- Name
- Merle Koven
- Material Format
- moving images
- Interview Date
- 17 Oct. 2007
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Merle Koven
- Number
- OH 324
- Subject
- Antisemitism
- Education
- Synagogues
- Interview Date
- 17 Oct. 2007
- Quantity
- 2 mini DVs, 2 archival DVDs, 2 reference DVDs
- Interviewer
- Sharon Gubbay Helfer
- Total Running Time
- 2 hrs
- Notes
- Part of Ontario Small Jewish Communities Project.
- Use Restrictions
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Biography
- Merle Koven grew up in Kingston, Ontario and attended Kingston Collegiate. After high school, Merle enrolled in teachers college in Toronto. He later taught school in Kingston. Merle married Philip Koven, a well-known local businessman, philanthropist and community volunteer, who died in 2008. He was owner of Rosen Heating and Cooling, which merged with another old, established city business to form Rosen, Triheat and Anglin, now run by their two sons.
- During their forty-five years of marriage, the Kovens raised three children, Adam, Kenneth, and Rebecca. Both Phil and Merle Koven were prominent in the community. In 1982, Merle Koven broke new ground when she became president of Beth Israel in Kingston, possibly the first woman president of an Orthodox synagogue in North America. She was vice chair of Queens 1990s, although she did not have a degree.
- The Merle and Philip Koven Bursary in Art History at Queen's University was initially established by Philip Koven in honour of his wife, Merle Koven, both passionate supporters of the arts in Kingston. This fund provides financial support for upper-year students in art history. After Philip Koven passed away in 2008, the fund received many gifts in his memory.
- Material Format
- moving images
- Name Access
- Queen's University
- Hadassah WIZO Organization of Canada
- Bader, Alfred
- Geographic Access
- Kingston
- Original Format
- Mini DV
- Copy Format
- DVD
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-4
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-4
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- 1973-1977
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of the Rules and Conditions for the Morris Black Memorial Essay Contest, essays submitted, correspondence from the Board of Jewish Education and the vote casting process for the 1976 contest.
- Custodial History
- There is no information on the acquisition of this material.
- Administrative History
- The Morris Black Memorial Essay Contest was established by the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region's Department of Education and Culture. The rules and conditions stated in a booklet dated 1973 was that the 'prize or prizes for the best essay or essays or oral address or addresses on men famous in Jewish history...'. The Contest was open to 'All Jewish children in the Province of Ontario outside of Metropolitan Toronto and Ottawa.' The essays submitted in 1973 appeared to follow the Rules and Conditions. However, in the 1976 contest, now sponsored by The Board of Jewish Education, there were no restrictions on where the Jewish children lived or on the gender of the person in Jewish history being written about.
- Subjects
- Education
- Children
- Name Access
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
- Board of Jewish Education (Toronto, Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-6
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-6
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- 1950-1972
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of letters to and from Dr. Joseph Klinghofer, the Educational Director of Canadian Jewish Congress. The correspondence relates to the search for ritual and educational leaders for placement in Jewish communities outside of Toronto such as St. Catharines, Timmins, Belleville, Peterborough, Kirkland Lake, Guelph, Hamilton, Bramalea, North Bay, Windsor, Maritimes, Manitoba and the USA.
- Custodial History
- There is no information on the acquisition of this material.
- Subjects
- Education
- Religion
- Communities
- Name Access
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
- Klinghofer, Joseph
- Places
- St. Catharines (Ont.)
- Timmins (Ont.)
- Belleville (Ont.)
- Peterborough (Ont.)
- Kirkland Lake (Ont.)
- Guelph (Ont.)
- Hamilton (Ont.)
- Bramalea (Brampton, Ont.)
- North Bay (Ont.)
- Windsor (Ont.)
- Manitoba
- United States
- Maritime Provinces
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-24
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-24
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- [195-?]
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of an undated document 'Rules and Regulations Concerning the Organization of the Hebrew Schools in Ontario'.
- Custodial History
- There is no information on the acquisition of this material
- Subjects
- Education
- Name Access
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
- Places
- Toronto, Ont.
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-25
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-9-25
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- 1945-1968
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of a bound document on Religious Instruction in Public Schools of Ontario, presented by Rabbi Abraham Feinberg to the Royal Commission on Education and a fact and discussion sheet of similarities and contrasts between Canadian and US Jewries and Judaism.
- Custodial History
- There is no information on the acquisition of this material.
- Subjects
- Education
- Name Access
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
- Places
- Toronto, Ont.
- Source
- Archival Accessions