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David Pinkus - 10 Dec. 2013
- Name
- David Pinkus
- Material Format
- moving images
- Interview Date
- 10 Dec. 2013
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- David Pinkus
- Number
- OH 413
- Subject
- Synagogues
- Talmud Torah (Judaism)
- Interview Date
- 10 Dec. 2013
- Quantity
- 1 digital file
- Interviewer
- Dara Solomon
- Total Running Time
- 1:15 min
- Biography
- David Pinkus (1924–2021) was born in 1924 in Toronto, the son of Molly and Isadore Pinkus, and spent his entire life living in the Kensington Market area. Pinkus, whose family were founding members of the Kiever Shul, held positions on the executive, served as president, and played a principal role in the shul's restoration. Pinkus served on the boards of the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals. David was an active community leader and local historian. He passed away on 6 May 2021.
- Material Format
- moving images
- Name Access
- Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998
- Geographic Access
- Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)
- Original Format
- Digital file
- Copy Format
- Digital file
- DVD
- Transcript
- 00:15: David Pinkus was born on 11 May 1924 at the Toronto General Hospital. He comments that he later served on the boards for the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals. 00:56: David’s mother, Machla ("Molly") (née Parlstein), was born in Podolya Gobernya in Komenesk Podolsk in 1892. The family likely moved to Ukraine. 2:33: David’s father was born in Chmelnyk, Ukraine in Kiever Gobernya in 1887. 3:20: David’s maternal grandfather was a manager of a royal estate. He describes the tragic end to his grandfather’s position. 4:32: David’s paternal grandfather was in the cattle business. 4:49: David’s parents met and married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 16 October 1910. He describes how and when they came to Milwaukee. 6:06: David’s maternal grandmother’s name was ?Mazerovsky, later changed to Mazer. 7:01: David’s father moved to Toronto in 1911. His mother arrived soon after, also in 1911. They lived in the Ward on Edward Street between Bay and Yonge Streets. They lived with Moshe Brodsky. 8:18: David describes his father’s various jobs. His father finally became a fruit and vegetable wholesaler servicing merchants in Kensington Market. 9:04: David’s family was one of the first settlers to Kensington in about 1914. He discusses where they lived. 10:29: David explains that many lantzmen (fellow Jews from the same area) came to Kensingon. His father was one of the founders of the Kiever Synagogue. 11:32: David speaks fondly of his mother. 12:40: David describes their family’s religious observance. 14:04: David’s father belonged to Sons of Abraham, a sick benefit society. He describes the services of the society. 15:04: David’s brother, Max, was born on 6 July 1912. His sister, Goldie, was born in February 1916. 15:43: The language of the home was Yiddish, but kids answered in English. 16:00: David attended the Brunswick Talmud Torah daily. David learned Hebrew but not literate Yiddish. 16:50: David describes the area where he lived. He was born on 83 Huron Street. He mentions a water reservoir from D’Arcy to Dundas that was built in the 1800s for the fire department. 18:24:The Kielcer Shul was on the corner of Dundas Street, and the Narayaver Shul was across the street from David’s home. David describes his home. 19:10: David’s family moved to 34 Nassau Street in 1927. At the same time, the Kiever Shul was being built. 20:01: David explains that many Jews from Ukraine, including his father, initially were left-leaning and politically supportive of Joe Salsberg. 21:08: David shares some early memories of growing up in the Kensington Market district. 23:13: David attended the William (?)Houston School on 21 Nassau Street, which was built in 1924. He discusses the history of this building: institute of trades, a forerunner of Ryerson; then welfare outlet; then an air force base during the war; later became part of George Brown College; lofts were built. 24:40: David describes the ethnic make-up of the Kensington area. He mentions some of his friends from the neighbourhood: Leonard Brathwaite, the first Black member of Ontario legislature; Jack Allen, an alderman and reeve of East York; and Carl Cole of Cole’s books. 26:58: David had his bar mitzvah in the Kiever Shul. 27:20: David discusses his school history. William Houston School was a junior school where he stayed until 1930. He attended Ryerson Public School until grade eight. He mentions some of his teachers. 30:31: David discusses his involvement with sports at Harbord Collegiate and YMHA on Brunswick Avenue. 31:05: David attended Harbord School for high school until 1943. 32:14: David explains how he finished high school early in order to work on a farm to help during the Second World War. He describes the transportation. 34:36: David describes his four-year program in mechanical engineering with the School of Engineering at the University of Toronto commencing in September 1943. 36:52: David describes his career as an engineer. 37:16: David discusses the difficulties encountered by Jews in the field of engineering. 38:07: David shares an anecdote about a friend, Joe Berman, who struggled to find a job in engineering physics but later helped join up with F. Diamond to start Cadillac construction and joined with Fairview Corporation. 41:15: David discusses his work: Good Year for one year. He returned to the University of Toronto to teach engineering drawing and machine design. He found a job with CIL in ?Maitland. 43:58: David’s father died in 1947. David’s sister, Goldie, was handicapped from poliomyelitis from age three. 44:36: David returned to Toronto. He worked in Toronto Iron Works. He discusses his work. He describes how he became part of the engineering team for the Avro Aero from 1954–1958 and describes the design work. 51:49: David discusses his involvement with the Kiever Shul after his father’s death. 52:28: Goldie died in 1973. 53:30: David discusses his involvement with the executive of the Kiever Shul. 53:55 David speaks of the struggle of the shul in 1960s with the shift in Jewish population. David discusses the past membership: forty-to-fifty members in 1912, about 150 members in 1920s. With declining membership, they considered selling the shul and moving north in the 1960s. He mentions other shuls that sold their buildings. 56:30: The shul decided to remain but was in disrepair. 57:18: David discusses being approached in the early 1970s by members of the Archives Committee who proposed the creation of a tour called “Sense of Spadina,” featuring the architect Benjamin Swartz. David identifies some of the key players. 59:03: Mr. Sefton from the Jewish Historical Society suggested the restoration of the Kiever Shul to maintain historical heritage. David discusses the formation of a committee. He discusses how funds were raised to start the restoration project: joint funding between Ontario Historical Society and the Jewish community. 61:40: David reports that the project was cut back due to lack of funds. The shul continued to receive a stipend from Canadian Jewish Congress. 65:35: David discusses the stained glass windows and how they raise money for the ongoing projects. 66:50: David speaks of members, some of whom are original members. 68:20: David describes the shul as Modern Orthodox. 70:02: David speaks of his mother’s declining health for the last years of her life. His mother passed away in 1990. 72:15: David refers to chapter 6 of the book “Kensington” to highlight his non-vocational career that describes his community involvement (e.g., participating in saving the Kensington community, involvement with the Spadina Expressway, steward of Kiever Shul). 73:45: David has been recognized by the National Jewish Federation of North America as a Jewish community hero in 2011.
- Source
- Oral Histories