August 18, 2024

Vol. 5, No. 33



The Early 1970s:

Youth Outreach

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Jewish Education Institute

Sisterhoods:

New Light Sisterhood

Today:

A Patchwork Life Stitching Circle

Exhibits:

A Woman's Place

Calendar:

Sept. 15: JGS Presents:

Holocaust Restitution



Community:

URA photographs

SHHS archives

"How We Got Here"

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Synagogues, Newsletter Archive,

Shul Records America

The Early 1970s:

Youth Outreach

Photograph of JFCS social worker Howard Wolfe speaking with unidentified teens on the steps of Sixth Presbyterian Church at Murray and Forbes avenues—Feb. 2, 1972.

—Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Clubs were once the foundation of teen activities at the Y-IKC.

From the 1920s into the 1970s, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House and the Young Men’s and Women’s Hebrew Association were home to hundreds of youth clubs. With the merger of the two organizations in the early 1960s, clubs assumed even greater importance. Some of these clubs lasted a few weeks and others continued for decades, long after members had become adults.

It all ended quickly.

“As recently as 1970, there were twenty two club groups that formed the basis for the teen program. The goal of this program was to foster social development of the adolescent,” the Y-IKC wrote in a 1973-1974 report. “In less than two years, by 1972, there were no clubs and programming had moved to special interest activities, human development groups, individualized programs, outreach and meeting the teen where he or she was ‘at.’” 

Without the clubs, the Y-IKC had to develop a slate of programming for the 1,700 teens that frequented its facilities. Some of these programs included:

• Project Hope: a volunteer program pairing Y-IKC teens with young people who had intellectual and developmental disabilities for social events;

• Guerilla Theater with “intensive emotional interplay between actors and audience;”

• Teen on Wheels: a six-week bus trip to California and back.

Earlier this year, we looked at efforts to address the needs of a new generation of Jewish youth on campus. These efforts included the Lubavitch Youth Organization and the reorganization of Hillel-Jewish University Center, as well as an effort to address substance use among Jewish and non-Jewish teens.

In the early 1970s, Jewish Family & Children’s Service and the Y-IKC began partnering on projects to address the needs of teenagers. JFCS launched a series of evening sessions for adults, focusing on emerging issues among youth. The sessions were small, including only about six couples, all parents of teenage children. The Y-IKC recruited families from its membership. The sessions looked at drug use, understanding adolescents, and family dynamics.

Alongside those sessions, JFCS placed a social worker within the Squirrel Hill Y-IKC for one afternoon each week to provide direct counseling to teens.

Selection from “Teen Talk” column by Lester Weiss, describing the recent dissolution of the youth club structure at the Y-IKC—June 11, 1971.

—Y Weekly

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

These projects came as JFCS was undergoing a transition. It could not longer depend on clients coming to a central office. It needed to become mobile.

JFCS and the Y-IKC created Youth Outreach in late 1971. The program hired two recent college graduates, Howard Wolfe and Susan Hoechstetter, to move through Squirrel Hill, building relationships with teenagers and referring them to existing services in the community when appropriate. Within a few years, Youth Outreach social workers Mark Meyers and Gail Orlitzsky were given permission to roam the halls of Allderdice High School during lunch.

“This program was begun as a direct result of the growing alienation exhibited by many teens to structured activities. Essentially, it is designed to reach out to those who are alienated, sometimes embittered and often deeply involved in the so-called hippie culture,” Y-IKC later explained in its 1973-1974 report.

JFCS also began meeting with South Hills families who were seeking “a Jewish presence reaching out to young people, a presence that goes beyond contacts with the synagogue,” according to United Jewish Federation meeting minutes. JFCS expanded its Youth Outreach program to South Hill in early 1972. 

All year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania in the early 1970s. If you would like to donate a material from this time period, or any historic materials documenting Jewish life in this region, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Jewish Education Institute

Photograph of (left to right) United Jewish Federation President Howard Rieger, School of Advanced Jewish Studies President Arnold Broudy, Community Day School President Max Levine, and Hebrew Institute President Barton Cowan signing the merger agreement to form the Jewish Education Institute—March 14, 1991.

—Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Efforts to centralize Jewish education in Pittsburgh began in the 1920s with the Bureau of Jewish Education. They continued in the 1950s with the Self-Study on Jewish Education and the new College of Jewish Studies. The College of Jewish Studies evolved in the late 1960s into an arrangement between the Hebrew Institute and the new School of Advanced Jewish Studies.

In the late 1980s, the Jewish community revisited the idea of centralization Jewish education. The United Jewish Federation formed the Joint Central Agency Task Force to revisit the issue. The task force led to the 1991 merger of the Hebrew Institute, the School of Advanced Jewish Studies, and Community Day School into the new Jewish Education Institute. The Jewish Education Institute oversaw a multifaceted Jewish education program until the early 2000s, when it was succeeded by the new Agency for Jewish Learning.

Sisterhoods:

New Light Sisterhood

Color photograph of New Light Sisterhood President’s Day luncheon—1966.

—New Light Congregation Records and Photographs [MSS 1230]

On June 8, 1942, the Roumanian Ladies Aid Society officially changed its name to the American Ladies Relief Society. A notice in the Jewish Criterion attributed the change, somewhat cryptically, to “present war conditions.”

The Roumanian Ladies Aid Society had been founded in 1907, amid a surge in Jewish immigration to Western Pennsylvania from Romania. These immigrants were fleeing physical violence, as well as economic limitations. The Hawker Laws of 1884 restricted peddling in Romania, leading to a large Jewish outmigration to Europe and North America, according to Jacob Feldman in The Jewish Experience in Western Pennsylvania: A History 1755-1945.

By the 1920s, Romanians were the third largest Jewish ethnic group in Pittsburgh, about 3,800 people spread across two congregations, Oher Chodesh (now known as New Light) and Cneseth Israel. Romanian Jews became major contributors to local Jewish cultural scene. They sponsored most of the professional Yiddish theater in the city, as well as numerous concerts from celebrated cantors. The Roumanian Ladies Aid Society played a unifying role, providing a single home for all Romanian Jews. Unlike the many Jewish women’s groups that operated as “auxiliaries” to congregations, the Roumanian Ladies Aid Society operated as an independent organization.

The Society served a humanitarian role. According to its charter, it was created “for the mutual relief of its members in case of sickness, disability or death and to aid in the case of the deserving sick and indigent and the burial of the worthy poor and unfortunate among the Jewish people of Allegheny County.”

Color photograph of New Light Sisterhood members (left to right) Ida Kubrick, Cecilia Robinson, and Sharyn Stein at New Light Congregation’s Chanukah celebration. Seated at the forefront are (left to right) David and Dorothy Speizer—Dec. 5, 2002.

—New Light Congregation Records and Photographs [MSS 1230]

By the early 1940s, two big trends were underway. First, the old European ethnic identities were starting to fade within the local Jewish population. While many local Jewish congregations continued to promote aspects of these traditions, the younger generations increasingly identified as American.

The second trend involved the rapidly changing geopolitics of Europe. Romania joined the Axis powers in November 1940. According to the US Holocaust Museum and Memorial, “Between 1941 and 1944, German and Romanian authorities murdered or caused the deaths of between 150,000 and 250,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Approximately 220,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, including at least 90,000 in Northern Transylvania who were deported to Auschwitz by Hungarian authorities.” Some of these victims would have been family members of the hundreds of Romanian Jews living in Pittsburgh.

The United States entered the war in December 1941. By the time the American Ladies Relief Society adopted its new name in June 1942, dozens of young Jewish boys were shipping out from Pittsburgh to train for the war.

By the mid-1950s, the Jewish residential population of the Hill District had mostly relocated to eastern neighborhoods of the city. Cneseth Israel Congregation moved to the East End in 1946, and Oher Chodesh Congregation moved to Squirrel Hill in 1957. As part of the move, Oher Chodesh adopted the English name New Light Congregation, shifted its affiliation from Orthodox to Conservative, and formed a new Men’s Club and a new Sisterhood.

In a constitution from 1967, the New Light Sisterhood described its purpose as assisting the larger congregation by “furthering Jewish education among members; promoting the observance of the Sabbath and all Jewish festivals and holidays; strengthening good will towards all groups within the Congregation; and contributing towards the Congregation’s needs.”

--Catelyn Cocuzzi

Today:

The Patchwork Life Stitching Circle

[LEFT] Color photograph showing a pair of hands framing a patch from The Witness Quilt reading, “Do a mitzvah.” [RIGHT] Patchwork Life Stitching Circle sewing kit.

On Sunday, September 1, the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center will open a new exhibition titled, “Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life,” a retrospective of the 50-year career of local quilter and fiber artist Louise Silk.  

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a new work called “The Witness Quilt,” a collection of 1,152 folk wisdoms embroidered onto recycled fabric from Silk’s personal fabric collection. Throughout the run of the exhibit, Silk will work in the gallery space with volunteer community stitchers to expand the Witness Quilt. Once complete, the patches will be given away to museum visitors. 

Today, Sunday, August 18 from 1-4 p.m., Silk will host a special training session at the Detre Library & Archives of the Heinz History Center for anyone who would like to participate. No expertise or materials are required, just a desire to join a community of stitchers who will assist with this special project.  

All participants will receive a special sewing kit created by Silk and will leave with an embroidery project already underway. If you are unable to attend the workshop but would still like to participate, please contact the archive.

NOW OPEN:

A Woman's Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh

“How Mrs. Enoch Rauh ushered in the year 1913 — on Dec. 31st 1912.”

—from Richard E. Rauh Papers [MSS 301]

From pioneering investigative journalism to leading their country to Olympic gold, Western Pennsylvania women have made an immeasurable impact in America, but too often, their stories have been overlooked.

The Heinz History Center is taking an unprecedented deep dive into the lives of these fierce and unflappable women who helped change the world inside a major new exhibition, A Woman’s Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh.

Take an interactive, thematic journey through Western Pennsylvania women’s history from the early 1800s to modern day that will showcase the stories of entrepreneurs and activists, artists and athletes, scientists and inventors, and changemakers and barrier breakers. Through more than 250 artifacts, immersive experiences, and striking archival images, A Woman’s Place will reveal how women have made Pittsburgh and the world a better place.  

Sept. 15

JGS Pittsburgh Presents:

Restitution and Remembrance:

Finding a Thousand Heirs

Some 20 years ago, over 9,000 books looted by the infamous Nazi officer Julius Streicher were handed over to the Jewish community in Nuernberg and are now held by the Stadtbibliothek there. The owners of more than 2,000 of them could be identified. An ongoing research project coordinated by Leibl Rosenberg in Nuernberg to identify descendants has resulted in the return of over 1,000 of them. Hundreds are still in the library collection awaiting return.

Karen enlisted assistance from the Leo Baeck Institute’s staff and volunteers, as well as volunteers from the Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and a college intern, to review the list of books with heirs yet unidentified, and within a few weeks, the descendants of over a dozen original owners of the book had been located and notified. In this talk, Karen will discuss new case studies and demonstrate the research techniques she and the volunteers undertook to find the heirs.

The program is Sunday, September 15 from 1-3 p.m. ET. This is an online program, occurring exclusively on Zoom. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members. 

“Restitution and Remembrance: Finding a Thousand Heirs” with Karen Franklin is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. Please register online. The program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

This program is possible through the generous support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Karen S. Franklin, a leader in the fields of Jewish genealogy and Jewish museums, has been Director of Family Research at the Leo Baeck Institute for over twenty years and is Consulting Director of the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. She has served as president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, chair of the Council of American Jewish Museums, chair of the Memorial Museums Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and co-chair of the Board of Governors of JewishGen.org. Karen received the service citation of the International Council of Museums-US in 2012 for her work in Holocaust-era Looted Art, and the IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

Community

Urban Redevelopment Authority Archives

The City of Pittsburgh Archives has launched a new digital archive containing thousands of photographs and documents spanning more than two centuries. Of particular interest to local Jewish history is a collection of more than 2,000 photographs of properties in the lower Hill District taken by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in the late 1950s prior to demolitions in the area. 

Squirrel Hill Historical Society Archives

Squirrel Hill Historical Society has added a collection of 60 historic images of Squirrel Hill to the Historic Pittsburgh website. The collection contains selected images from three organizations: the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, Squirrel Hill Urban  Coalition, and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church. The photographs document many aspects of life in Squirrel Hill, including many beloved businesses from the 1990s that no longer exist.

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here"

Each family is unique. 

Each family has its own traditions, its own spirit, and its own dynamics. 

Despite all these differences, every Jewish family in Western Pennsylvania has at least one thing in common: They all have a story about how they got here.

Perhaps your family sailed in steerage across the Atlanti in the 19th century.

Or perhaps your family drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a station wagon in the 1960s to work for the universities and hospitals during Renaissance.

Or perhaps your arrival into one of the many Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania involves marriage, or conversion, or a surprising DNA discovery.

Each of these stories is special, and each contributes to the larger story of our community. To collect and honor these origin stories, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh is launching a new initiative called “How We Got Here.” To participate, just write a short account explaining how you or your ancestors came to settle in Western Pennsylvania. All stories are welcome.

Stories will be eligible for inclusion in the JGS-Pittsburgh’s monthly newsletter Z’chor and also for preservation in the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information about this initiative, or to contribute, contact Eric Lidji.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

Research Tools

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains more than 2,700 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

Synagogues

A database of buildings throughout Western Pennsylvania known to have hosted Jewish worship services. Includes links to photographs and citations with original source material. Database currently includes 90 locations from 2 institutions

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.

Shul Records America

Online finding aid from JewishGen listing congregational archival collections held at publicly accessible repositories across the United States. Includes 63 listings from the Rauh Jewish Archives, as well as other repositories with Western Pennsylvania congregational records.

The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect and preserve the documentary history of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania and to make it available to the world through research assistance, programing, exhibits, publications, and partnerships.

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