Name

Isaac Segal

Number

OH 25

Subject

Antisemitism

Charities

Communities

Interview Date

1972

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

AccessionNumber

1978-2-2

Total Running Time

Side 1: 46 minutes 15 seconds

Side 2: 45 minutes 50 seconds

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Isaac "Ike" Segel, the son of Russian immigrants, was born and lived in Toronto’s Ward district until 1900 when the family moved to Orillia, Ontario. Isaac recalls his experiences as one of three Jewish boys attending the local Orillia high school and working in his father’s general store. In order to provide a proper Jewish life for Isaac, the family returned to Toronto. In 1917 Isaac enlisted in the army and after his father’s death in 1918, Isaac made his home in Hamilton, Ontario. He was a business executive, active on several executive committees of Jewish and Zionist organizations in Hamilton.

Issac maried Esther Segal (née Kenen) who was influential in the National Council of Jewish Women, Hamilton Branch, and their successful attempt to repeal the law that refused the right of women to serve on jury duty.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Beube, Lillian

Segal, Esther

Segal, Isaac

Silbert, Morris

Geographic Access

Hamilton (Ont.)

Orillia (Ont.)

St. John's Ward (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 25 - Segal\OH25_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 25 - Segal\OH25_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Fanny Gertzbein

Number

OH 33

Subject

Charities

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

2 Oct. 1984

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

Total Running Time

OH 033: 27:34 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003.

Notes

Language: Fanny often speaks Yiddish with Morris Silbert providing a translation.

Related group of records external to the unit being described: accession 2019-7/2 includes comments by Gella Rothstein on this oral history.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Fanny Gurtzbein (née Goldhar) immigrated from Poland to Toronto in 1903. Fanny lived with her parents and siblings in Toronto's Ward district. Although raised in poverty, Barney, Fanny's brother, went on to become a successful furrier; Fanny's mother, Tzyerl Goldhar, became the organizer of the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

Yiddish

English

Name Access

Goldhar, Myer

Goldhar, Tzeryl

Goldhar, Barney

Gurtzbein, Fanny

Geographic Access

St. John's Ward (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 33 - Gertzbein\OH33_001_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Dr. Mattie Rotenberg

Number

OH 63

Subject

Antisemitism

Rabbis

Charities

Influenza

Balfour Declaration

Immigrants--Canada

Women's clothing

Women

Department stores

Interview Date

26 Feb. 1976

Quantity

2 cassettes (1 copy)

2 WAV files

Total Running Time

62:52 sec.

Conservation

Copied to cassette in August 2003.

Copied to digital file in June 2014.

Side 2 of the original cassette is damaged. The tape continually speeds up and slows down.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Mattie Rotenberg was the daughter of Russian immigrants. She grew up in Toronto's Ward district and received her degree in mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. In 1920, she became the first secretary of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in Toronto.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto

Hillcrest Progressive School

Goel Tzedec Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

University of Toronto

T. Eaton Co

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

Introduction of Dr. Mattie Rotenberg to the audience 0:00-:49 Family History 0:50-4:00: Rotenberg, daughter of Russian immigrants, recounts the story of her parents’ immigration and arrival in Toronto during the early 1890s. 4:01-7:35: Rotenberg recalls her childhood memories of life growing up in Toronto’s Ward district during the era of “great” Jewish immigration. 7:40-11:10: Rotenberg recalls happy childhood memories living on Regent Street, then a primarily non-Jewish neighbourhood. 11:11-13:40: Rotenberg recalls the Great Fire of Toronto of 1904 that destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto. 13:45-15:19: Rotenberg recalls the open-air streetcar that ran along Toronto’s beltline, the City Dairy, and Riverdale Park. 15.20-18.02: Rotenberg recalls Rabbi Jacob Gordon of Goel Tzedec Synagogue and Rabbi Julius Price, the synagogue’s first English-speaking rabbi. 18:03-21:00: Rotenberg discusses her education at the Dufferin Elementary School and Jarvis Collegiate, her family’s first telephone, riding in a motor car, Massey Hall and Jarvis and Sherbourne Streets considered to be the choice residential district of the time. 21:01-22.00: Rotenberg recalls Dr. Sandler, Toronto’s first Jewish doctor to practice in Toronto’s non-Jewish community. 22:01-22:59: Rotenberg recalls the Queen Street shopping district, the Willinsky’s department store, and Hadassah’s first bazaar held at Toronto Armory. 23:00-23:47: Rotenberg recalls antisemitic incidents that occurred in Toronto during the late 1920s. 23:48-24.33: Rotenberg discusses the Orange Lodges’ influence on civic politics, prejudice towards the Jewish and Catholic communities, and the anti-French-language campaign Rotenberg discusses life in Toronto then and now 24.34-25.30: Rotenberg recalls the changes to Gerrard Sreet East, from a tree-lined street to concrete sidewalks. 25.31-26.48: Rotenberg recalls being the only Jewish student at Jarvis Collegiate. 26.49-27.20: Rotenberg discusses her Jewish education. 27.22-28.06: Rotenberg provides an anecdote about local Jewish news and gossip. 28.07-29.18: Rotenberg discusses the hardships of housekeeping. 29.20-30.25: Rotenberg discusses women’s fashion during the early 1900s. 30.26-31.05: Rotenberg discusses Eatons and Simpsons before the introduction of the cash register. 31:26-33.23: Rotenberg discusses life in Toronto during the early years of the First World War. Rotenberg recalls recruitment meetings held at the Armoury and the crowds that gathered to view war bulletins posted in the window the Telegram’s office on Bay Street. 33.24-36.28: In this portion of the interview, Rotenberg describes the University of Toronto as being an extremely “WASPish” place run by professors with chauvinistic attitudes 36.29-37.23: Rotenberg discusses the problem faced by Jewish women looking for a teaching position. 37:24-39:12: Rotenberg recalls Dr. (Canon) Cody, president of U of T, and his witch hunts for students believed to have Communist leanings. 39:13-40:05: Rotenberg recalls Toronto’s flu epidemic following the First World War. 40:06-41:07: Rotenberg recalls the announcement of the Balfour Declaration in 1918 and the city’s commemoration parade to honour the declaration. Side 2 0:00-:46 : Commemoration of the Balfour Declaration continued. 0:47-4.09: Rotenberg discusses her job as secretary to JIAS during the 1920s. She describes JIAS as an “embryo” started by a few dozen men working to provide aid for Jewish immigrants. *Speech garbled in some sections* 4:10-6:24: Rotenberg discusses the founding in 1929 of the Hillcrest Progressive Day School, whose main motive was to provide a comprehensive Jewish education. 6.25-6.36: Rotenberg discusses the making of liquid hydrogen at the University of Toronto’s physics building during the early 1920s. 6.36-10.00: Here the sound quality becomes poor and Rotenberg’s voice is garbled. 10:00- 21.45: Question period. Sound quality poor and garbled. END

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Ida Siegel

Number

OH 166

OH 167

Subject

Charities

Women

Interview Date

22 Jul. 1971

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Eva Kayfetz

Total Running Time

OH166A: 47.minutes OH166B: 5. minutes OH167A: 29. minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Ida Siegel (née Lewis) (1885-1982) was born 14 February 1885 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1894, Ida and her family moved to Toronto. On 14 February 1905, Ida married Isidore Hirsch Siegel. They had six children. An extremely active communal leader, Ida helped found Daughters of Zion in 1899, the Herzl Girls Club in 1904 and Hadassah in 1916. In the mid-1920s, Ida established The Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home,a camp for poor women with young children. She helped organize the first free Jewish dispensary in Toronto which eventually developed into Mount Sinai Hospital. Ida was also very active in womens peace movements, the Toronto Board of Education and the Toronto Bureau (elected to Board, 1930-36) of Jewish Education. In 1917, Ida helped to organize Federation of Jewish Philanthropies which later became the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Hadassah-WIZO of Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Ida Siegel discusses the formation of Hadassah in Canada and how it evolved into Hadassah-WIZO. She describes the creation of separate Hadassah branches.

In this clip, Ida Siegel explains the events that led up to the formation of a committee that she headed to write a aonstitution for Hadassah. She describes some of the struggles she encountered in the process.

Name

Freda Manson

Number

OH 213

Subject

Social workers

Public welfare

Fund raising

Charities

Jewish philanthropists

Quantity

2 cassettes (1 copy) 2 WAV files

Interviewer

Gil Levine

Total Running Time

56 minutes

Conservation

Copied to cassette in January 2015

Digitized in June 2010

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Freda Manson attended the University of Toronto during the 1930s, earning degrees in psychology and social work. Freda was the first Jew employed by the Toronto Children's Aid Society. She also worked for the Jewish Children’s Bureau from 1934 to 1941. Freda served as chair of the Staff Association, representing social workers from both the Child Welfare Association and the Welfare Association.

Material Format

sound recording

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

Side 1 00:09: Freda explains how she became interested in social work. She describes her educational path starting in undergraduate studies in psychology. Freda explains that her parents encouraged her to attend university. 5:45: Freda “confesses” that she was not involved in political or social action on campus as an undergraduate. Her sole involvement was fundraising on behalf of her sorority. 7:25: Freda graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology. She pursued social work along with four-to-five other Jewish students. 8:43: Freda completed the two-year social work course in one year and two courses and then apprenticed at the Toronto Children’s Aid Society. Freda explains that, soon into her apprenticeship, it was necessary to take over her supervisor’s case load. 10:47: At age twenty-three, in 1933, Freda graduated from the Department of Social Work and got her first job with Toronto Children’s Aid Society. 11:16: Freda discusses the impact of the Depression years. The area she served was Regent Park. 13:36: Freda discusses the role and responsibilities of a social worker working for the Protection Department. 15:19: Freda explains that her time at Children’s Aid could not be extended beyond six months past her apprenticeship, because the CAS policy was to only hire Protestant workers for permanent positions. 17:06: Freda was the first Jewish worker to have worked for Toronto CAS. 17:38: Freda makes a distinction between the staff and the board of CAS and notes that her supervisor would have liked her to remain in the position. 18:29: Freda worked for the Jewish Children’s Bureau from1934 to 1941. The director was Anne Gussack. 19:28: Freda could not confirm whether the Jewish Agency’s policy was to hire Jewish-only staff but noted that most clients did not speak English. 20:04: Starting salary was $75/month. 20:38: Freda describes her work responsibilities with the Jewish Children’s Bureau. 22:10: Freda presents various reasons to explain why children ended up in foster care. 25:48: Freda mentions another important job responsibility: they introduced a short-term, live-in housekeeping service in homes where the mother was incapacitated in some way, thus allowing the children to remain in the home. 28:23: Freda describes the formation of the Jewish Family and Child Services. Circa 1936/37, there were several agencies all located on Beverly Street, including Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters, Jewish Children’s Bureau, and the Jewish Child Welfare Association. Side 2: 00:00: Freda continues to explain the formation of the Jewish Family and Child Services. 1:33: Freda discusses the conditions of employment: the salary, the working conditions, the challenge of money allotment (e.g., funding for programs versus salaries). 5:15: The agency received funding from Jewish philanthropy (no public funding). 5:49: Freda addresses the issues that led to the creation of the Staff Association, including poor salaries and the request by the board to forego their salaries in order to pay families. 8:35: Freda lists some of the board members: Ben Sadowski was chair of Jewish Welfare; Bert Davis was chair of Jewish Children’s Bureau. 10:26: Freda mentions the role of Sam Kronick as a fundraiser. 13:36: Freda lists some individuals who were involved in the labour movement (e.g., Dora Wilensky as director of Jewish Family Welfare, Bobbie Parker, etc.). 14:41: Freda was named as chair of the Staff Association representing the two Jewish agencies (Child Welfare Association and the Welfare Association). She outlines the objectives (ensure fair salary, receive regular salary, proper working conditions) and discusses negotiations. 16:05: Freda describes a negotiations meeting held at the home of Ben Sadowski, the president of the Family Welfare Board. 19:40: Freda explains the conception of the association. 20:48: Freda discusses the attitude of the board toward the association. 21:58: Freda describes the negative reaction of the Canadian Association of Social Workers toward the association. 22:56: Freda opines on the main accomplishments of the association. 26:30: The association later became part of the United(?), and Professional Workers, then part of the National Union of Public Service Employees and then part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 265.

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

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