The file consists of correspondence between the Zionist Organization of Canada and community leadership, lists of contributors to fundraising campaigns, and correspondence concerning the Israel Art Exhibition.
Accession consists of textual and graphic material documenting the personal and professional activities of Percy Skuy. Photographs include: family portraits, school photographs, images of Percy as an apprentice pharmacist, images of Habonim camp in Vryheid, images of Frances as a child in Sudbury, images of Percy and Frances's honeymoon, images of Percy with his family in Toronto, images of trips back to South Africa, photos from the cottage, images of Percy receiving awards, and street scenes of Kensington Market (1978).
Also included is Percy's memoir entitled "My Story Unfolds", articles written by Percy for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, and a book written by Percy entitled "Tales of Contraception."
Administrative History
Percy Skuy was born in Vryheid, South Africa on February 17, 1932 to Benjamin and Chana (nee Cilevitz) Skuy. Percy is the middle of three children. His siblings are Max (b. 1929) and Rita (b. 1942). At seventeen, Percy began his apprenticeship and education to be a pharmacist. After qualifying as a pharmacist in 1954, he worked for a year at a pharmacy near Johannesburg before starting his travels through Europe, Australia and the United States. He had planned to return to South Africa, however, he did not have enough money for the fare back. Although he did not originally intend to visit Canada, he headed to Toronto to find a job so he could earn money for the passage home. He eventually secured a job with Glaxo Pharmaceuticals as a Medical Sales Representative and decided to stay. In 1959 he completed his requirements to become a liscenced pharmacist in Ontario and was the first South African pharmacist registered in Ontario.
Percy met Frances Goodman in 1960 on a blind date and they married that same year. Frances was a nurse from Sudbury. They had two children together: Beth (b. 1961) and David (b. 1963).
In 1961, Percy began his thirty-four-year long career with the Johnson and Johnson Corporation. He had a variety of roles within the company and was president for twenty-two years with two Johnson & Johnson affiliate companies, namely Ortho Pharmaceutical (Canada) Ltd and Ortho-McNeil Inc. Percy is also the founder of the only museum devoted exclusively to the history of contraception located at the Dittrick Medical History Centre in Cleveland, Ohio.
Throughout his career, Percy has been appointed to a number of government and research councils including: the Premier's Council of Ontario, the Federal National Advisory Council on Pharmaceutical Research, and the Board of Governors of the Riverdale Hospital. In September 1995, Percy was inducted as a Candian Pioneer in Family Planning. He has also been an active member of the Rokeah Chapter of the Rho Pi Phi fraternity.
in 1977, Frances passed away. Percy eventually re-married to Elsa Ruth Snider on December 16, 1979.
File consists of correspondence regarding Jewish related issues in Belleville. Of special interest is the correspondence about the religious education in public primary schools.
4 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
Date
[194-]-2005
Scope and Content
This accession consists of textual records and photographs documenting the Belleville Jewish community and the Sons of Jacob Synagogue. The textual records include a dedication book from the Synagogue as well as documents related to the synagogue's reunion weekend in 2005. The photographs depict the Judaeans basketball team, a Young Judaea conference, the synagogue's dedication ceremonies, and a children's Purim play.
Use Conditions
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession consists of one scanned photograph of a cheder class in the basement of the synagogue in Belleville. Identified are: Bill Mayer, Rabbi Babb, Ron Gitelman, Sandra Yanover, Stanley Albert, Janet Salz (nee Charendoff), Steven Schwab, Barbara Abramsky, Jane Yanover, Paul Yanover, and Gloria Lipes.
Use Conditions
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Accession consists of scanned copies of material reflecting Lee Jourard's involvement in theatre in the Belleville area. There are eight theatre programmes, most of them of plays produced by the Belleville Theatre Guild, in which Jourard was a cast member and/or on the backstage crew. The records also include scanned newspaper clippings about Jourard's talks and plays (including photographs), and seven scanned copy photographs of Jourard.
The photographs are as follows:
01. A Thurber Carnival programme, 1964
02. Albert-St Catharines Review Playbill, Dec 3 1960
03. Belleville Advertiser, June 1971, page 21. Cast of The Drunkard. Lee Jourard in top hat far left.
04. Belleville Advertiser, June 1971, page21. Lee Jourard and Linda Archer dressed for their roles in The Drunkard.
05. Belleville Intel, April 17 1969, page 3.
06. Belleville Intel, Feb 13 1970. Flo Yannover as Queen Mother Yoland in the Lark.
07. Lee Jourard talk advert.
08. Programme Diary of Anne Frank, 1992.
09. Belleville Theatre. Lee Jourard in A Man For All Seasons.
10. Belleville Theatre. Photo of Lee Jourard at Rehersal, 1962.
11. Belleville Theatre Programme, 1962.
12. Birth announcement for Matthew Jourard, 1994.
13. Lee Jourard in costume receiving news of birth of grandson Mathew Joseph Jourard, 1994.
14. Cable Communications, Vol 43, No 10, Oct 1977.
15. Lee Jourard. CableVue 4 went colour, 1977.
16. Lee Jourard as Robert de Baudricourt and Milton A. Crystal as Brother Ladvenu in The Lark, March 1, 1970.
17. My Three Angels, 1960.
18. The Drunkard, June 2 to 12, 1971. Lee Jourard as Lawyer Cribbs and Edward Middleton as Stewart Arnott.
19. The Lark, 1970.
20. The Man Who Came to Dinner, 1956.
21. You Can't Take It With You, cast photo on stage, 1954.
22. You Can't Take It With You programme, 1954.
Administrative History
Entertainer Lee Jourard is well-known in the city of Belleville for his support of the arts and his community involvement. He worked as a broadcaster for CJBQ radio, was the first Community Programs Director at the Cablevue 4 television station, and was a founding member of Belleville's Cultural Awards Committee and the Harbour Improvement Committee. He is a longtime member of the Belleville Theatre Guild, having been in the cast and crew of many of its producations from the 1950s through the 1990s. Jourard is also a member of the Bay of Quinte Power Squadron and the Moira River Conservation Authority Advisory Board. In 2007 he was named Senior of the Year in the City of Belleville.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Accession consists of electronic copies of documents, photographs, and portraits that pertain to Belleville's Sons of Jacob Congregation, to the activities of the Belleville chapter of Hadassah-WIZO, and the Tobe family of Belleville. The records date from 1917 to circa 1981 and include: the congregation's constitution (1972) and a certificate from The United Synagogue of America recognizing it as a member synagogue of the Conservative movement (1961); Hadassah-WIZO documents including certificates relating to donations, photographs, and an advertising bookmark; a plan of the Sons of Jacob Memorial Park (oversized); and various photographs of the Tobe family of Belleville.
There are also two photographs made of oversize drawings (portraits) of persons unidentified but probably related to the Tobes.
Verso of 04.jpg reads: "June 28, 1981. To my friends, Bluma. Zeke Tobe. Happy memories! Bill Palmatier."
Verso of 06.jpg reads: "About 1917. Bellville [sic] Ontario. Dave, Zeke, Bluma, Sam & Abe. Abe was about 5 years when this was taken. His dad 'Moses' (age 42) had died about this time leaving their mom to raise 6 children with very little means of support and she could not speak English."
Custodial History
The records originally belonged to Abe Tobe of Belleville. They were retained by Miri Cohen, president of the shul, when Mr. Tobe passed away in March 2007, to be preserved by the synagogue.
Descriptive Notes
Photographs of oversize portraits by Daniel Ehrenworth.
The child of Latvian immigrants to South Africa, Percy grew up in the small town of Vryheid, South Africa with his parents and two siblings. Years later, when asked what the population of Vryheid was, Percy’s mother replied, “Forty Jewish families.” Those families formed a tight-knit community that was able to support not only a synagogue and a rabbi, but a Talmud Torah school and a butcher’s shop with a kosher section.
At seventeen years old, Percy began an apprenticeship to become a pharmacist. He qualified in 1954 and worked for a year before leaving South Africa to travel the world. He never planned on visiting Canada, but found himself in Toronto for a stopover and ended up liking the city so much he decided to stay. In 1959, Percy became the first South African pharmacist registered in Ontario.
Percy met his first wife, Frances Goodman, in 1960 on a blind date and married her that same year. Together, they had two children: Beth (born in 1961) and David (born in 1963). In 1961, Percy began his thirty-four-year career with Johnson and Johnson Corporation, taking on a number of roles in the company during that time. In 1977, Frances passed away. Two years later, he married his second wife, Elsa Ruth Snider.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Percy is the founder of the only museum devoted exclusively to the history of contraception. The museum is located at the Dittrick Medical History Centre in Cleveland, Ohio.
Material Format
moving images
Language
English
Name Access
Skuy, Percy, 1932-
Geographic Access
Canada
Europe
Israel
South Africa
United States
Original Format
Digital file
Copy Format
Digital file
Transcript
00:30 Percy was born in 1932 in Vryheid in northern Natal, South Africa.
00:41 Percy's parents emigrated from Latvia to South Africa in 1929.
00:53 Percy discusses his parents and their early lives in South Africa and the Jewish community in Vryheid.
04:10 Percy discusses his family's practice of Judaism while growing up.
05:02 Percy's father ran a small business. Later he worked with his brother-in-law to run a mill. At age fifty-nine, his father was killed in an automobile accident.
06:00 Percy discusses his mother. Percy has two siblings: an older brother, Max, and a younger sister, Rita.
07:19 Percy shares some of his childhood memories.
09:29 Percy was involved in the Habonim youth movement.
11:27 Percy reminisces about the establishment of the State of Israel.
13:23 Percy discusses his impressions of apartheid. He discusses his relationships with Black men and women.
15:15 Percy discusses his involvement with an anti-apartheid group.
17:19 Percy shares a story that illustrates his opposition to apartheid. His parents were not politically active.
19:06 Percy discusses how he became interested in pharmacy and the training for pharmacists.
21:21 Percy describes his two years of travel following graduation from pharmacy.
26:58 Percy relates how, en route to a pre-arranged job in the Arctic, he serendipitously secured a job with Glaxo as a medical sales representative on a stop-over in Toronto.
29:49 Percy describes his sales route.
30:46 Percy explains how he became the first South African registered pharmacist in Ontario.
32:31 Percy describes some of his early social/business pursuits in Canada.
34:12 Percy married his wife, Francis, originally from Sudbury. She graduated from the University of Toronto in nursing.
34:26 Following travel to Europe, Israel and South Africa, Percy and Francis decided to return to live in Canada.
35:35 Percy discusses the importance of maintaining family connection despite distance.
36:41 Percy describes the slow trickle of relatives who emigrated from South Africa. He notes that he has no close relatives remaining in South Africa and comments on the disappearance of the Jewish community in Vryheid.
38:39 Percy discusses some of the challenges he faced integrating socially into the Jewish community.
40:36 Percy explains how he became involved with working for the company Ortho.
45:15 Percy explains the factors that guided his integration into Canada.
47:08 Percy discusses his involvement in the Jewish community in Toronto.
48:30 Percy contrasts his own upbringing with how he raised his own children in Toronto.
52:00 Percy discusses his grandchildren.
52:26 Percy is the founder of a museum of the history of contraception. He explains how he developed an interest in the history of contraception and how he collected artifacts.
58:18 Percy describes his work history, his involvement in professional committee work, and his pursuits following his retirement in 1995.
1:00:11 Percy explains how he found a permanent location for the museum at the Dittrick Museum at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
1:02:50 Percy married Elsa in 1979. He discusses their range of hobbies.
1:03:38 Percy discusses the three documentaries he created. The topics included the formation of the Jewish pharmacy fraternity, the history of Jewish pharmacists in Canada, and the extracurricular involvement of Jewish pharmacists in Canada.
1:06:47 Percy addresses some of the issues faced by South African Jewish pharmacists who integrated to Canada.
1:09:20 Percy lists the languages he speaks.
1:10:00 Percy reminisces about his mother. He recalls his mother's relationship with their family servant.
1:13:14 Percy describes his training in pharmacy in South Africa.
1:15:27 Percy shares stories about their family's Black servants.
1:17:40 Percy reminisces about the opportunities that came his way since his arrival in Canada.
Accession consists of material documenting the Sons of Jacob Congregation of Belleville, Ontario. Included are meeting minutes, handwritten notes, and a copy of the synagogue's constitution, as well as other textual records.
Custodial History
The files belonged to the donor's parents. The latter were active in the Sons of Jacob Congregation (Mike's mother was the secretary for a time).
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Constitution also available as a PDF file.
Accession is comprised of family and community photographs of two generations of the Albert family of Belleville. Images include rabbis Moses Lewin and Walter Seligman, friends, events such as bar mitzvahs, Ethnic Day and a Purim Party, and the Trenton Airbase Jewish Servicemen memorial. People pictured are identified in the finding aid. There is also one electronic copy of a newsclipping about Rabbi Moses Lewin.
The photographs are as follows:
01. Joe Burke far right Norman Albert in middle Ruth Goldberg far right, 1950s.
02. Belleville Community Picnic at the Albert's Summer House.
03. David Albert, 1960.
04. David Albert bar mitzvah with Rabbi Seligmann and wife.
05. Ethnic Day at the Shul, mid-1970s.
06. Florence Yannover.
07. Jacob Albert with grandsons, 1958.
08. Left to right: Ruth Lear and Becky Shulmann and Sarah Lightstone in back.
09. Left to right: Selma Bochnek, Shirley Osborne, Ethel Burke, Walter and Mrs Seligmann at synagogue dinner dance.
10. Mark and Michelle and David Albert, March 20 1971, bar mitzvah.
11. Norm and Lil and Jacob Albert and Rose.
12. Purim Party, 1957.
13. Purim Party. Joe Burke and Mynra Crystal of Peterborough, April 1957.
14. Rabbi Moses Lewin.
15. Shulman Departure, May 1985.
16. Trenton Airbase Jewish Servicemen Memorial, ca. 2003.
Item is a negative of the exterior of Percy's Fruit Market, 232 Augusta Avenue, at the corner of Augusta Avenue and Nassau Street in Kensington Market.
Name Access
Percy's Fruit Market
Subjects
Markets
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
This item is an original slide of the former Sons of Jacob Synagogue building at 122 Pinnacle Street in Belleville, Ontario. Today, this site houses the Legion Hall.
This item is an original slide of the former Sons of Jacob Synagogue building at 122 Pinnacle Street in Belleville, Ontario. Today, this site houses the Legion Hall.
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 10 x 12 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy portrait of Moses Tobe and David Dime, business partners from Belleville, Ontario. Also pictured is a small child named Sam, who is standing on a wicker chair.
Subjects
Businessmen
Children
Portraits, Group
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
This item is an original wedding portrait of Mrs. Percy Waxer (née Jessie Breland) of Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The photograph was likely taken in Cochrane, Ontario.
Notes
Statement of responsibility: Photograph by Duke Studio.
General: Acquired in 1976.
Name Access
Breland, Jessie
Waxer, Jessie
Waxer, Mrs. Percy
Subjects
Portraits
Weddings
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.