Bess Shockett, Committee for Yiddish

Accession Number: 2009-6-5

Source: Archival Accessions

Accession Number: 2009-6-5

Material Format: graphic material; sound recording; moving images; textual record; object

Physical Description: 187 photographs : b&w and col. ; 24 x 20 cm or smaller; 20 audiocassettes; 10 videocassettes; 1 folder of textual records; 1 object

Date: [193-]-2006

Scope and Content: Accession consists predominantly of records collected by Bess Shockett in her work with UJA Federation's Committee for Yiddish and Friends of Yiddish. The accession also contains some personal family records. The photographs document programmes of the Committee for Yiddish in the late 1980s and 1990s, including an outdoor Yiddish concert, several International Conferences of Yiddish Clubs (1995, 1998, 1999), Sunday morning Yiddish classes, and a 1993 Hanukah concert. There are also three photographs of the New Fraternal Jewish Association and its celebration of J. B. Salsberg's eightieth birthday in 1980. The videocassettes contain recordings of other events including a storytelling workshop, Purim Mystery Night, a farewell for Miriam Waddington and several Sof Vokh (weekend retreat) programmes of 1993.; The twenty cassette tapes feature panel discussions, lectures and interviews, including "Yiddish education," "Yiddish and the Media," "Yiddish and the Younger Generation," "Yiddish and the Performing Arts," and "Yiddish Language and Translation." There are several interviews with Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever, as well as two Toronto Yiddish concerts. Other tapes contain radio interviews with [Aaron?] Lansky; "Chava Rosenfarb--Book Fair", 1988; "Plenary reports and presentations"; and an episode of the program The Forward Hour on Peretz Miransky, an influential Polish writer in the inter-war years.; Personal records in the accession consist of family snapshots dating from the 1930s and 1940s. These were taken in Israel and include images of farming, landscapes, travel, a canal, groups of people, city buildings, and processions. These photos all have Yiddish writing on the back. There is one formal portrait, ca. 1890s, of an elderly Jewish man. As well, there is a folder of original and photocopied poetry (in Yiddish) written by a Jack Shockett.; Accession also includes a Yiddish typewriter, in case, that Bess used in the late 1960s/early 1970s when the Committee for Yiddish was under Congress.

Custodial History: Records were entrusted to the estate of Bess Shockett after her death, and given to her Committee for Yiddish colleague Ethel Cooper, who brought them to the archives.

Administrative History: Bess Shockett was born in the Ukraine in 1919. Her father, Solomon Maltin, was the mayor of the town and helped establish a number of Jewish community institutions. He and his wife had two sons along with Bess: Sam and Ben. In 1925, the family moved to Montreal. As an adolescent, Bess became very active in the Jewish community and joined the United Jewish People's Order. She helped organize a union for workers in the knitting industry and later did the same for fur workers. She also travelled to Winnipeg to organize a laundry workers union. She met her husband, Barry Shockett, in Toronto and they married in 1952 and had three children: Michael, Elka and Eric. Bess eventually became very active in the Toronto Jewish community, particularly in regards to supporting and launching several innovative Yiddish programs. She staffed the office of CJC's Committee for Yiddish in its early years, and was Director from 1974 to 1989. She helped found the Friends of Yiddish in 1985 and served as executive vice-president until her death on August 27, 2007.

Descriptive Notes: There is little written material; what there is (captions and poetry) is mostly in Yiddish; some captions are in English.

Subjects: Committees; Yiddish language

Name Access: Committee for Yiddish (Toronto, Ont.)

Places: Toronto (Ont.)

Source: Archival Accessions

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