Name

Sol Gebertig

Number

OH 20

Subject

Motion picture industry

Interview Date

17 Apr. 1975

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Conservation

Copied August 2003.

Use Restrictions

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

Conditional access. Researchers must receive permission from the interviewee or their heir prior to accessing the interview. Please contact the OJA for more information.

Biography

Sol Gebertig was one of several Jews who were pioneers in the Canadian film industry and helped build the motion picture business in the country.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Gebertig, Sol

Speisman, Stephen, 1943-2008

Geographic Access

Beaches (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Rivka Hurwich and Sam Hurwich

Number

OH 22

Subject

Antisemitism

Hospitals

Rabbis

Schools

Teachers

Interview Date

2 Jul. 1974

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

Side One - 43 minutes

Side Two - 3 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003.

Digitized in 2014.

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Dr. Sam Hurwich was involved in a number of organizations, including the Canadian Jewish Congress, Jewish Immigrant Aid Services, and several Labour Zionist groups.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Hospital for Sick Children

Hurwich, Rivka

Hurwich, Sam

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 22 - Hurwich\OH22_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 22 - Hurwich\OH22_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Fred Schaeffer

Number

OH 24

Subject

Communities

Immigrants--Canada

Rabbis

Synagogues

Interview Date

11 Jul. 1980

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

Side 1: 31 minutes

Side 2: 9 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Fred Schaeffer's wife, Beverley, grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Beverley's grandfather, Hyman Kaplan, emigrated from Vilna, Lithuania in 1907, and after a few years in New York, moved to Toronto. Shortly afterwards, he became the first Jew to settle in Kirkland Lake in 1914.

In the 1920s, the Jewish community in Kirkland Lake built a permanent synagogue and acquired an aron kodesh of eastern European design, its lamps, railings, pews and reader’s desk, from the disbanded Ukrainishe Shul in Montreal. In the 1970s, the Kirkland Lake Synagogue disbanded and Fred and Beverly Schaeffer acquired the aron kodesh, all of its furnishings, the ner tamid, and the parochet. They generously donated these Jewish artifacts to Beth Tikvah Synagogue, Toronto, in 1988, in memory of Isadore Kaplan, father of Beverly Schaeffer and Erich Schaeffer, father of Fred Schaeffer.

Fred married Beverley in Toronto. Like many children from Kirkland Lake, Beverley had moved to the city to attend university. Fred and Beverley are keen collectors of Canadian art. He is a retired civil engineer and a former chair of the Canadian Art Historical Committee at the AGO.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Atkins (family)

Bucavetsky (family)

Cochrane (Ont.)

Etkins (family)

Mallins (family)

Purkiss (family)

Schaeffer, Fred

Geographic Access

Ansonville (Ont.)

Engelhart (Ont.)

Kirkland Lake (Ont.)

Krugerdorf (Ont.)

Ontario, Northern

Timmins (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 24 - Schaeffer\OH24_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 24 - Schaeffer\OH24_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Fred Schaeffer and Stephen Speisman discuss some of the earliest synagogues established in Northern Ontario.

In this clip, Fred Schaeffer relates colourful anecdotes about the first Jewish settler in the Swastika-Kirkland area, Roza Brown.

Name

Lawrence Kert

Number

OH 5, OH 6

Subject

Gold miners

Lawyers

Politicians

Prisoners of war

World War, 1914-1918

Interview Date

6 Oct. 1975

Quantity

3 WAV files

4 cassettes (2 copies)

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

1:30 min.

Conservation

Copied to cassette in August 2003

Digitized between December 2014 and February 2015

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Lawrence Kert was born in 1896 and graduated as a lawyer in 1920 from the University of Toronto's Osgoode Hall. Kert served as a lieutenant in the Canadian Army during the First World War and became a prisoner of war when his plane was shot down in Germany. After his return to Toronto, Kert became a member of the J. Singer & Company law firm. Kert was instrumental in organizing the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto and the Oakdale Golf and Country Club; he also sat on the board of the Goel Tzedec Synagogue. Kert passed away in 1976.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto

Goel Tzedec Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Geographic Access

Englehart (Ont.)

Mattawa (Ont.)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

OH 005 Side 1: 00:24: Lawrence discusses his family’s arrival to Canada. His parents were born in Vilna and came to Montreal in the early 1880s. His parents met in Canada and were married in Sherbrook. 1:45: Lawrence explains how his father settled in Mattawa, Ontario, near North Bay. 3:15: Lawrence discusses the large Kert family, which settled in Canada and the United States. All the Kerts were related. He mentions one branch in Ottawa, Abram Kert, and shares an anecdote about a cousin, Big Isaac, who lived in Montreal. 6:23: Lawrence’s parents were Henry Isaac and Rachel Isaac (née Vineberg). 6:43: Lawrence chronicles his father’s start in Canada. Initially, his father peddled around Cornwall, Ontario. Then wet to the Klondike. By 1890, he had generals stores set up in Mattawa and Peterborough. He later returned to the Klondike for a short time. He remained in Mattawa for fifteen years. The family moved to Montreal in 1903. 8:34: Lawrence recalls one other Jewish family in Mattawa, the Stern family. 10:31: Lawrence explains why his father returned to Montreal. His father was invited to supply produce to the contractors who were constructing the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway in northern Ontario from 1903 to 1905. 13:10:Lawrence explains how his father was able to earn the contract with the railway. 13:49: Lawrence’s father opened a store in Leskeard. 14:29: Lawrence shares an anecdote about the initial discovery of silver in Cobalt by Fred LaRose, a blacksmith. 15:40: Lawrence explains how his father agreed to build a hotel in the new town site of Englehart in 1904. 17:07: Lawrence’s father sold the produce business to a cousin, Charlie ?Bernstein, who maintained the business in Cochrane for about fifty years. 17:54: The hotel burned down in 1918. Lawrence’s family lived in Englehart from 1905 to 1921/22. 18:22: Lawrence discusses his father’s participation in communal activities in Mattawa and Englehart. He was elected to serve on the school board. He was a supporter of the Conservative Party. Lawrence describes both his parents as socially involved and well-liked. 21:18: Lawrence’s mother was active in the Daughters of the Empire. 21:36: Lawrence discusses the Jewish communities of Englehart and neighbouring Krugersdorf. The synagogue was burned down by a bush fire in 1906. Lawrence had his bar mitzvah in Englehart. After the synagogue burned down, services were held in private homes, including the hotel. 25:38: Lawrence discusses other Jews who lived in Englehart. He lists names and describes their businesses. 27:51: Lawrence discusses Jewish life, practice and education in Englehart in the time period of 1905/06 to 1911. OH 005 Side 2: 00:33: Lawrence recounts a story involving a cousin who was staying with his family at the hotel. 3:24: Lawrence explains that his father built a hotel in Englehart in 1904 and stayed until 1920. The hotel was destroyed by a fire. Lawrence explains why his father did not rebuild the hotel. 4:18: Lawrence’s father started to work in the fur business. He sold the raw furs to St. Louis or to Montreal. 5:16: In 1922, Lawrence’s family moved to Montreal. 5:41: Lawrence was born in 1896. He moved to Englehart at age nine. 6:00: Lawrence discusses his Jewish education. His family belonged to Shaarei Shomayim in Montreal. When they moved to Englehart, they had a teacher. 7:10: Lawrence mentions a warm relationship between his father and Rabbi Jacobs, the head of Holy Blossom on Bond Street in Toronto. 9:13: Lawrence attended the Bond Street synagogue. 9:50: Lawrence became a member of Goel Tzedek. 10:00: Lawrence and his sibling attended high school in Hillbury. He reports not experiencing of antisemitism. 11:39: Lawrence explains how he moved from Englehart to study law at the University of Toronto in the summer of 1914. 12:55: At the outbreak of the war, Lawrence participated in the officers’ training corps at the University. He explains his training and describes how, in 1915, at age eighteen, he qualified as an officer with the Algonquin Rifles. While overseas, he trained as a pilot. 15:42: Before going overseas, Lawrence was the officer in charge of a scout troop in his battalion. 16:20: Lawrence describes the accommodations made for veterans who returned to University of Toronto in 1919. He explains how he was able to complete three years of law school and graduate in the summer of 1920. 18:28: Lawrence lists some of the prominent graduates from his year. 19:01: Lawrence explains that was shot down over Germany in 1917, where he spent the remainder of the war. 20:15: Lawrence explains where he resided while going to university. 21:43: Lawrence describes his involvement with the Jewish community in Toronto. He attended Goel Tzedek and had Jewish friends. 22:42: Lawrence discusses how he got involved at Goel Tzedek and lists some of the families who were members. He explains how he got know Toronto relatives of his oldest brother’s wife. 26:29: Lawrence suggests that university students were welcomed by both clergy (he cites Rabbi Price) and the lay community (he cites the Coopers). 27:22: Lawrence became a charter member of the first B’nai Brith Lodge in 1920. 28:32: Lawrence articled with a non-Jewish firm: Faskin-Robinson. After graduation, Lawrence started a small law firm with Joe Singer. They stayed together for forty-five years.

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Dr. Hana Gelber

Number

OH 13

OH 14

Subject

Antisemitism

Families

Occupations

Interview Date

29 Jul. 1973

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

013 Side One 30 minutes

014 Side One 30 minutes

014 Side Two 30 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

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

Biography

Hana Gelber (née David) was born in Safed (Tzfat), Palestine in 1907. She studied sciences at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and prepared her thesis at Hebrew University. She graduated from University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1929. Hana moved to Toronto in December 1929 and married Eddie Gelber in March 1930. Hana and Eddie moved to New York where Eddie was completing his final year at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Hana conducted research at the Rockefeller Institute. They returned to Toronto in July 1930. Hana graduated from Medical School at the University of Toronto in 1934. She completed her medical internship in Palestine. Hana and Eddie lived in Palestine from 1934 to 1939. They returned to Toronto in 1939 where they remained until 1954 at which time they made aliyah. Hana worked at Women's College Hospital until 1954. Hana had three children: Edna, Lynn, and David.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Gelber, Hana

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Women's College Hospital (Toronto, Ont.)

Geographic Access

New York (N.Y.).

Palestine

Toronto (Ont.)

Tsefat (Israel)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 13, OH 14 - Gelber\OH13_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 13, OH 14 - Gelber\OH14_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 13, OH 14 - Gelber\OH14_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Belle James

Number

OH 16

Subject

Families

Rabbis

Interview Date

21 Apr. 1975

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

Side One: 46 minutes

Side Two: 5 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Belle James (née Levy) was born in Toronto in 1908. Her father, Rabbi Meyer Levy, became chief rabbi of Toronto in 1905/6.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

James, Belle

Levy, Meyer

Weiss, Lottie

Geographic Access

Toronto, Ont.

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 16 - James\OH16_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 16 - James\OH16_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Ben Himel

Number

OH 135

Subject

Communism

Education

Fraternal organizations

Labor unions

Zionism

Interview Date

24 Jan. 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

OH135_001: 26.40 minutes OH135_002: 29.20 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Ben Himel was vice president and founder of the Borochov School and Kindergarten. Himel was affliated with the Poale Zion Jewish National Workers Alliance (Farband), the Independent Workers Circle, and the Board of Jewish Education.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Himel, Ben

Speisman, Stephen

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 135 - Himel\OH135_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 135 - Himel\OH135_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Benjamin Himel discusses the ideologies of Canada's labour Movements during the 1930s and 1940s.

In this clip, Benjamin Himel discusses the Zionist movement within the Toronto Jewish community during the 1930s and 1940s.

Name

Dr. Alexander Brown

Number

OH 140

Subject

Education

Interview Date

4 May 1977

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

Side 1: 46 minutes 22 seconds Side 2: 41 minutes 13 seconds good

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Dr. Alexander Brown was a leader in the field of Jewish education in Toronto. He held various positions with Toronto's Board of Education and the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto. He was actively involved with other Jewish organizations, such as the Canadian Jewish Congress and the United Jewish Welfare Fund. Dr. Brown was born in the Ukraine in 1909 and was the son of Louis and Bessie Brown.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Brown, Alexander

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

Board of Jewish Education (Toronto, Ont.)

United Jewish Welfare Fund (Toronto, Ont.)

Associated Hebrew Schools (Toronto, Ont.)

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Dr. Brown describes his tenure as executive secretary of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), its organizational structure, and the CJC's position within the Toronto Jewish community.

In this clip, Dr. Brown discusses the Board of Jewish Education, the Welfare Fund, and the Canadian Jewish Congress in relation to the subsidization of Associated Hebrew Schools.

Name

Mina Sprachman

Number

OH 142

Subject

Architects

Buildings

Occupations

Interview Date

12 Dec. 1978

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

AC142: 31:34 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Abraham Sprachman (1896–1971) was as Toronto-based architect who, in partnership with Harold Kaplan in the firm Kaplan & Sprachman, was well-known for the design of art deco and art moderne movie theatres during the 1930s and 1940s and for designing buildings for Jewish communities across Canada from the 1930s to 1960s.

Abraham married his cousin Mina Sprachman in 1921. They had two children, Mandel and Sheila. Mandel followed in his father's footsteps and became a nationally-recognized and acclaimed architect. Both specialized in theatre design and renovations. Mandel became an architect best known for his restoration of the Elgin Wintergarden.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Kaplan & Sprachman

Kaplan, Harold

Sprachman, Abraham, 1896-1971

Speisman, Stephen

Sprachman, Mina

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Mina Sprachman discusses her husband's architectural firm of Kaplan and Sprachman, its Jewish clientele, and the firm's commissions to design and renovate theatres, hospitals, and synagogues across Canada.

Name

Dora Till

Number

OH 151

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Labor

Labor unions

Women

Occupations

Interview Date

4 May 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

46 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Dora Till (née Tobias) was born in New York City in 1896. She came to Toronto in 1900. She married Morris Till in 1918. They had one daughter, Cecile. As a youth, Dora was involved with Herzl Girls and the Boot and Shoe Society. Dora was active in community service and contributed greatly to social service work. She was co-founder and first president for the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, vice president of the Hebrew Maternity Aid Society, a board member for the Jewish Family and Child Services, an executive for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, honorary vice president of United Jewish Welfare Fund, on the board of Canadian Jewish Congress and past president of the Naomi Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Herzl Girls Boot and Shoe Society, 1920

Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home

Baycrest Hospital

United Jewish Welfare Fund

Beth Tzedec Synagogue

Timothy Eaton Company

Till, Dora

Geographic Access

Toronto

Bronte

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Dora Till discusses some of the services provided by Hebrew Maternity Aid.

Dora Till was co-founder and first president for Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home. In this clip, Dora describes the efforts to solicit and fundraise on behalf of the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home.

Name

Edith Shields

Number

OH 192

OH 193

Subject

Printing plants

Rabbis

Synagogues

Interview Date

21 Jan. 1988

Quantity

4 cassettes (2 copies)

4 WAV files

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

OH192_001: 31.00 minutes OH192_002: 31.01 minutes OH193_001: 31.05 minutes OH193_002: 31.02 minutes

Conservation

Copied to cassestte tape in August 2003

Digitized July 2014

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Edtih Shields was born in Poland in 1906. She immigrated to Toronto in 1925. During the 1920s, her father, Rabbi Tzvi Silverstein, served as rabbi for both the Keltzer and Slipia Synagogues. Edith married Labish Shields, who was the owner of the Shield’s Printing Company and a construction company and also the financier of properties north of St. Clair Street.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Geographic Access

Palestine

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 192, OH 193 - Shields\OH192_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 192, OH 193 - Shields\OH192_002_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 192, OH 193 - Shields\OH193_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 192, OH 193 - Shields\OH193_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories