Accession Number

2002-10-28

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

45 cm of textual records

Date

[1930-?]-[198-?]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the activities of the B'nai Brith Lord Melchett Lodge in St. Catharines, Ontario. Included is correspondence, booklets, ledgers, financial records, and lists.

Subjects

Fraternal organizations

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2007-6-33

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

9 photographs : b&w and col. (jpg)

1 document (jpg)

Date

[191-]-1980

Scope and Content

This accession consists of nine electronic copies of original photographs documenting the Nash family of St. Catharines, Ontario. Included are studio portraits and snapshots, taken in St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie. Also included is one electronic copy of a typwritten remembrances of Buncie Nashman written by Harold Nash and Rhonda Applebaum.

The photographs are as follows:

1. Rose Nash and Tzeine (sister) – two young women in photo, possibly before marriage to Jack.

2. Clara Cohen with baking at cottage at Port Dalhousie (not Rose as suspected) perhaps 1940s.

3. Jack and Rose Nash

4. Nash children, ca. 1930. Top, left to right: Molly, Maurice. Bottom, left to right: Dorothy, Ruth.

5. Nash family, 21 May 1929.

6. Maurice Nash in uniform (air force) with cousin, Henry Wexler, in US Army early 1940s.

7. Maurice Nash in uniform (air force) with cousin, Henry Wexler, in US Army, and unidentified woman, early 1940s.

8. Nash women at Harold’s 50th birthday party, 1980.

9. Harold and Eleanor in Port Dalhousie with cousins, ca. 1935.

Custodial History

The original photographs are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the photos in June 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-06-05.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Families

Name Access

Nash family

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2008-8-26

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

8 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller

Date

[ca. 1920]-1994

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photographs pertaining to the Salit family and the Jewish community of Niagara Falls, Ontario. There is a newspaper clipping, an advertisement for Myer Salit Limited and a fiftieth-anniversary commemorative book for Congregation B'Nai Israel, St Catharines, Ontario (1975).

Use Conditions

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Subjects

Communities

Families

Synagogues

Places

Niagara Falls (Ont.)

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2009-3-5

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1980

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a report prepared by JIAS Canada detailing the situation of recent immigrant arrivals to various small communities in Ontario. The communities discussed are Cambridge, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Ottawa, St. Catharines and Windsor.

Custodial History

The custodial history for this item is unknown. The accession number has been assigned by the assistant archivist.

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Communities

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Cambridge (Ont.)

Hamilton (Ont.)

Kitchener (Ont.)

London (Ont.)

Ottawa (Ont.)

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2009-8-9

Material Format

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

48 photographs : b&w and col. (1 jpg) ; 21x 25 cm or smaller

Date

[ca. 1910]-[ca. 1980]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of family snapshots and portraits of members of the Zet family of St. Catharines. They include images of the donor's grandmother, Sadie (Hyatt) Zet, and grandfather Morris Zet, their friends, children and grandchildren. Among the events documented are the wedding of Bernice Zet to Albert Shecter in 1946 at the Congregation B'nai Israel, officiated by Rabbi Herschel Shapiro (who officiated weddings from 1931-1956), and summer scenes at Crystal Beach including Bernice Zet, Freda Caplan, Claire Zet and Deborah Caplan. There are several photographs of a group of high school girls, including Anne Granek, Minnie Lefstein, Ann Caplan, Ethel Friedman, Sylvia and Frieda Greenberg, Rae Rosenberg, and Eve Luntz. There is also an image of twenty little girls dressed in white holding British flags on the occasion of the opening of the shul in 1925, and one of Celia Taube with her children. As well, there are pictures of "the gang" of couples at social occasions in the 1950s. Persons pictured include Bayla Katzman, Joel Zeldon, Anne Granek, Abe Herzog, Margaret Zeldon, Jenny Katzman, Joe Katzmean, Gert Granek, Bea Magder, Dave Kates, Sybil Cowitz, Elsie Kates, Chippie (Helen) Feldman, [unknown man], Syd Magder, Dolly Cooperman, Eleanor Lambert, Sarah (Sookie) Slepkov, and Sheila Newman.

Finally, there is a ca. 1908 portrait of Berel and Nachama Kaplan, great-aunt and uncle of the donor.

Administrative History

Morris Zet (Zatulove) immigrated to Toronto in 1913 at age 18. In Romania his family enjoyed prosperity as dairy farmers, but after being conscripted into the Russian army, he left, walking from Russia to Austria. After a year in Toronto, Morris moved to St. Catharines, where he boarded with the Adelsteins. There, he made a living peddling to the many workers building the Welland Canal. In 1917, Morris married Sadie Hyatt (her brother changed the family name to Goldberg in Canada), who had come to Toronto in 1914. Morris opened a men’s wear store on St. Paul’s Street in St Catharines called Zet’s Clothing. Ten years later in 1929, he closed this store and opened Zet’s Men’s Wear in nearby Thorald, though the family continued to live in St Catharines. In 1935, Sadie opened Zet’s Ladies Wear across the street in Thorald. Morris and Sadie Zet had 3 daughters whom they raised in St Catharines: Anne, Clare and Bernice. Anne is the donor's mother. She married Kelley Granek in St. Catharines in 1939. Clare married Sam Kranitz in 1940; Bernice married Albert Schecter of Toronto, also at the St. Catharines shul, in 1946.

Use Conditions

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Descriptive Notes

Physical Desription note: two of the photographs are colour copies.

Subjects

Communities

Families

Name Access

Zet, Morris

Zet, Sadie

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Part Of

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

Level

Fonds

Fonds

76

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1949-1999

Physical Description

66 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

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

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

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

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

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

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

Custodial History

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

Scope and Content

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

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

Photo identification:

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

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

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

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

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

Notes

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

Name Access

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

Subjects

Synagogues

Physical Condition

Records are in good condition.

Arrangement

The records are arranged at the file level by function.

Creator

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

Places

St. Catharines (Ont.)

Accession Number

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

Source

Archival Descriptions