- Name
- Arthur Gelber
- Material Format
- sound recording
- Interview Date
- 28 Nov. 1990
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Arthur Gelber
- Number
- OH 241
- Subject
- Antisemitism
- Arts
- Charities
- Interview Date
- 28 Nov. 1990
- Quantity
- 2 cassettes (1 copy)
- Total Running Time
- 1:6 minutes
- Conservation
- Copied August 2003
- Digitized 2014
- Use Restrictions
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Biography
- Arthur Gelber was born on 22 June 1915 in Toronto. He was educated at Upper Canada College. He married Esther Salomon and had four daughters. Arthur was actively involved in Jewish and general community activity. Among his accomplishments, Arthur served as chair of the National Arts Centre Corporation, chair of the Advisory Council Ontario Cabinet, past president of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, past president of the National Ballet, Board of Directors of the American Council for the Arts, Ballet Opera House, National Ballet, Stratford Festival, life director of the National Theatre School of Canada, governor of National Theatre School of Canada, former honorary chair of the Performing Arts Development Fund, and former governor of York University, trustee of the AGO, decorated with the Order of Canada, recipient of the Centennial medal in 1967, Diploma D’honneur 1978, Queen’s Jubilee Medal, vice-president of America-Israel Cultural Foundation, executive of Canadian Jewish Congress, president of Toronto Zionist Council, president of United Jewish Welfare Fund, second chair of the UJA in 1949, chair of the United Jewish Relief Agency, and chair of the United Jewish Appeal.
- Material Format
- sound recording
- Name Access
- United Jewish Relief Agency
- UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
- Ontario Arts Council
- Geographic Access
- Toronto
- Original Format
- Audio cassette
- Copy Format
- Audio cassette
- Digital file
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Cyrel Troster
- Material Format
- moving images
- Interview Date
- 28 Nov. 2016
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Cyrel Troster
- Number
- OH 441
- Subject
- Arts
- Charities
- Committees
- Interview Date
- 28 Nov. 2016
- Interviewer
- Melissa Caza
- Use Restrictions
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Material Format
- moving images
- Name Access
- Ontario Jewish Archives
- Original Format
- Digital file
- Transcript
- OH 441 Part 1
0:22 Cyrel outlines her academic background and discusses her volunteer & professional positions, including Chair of the OJA, Chair of Cultural Planning & Allocation, served on the Board of the Canadian Jewish Congress & Ontario Jewish Congress and currently serves on the Board of OJA.
0:53 Cyrel discusses the history of the Ontario Jewish Archives. Cyrel. & Susan Cohen obtained federal grants to create a local initiative project with the initial focus to collect information on prominent members of the Toronto Jewish community. Cyrel identifies the organizations & individuals who assisted them initially (e.g. Toronto Jewish Historical Society,Victor Sefton) . She discusses the staff, including Steven Speisman, Bess Shockett & Ruth Ladovsky and the location in Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue.
4:53 Cyrel describes the creation of the Sense of Spadina Walking tours which were an offshoot of a living exhibit designed for the Triennial for the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1974. She discusses the contributors to the project, including Steven Speisman, Bess Shockett, Marty Mendelow, Charlie & Peggy Goldsbie and Mrs. Langner, the wife of the Rabbi from the Kiever Synagogue.
6:05 Cyrel describes the successful Sense of Spadina Walking Tours held in June 1974.
7:47 Cyrel discusses the formation of day & evening volunteer committees to help catalogue material in OJA’s new location in the basement of 150 Beverly St. She discusses some of the archival donations e.g. Sidney Harris, Ben Kayfetz.
9:12 Cyrel recalls the move to Lipa Green building in early 1980’s.
9:48 Cyrel describes the OJA office at 150 Beverly. St. She describes some of the historical documents that were discovered in the basement. She discusses the volunteers’ responsibilities.
11:27 Cyrel discusses the function of the OJA committee. She discusses Photo Committee.
13:00 Cyrel discusses early efforts to acquire material for the OJA.
15:56 Cyrel explains why an archive specific to the Ontario Jewish community was established. The effort to establish the OJA arose from a small group of researchers, including Steven Speisman, who recognized the importance of preserving ethnic Jewish history.
17:18 Cyrel explains how the material collected by OJA is unique to & valued by the Ontario Jewish community.
18:48 Cyrel discusses some of the challenges faced by OJA in the early years.
19:58 Cyrel discusses the end result of the Toronto Jewish Historical Society.
20:45 Cyrel discusses the evolvement of the Sense of Spadina Walking Tours. She explains how Ellen Scheinberg, archivist, was pivotal in the advancement of the walking tours. Spadina Walking Tours became a part of “Jane’s Walk”.
24:02 Cyrel shares an amusing story about Henry Papernick, retired lawyer & OJA volunteer.
25:35 Cyrel discusses the contributions made by Brooky Robins, assistant to Steven Speisman. She spearheaded the collection of material from northern Ontario. Also involved was Fred Schaeffer.
26:46 Cyrel discusses OJA hosting various community events to donate materials to the archives.
27:41 Cyrel explains that due to the volume of donated material, off-site storage facilities were used at Yonge & Eglinton.
28:04 Cyrel describes the changes and improvements that occurred after moving to the facilities at Lipa Green.
28:55 Cyrel discusses her responsibilities as Chair of OJA between 1983 and 1998. She mentions that she also served on the Ontario Jewish Congress, Ontario Region Executive & the Toronto Jewish Congress.
30:11 Cyrel explains that Jewish Communist papers were passed on to the collection of Multicultural History at St. Michael’s.
30:36 Cyrel discusses some of the projects and exhibits that OJA pursued.
32:05 Cyrel discusses the efforts made by Sol Edell & Marty Mendelow to fix up the Kiever synagogue in the early 1980’s.
34:25 Cyrel explains why the Kiever synagogue was chosen as a focus for an OJA project.
35:25 Cyrel discusses the special projects & direction of the OJA during the period she was Chair.
36:19 Cyrel discusses the biggest challenges faced by the OJA during her sevice as Chair.
OH 441 Part 2
00:00 Cyrel discusses the changes in leadership and operation at the OJA ca 2000. Staff included Brooky Robins, Susan Jackson and Ellen Scheinberg.
1:54 Cyrel discusses the major projects that occurred while Ellen Scheinberg was Director.
3:09 Cyrel discusses her role with the OJA while Ellen served as Director.
4:07 Cyrel discusses the challenges faced by OJA while Ellen served as Director.
5:23 Cyrel discusses the relationship between OJA and other archives and agencies.
8:00 Cyrel addresses the factors that contributed to the success of the Sense of Spadina Walking Tours.
11:13 Cyrel points that out the general groups participating in the Sense of Spadina Walking Tours tend to be Jewish but Jane’ Walk groups are varied & drawn to the neighbourhood.
11:53 Cyrel discusses why the OJA has played a major role in her life.
12:25 Cyrel shares a story from her personal life in order to illustrate the importance of preserving oral histories.
13:51 Cyrel relates a story told to her by Ben Kayfetz about the Strettiner Rebbe on Cecil Street.
OH 441 Part 3
00:00 Cyrel describes the efforts of Sol Edell, Susan Brown and Cyrel to put together an audio-visual presentation to mark the opening of the archives.
2:17 Cyrel describes a conceived project that was not realized.
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Accession Number
- 2014-6-3
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2014-6-3
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 8 cm of textual records
- Date
- 1997-2004
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of textual records documenting Cyrel Troster's involvement with UJA Federation's Cultural Services Planning and Allocation Committee, Cultural Planning and Allocation, and the development of cultural policy. Also included is a program book and silent auction catalogue for an exhibit held at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.
- Use Conditions
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Subjects
- Arts
- Name Access
- Troster, Cyrel
- UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2021-11-3
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2021-11-3
- Material Format
- textual record (electronic)
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records (electronic)
- Date
- 2015-2021
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of material documenting UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Included are meeting minutes and other records for the UJA Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee (2015–2019) and the Kultura Collective (2018–2021).
- Custodial History
- At the time of the donation, Sam's job title was director, arts, culture & heritage. Her department was Community Capacity Building.
- Administrative History
- The Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee of UJA Federation oversaw a strategy to fund and support Jewish cultural institutions, programs and initiatives that offered meaningful connections to Jewish identity and engagement. The committee considered programs that included (but were not limited to) the realms of visual arts, music, literature, dance, film, and theatre.
- The following seven agencies fell within the scope of the committee: Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre (UJA); the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (UJA); the Toronto Jewish Film Festival; the Ashkenaz Festival; the Committee for Yiddish; the Koffler Centre of the Arts; and the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Committee.
- The committee reported to UJA's Community Capacity Building Committee (CCBC), which oversees UJA's investments in the Greater Toronto Area. The CCBC is accountable to UJA's board of directors.
- The Kultura Collective is a network of modern Jewish arts, culture, and heritage organizations that coalesced to create the collective. The name is inspired by the Kultur-Lige, an interwar collective that promoted Jewish culture and community across eastern Europe and that was destroyed at the height of its reach and impact. Members of the collective include Ashkenaz; the Canadian-Israel Cultural Foundation; the Committee for Yiddish; the Consulate General of Israel in Toronto; Fentster; the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company; Jewish Music Week; the Koffler Centre of the Arts; the Miles Nadal JCC; the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre; the Prosserman JCC; the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre; the Schwartz/Reisman Centre; and the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation.
- Use Conditions
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Subjects
- Arts
- Name Access
- UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
