September 29, 2024

Vol. 5, No. 39



The Early 1970s:

Jewish holidays at public schools

Jewish Encyclopedia:

United Jewish Fund

Databases:

Squirrel Hill businesses

Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life

"Grandmother's Flower Garden"

Exhibits:

A Woman's Place

Calendar:

Oct 14: JGS Presents:

Lost Cousins



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:

Jewish holidays and public schools

Black and white photograph of students leaving Taylor Allderdice High School—1960s.

—Pittsburgh Public Schools Photographs [MSP 117]

Detre Library and Archives

Should public schools close for the Jewish holidays? 

It’s been a perennial issue.

Decades before the first Jewish day schools in Pittsburgh, most Jewish students stayed home on Yom Kippur. The Hebrew Institute conducted a crude but effective Jewish census each year by subtracting district wide attendance figures for Yom Kippur from attendance figures from the day before.

As head of the local Jewish Community Relations Council from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, Lillian Friedberg pushed for policies allowing Jewish students to stay home for the High Holidays without the consequences of absence.

Those policies, though, were based around student absences.

What about teachers?

The issue arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the Board of Public Education denied a request to close all schools on the High Holidays.

The dynamics of this request were unexpected.

As this specific debate emerged into public view through a series of letters to the editor in the Jewish Chronicle in July 1970, it became a debate over the right way for Jewish organizations to protect the interests of Jewish people. 

Opposition came from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Pittsburgh and from the National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section.

These groups were concerned about the separation of Church and State, as well as accusations of favoritism. Why should schools close for Jewish holidays, they argued, but not for Martin Luther King Day (which was a new idea at the time and was still many years away from becoming a federal holiday)?

In a column in the Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh praising the school board’s decision to keep public schools open during the Jewish holidays, Milton K. Sussman wrote, “Should we, however, be inclined to complain about the observance of Christmas and Good Friday, we have only to remember that these are among the advantages enjoyed by the majority. As witness in Israel where everything closes on the Jewish Sabbath. We Jews cannot afford the luxury of the antagonisms such preference would encourage…”

Support came from a group of teachers. The school district employed many Jewish teachers at the time. These teachers often took absences for the High Holidays, creating challenges for other teachers and schools throughout the district. Closing all schools would be a mostly practical decision, they argued.

It was also a matter of fairness, according to some Jewish teachers. Public school teachers did not get vacation during the school year, and Jewish teachers were generally docked pay for taking absence to observe Jewish holidays. The school district eventually instituted two personal days each year.

Even so, some Jewish teachers resented having to use precious personal days for Jewish holidays, leaving less time for actual personal matters. 

In this debate, several Jewish teachers said they felt abandoned. If the major Jewish organizations wouldn’t stand behind them, who would? The school closure issue might seem small, but Jewish teachers were reporting other, more concerning issues, such as questions about missed promotions.

Rosh Hashana this year falls on Thursday, Oct. 3 and Friday, Oct. 4.

The Rauh Jewish Archives phone and email will be closed in observance of the holiday, but the Detre Library and Archives reading room will be open during its normal business hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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:

United Jewish Fund

Black and white photograph of United Jewish Fund Campaign Chair Herman Fineberg presiding over a meeting to raise funds to resettle Holocaust survivors in displaced persons camps—1949.

—Herman and Rebecca Fineberg Papers [MSS 730]

The Rauh Jewish Archives recently published a finding aid and meeting minute index for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Records [MSS 287]. As part of that effort, we’re using this space for the next few weeks to summarize the history of the organization and its predecessors and projects.

The Federation of the Jewish Philanthropies was initially focused on raising and distributing funds for select group of local social welfare institutions.

This task became especially demanding during the late 1920s and 1930s.

The Jewish population was migrating from the downtown core into eastern neighborhoods, creating a strain on several major communal institutions supported by the Federation. Montefiore Hospital left the Hill District for Oakland in 1928. The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House expanded its Hill District campus in 1928 with a state of the art auditorium. The Jewish Home for the Aged left the Hill District for a new Squirrel Hill campus in 1933.

All these major financial decisions were coming as the region and then the country entered a major depression, meaning that beneficiaries like the Hebrew Free Loan Association, the House of Shelter, and the United Hebrew Relief Association were also in greater need than ever before.

As if these domestic issues weren’t pressing enough, the Jewish world was also facing tremendous challenges overseas. The aftermath of World War I and the rise of Nazism in the 1930s was a growing crisis for the Jews of Europe.

The initial United Jewish Fund campaign began in Pittsburgh in May 1936, when more than 700 volunteers set out to raise $201,550 toward an international fundraising drive to address these overseas efforts.

The United Jewish Fund became a regular component of local Jewish fundraising in the late 1930s and into the 1940s, gaining importance year by year with the start of World War II, the destruction during the Holocaust, the creation of displaced persons camps, and the founding of the State of Israel, creating ever-increasing demands for global financial assistance. Over time, the United Jewish Fund also addressed local education and cultural programs not covered by the Federation of the Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh.

By the early 1950s, World War II was over, the State of Israel had been established, the displaced camps were largely emptied, and the American economy was improving. The Federation of the Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh and the United Jewish Fund of Pittsburgh merged in 1955 to create the new United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh. The new organization soon dedicated a newly built office building on McKee Place in Oakland. 

Databases:

Squirrel Hill business directory

The 2000 block of Murray Avenue, showing Pinsker’s, M. Fogel Meats, Murray News Stand, Stern’s Café, Kablin’s Market, and other shops—November 3, 1965.

—Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs

Detre Library & Archive

The Squirrel Hill Business Directory now includes 4,719 listings for businesses on Murray, Forbes, and Forward avenues between 1955 and 1973 (excluding information from the 1957, 1963 and 1966 city directories, which the Detre Library & Archives does not have in its holdings).

We recently added 1,122 listings from 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1959. 

Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life

"Grandmother's Flower Garden"

Color photograph showing Louise Silk holding her completed grandmother's flower garden quilt outside her home in Chicago—c1974.

—Louise Silk Papers [MSS 1329]

Louise Silk showed an aptitude for sewing in high school in the late 1960s but had no conception that this skill could support an artistic career. On the advice of a guidance counselor, she got a Home Ec degree at Drexel University. 

Louise married her high school sweetheart. They moved to Chicago to start a family. In both Philadelphia and Chicago, Louise was exposed to the emerging Women’s Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. She attended consciousness raising events, joined an effort to monitor abortion clinics created after the Roe v. Wade decision, and read the new Ms. magazine.

The magazine published an article in 1972 titled, “Quilts: A Great American Art.” It presented needlework, and specifically quilting, as a quintessentially women’s art form, one persistently ignored by the male-dominated art establishment. Being overlooked also meant being free to explore and innovate without interference. On the spot, Louise decided to become a quilter.

“A Patchwork Life” includes her first quilt: a queen-sized grandmother’s flower garden completed over 18 months. It is a traditional quilt pattern using hexagons to depict rows of neatly planted flowers. Louise’s version is improvisational, looking more like a vibrant field of wildflowers.

Quilting has been never solely a creative pursuit for Louise. It is also a communal one. She organized quilting retreats for her friends in the Women’s Movement in Chicago and started one of the first quilting groups in Pittsburgh after she returned to the city. Even as her career advanced artistically, she always nurtured the communal side of quilting, bringing her skill into the various spiritual communities she has joined throughout life. 

“Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life” contains her biggest communal effort yet. The gallery includes a workstation where volunteers can contribute to The Witness Quilt, an assemblage of more than 1,100 patches, each bearing folk wisdoms.

"Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life" will be on display in the Barensfeld Gallery on the fifth floor of the Heinz History Center through April 6, 2025.

Exhibit:

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.  

Oct. 14:

JGS Pittsburgh Presents:

Gone Girl: Strategies for Finding

a VERY Long-Lost Female Cousin

DNA and document strategies will be unfolded in this quest for a female cousin. Finding females is a common genealogical challenge. When the woman does not want to be found, the challenge becomes even greater. Learn techniques for breaking through a brick wall and as well as the new problems on the other side of that wall.

The program is Monday, October 14 from 7:30-9:30 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. 

“Gone Girl: Strategies for Finding a VERY Long-Lost Female Cousin” with Rhoda Miller 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.

Rhoda Miller, Ed.D., CG® has been a Certified Genealogist since 1998, retired 2023, specializing in Jewish research and Holocaust studies. Rhoda is a Past President of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island (JGSLI) and currently serves on the Liaison Committee of the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies (IAJGS). With JGSLI, she led the award-winning project of publishing Jewish Community of Long Island. She is a past board member of LitvakSIG and is currently the Coordinator for the Svencionys Research District. Rhoda retired as a Genealogist Researcher for Ancestry ProGenealogists. In May 2025, she will be the featured Jewish genealogist on a Mediterranean cruise.

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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