Ethel Mehr (1901-1975) was born in Toronto in March 1901, the daugther of Mendel and Bessie Mehr. She attended Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. On December 15, 1925, Ethel married Henry Greisman (1897-1950) who was a partner in the Balfour Building Company and later owned the Lady Ellis chain of clothing stores. They had two children, John Richard and Sally Barbara (m. Brenzel). After Henry Greisman's death, Ethel married Myer Brenner, whom she had first met as a young women.
Ethel had four siblings, Pincus, Leonard, Lucille (Warshavsky) and Bernice (Dunkelman).
Custodial History
The materials in this fonds were donated to the Archives in 1988 by Sally (Greisman) Brenzel, the daughter of Ethel Mehr.
Scope and Content
This fonds consists of photographs and a small amount of textual records documenting the Mehr, Greisman and Brenner families. The photographs include images of the Mehr family and friends, including individual members of the Greisman and Brenner families, and images of the Lady Ellis Shops in Toronto, Stratford, Ottawa and Windsor. The textual records include Ethel Mehr's confirmation diploma from Holy Blossom Temple as well as a personal letter and a Bishop Strachan domestic science workbook.
This item is a photograph of Ethel Mehr at the Mehr cottage at Jackson's Point. She is pictured standing near the water on top of a wooden construction.
Subjects
Portraits
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.
1 photograph : b&w ; 19 x 24 cm on matte 33 x 33 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of the Mehr family taken on Ethel Mehr's wedding day. Pictured from left to right are: Pincus (brother), Lucille (sister), Leonard (brother), Bessie (mother), Ethel, Mendel (father), and Bernice Mehr (sister).
Name Access
Mehr, Pincus
Mehr, Ethel
Mehr, Lucille
Mehr, Leonard
Mehr, Bessie
Mehr, Mendel
Mehr, Bernice
Greisman, Henry
Subjects
Families
Portraits, Group
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.
This item is a photograph of Ethel Mehr with four friends. They are all wearing fur coats and hats. Pictured from left to right are: Ethel Mehr, Saide Hartman, Sylvia Brenner, [unidentified], [unidentified].
Name Access
Brenner, Sylvia
Hartman, Sadie
Mehr, Ethel
Subjects
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 a photograph of Ethel Mehr and Sylvia Brenner with two other unidentified women. They are all wearing fur coats and standing on the running board of a car.
Name Access
Brenner, Sylvia
Mehr, Ethel
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.
205 photographs : b&w and col. (88 negatives) ; 15 x 10 cm or smaller
Date
1988
Scope and Content
This accession consists of photographs depicting the 40th anniversary of the state of Israel celebrations at Massey Hall, UJA's Walk for Israel at Earl Bales Park, and a UJA festival.
Accession consists of the wedding invitation for the marriage of Sylvia Mehr and Arthur Warshavsky, as well as photocopies of original announcments of the marriage in the Jewish Standard and another unknown publication, and a copy of M. Mehr & Co. Limited letterhead. The company dealt in iron, steel and metals and was located at the foot of Bathurst St.
Administrative History
Sylvia Mehr was the daughter of Mandel Mehr. She married Arthur Warshavsky in 1932 at her parent's home at 126 Lauder Ave.
Accession consists of one family memoir written by Elaine Katz regarding the lives of her parents, Ethel and Benjamin Rachlin.
Administrative History
Ethel (1904-1992) and Ben Rachlin (1904-1992) lived most of their life in Acton, Ontario where they owned the following stores: Rachlin Ladies' Wear and Rachlin Men's Wear, and Rachlin Jewellers. In 1951 Ben was elected mayor of Acton, the second Jewish mayor to be elected in Ontario.
This item is a photograph of members of the Mehr family, possibly taken on University Avenue. Pictured in the rear, from left to right are: [unknown], Jacob Mehr, Ethel Mehr, Joseph Rosenblatt.
In front, left to right: [unknown], [unknown].
Jacob Mehr and Joseph Rosenblatt were the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Ethel Mehr.
Name Access
Mehr, Jacob
Mehr, Ethel
Rosenblatt, Joseph
Subjects
Families
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.
Restriction noted by interviewee on video/oral history release form: The foregoing is subject to OJA obtaining my prior written consent prior to placing any of the interview on the internet (other than password protected communications)
Researches should be directed to the access copy created by Stephen Pincus.
Biography
Although he grew up in South Africa, Stephen was born in England where his father was studying. When they returned to South Africa in 1963, they visited Israel on the way, and five-year-old Stephen fell in love with the exotic, young Jewish state.
As a teenager, Stephen was active in Habonim, South Africa’s largest Zionist youth movement and became head of that movement in the late 1970s, running the largest Jewish youth camp in the world. Stephen was also elected chair of South Africa’s Zionist Youth Council, the umbrella body for all-Jewish youth organizations in the country. He and his wife Michelle then moved to Israel with a Habonim group that established Kibbutz Tuval in the western Galilee.
In 1982 Stephen came to study in Toronto. He served as administrator of Bialik Hebrew Day School and as camp director of Camp Shalom, while completing MBA and LLB degrees, and was awarded the Gold Medal at Osgoode Hall Law School. Stephen and Michelle started a family and both their own parents immigrated to Toronto.
Stephen is a senior partner and executive committee member at Goodmans LLP, is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading business lawyers, and has played a pioneering role in the development of the country’s capital markets. He is is the founding chair of the Canada Africa Chamber of Business, a director of Kew Media Group, a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel, chair of the board of Makom, and founder of Kaleidoscope, a unique multi-dimensional Israel engagement program.
He and his wife Michelle; their two married children, Daniel and Lisa; granddaughter Olivia; and therapy dog Mannee all live in Toronto.
Material Format
moving images
Language
English
Name Access
Pincus, Stephen, 1958-
Geographic Access
England
Original Format
Digital file
Copy Format
Digital file
Transcript
00:56 Stephen discusses his family background, including notable forebears, his grandparents' immigration in the early 1900s, and the largely Lithuanian composition of the South African Jewish community.
03:04 Stephen discusses his South-African-born parents' backgrounds and how they met.
05:14 Stephen mentions that he was born in England in 1958, while his family was abroad for his father's medical studies. He lived there until they returned to South Africa in 1964.
06:25 Stephen remembers arriving in South Africa and all the family that had come to greet them who hadn't seen his parents for eight years. He mentions that all correspondence happened via mail.
08:01 Stephen describes his family's relationship to Judaism: They were Orthodox in name, but took a pragmatic approach. Stephen went to public school and received a lot of his Jewish education from Habonim.
09:27 Stephen describes his bar mitzvah celebrations. Stephen remembers preparing his speech. He enjoys public speaking and this was a starting point.
10:49 Stephen talks about the Habonim youth movement. Stephen's involvement began in his early teens. He became the head of the movement in the late 1970s and ran the camp for a couple of years. Stephen is organizing a trip this summer to Israel for alumni of Habonim.
14:50 Stephen explains that he has a foot in South Africa, Canada, and Israel.
15:43 Stephen talks about the unique environment in South Africa that contributed to Zionism. He talks about the Soweto Uprising in 1976. Israel was a place where South African Jews could create something better. Stephen finds it ironic that some see in Israel a continuation of apartheid.
19:53 Stephen talks about his parents' view of his involvement in Habonim. He relates a story where his father became upset when Stephen participated in a march protesting a United Nations resolution instead of studying for an exam.
21:37 Stephen's father was risk-averse and practical. He wasn't keen on Stephen moving to Israel and would discourage his son indirectly. Stephen went to Israel anyway.
22:20 Stephen's parents did not give voice to strong political views. Stephen remembers being at a poetry reading at a friend's parents' house when he was eight. It was his first mixed-race experience. Stephen and his friends were politically active in high school and as undergraduate students.
24:27 Stephen explains how Zionism and Israel were his major focus while the South African situation was secondary. Stephen remembers visiting Soweto a number of times.
26:00 Stephen discusses the paradox of under apartheid while opposing it. He sees this as a central issue that white South Africans of his generation faced. He discusses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings of the 1990s.
28:24 Stephen recounts how Israel fell into the arms of South Africa after being pushed away by various African states in the 1970s.
29:03 Stephen describes his involvement in resuscitating Machon Le'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz, a year-long leadership course for youth leaders in Israel. South African Jews would defer their army service to participate. In 1975, the South African government determined it would not let Jewish students defer for this purpose.
31:16 Stephen discusses his decision to leave South Africa.
32:51 Stephen discusses how not going on Machon is one of his regrets.
33:28 Stephen discusses the places he considered immigrating to. He was focused on going to Israel and was part of a group that went to live on a kibbutz in the western Galilee.
37:24 Stephen discusses previous trips to Israel. The first time he went to the country was when his family went from England to South Africa. This was before the Six-Day War and he remembers barbed wire in Jerusalem. Stephen thinks he probably fell in love with Israel at this time.
38:32 Stephen explains the meaning of the words machon and garin.
39:23 Stephen describes the kupah meshutefet ("common treasury box") economic system. The system didn't last very long.
40:16 Stephen describes how his family and friends reacted to the news that he was making aliyah.
41:09 Stephen discusses a car trip he and his wife took throughout South Africa. He relates how they were caught in a flood and ended up being taken in by a Black family. Stephen reflects on the irony of their situation.
44:07 Stephen discusses he and his wife's arrival in Israel. Stephen was accepted by Hebrew University to study law. Ultimately, he and his wife chose to move to Toronto at the beginning of 1982.
45:06 Stephen shares what he brought with him to Toronto from South Africa.
47:20 Stephen discusses his initial trip to Canada in January 1982. He thinks that it was the coldest winter Toronto experienced until 2014. He discusses some of the hurdles he faced adjusting to the new climate.
51:33 Stephen discusses settling in Canada and going to school.
56:25 Stephen discusses opening an issue of the Canadian Jewish News and seeing that a summer camp was looking for a director. He was director for a couple of years and he and his wife would spend their summer at the camp.
57:05 Stephen discusses how Habonim was different from Camp Shalom, the camp he worked at in Canada.
58:24 Stephen discusses his transition from being involved in a Zionist and socialist youth movement to ending up in business and corporate law. He notes that he has shifted in a number of respects in terms of his perspective on economic values, social values, and religious values.
1:02:55 Stephen discusses his experience integrating into Canadian society.
1:05:20 Stephen contrasts his parents' experience coming later in life with his own experience. They had a wonderful time when they came because there was a large community of retired South African expatriates by then.
1:09:54 Stephen discusses the role of the local Jewish community, and local South African Jewish community, played in his acclimatization.
1:11:59 Stephen discusses how he came to work for Goodmans.
1:14:17 Stephen discusses the differences he has noticed between Canadians and South Africans. He feels that South Africans as a group tend to be more direct than Canadians. In his opinion, South Africans lie somewhere between Israelis and Canadians in terms of directness.
1:17:51 Stephen discusses his journey, coming from a secular Zionist background and starting a program of Jewish learning later in life.
1:20:40 Stephen discusses his own approach to keeping Jewish traditions and customs. He is observant, but not dogmatic.
1:26:11 Stephen discusses his two children. His son is a medical resident and his daughter is finishing up a law/business administration program.
1:27:09 Stephen discusses synagogues he is involved with.
1:29:10 Stephen discusses cultural differences he has experienced raising his children in Canada.
1:33:04 Stephen explains the decisions he and his wife made regarding their children's education.
1:35:15 Stephen describes his children's relationships with their grandparents.
1:37:31 Stephen answers the question, "Do you feel Canadian?"
1:41:55 Stephen discusses his involvement with the Canada-South Africa Chamber of Business.
1:42:42 Stephen discusses the differences in being involved with the ex-South African community more broadly and the ex-South African Jewish community.
1:44:58 Stephen discusses his children's connections to South Africa, which he says are quite limited.
1:46:37 Stephen shares food words and expressions that he shared with his children and which they now use.
1:47:55 Stephen offers a few final remarks about his decision to immigrate to Canada and the relationship between Canadian identity, Jewish/Israeli identity, and South African identity.
Dr. Judah Goldwasser was a research chemist in the Synthesis and Formations Branch of the Naval Surface Weapons Centre in the United States of America. He earned his PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Waterloo in Ontario. He married Sol Edell's daughter, Ethel.
Scope and Content
Item consists of the recording of Ethel and Judah Goldwasser's orthodox wedding ceremony and reception. After the procession and kiddushin, Rabbi Mordechai, the groom's cousin, reads the ketubah, followed by the Sheva Brachot, recited by seven different Rabbis and male family members. The recording follows into the reception, at the Four Seasons Hotel, MC'ed by Aaron Weinstock, the bride's maternal uncle. He invites Solomon Rogen, father of Celia Rogen, Solomon Edell's second wife, to make the HaMotzi, followed by the introduction of the head table. After the formal start of the banquet, speeches follow, in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Speakers are: Harry Botnick, member of the presidium of Eitz Chaim, who presents a gift on its behalf; Aaron Weinstock; Rabbi Yitzchok Kerzner, of Clanton Park Synagogue; Rabbi Moses J. Burak, Rav of Beth Jacob Synagogue; Moishe Weinstock, the bride's maternal grandfather; Joseph Goldwasser, the groom's father; Solomon Edell, the bride's father; and Rabbi Samuel Schafler, the bride's paternal uncle. The speeches are followed by the Birkat Hamazon, after which more music is played until the end of the recording (interrupted).
Notes
Physical Descr.: Only tracks 1 and 2 are recorded.
Subjects
Marriage service
Weddings
Repro Restriction
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Physical Condition
Tape is tail out. Tape is in good condition. Audio quality is good. No signs of mold or SBS.
Item is a graduation portrait of Ethel C. taken at a studio in Altoona, Pa. Photo could be of Ethel Gold, the eldest daughter of David and Hannah Cass.
Notes
Mounted in card holder
Inscribed on card holder: "With Love Ethel C."
Photographer: Shaeffer, Altoona
Name Access
C., Ethel
Gold, Ethel
Subjects
Portraits
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.
Accession consists of a photograph of Ethel and Herschel Dand, formerly of Montreal and Toronto. A note written by the donor and accompanying the photograph states that the photo is of Ethel Mendelson and her husband, however the back of the photograph identifies the couple as Ethel and Herschel Dand and Ethel as the sister of Mendel who married Rishe. It is unclear which is the correct surname for the couple.
This item is a photograph of Leonard Mehr wearing a military uniform in front of the Mehr family home on Burnside Dr. in Toronto. He is standing with his niece Carole Warren and nephew Fred Dunkelman. Several people are standing behind him on the porch.
Name Access
Dunkelman
Mehr, Leonard
Subjects
Military uniforms
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.
Conditional access. Researchers must receive permission from the interviewee or their heir prior to accessing the interview. Please contact the OJA for more information.
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Biography
Ethel Abramsky (née Levin) came to live in Kingston after her marriage to Harry Abramsky in 1927. Ethel remained an active member of the Queen Esther Chapter of Hadassah throughout her life. Harry, an industrialist and business man, was a generous benefactor of Queens University and was instrumental in establishing Hillel House at Queens. Ethel and Harry had three children and eight grandchildren.
Material Format
sound recording
Language
English
Name Access
Abramsky, Ethel
Abramsky, Harry
Canadian Hadassah-WIZO
International Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE)
This item is a photograph of the Mehr and Sapera families of Toronto visiting Galt, Ontario (now Cambridge) for a picnic. The photo depicts the group seated on the grass in front of a house.
Pictured from left to right are: Matt Sapera, [unidentified], Pincus Mehr (in behind), Leonard Mehr, [unidentified woman], [unidentified women], [unidentified man standing], [unidentified woman], Flo Sapera (in front), Ethel Mehr.
Subjects
Families
Picnics
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 a photograph of the Mehr family and friends gathered for a picnic at Jackson's Point. Identified individuals include: Lucille Mehr, Bibi Hutner, Helen Pullan, Bernice Mehr, Merle Rosenberg, Melba Hutner, Beulah Hutner.
Notes
See accession record for exact locations of individuals.
Subjects
Families
Picnics
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 a photograph of a group of people in bathing suits sitting on the dock at the Mehr's cottage in Jackson's Point, Ontario. Pictured from left to right are: Melba Hutner, Bernice Mehr, Eleanor Cohen (cousin), Ethel Mehr, Ruby Cohen (cousin), and Bert Cooper.
Subjects
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 a photograph of a group of girls on the beach at the Mehr's cottage in Jackson's Point, Ontario. Pictured standing from left to right: Lucille Mehr, Charlotte Weis (cousin from Cleveland), Leonore Weis. Seated: Ethel Mehr.
Subjects
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.