Accession Number

1977-4-3

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1926-1965

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material relating to the Associated Hebrew Schools, including correspondence and a certificate awarded to the school choir. In addition there is a Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region timeline of the history of the Toronto Jewish Community (1954), a CJC abstract of the proceedings of the Sixth Regional Conference on Jewish Education (1957), as well as editions of the Jewish Herald, the Jewish Standard, and the Canadian Jewish News. In addition, there is material documenting the activities of the Kehillah of Toronto, a religious organization of synagogues and organizations, such as mutual benefit societies. Included are correspondence, a ballot page listing congregations and organizations, a financial report, and a legal document in the form of an agreement between the Kehilla of Toronto and shochtim regarding the ritual slaughter of beef.

Administrative History

Samuel Kurtz was the executive vice president of the Associated Hebrew Schools.

MG_RG

MG3A5

Name Access

Kurtz, Samuel A.

Associated Hebrew Schools

Kehilla of Toronto

Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2006-12-3

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w (tif)

Date

[ca. 1925-1926]

Scope and Content

This accession consists of electronic copies of three photographs of Syd at Camp Yungvelt on Lake Wilcox. Also pictured are some of Syd's relatives and childhood friends. Identified individuals include Sydney Wise, Isadore Tepperman, David Wise, Leo Tepperman, Reuben Goldstein, Ben Lapidus (Lappin), George Trimble, Sam Stellman, Lil Stellman, Min Stellman, Lillian Wise, Rose Hoffman, Archie Gordon, Nathan Langbord, and Jack Weinzweig.

Custodial History

The original records are in the possession of Dr. Sydney Wise. He loaned the records to the Archives for copying on 2006-12-20.

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.

Name Access

Camp Yungvelt

Source

Archival Accessions

• 
• 

Level

Item

Item

2463

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1920]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Item is a group photograph of members of the Farband group, taken in a yard. Identified are Willie Silverberg; Abi Shatz; Benny Shatz; and Mr. Frankel.

Notes

From the Seymour and Abi Shatz Collection.

Name Access

Farband

Frankel, Mr.

Shatz, Abi

Shatz, Benny

Silverberg, Willie

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2462

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1920]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Item is a group photograph of members of the Farband, taken in a yard. Identified are Joe Cash and Louis Shatz.

Notes

From the Seymour and Abi Shatz Collection.

Name Access

Farband

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2919

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[19--]

Physical Description

2 photographs : (1 negative)

Scope and Content

For identification, see accession record.

Notes

Photo by Schlochter.

Name Access

Farband

Subjects

Students

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2471

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[1920 or 1921]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of members of the Farband, Borochov Branch 124 at a picnic in Toronto. Pictured back row sixth from left, [?] Krackover; [?] Freedman.

Pictured middle row, second from left: Joe Cash; Willie Silverberg.

Pictured middle row, third from right: [?] Hoffman; Jack Herzog; Benny Cohen.

Pictured first row, left: Benny Shatz; [?] Frankel; [?] Manson (third from right).

Notes

From the Seymour and Abi Shatz Collection.

Name Access

Borochov

Cash, Joe

Cohen, Benny

Farband

Frankel

Freedman

Herzog, Jack

Hoffman

Krackover

Manson

Shatz, Benny

Silverberg, Willie

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2477

Material Format

graphic material

Date

25 July 1926

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w

Notes

See items #1271 and #2453 for similar image.

Name Access

Borochov

Jewish National Workers' Alliance

Farband

Trafalgar

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2916

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1928]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Seated, left to right: Esther Walerstein; Bayla Lax; Alte Freiman.

Standing, left to right: Haim Noach Kirshenbaum; Yisroel Starr; E. Chaikes (teacher); Yosef Lubek; Shlomo Zuker.

Notes

Half-tone photograph from newspaper.

Original photo by Schlachter.

Name Access

Chaikes, E.

Farband

Freiman, Alte

Kirshenbaum, Haim Noach

Lax, Bayla

Lubek, Yosef

Starr, Yisroel

Walerstein, Esther

Zuker, Shlomo

Subjects

Students

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2468

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1920]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Item is a group photograph of the Ladies' auxiliary of Farband Borochov Branch 124, at a picnic in Toronto. Identified are Lillian Edelstein, Max Hoffman, Charlie Krackover; Ida Krackover; Joe Cash; [?] Frankel; Fanny Herzog; [?] Herzog; Willie Silverberg; [Leiblele?] Monson; Max Monson; Florence Monson; Chaika Levinsky; [Loyke?] Freedman; Penny Shatz; Mr. Freedman; Nachman Levinsky.

Notes

From the Seymour and Abi Shatz Collection.

Name Access

Borochov

Cash, Joe

Edelstein, Lillian

Farband

Frankel

Freedman, Loyke

Herzog, Fanny

Hoffman, Max

Krackover, Charlie

Krackover, Ida

Levinsky, Chaika

Levinsky, Nachman

Monson, Florence

Monson, Leiblele

Monson, Max

Shatz, Penny

Silverberg, Willie

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1271

Material Format

graphic material

Date

25 July 1926

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w

Scope and Content

This photograph shows a group of people at a picnic for the Borochov Branch 124.

Name Access

Farband

Borochov

Trafalgar

Jewish Organizations

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Physical Condition

Poor condition.

Related Material

See photo 2453 for a copy print and negative of this image.

Accession Number

1977-4-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2561

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1927

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

For identification notes, please see accession record.

Notes

Photo by Modern Studio, 452 Queen St. W., Toronto.

Name Access

Sholom Aleichem Club

Farband

Subjects

Clubs

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-3-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2538

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1926]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Name Access

Poalei Zion

Farband

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Queenston (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2914

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1925]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

For identification notes, please see accession record.

Name Access

Farband

Poalei Zion

Subjects

Zionism

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2537

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1926]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Name Access

Poalei Zion

Farband

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Queenston (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2557

Material Format

graphic material

Date

March 1928

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Name Access

Farband

Poalei Zion

Yehoash

Subjects

Clubs

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2319

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1940]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Name Access

Menachovsky, M.

Poalei Zion

Farband

Subjects

Anniversaries

Dinners and dining

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-9-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2562

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[1925 or 1926]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

For identification see accession record.

Notes

Photo by M. Schlochter, 452 Queen St. W., Toronto.

Name Access

Farband

Subjects

Students

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-3-8

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Isaac Matenko fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

89

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1911-1971, predominant 1911-1935

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records

17 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Isaac Matenko (1874–1960) was a founder, teacher, and principal of the I. L. Peretz School. He worked tirelessly to preserve and promote secular Jewish culture and the Yiddish language in Toronto. He was also a prominent member of local Jewish organizations, such as the Socialist-Territorialist Club and the Yiddish Kultur Gesellshaft.

Isaac was born on 1 February 1874 in the town of Makariv, located in the Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. He married Elke Yelia Moshkevitch (1878–19 November 1953) on 4 August 1900 in Yekaterinoslav (today Dnipro). They immigrated from czarist Russia to Toronto in 1906, passing first through New York with their two children, Percy (30 June 1901–May 1987) and Theodore (1903–1906, died of measles at Ellis Island), and Yelia’s three sisters, Dvora, Bracha, and Celia, and Isaac’s younger half-brother, Paul Frumhartz. They had two more children after arriving: Abraham (14 August 1908–October 24, 1989) and Shoshana (Sue) (1911–2001). Although he had been a teacher in Russia, Isaac worked as an operator in a cloak factory in Toronto, where he was instrumental in forming the union (likely the Cloakmakers’ Union of Toronto, which later affiliated with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union).

As a child, Isaac received a traditional Jewish education. This, combined with his self-taught secular education and the teachings of Yiddish nationalist Dr. Chaim Zhitlovski, informed his future career and philosophies. He was described as an idealist by his friends, whose dedication to Yiddish culture and language motivated him to bring this knowledge to a younger generation.

On 11 July 1911, Isaac and his fellow Socialist-Territorialist members established the Toronto Yiddish National-Radical School. By 1916, it had been taken over by the Workmen’s Circle and renamed the I. L. Peretz School, after the well-known Yiddish author and playwright. The school began in a rented room at the Zionist Institute on Simcoe Street, moving to larger locations on Richmond Street West, then Beverley Street as it grew. Eventually, several more branches opened, such as the Maria Street school that Isaac was affiliated with. He taught at the school for free in the evenings after working during the day in a shop. His brother Paul was also a founding teacher at the school.

Isaac was described by family, friends, and community members as a passionate teacher with an iron will. He was well-versed in Jewish knowledge, with a desire to pass it on to a younger generation and his fellow union members. He remained involved in the school and in teaching, even after retirement. He died on 2 June 1960 at the age of eighty-six.

Custodial History

These records were donated to the OJA by Sue Levy, daughter of Isaac Matenko.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Isaac Matenko's involvement with the Workmen's Circle and other Jewish organizations. Included are photographs, programmes, certificates, I. L. Peretz School jubilee books, a songbook, a yearbook, articles, and newsclippings.

Fonds has been arranged into one series for the Workmen's Circle. There are also two files attached to the fonds-level. The records are described at the series and file-level, with some item-level descriptions.

Name Access

Arbeiter Ring

Arbeiter Ring Schools

Arbeter Ring

Camp Yungvelt

Frumhartz, Paul

I.L. Peretz

Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960

Matenko, Percy

National Radical School

Peretz Shule

Workman's Circle

Workmen's Circle

Subjects

Schools

Teachers

Yiddish language

Related Material

For additional Workmen's Circle records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1980-2-2, 1983-6-3, 1984-10-1, 1986-4-1, 1992-1-2, 1997-2-1, 1998-3-32, 2004-5-41, 2004-5-105, and fonds 30.

For additional Camp Yungvelt records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1986-4-1, 1991-12-4, 1993-6-6, 1999-5-1, 2004-5-37, 2005-6-4, 2006-12-3, photographs # 2964, # 4014, # 6021, MG2N1K, Benjamin Brown fonds 49, and Dorothy Dworkin Fonds 10 (item 14).

Creator

Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960

Accession Number

1987-11-4

1991-4-2

2007-5-3

2007-6-28

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3966

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1928

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm

Admin History/Bio

Founded in the 1920s, Camp Yungvelt was originally situated on Lake Wilcox. It later moved to Pickering, where it operated until it closed in the 1950s. It was established by the Workmen's Circle, as a Yiddish summer camp for Jewish children. Camp Yungvelt was known for accepting the children of poor immigrants for a small fraction of the regular fee.

Scope and Content

This item is an original postcard that features an image of the children's bungalow at Camp Yungvelt in Pickering, Ontario. The image depicts a few children standing on the front porch. There is Yiddish type on the postcard that reads: a bungalow for small children in the Arbeiter Ring Camp Yungvelt.

Name Access

Camp Yungvelt

Subjects

Camps

Postcards

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Pickering (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3967

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1929

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm

Admin History/Bio

Founded in the 1920s, Camp Yungvelt was originally situated on Lake Wilcox. It later moved to Pickering, where it operated until it closed in the 1950s. It was established by the Workmen's Circle, as a Yiddish summer camp for Jewish children. Camp Yungvelt was known for accepting the children of poor immigrants for a small fraction of the regular fee.

Scope and Content

This item is an original postcard that features an image of the swimming area in Duffins Creek at Camp Yungvelt in Pickering, Ontario. The image depicts a large group gathered on the shore of the creek as well as several swimmers in the water and standing on the docks. There is Yiddish type on the postcard which reads: the swimming pool in the Arbeiter Ring Camp Yungvelt where the children bathe.

Name Access

Camp Yungvelt

Subjects

Camps

Postcards

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Pickering (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3965

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1927

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm

Admin History/Bio

Founded in the 1920s, Camp Yungvelt was originally situated on Lake Wilcox. It later moved to Pickering, where it operated until it closed in the 1950s. It was established by the Workmen's Circle, as a Yiddish summer camp for Jewish children. Camp Yungvelt was known for accepting the children of poor immigrants for a small fraction of the regular fee.

Scope and Content

This item is an original postcard that features an image of a clean-up day at Camp Yungvelt in Pickering, Ontario. The image depicts a row of tents being inspected by two young girls. There is Yiddish type on the postcard which reads: the cleaning committee controlling the cleanliness of the sleeping quarters and beds in Arbeiter Ring Camp Yungvelt.

Name Access

Camp Yungvelt

Subjects

Camps

Postcards

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Pickering (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2453

Material Format

graphic material

Date

25 July 1926

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

This photograph shows a group of people at a picnic for the Borochov Branch 124.

Name Access

Farband

Borochov

Trafalgar

Subjects

Picnics

Repro Restriction

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

Related Material

See 1271 for an origianl photograph of this image.

Accession Number

1980-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2023-2-1

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph : b&w ; 34 x 29 cm

Date

[19--]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material that belonged to the late Gilbert Seltzer. Included are handwritten copies of a Camp Yungvelt paper, the Whoosis, and a photograph of a Yiddish youth group, the Yiddisher Kunst-Tsenter (Yiddish/Jewish Art Centre). The Whoosis issues are undated, while the photograph is from 1929/30.

Custodial History

Richard Seltzer discovered the material after his father's death and donated it to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Administrative History

Gilbert Seltzer was born on 11 October 1914 in Toronto, Ontario, to Julius Seltzer and Marion Seltzer (née Liss). Gilbert's parents were both Russian immigrants. Julius owned a knitting mill, and Marion was a homemaker. Julius was also an anarchist, and he and Marion had a cottage in the Workmen's Circle Colony in Pickering, Ontario. As a child, Gilbert attended Camp Yungvelt, a Yiddish summer camp for Jewish children. His son, Richard, would later recall that Gilbert "sang songs from there and vaguely spoke of the Whosis," the camp's publication.

Gilbert studied architecture at the University of Toronto, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1937. After graduating, he worked for an architectural firm in Manhattan. During the Second World War, he served with the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a secret army unit that would become known as the Ghost Army. According to Gilbert's obituary in the New York Times, "The unit fooled German forces with inflatable tanks, dummy airplanes, fake radio transmissions and sound effects." In later years, Gilbert would serve as an ambassador for the unit's veterans.

After the war, Gilbert resumed work as an architect. His projects included the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York; buildings at West Point and the US Merchant Marine Academy; and the East Coast Memorial in Battery Park, Lower Manhattan. He worked as an architect until January 2020.

Gilbert met his future spouse, Molly Gold (m. Seltzer), in New Jersey. The couple had two children together: Joan Seltzer and Richard Seltzer. Molly died in 1994, and Gilbert died on 14 August 2021. He was 106.

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

Architects

Camps

Portraits, Group

Name Access

Camp Yungvelt

Seltzer, Gilbert, 1914-2021

Places

Ontario

Source

Archival Accessions