[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.