Happy Independence Day!
[IMAGES: (Top) Quilt made by students at Samuel S. Nixon Elementary School in Scott Township to commemorate the United States Bicentennial in 1976—gift of Estate of James Colker; (Bottom) Students showcasing the quilt—from Seiner Family Papers, MSS 1211.]

Janice (Seiner) Colker was an artist and art teacher in Pittsburgh. While teaching at Samuel S. Nixon Elementary School in Scott Township in the mid-1970s, she oversaw a student quilt honoring the United States Bicentennial by documenting a moment from each year of the existence of the country.
Jewish Scouts
[IMAGE: Shalom Kohanbash, Moshe Stiebel, and Mark Edelman of Boy Scout Troop 1818—a Shabbat-observant troop sponsored by Shaare Torah Congregation—after being promoted to new leadership positions, 2002—from the Jewish Chronicle Records, MSS 906]

The biggest and best known Jewish youth clubs in Western Pennsylvania were associated with the Jewish Community Center (and its predecessor agencies) or with the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. But the most diverse and longest lasting Jewish youth clubs in this region might be the Boy and Girl Scouts.

There have been at least 50 "Jewish" Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in this region since the founding of the national organizations in the 1910s. They were sponsored by Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox congregations and by secular Jewish institutions. They existed in the city, in the suburbs, and in the surrounding small towns. Some were entirely Jewish, while others included a few Catholic children who happened to lived near sponsoring synagogues.

While other Jewish youth club networks have faded, there have been Jewish scouting troops in this region, more or less continuously, since at least 1916.

For the next few weeks, we'll look at some of the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops associated with Jewish communal institutions across this region.

All 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. 
Tell your friends!
[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]

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The Rauh Jewish 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.