The Sunshine Club of Virginia was a young women's service and social club. The club's Americanized name suggests the second generation's disposition to claim their American identity: first generation organization names would have likely been rendered in Hebrew.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A group of women and children arranged in and around an automobile. This photograph is notable for the fact that there is a woman in the driver's seat.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Toni Lee Goldish lighting a homemade menorah on a fireplace mantel. Hanging from the mantel are three large Star of David ornaments. The Goldish family lived on Minneapolis' South Side.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
This group of neighbors would meet informally at members' houses over the years. Their connection was geographic (North Side) rather than congregational (synagogue-related).
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Group photograph of the Minneapolis Talmud Torah Women's Auxilliary Presidents. While most of the faculty involved in actual teaching at the early Hebrew schools was done by men, women were important to the ongoing success of religious education. The Talmud Torah Women's Auxiliary in Minneapolis was founded in 1911 as a club, and by the mid-1920s had grown to more than 500 members. In addition to raising funds for the school, the Auxiliary was committed to furthering Jewish civic pride and Jewish consciousness in the home.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Founded in 1911, the Ladies Auxiliary raised money for a variety Talmud Torah related functions by sponsoring dances and food and rummage sales. An early outcome of providing women with a role in Jewish education was a fortification of both Jewish and American identity .
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Sylvia Borken stands at the produce counter of Knox Market, which was located at Knox and Plymouth Avenues in Minneapolis. Many small Jewish family-owned and run grocery stored served the North Side neighborhood. Small business ownership was an avenue to success that was open to the earliest group of Jewish immigrants.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Women seated at a long table set with tablecloths, floral centerpieces and candles. B'nai Brith Women was the women's division of B'nai Brith, the oldest Jewish service organization in existence. The St. Paul B. B. W. O. chapter held its annual luncheon at the Lowry Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A group of unidentified women standing in front of a bus. The Emanuel Cohen Center provided recreation space and social services to the North Minneapolis Jewish community. The Center was named for Emanuel Cohen, an attorney and the Center's principle benefactor.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Mt. Zion Women's Sisterhood members looking at a Shabbat dinner table setting. The women in the picture were publicizing the concept of the "Jewish Home Beautiful", which emphasized decorating the home, specifically the table settling, for each Jewish holiday. Left to right: Mrs. Max Whitefield, Mrs. Joseph Stein, and Mrs. Allen Firestone.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Ruth Melamond, Dr. Owen Wangensteen, and Luella Maslon at a Mt. Sinai Women's Auxiliary function. Dr. Owen Wangensteen of University Hospitals was a supporter of Mt Sinai. He originally proposed that the hospital be built on University of Minnesota property on the West Bank, but the idea never gained traction with the University Board.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of Rachel Calog sitting in a chair. Rachel Bella Calof is the author of "My Story", an autobiographical account to her marriage to Abraham Calof and their efforts to homestead and raise a family on the plains of North Dakota at the turn of the century. Despite desperate hardships, the Calof's raised nine children, and Rachel was a driving force in the establishment of the regional school district. After 23 years outside Devil's Lake, the Calofs moved to St. Paul in 1917. Rachel begin her autobiography in 1936, which she wrote in longhand. The manuscript was "discovered" in the American Jewish Archives in the early 1990s, and published in 1995 as "Rachel Calof's Story".
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Purim is a time for acting out and speaking up. The women of Kenesseth Israel's auxiliary did just that, appropriating men's garb, including a tallis (prayer shawl) and a cigarette to declare a minute of breaking away from accepted roles and dressing conventions of the day.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of Ida Cook sitting in a chair. The Cook family, headed by Rabbi Isaac Cook and his wife Ida, arrived in Duluth in the 1880s from Lithuania. They organized minyans and their home served as a welcoming center for new immigrants coming to the city. Ida Cook spearheaded the establishment of Duluth's first Hebrew school.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A duplicate portrait photograph of Nellie Weiss Bondy in her wedding dress. Nellie Weiss married Louis Bondy in 1886: the event is reputed to have been the first Jewish wedding in Duluth.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of a woman using a measuring tape to measure the length of a skirt on Ida Blehart. Neighborhood House was founded by the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society. Neighborhood House was founded primarily to provide recreational, educational and social activities to residents of the West Side neighborhood. It maintained an active recreational program for girls in the neighborhood, teaching sewing, cooking and other domestic arts.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Three women stand at a table with a large model house displayed on it. The Oak Park Home Auxiliary raised money for the Oak Park Home, also known as the Jewish Sheltering Home for Children. The Home was a beneficiary of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, but funds for operations were always tight and fundraising was an ongoing concern.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Women's Auxiliary raised money for service programs at the Talmud Torah. This particular popular program featured at least two generation of women's in their bridal gowns.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
These young women were Midwest Talmud Torah chapter presidents at the annual convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. From left to right, Lila Labovitz, Fanny Miller, Sarah Levitman; Beryl Bearman, Sarah Ritzner, and Libby Kramer.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A woman stands in front of a microphone, while Hurbert Humphrey sits at the table next to her at a Hadassah Supply Shower luncheon. Hadassah promoted health and welfare services to Jewish women and children in Palestine. By the end of WWII, the Minneapolis chapter of Hadassah was 1900 members strong. This photo taken at the Supply Shower luncheon at the Nicollet Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The luncheons helped collect goods such as layettes and linens to be sent to hospitals and clinics in Palestine. Minnesota dignitaries like Humphrey spoke to show their support for Palestine relief, and by extension, a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A bird's eye view of people attending the Funtennial which was Hadassah's largest fundraising event. Essentially, Funtennial was a large-scale community carnival, with arcade-type games, a queen contest, door prizes, dancing and booths with food and crafts. Hundreds volunteered for the event, and for a decade between 1949 and 1959, thousands attended. Significant funds were raised, all of which went to Israel projects
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Bird's eye view of the Minneapolis Funtennial organized by Minneapolis Hadassah. One of the actions Hadassah supported was Youth Aliyah. Youth Aliyah began as a rescue and relief operation for children of Holocaust victims. These children were brought to Palestine during and after the war and settled in residential care. Over the decades, Youth Aliyah has provided services and homes for children and families from the soviet Union, Ethiopia and North Africa.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph showing members of the Minneapolis Board of B'nai Brith Women posed outdoors. B'nai Brith Women was an international charitable organization founded in 1909 to give women a voice in B'nai Brith.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
In the picture, Leona (Isadore's sister-in-law) and her daughter Anita, are in the backyard of the Mike Gordon's Ely store: the steps in the background lead to the family home upstairs. Mrs. Rosenbloom, another Jewish Ely resident, is at the right of the picture. The Gordon family was one of the first Jewish families to settle in Ely. Isadore Gordon left Lithuania and traversed Canada before arriving in Duluth. He worked in the shipyards, and peddled the Range. His customers liked him so well that they loaned him money to open a clothing store in Ely. The Rosenblooms raised seven children in Ely, and most of them continued on to college at the University of Minnesota. When the Rosenblooms moved to Minneapolis in 1943, the family store became the Ely American Legion Hall.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Members of the Ladies Auxiliary pose outside of the West Side Hebrew Institute for this photograph. The West Side Hebrew Institute was one of the two earliest schools in St. Paul teaching Hebrew to Jewish children. The building was located at the intersection of Fenton and Kentucky Street, and was dedicated in November 1911.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Kaplan family gathered around a table celebarting Hanukkah. Mr. Kaplan is holding a menorah lit with eight candles. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads: "Chanukkah Greetings 1955."
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Jewish Mothers Club was organized through the Central Community Center in St. Paul. It provided an opportunity for Jewish women, many of them immigrants, to socialize together.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Women's auxiliaries always played the key role in planning and staffing fundraising events. This publicity photograph shows many of the St. Paul women who had ongoing involvement supporting the J. E. C. programming.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Audio file of an interview with Lena Senensky conducted by Lois Devitt. The interview includes: family history in Russia and immigration to the United States; daily life on St Paul's Lower West Side; creation and early years of the Jewish Home for the Aged.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Audio file of an interview with Esther Sirott and Ethel Levy conducted by Steve Foldes and Shirley Milgren. Esther Sirott was born in Lithuania and settled with her father and brothers on lower West Side of St. Paul. Ethel Levy was born in Iowa and lived briefly on the West Side of St Paul before moving with her family to a dairy farm where her father hired out as a tenant farmer. In the interview, the women discuss life on the West Side of St Paul, including employment opportunities for Jews, Jewish Socialists, keeping kosher, Jewish neighborhoods and social strata and the meaning of Yiddishkite. The interview is part of the United Jewish Fund and Council Oral History Project, Phase 1. The location of the interview is unknown: the interviewers are Steve Foldes (SF) and Shirley Milgram (SM).A PDF version of the transcript available at http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm4/pdf-assets/jhs-sirott-levy.pdf
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A group of women dressed in costume. Etheldoris Stein Grais sits in the background: in the back row, left to right, is Maddie Gerron, Gertrude Gottstein Stein, and Hia Sacks. Front row, left to right, is Beatrice Nildes, Etta Hallock and Rose Shapiro. Dress-up parties were popular informal social events thrown by female friends, or occasionally by women's organizations. Parties offered an opportunity to dress out of character, socialize, and enjoy each other's company. Costumes could be lavish, symbolic or simple. Participants often dressed as men, brides or babies.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The photograph depicts sewing instruction for young girls and women that Hadassah sponsored. Items sewed in-home were sent to Palestine. Pictured (left to right): Florence Kunin, Jacqueline Kunin, Myra Joy Golden, Betty Golden.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
This fundraiser was held in 1946, and featured a discussion of "Blueprints for the Future", the organization's planned expansion of medical services in Israel. Pictured left to right: Mrs. George Stillman, Mrs. Edward Sokol; and Mrs. Marshall Beaubaire. Hadassah is the Women's Zionist organization of America. It was founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold. Hadassah is dedicated to supporting Israel through fundraising for healthcare, youth education and land reclamation. Minnesota has always had an active chapter, and provided national leadership throughout the organization's history. The women pictured above are from the Minneapolis chapter.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
From left to right: NA, Florence Kunin, NA, Sis Marks, Mary Lebedoff, NA, Fanny Brudney, Sadie Shapiro. Hadassah is the Women's Zionist organization of America. It was founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold. Hadassah is dedicated to supporting Israel through fundraising for healthcare, youth education and land reclamation. Minnesota has always had an active chapter, and provided national leadership throughout the organization's history. The women pictured above are from the Minneapolis chapter.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A group of women standing around a table set with cookies, cake and tea. An unidentified woman is sitting at the head of the table. The Hadassah Supply showers were popular events: members collected and contributed towels, sheets and other essentials en mass and sent them to hospitals and clinics in Isael. Members would come together at sewing parties, forming friendships as well as solidarity in support of the young Israeli state.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of the chairwomen for the Hadassah rummage sales. The rummage sales were part of the fundraising efforts the Minneapolis Hadassah chapter. Money collected from fundraising efforts helped build the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and fund the Youth Aliyah.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A group of women belonging to Hadassah standing in front of an airplane. The women leading Hadassah groups learned and exercised leadership skills as the result of their work fundraising and participating in Jewish and Zionist education. Hadassah was involved in teaching adult Hebrew classes to better promote understanding and communication between Jewish Americans and Israelis
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Hadassah members met in small and large groups to socialize and to raise money for Israel. The pushke, or canister, in the picture, could be found in many, if not most Jewish homes in the 1950s and 1960s. The blue and white canisters with the outline of Israel were used to collect money for land purchases and reforestation efforts, and were a direct reminder of the bond between Israel and the American Jews.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
An unidentified woman chatting with Leah Barron (seated). This Hadassah-sponsored luncheon may have been an Interfaith Tea. The teas were carried on by Jewish and non-Jewish Women's groups interested in promoting cross-cultural education and understanding.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of a display window with women's clothing and informational materials. The clothing in the window (probably the Miller Vocational High School in Minneapolis) was all hand sewn by members, and sold at the Funtennial, Hadassah's annual fundraiser at the Minneapolis Armory. Hadassah's membership between the end of WWII and the 1970s swelled. By the mid-1960s, more than 1,000 women were meeting in 80 minyans, socializing and fundraising for children's and healthcare causes in Israel. One of the popular activities was providing clothing to send to Israel.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of a large group of Hadassah members in costume. Founded in 1912, Hadassah is the second-oldest independent Jewish women's organization in the United States. Hadassah draws on both the ideology of Zionism and on women's sense of social responsibility to elicit support for Israel, youth activities and educational services. National programs that were implemented in Minnesota included "linen showers" for medical units, money collection for school lunch programs in Palestine, and providing Jewish-German children foster-homes in Palestine during WWII. Members also made time to play and socialize.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of members of the Hadassah Camp Association group. Pictured from left to right are: Gary Cohn, Evelyn Rosen, George Pacanowski, and Etta Fae Kozberg.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Governor Freeman and two Hadassah members holding a flag that is to be taken to Israel by Hadassah Women. From left to right: Mildred Rosen, Governor Orville Freeman, Mrs. I.E. Greenberg of Duluth. Rosen was a vice president of the Upper Midwest Region. Greenberg was the regional president. The state flag was used in dedication ceremonies at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Minneapolis Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women was founded in 1894 by Nina Morais Cohen. Cohen was a nationally recognized leader: when Susan B. Anthony came to Minneapolis, she stayed at Nina and Emanuel Cohen's home. The N. C. J. W. is a volunteer organization working for social change based upon Jewish values. In its earliest years, volunteers worked in settlement houses, acted as juvenile court advocates, helped provide vocational training for immigrant and poor women and girls, and helped develop free school-based health services. Fanny Brin is second from the right.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The founders of Pioneer Women, posed outdoors for this photograph. Pioneer Women was an international group of Labor-Zionist women who made Aaliyah to Palestine during the 1920s. They came with a feminist agenda, to be full partners in the political and economic work of building a Jewish state. A women's group formed in Minnesota to raise funds to support their counterparts in Palestine. Included in the picture, back, left to right: Sara Rosenblatt, Helen (Wiener) Pogoler, Mrs. Jake Berman; front: Mrs. Schwartz, Brucha Wiener. Photograph taken in August of 1938 at Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Florence Kunian Schoff was a Hadassah leader for the Minneapolis Hadassah chapter, and an avid Zionist. Schoff made multiple trips to Israel on fact-finding tours related to Hadassah projects, which feature support for public health and hospital projects. The other two people in the photo are unidentified.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
N. C. J. W. was founded in 1893 under the leadership of Hannah Greenebaum Solomon. It has a progressive legacy of providing vocational training, medical and educational services, judicial advocacy for minors and international aid. Minnesotan Fanny Brin served as president from 1932 to 1938. Pictured in photo (left to right): Fanny Brin, Jane Addams, Hannah Solomon, Mrs. Gershon Levi.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Fannie Cohen wearing a white pharmacist's coat and standing amongst shelves of medicines. Fannie Cohen was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Minnesota Pharmacy School. She was born in 1901 to Romanian immigrant parents, and graduated with her degree in 1922. Show worked in Hospital pharmacies in Duluth, Rochester and St. Paul. She was a lifetime member of Temple Israel in Minneapolis, and was bat mitzvahed in 1977 at the age of 75.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Etheldoris Grais grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota and attended Hibbing High School. She married Arnold Grais, a pharmacist, and together they ran several Iron Range drug stores.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The context of the display is unknown. However, the two women in the photo are Mrs. Arthur Horwitz (left) and Mrs. H. Z. Mendow (right). Note the photos in the background display featuring prominent Minneapolis Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Solomon Silber, Joseph Shandfield and Rabbi Samuel Deinard. Below the portraits are photos of Minneapolis synagogues and the first Jewish Sheltering home.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Mt. Sinai Auxiliary raised significant funds that were used towards patient care. Events included book sales, cookbook publishing and other social events, including the famous annual ball. Shown purchasing the cookbook is Luella Maslon, the book's author.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
B'nai Brith Young Women's Organization is the B'nai Brith Young Women's organization. It was the women's division of B'nai Brith, the oldest continuously operating Jewish service organization in the world. The St. Paul B. B. Y. W. O. chapter had offices at the St. Paul Jewish Community Center.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Sans their bowling shoes, these members of B'nai B'rith women's bowling league proudly display their hardware. Left to right: Sally Orenstein, Mary Effress, Ethel Frank, Rae Davis, Jessie Swatez, Kathy Sigel.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Queens from three Beth El fundraisers posed for this photograph, including Mrs. Louis Rubenstein on the left. The woman selling the greatest number of tickets to the event was named Queen.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
