontario as a Jewish children’s aid society responsible for the care and protection of all Jewish youth in the GTA. In 1983 they established the Just-A-Second Shop at 3101 Bathurst Street, which took in used goods from the community to pass on to needy families. Two years later they established the Henry G. Goodman Home for developmentally challenged children on Wilmington Avenue. The following year marked the opening of the Elm Ridge Group Living Residence for elderly people. In 1988, they opened a special shelter for abused women and children, and in 1994, they introduced their Homework Club for kids.
The current mission of Jewish Family & Child is to support the healthy development of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention, protection, counselling, education, and advocacy services, within the context of Jewish values. Their services include counselling, rehabilitation and support, foster care, family services, and community services. These services are offered in a host of different languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, French, and English.
JF&CS is an independent organization that receives its funding from a variety of different sources such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Government of Ontario, and individual donations.
As of 2017, JF&CS has nearly 130 staff providing more than thirty community services with a budget of almost $20 million. Their main office is located in the Lipa Green Centre for Community Services at 4600 Bathurst Street. They also maintain offices and run services out of their downtown branch at 35 Madison Avenue, their York Region branch inside UJA’s 1 Open Door at the Lebovic JCC, and their Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre in midtown Toronto.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Wolfe, Gordon
Diamond, Jerome D.
Subjects
Charities
Children
Families
Nonprofit organizations
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.
Related Material
See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds (fonds 87); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).
Creator
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Accession Number
2004-5-101
2004-1-8
2002-10-38
2006-6-7 (Shelf 03-6,Orphan index cards)
2009-12-9
2010-4-1 (Shelf 34-1)
2010-10-5
2015-8/11
2015-9/1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Dr. Rolf Lederer fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 84
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
Congregation Beth David fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 88
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
ID
Fonds 90
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
ID
Fonds 104
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
ID
Fonds 100
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
Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 92
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
Patricia Joy Alpert fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 77
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
Island Yacht Club fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 46
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Island Yacht Club fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
46
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1951-2005
Physical Description
1.5 m of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
The Island Yacht Club (IYC) was founded in 1951 by a small group of Jewish sailing enthusiasts at a time when Jewish applicants were denied membership to Toronto's yacht clubs. The founding members included Cecil Yolles, Dr. Bernard “Bunny” Willinsky, Ben Dunkelman, John Bussin, Eon Gilmore, Mel and Irving Gould, Mark Speyer, Norm Kerzner, Joe Kitz, Boris Adelberg, and Bill Ackerman. The group obtained a lease from the City of Toronto for a parcel of undeveloped land on Mugg's Island in Blockhouse Bay. They then obtained a provincial charter incorporating the Island Yacht Club as a non-profit corporation. A board of directors was elected, with Bunny Willinsky as its first Commodore.
In 1952, the original group had grown to approximately 35 members. Work parties were formed from among the members to clear the land and a prefabricated building was purchased by the club which served as the early clubhouse. A generator was donated by member Al Jacobs for electricity and two floating docks were built. As the club membership grew, more land was acquired; the original clubhouse was expanded; grounds were landscaped; a swimming pool, lockers, dining room, lounge, docks, and marine railway were installed; and a tender was purchased. By 1956, the membership had grown to 350 with a fleet of eighty sail and power boats and the IYC was accepted into the Lake Yacht Racing Association (LYRA), the oldest association of its kind in North America.
In 1957, the IYC hosted its first open sailing regatta for the seven Toronto area yacht clubs and has since hosted many other regattas including four LYRA events. In order to accommodate its more junior members, a Junior Sailing Club was founded by Commodore John Zeldin in 1958, which has played a large role in the development of the IYC. In 1964, an adult sailing program was instituted to teach members and non-members racing tactics and rules. Racing competitions have been an important part of the IYC’s history. IYC sailors have been members of Canada’s Olympic sailing team and have competed in the Pan-American Games, Maccabiah Games, CORK regattas and other competitions in Canada and the United States.
Over the years, the purpose of the IYC has changed from a racing club that has developed champion sailors, to a more recreational club, oriented to family and leisurely activities. The IYC has also played a large social role in the lives of its membership, hosting galas, auctions, fashion shows, theme nights, bowling events, anniversary parties, the Commodore's Ball, and other activities during both the sailing season and off-season months.
The IYC has suffered from two fires in its fifty-five year history. The first fire occurred in 1986 in the IYC’s boat yard, destroying several boats. The second fire occurred in 2004 and destroyed the IYC’s clubhouse and its contents. A new clubhouse was officially opened on June 18th, 2006 and the IYC continues to serve its members in boating, socializing, dining, and marine services.
Custodial History
The records were donated to the OJA by Brooky Robins, archivist for the Island Yacht Club. Brooky and her husband, Hartley, are both members of the IYC. Hartley Robins has been a member since 1956 and was commodore from 1973 to 1976.
Scope and Content
Fonds documents the various functions and activities of the Island Yacht Club. The records include correspondence, financial records, meeting minutes, invitations, program flyers, year books, photographs, slides, films, flags, tickets and tokens, drawings, clippings, bulletins and newsletters, racing programmes and calendars, as well as the files of founding member, Cecil Yolles, and member and past commodore, Hartley Robins. The fonds also includes the original letters patent for the IYC.
Notes
Physical description note: includes ca. 600 b&w and col. photographs, ca. 400 col. slides, 5 flags, 3 film reels, 2 videocassettes, 1 architectural plan, 1 sketch, and 1 compact disc.
Storage location note: Box 8 (3" Letter Hollinger), 504 col. slides plus 2 b&w photos
Name Access
Island Yacht Club
Subjects
Clubs
Related Material
See also fonds 2, Benjamin Dunkelman fonds, series 1 and sub-series 1-4 for textual records and photographs pertaining to the IYC
See also fonds 37, Gilbert Studios fonds, series 4-1, item 18, for photo of IYC member Mr. William Bernard Herman
See "Island Yacht Club" vertical file in OJA file cabinet for newspaper clippings
Creator
Island Yacht Club (Toronto, Ont.)
Accession Number
2006-2-12
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 15
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
15
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1892-1980
Physical Description
60 cm of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Ida Lewis Siegel (1885-1982) was instrumental in the founding and development of several prominent Jewish organizations, such as the Daughters of Zion, Hadassah-Wizo Organization of Canada, the Hebrew Ladies' Maternity Aid Society and the YM-YWHA She was also particularly active in the educational sector and in campaigning for the rights of female educators. She was internationally known for her devotion to Jewish learning and for her contributions to the development of the Toronto Jewish community.
Ida was born to Samuel Lewis (b. 1859) and Hannah Ruth (Ticktin) Lewis (b. 1864) on 14 February 1885 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the first child to be born in the United States after her parents immigrated from Lithuania. She had two brothers, Abe Lewis (b. 1880) and Charles S. Lewis (b. 1883). She attended elementary school in Pittsburgh, and in 1894, she and her family moved to Toronto.
On 14 February 1905, Ida married Isidore Hirsch Siegel at the Elm Street Synagogue. Isidore was a travelling peddler, and later, owner of a store in Cochrane, Ontario. Together, they had six children: Rohama Lee (1905-?), Leah Gittel (Labovitz) (1907-2004), David Isar (1909-2004), Sarah (Sontag) (1912-1942), Avrom Fichel (1916-2010), and Rivka Hadassah (Gurau) (1923-2001).
Ida is credited with helping to found a large number of Jewish philanthropic and social organizations including the Daughters of Zion, the first ladies' Zionist society in Canada (1899); the Herzl Girls' Club (1904); Hadassah-Wizo Organization of Canada (1916); the Hebrew Ladies' Sewing Circle, which developed into the Hebrew Ladies' Maternity Aid Society (1907); the YM-YWHA (1919); the Women’s League of the United Synagogues of America in Toronto (192-); the Goel Tzedec Sunday School (1914); and the Goel Tzedec Sisterhood (192-). She was also named honorary president of the Beth Tzedec Sisterhood in 1953. With the help of her brother Abe, Ida formed the first free Jewish Dispensary in Toronto, located on Elizabeth Street in the Ward, which was the forerunner to the Mount Sinai Hospital.
Ida also helped form a unified fundraising body for the Jewish community known as the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (1917), which would become the current UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. However, Ida was denied a seat on the executive after campaigning for a female representative.
Always involved in the field of education, Ida was one of the original founders of the Home and School Association in 1919. In 1930, she became the first Jewish woman to be elected to the Toronto Board of Education, a post which she held for six years. She was later named honorary secretary of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education. In 1937, she ran unsuccessfully for alderman in Toronto, but remained politically active with the Association of Women's Electors. She was active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from 1915 onward and was an outspoken opponent of both world wars. Throughout her lifetime, Ida held the position of national vice-president of the Zionist Organization of Canada, sat on the executive board of the Canadian Jewish Congress and was a member of the Jewish Historical Society.
Her religious affiliations were with Goel Tzedec, Beth Tzedec, Shaar Shomayim and the Beach Hebrew Institute.
Custodial History
The records were created by Ida Siegel and were in her possession until 1982. After her death, her son Avrom and daughter Rivka took possession of the records until they were donated to the archives in 1998 and 2004.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records created and accumulated by Ida Siegel, documenting her personal and professional life, along with her philanthropic work. The types of records include personal reminiscences, diaries and memoirs, family correspondence, professional correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, newsclippings, oral histories and photographs.
Notes
Includes 30 photographs, 2 scrapbooks, 13 audio cassettes and 7 audio reels.
Name Access
Siegel, Ida Lewis, 1885-1982
Siegel, Isidore Hirsch
Siegel, Leah Gittel (Labovitz) (Sadker)
Siegel, Rohama Lee
Siegel, David Isar
Siegel, Sarah (Sontag)
Siegel, Avrom Fichel
Siegel, Rivka Hadassah (Gurau)
Access Restriction
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
Related Material
1979-1-3
1980-3-4
MG2 O1l
MG2 O1m
National Council of Jewish Women fonds 38
Arrangement
Records had previously been placed in acid free boxes and file folders and labeled according to their contents.
Creator
Siegel, Ida Lewis, 1885-1982
Accession Number
1988-2-13
2004-5-129
2004-5-163
2005-5-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 48
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
48
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1936-2001
Physical Description
21.5 m of textual records
ca. 180 photographs : col. and b&w (ca. 165 col. negatives) ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
Admin History/Bio
Established in 1949 as the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) is the central Jewish agency in Toronto whose mandate is to preserve, enrich, and promote Jewish education in the Greater Toronto area. Its primary tasks are to coordinate and provide leadership in teacher training and professional development, curriculum development, school administration, and inter-school activities, and also to allocate funds to affiliated Jewish schools raised through the annual UJA Federation fundraising campaign.
The BJE was established following the recommendations of a 1948 study of Jewish education in Toronto undertaken by Dr. Uriah Z. Engelman of the American Association for Jewish Education, and sponsored by the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF; now, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto) and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Central Region. In its constitution, the bureau was described as having the dual characteristics of being an autonomous agency of the UJWF and also as acting for the UJWF in the field of Jewish education. The bureau was governed by a board of governors with representatives from affiliated schools, the UJWF, CJC Central Region, and from the community at large. The inaugural meeting of the board took place on 20 March 1950.
The organizational structure of the Bureau of Jewish Education mirrored that of the UJWF, with a board of directors and executive committee, standing comittees, and a professional staff. Samuel Posluns was the first president of the BJE and Dr. Joseph Diamond was its first executive director, serving in this position for 18 years. In the 1950s, the staff consisted of the executive director, an administrative assistant, and a school consultant. Over time, the staff was expanded to meet the increased demand for BJE services as the number of affiliated schools grew. For example, the position of director of school finances was created in 1976 to oversee school budgets, monitor tuition fees and teacher salary profiles, and perform other duties relating to financial management.
The BJE's offices were located with those of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, first on Spadina Avenue and then on Beverley Street, until the 1960s, when the board moved to offices in the Jewish Public Library on Glen Park Avenue. The board remained there until 1983, when the BJE moved into the newly built Lipa Green Building, on Bathurst Street, along with the other departments of the Toronto Jewish Congress, as the UJWF was renamed in 1976.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, the BJE sponsored adult education programs in Toronto through the Institute for Jewish Studies, in collaboration with the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) and CJC. The BJE also provided assistance and advice to the CJC in support of Jewish education in the smaller Jewish communities in Ontario. The BJE's role in adult education diminished significantly after its reorganization in 1968, but this again became a responsibility for the BJE in the late 1990s.
The BJE has gone through several periods of reorganization since it was founded: in 1968, when the bureau became the Board of Jewish Education and its board was reduced in size significantly; in the late 1970s, with the implementation of recommendations of the 1975 UJWF Study Committee on Jewish Education; in the early 1990s, following the development of a strategic plan for the BJE; and in the late 1990s, following the recommendations of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto Commission on Jewish Education (1996). The 1968 reorganization was the most significant of these, with the BJE Board of Directors reduced from over 80 members to just 20 members approved by the UJWF, and the number of standing committees was reduced to two. Stephen Berger was appointed as first chairman of the Board of Jewish Education in 1968, and in 1969, Rabbi Irwin E. Witty became the second executive director of the BJE. Later reorganizations typically involved alterations to the number and responsibilities of BJE committees.
Although its primary function is to support existing educational institutions, the BJE has also participated in establishing several new instititions in Toronto. In 1953, to meet the need for qualified teachers in affiliated schools, the BJE and CJC Central Region founded a Jewish teachers' seminary (Midrasha L'Morim) in Toronto, which was jointly funded by the BJE and CJC for many years. In 1960, the BJE and UJWF sponsored the establishment of a non-denominational Jewish high school, the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto (CHAT), with the BJE Executive Director as its director. In 1978, the Orah School for Jewish Children from the Soviet Union was established by the BJE, to meet the special needs of the large numbers of recent immigrants from the Soviet Union.
At its founding, the BJE served a total of 21 day and supplementary schools. When it ceased functioning in 2012, the BJE served more than 70 day and supplementary schools in the Greater Toronto area, with the position of chair held by Baila Lubek and the position of executive director held by Dr. Seymour Epstein. The Board was replaced by the Mercaz and later, the Centre for Jewish Education.
Custodial History
The BJE records in accession 1995-8-2 were in the possession of Harvey Raben, formerly a school consultant with the BJE, for several years prior to his donation in 1995, while Raben worked on his Doctor of Education thesis on the history of the BJE.
Scope and Content
The fonds documents the interactions of the BJE with affiliated schools, the UJWF and its successors -- the Toronto Jewish Congress (TJC), Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto (JFGT) and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto -- and the community in its work of facilitating and financing Jewish education in Toronto. The bulk of the records consist of the files of the executive director, associate director and director of school finances, and minutes of the BJE Board of Directors and its committees. As well as meeting minutes, these records include memoranda, correspondence, committee reports, budget and financial statements, and a small number of photographs of individuals and of BJE events.
The fonds is arranged into eighteen series defined by the BJE's organizational units, projects and programs, institutions established by the BJE or its officers, and by record form. These series are as follows: Board of directors and executive committee, Executive director, Director of school finances, Subject files, School files, Chronological correspondence and memoranda, Newsletters and other publications, Midrasha L'Morim, Bible contests, Canada-Israel Secondary School Program, Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Orah School for Russian Jewish Children, Dr. Abraham Shore She'arim Hebrew Day School, Toronto Jewish Media Centre, Meyer W. Gasner Memorial Scholarship Fund, Principals councils, Association of Jewish Day School Administrators, and Parents Council of Hebrew Day Schools
Name Access
Board of Jewish Education
Subjects
Education
Access Restriction
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
Related Material
The records of the Educational and Cultural Committee in the Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region fonds document the CJC's involvement in the establishment of the BJE and the operation and funding of the Midrasha L'Morim. The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto fonds, accessions 2002-10-54, 2004-6-4 and 2004-6-9 contain records on the establishment of the Bureau of Jewish Education, the appointment of UJWF representatives to its board, the reorganization of the bureau as the Board of Jewish Education in 1968, the various studies conducted of the BJE, and the annual review and approval of allotments for Jewish education in Toronto by UJA Federation and its predecessors. Accession 2004-6-4 also contains records on the funding of Jewish education in Toronto by the UJWF in the late 1930s and the 1940s, prior to the establishment of the BJE.
Arrangement
Files at the BJE were typically organized alphabetically by subject with no clear division by function or program. While some files were kept in a central filing system maintained by an administrative assistant and shared by all professional staff, staff members also kept their own series of alphabetical subject files. Since staff responsibilities for programs and support of board committees shifted over time, records relating to these programs and activities became dispersed across several sets of files. The archivist has extracted files relating to programs, committees, and areas of activity from these various sets of subject files and defined series according to these activities, programs and functions. The remaining alphabetical subject files have been integrated into one subject file series. File titles have been edited to bring together records relating to similar topics, events and activities within this series.
The other two common filing methods employed at the BJE were to store correspondence, memoranda and committee minutes chronologically (often in 3-ring binders), and in series of "School files" -- files organized alphabetically by school name, containing correspondence and other records relating to the school. The school files have been brought together into one school file series. The chronological series have been left in their original order.
Creator
Board of Jewish Education (1949-2007)
Source
Archival Descriptions