The Argonne Club
The Argonne Club was associated with all three of the club-sponsoring agencies in the local Jewish community. It started at the Hebrew Institute and later associated with the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House and the YM&WHA.

Those moves suggest a spirit of independence. The Argonne Club, like some of the other Jewish clubs of the time, saw itself as a distinct entity. It partnered with larger institutions when it was mutually beneficial. The institution gave the club a venue and support. The popular club brought people into the building.


[IMAGE: A group portrait of the Argonne Club. The portrait contains 16 individual oval headshots set against a cream background. The headshots surround the words "The Argonne Club 1945." Each headshot is labelled with a first initial and last name: L. Abelson, B. Rosenberg, J. Levenson, B. Barer, S. Caplan, M. Friedman, S. Savage, M. Weisman, S. Zelinger, H. Elovitz, H. Lazier, C. Zeilinger, H. Burckin, C. Goldstein, M. Mendelson, H. Small. Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, MSP 0389.]
Although accounts vary, the Argonne Club appears to have started around late 1918 or early 1919. The founding boys were all Western Union messengers. They named their club after the Battle of the Argonne Forest during World War I.

Throughout the 1920s, the Argonnes showed great ambition. Instead of focusing on debates and plays, they hosted dances and arranged motor trips.

To appreciate these offerings, put yourself in that time. Before the Internet, before television, when radio and talkies were still gathering momentum, dances were a premier social event for youths. In the 1920s, automobiles were still a luxury. Car trips through the countryside were a grand novelty.

Perhaps this spirit of independence is why the Argonne Club was able to survive long past the 1920s, when many of its contemporary clubs faded away.

The Argonne Club continued to host anniversaries and other social events through the 1930s and into the early 1940s. One can imagine the romance of attending its "moonlight excursion" along the riverfront in June 1930.

The Argonnes also expanded into athletics. They participated in the 1940 Maccabee Games and later competed under legendary coach Ziggy Kahn.


[IMAGES: (Left, top) An ad from the Jan. 31, 1930 Y Weekly announcing the 13th anniversary dance of the Argonne Club at the William Penn Hotel. (Left, bottom) An ad from the June 13, 1930 Jewish Criterion announcing a Saturday night moonlight excursion. (Right) A notice from the Jan. 24, 1941 Jewish Criterion announcing the 23rd annual banquet of the club at the Hotel Henry.]
The Argonne Club continued to hold charity events, anniversaries, and reunions throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including a 50th anniversary party in 1968.

By that time, only a handful of the hundreds of Jewish youth clubs of the 1920s and 1930s still survived. The remaining clubs came to represent the entire club spirit of that era. The IKS and the Y occasionally hosted "Old Home Weeks" to bring people back to their buildings and encourage reminisces.


[IMAGES: A photograph from the April 26, 1968 Jewish Chronicle, showing the Argonne Club attending a 50th anniversary dinner at the Carton House.]
The nature of local Jewish youth clubs changed in the 1970s, as will be discussed in future newsletters. But the memory of old-time clubs remained important for many in the Jewish community. It defined their youths.

For its 97th annual meeting in 1994, the JCC chose the theme "JCC Memories: Unforgettable." To illustrate the theme, it used a 1941 photograph of the Argonne Club, captured in a moment of joyous friendship and camaraderie.


[IMAGES: (Top) A notice from the May 14, 1994 Jewish Chronicle, announcing the upcoming JCC Annual Meeting, showing a photograph of the Argonne Club; (bottom) the original photograph, showing sixteen men in two rows, all smiling —Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, MSP 0389.]

In the next issues of the newsletter, we'll continue looking at the afterlife of Jewish youth clubs by considering the story of the J. N. Chester Club.
This year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish club life in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate records of a local Jewish club, or just chat about clubs, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406. 
The early Jewish social justice movement in Pittsburgh
Rodef Shalom Congregation's local Jewish history series continues on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 p.m., when Rauh Jewish Archives Director Eric Lidji will look at members of the congregation who were involved in social justice activities in the Pittsburgh area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The remaining sessions, held the third Tuesday of each month, will look at the art and architecture of the Rodef Shalom's landmark Fifth Avenue synagogue.
Who's Cooking, What's Cooking
One of the biggest culinary challenges at Passover time is finding easy and novel recipes that fit the dietary requirements of the holiday. In this free online webinar, you’ll learn about two great Passover desserts, one new and one old. 
 
On Sunday, March 21 at 11 a.m., area chef Jill Pelchen of Chow Bella will demonstrate an elegant Passover dessert that comes together surprisingly quickly. Then the Rauh Jewish Archives will test a historic Passover recipe from Westmoreland County, found in the archive’s cookbook collection.
 
This program is a partnership between the Westmoreland Jewish Community Council and the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information, please email the WJCC or contact the Jewish archives by email or by calling 412-454-6406.
 
Live captioning will be provided at this virtual program.


[IMAGE: Black and white image of the “Matzah Mall” at Ohav Sholom Congregation in Donora, Pa., in April 1962. An unidentified man stands at a register behind a table piled with boxes of matzah and other Passover supplies. Bottles of Passover wine line the floor in front of his register. From the Ohav Sholom Congregation (Donora, Pa.) Photographs, MSQ 16.]
Hillel Academy commercial, c. 1995
It's always fun to stumble on little tidbits from the past. Such stumbles this week led to a Hillel Academy commercial, created sometime in the 1990s.

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[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa.
Plan a Visit

Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000

A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.