In the early 1920s, the religious school of Tree of Life Congregation started a club for girls. It was called The Busy Bees Club, and the girls sewed things for local charities. The club primarily served "charitable and social purposes."
There are few references to the Busy Bees. In early 1927, it seems to have gone independent and become The Redael Club—that's Leader, backward.
[IMAGE: A photograph showing eight young women in folding chairs, their hands folded in their laps, seated in a room at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House. A caption notes "Redael Club, Girls Honor Club, I.K.S. 1927"—Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, MSP 0389.]
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The reorganized Redael Club joined the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House and was named Girls Honor Club its first two years. The Redaels had a club poem and a club song, although neither survives today. Aside from the photograph above, the only surviving records of the club come from newspaper clippings.
Those clippings report on plays produced, discussions held, charitable acts performed, and competitions against other clubs in orations and debates.
[IMAGES: (Left) A clipping from the February 3, 1922 issue of the Jewish Criterion reporting on the formation of the Busy Bees Club at Tree of Life. (Right) A clipping from the January 21, 1927 issue of the Jewish Criterion, reporting on the reorganization of the Busy Bees Club into the Redael Club.]
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The discussions offer a glimpse into the concerns of young Jewish women in Pittsburgh in the late 1920s.
The three surviving discussion topics include, "What Is A Gentleman?," "What Should Be the Jewish Attitude Toward This Holiday Season?," and "Should Married Women Work?"
[IMAGES: Notices from the December 14, 1928 (top) and January 11, 1929 (Bottom) issues of the Jewish Criterion, reporting on activities of the Redael Club, including discussion topics and its club poem and song.]
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The Redael Club also competed in debates against other IKS girls; clubs.
The Redael won a debate against the Inawendewin Club in early 1929 on the question, "Resolved, That the Blue Laws Be Repealed in Pennsylvania." The Redaels had the benefit of taking the affirmative, which was a popular position among a community of Jewish merchants who were disadvantaged by those laws.
A month later, the Redael Club defeated the K.M.G. Club, arguing the affirmative on the question, "Resolved, That Married Women Should Engage in Gainful Occupation." They most likely built upon their previous examination of the subject during their club discussion at the IKS the year prior.
[IMAGES: Notices from the April 4, 1929 (top) and May 17, 1929 (Bottom) issues of the Jewish Criterion, reporting on debate victories of the Redael Club.]
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With those victories, The Redael Club won the girls' debating title—and the right to face off against the boys' debate champions: The Phoenix Club.
The Irene Kaufmann Settlement Debating Championship was held on June 12, 1929. The question was "Resolved, That Public Utilities Be Owned by the Government."
Among the judges was Abe Laufe, a beloved staff member who was an expert on American musical theatre.
The keynote speaker was lawyer and good government activist A. Leo Weil, who had made his name in Pittsburgh in part by fighting against the privatization of a proposed trolley franchise on Bigelow Boulevard.
The Redael Club argued the affirmative but lost to the Phoenixes.
The Redeal Club disappears from the Jewish Criterion after 1930.
[IMAGES: Notices from the June 7, 1929 (top) and June 21, 1929 (bottom) issues of the Jewish Criterion, reporting on the debate championship between the Redael Club and the Phoenix Club.]
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In the next issue of the newsletter, we'll look at actors and actresses in The Ovarb Association, a young Jewish dramatic club with rich documentation.
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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.
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Third Annual Derekh Speaker Series: Ariel Sabar |
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The Rauh Jewish Archives is pleased to once again partner with the Derekh Speaker Series at Beth Shalom Congregation. The series is hosting a digital talk on Wednesday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m., with Ariel Sabar, author of "Veritas: A Harvard Professor, A Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife."
"Veritas" is a tale of fierce intellectual rivalries at the highest levels of academia, a piercing psychological portrait of a disillusioned college dropout whose life had reached a breaking point, and a tragedy about a brilliant scholar handed an ancient papyrus that appealed to her greatest hopes for Christianity–but forced a reckoning with fundamental questions about the nature of truth and the line between faith and reason.
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This series with five authors from across the country is made available through the Jewish Book Council and funded by Seth Glick and Carolyn Slayton. To learn more or purchase the books, visit Congregation Beth Shalom.
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Feb. 22: "The Hidden Jewish Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh" |
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Pittsburgh is often identified by its ethnic neighborhoods. But neighborhood life has never been that simple. Even seemingly homogenous neighborhoods often have small communities living as minority groups among their neighbors.
Today, Squirrel Hill is known as the “Jewish part” of Pittsburgh, and historically, the Hill District was widely considered a Jewish neighborhood. But a century ago, at least a dozen other Pittsburgh neighborhoods were home to Jewish communities of a few hundred people. Each of these enclaves supported synagogues, religious schools, Jewish charities, and Jewish-owned businesses.
On Monday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m., in a fast-paced virtual tour with Doors Open Pittsburgh, Rauh Jewish Archives Director Eric Lidji will visit (at least!) 12 city neighborhoods. With an eagle eye and help from archival records, we will find Pittsburgh’s Jewish history hidden in the cityscape.
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The holiday of Purim begins the evening of Feb. 25 and carries through the following evening. The Rauh Jewish Archives wishes everyone a Happy Purim!
[IMAGES: A pair of hand-drawn cartoons advertising the annual Purim party at the Young Men's and Women's Hebrew Association in Oakland in the early 1930s—Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association scrapbooks, MSS 271.]
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If you like this newsletter, why not forward it to a friend? We want to share the story of Western Pennsylvania Jewish history with as many people as possible.
If you've received this newsletter from a friend or neighbor, and you want to read more, just click on the link below to start receiving future editions.
[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
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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. |
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Plan a Visit
Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000
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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.
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