THE SCRIBE the JOURNAL of the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY of BRITISH COLUMBIA the Scribe the Scribe • Vol
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Volume XXXI • 2011 ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE • FOCUS ON RECORDING COMMUNITY HISTORY • BOOKS IN REVIEW IN BOOKS • COMMUNITY HISTORY FOCUS • RECORDING ON LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL THE SCRIBE THE JOURNAL OF THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA The Scribe The • Vol. XXXI • 2011 • XXXI Vol. • Featured in this issue THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Organizational Life • Focus on Recording Community History • Books in Review THE SCRIBE THE JOURNAL OF THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Organizational Life Focus on Recording Community History Books in Review Volume XXXI • 2011 This issue of The Scribe has been made possible through a generous donation from Dora and Sid Golden and Family. Editor: Cynthia Ramsay Publications Committee: Faith Jones, Betty Nitkin, Perry Seidelman and archivist Jennifer Yuhasz, with appreciation to Josie Tonio McCarthy, Cyril E. Leonoff and Marcy Babins Layout: Western Sky Communications Ltd. Statements of fact or opinion appearing in The Scribe are made on the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply the endorsements of the editor or the Jewish Histori cal Society of British Columbia. Please address all submissions and communications on editorial and circulation matters to: THE SCRIBE Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia 6184 Ash Street, Vancouver, B.C., V5Z 3G9 604-257-5199 • [email protected] • www.jewishmuseum.ca Membership Rates: Households – $54; Institutions/Organizations – $75 Includes one copy of each issue of The Scribe and The Chro nicle Back issues and extra copies – $20 including postage ISSN 0824 6048 © The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia is a nonprofit organization. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted without the written permission of the publisher, with the following exception: JHSBC grants permission to individuals to download or print single copies of articles for personal use . A person may reproduce excerpts from articles in the journal for any purpose that respects the moral rights of the authors, on the condition that the source is fully acknowledged. Permission does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copy- ing for general distribution, promotional purposes, new collective works or resale. Printed on 100-percent post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. Cover Photos: See photo sources throughout the publication. THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia ( JHSBC) was founded on January 25, 1971, under the direction of historian Cyril Leonoff, with assistance from the National Council of Jewish Women and Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. By 2002, the JHSBC’s collection had become so extensive that it became apparent that a formal archives was neede d to house their records. The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia ( JMABC), administered by the historical society, officially opened to the public on March 25, 2007. The JHSBC is the preeminent and authoritative body for the gathering and sharing of community memory of Jewish life in British Columbia. Through its publications, education programs, public events and the operation of the archi ves, the JHSBC collects, researches, preserves, exhibits and interprets archival material and artifacts related to the history of the Jewish people in British Columbia. The society’s holdings comprise records from 70 organizations, families and individuals, and cover the years 1860-2011, with predominant dates of 1920-2005. As of publication, the archives holds 1,000 linear metres of textual files, 300,000 photographs and 700 oral history interviews. The Scribe is the annual journal published by the JHSBC. As an anthology, often with peer-reviewed articles, it seeks to cover all aspects of the Jewish experience in British Columbia and Western Canada, including history, culture, art, literature, religion, communal activities and contributions to the development and progress of Canada. THE SCRIBE Volume XXXI • 2011 CONTENTS I. Editor’s Introduction 7 II. Organizational Life 9 The State of Vancouver’s Jewish History by Simon Goldenberg 9 “Put Up Or Shut Up”: Women’s Volunteer Groups in Canadian Jewish History by Barb Schober 21 NCJW Vancouver: The Genesis of a Hearing Disorder Detection Program for Children in British Columbia by Carol Spivack Weinstock 43 Hillel House from Generation to Generation by Pat Johnson 53 Being a Jewish Prison Chaplain in British Columbia by Michael Zoosman 107 III. Focus on Recording Community History 129 A Conversation with Cyril E. Leonoff and Irene Dodek 129 A Look at Congregation Beth Israel by Dorothy Grad 149 From the JHSBC Collection: Oral History Excerpts – Organizational Involvement 185 From the JHSBC Collection: Images of Organizational Life 195 IV. Books in Review 203 Jews of the Pacific Coast by Ellen Eisenberg, Ava F. Kahn and William Toll (reviewed by Perry Seidelman) 203 The Defining Decade by Harold Troper (reviewed by Cynthia Ramsay) 209 Passionate Pioneers by Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich (reviewed by Al Stein with Shanie Levin) 215 Singing from the Darktime by S. Weilbach (reviewed by Jonathan Wisenthal) 223 Recent Publications 227 V. Contributors 231 VI. Archivist’s Report 235 7 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION While this issue of The Scribe begins with a cautionary essay about the state of Vancouver’s Jewish history – and that of smaller communities in general – the amount of material collected for this year’s edition is a hopeful sign. At almost the same number of pages as the 2009 and 2010 issues combined, the 2011 The Scribe proves that there is no dearth of material on our community, and that there are people willing and able to help preserve our collective history. For the second year in a row, Dora and Sid Golden and their family have ensured that this journal is published. This type of support is invaluable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that an annual publication offers an ideal medium through which to highlight the extensive collection already amassed by the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. It also spurs creation, providing those curious about a particular aspect of community history with the addi- tional motivation of publication for compiling, analyzing and commu- nicating their research. There are no peer-reviewed contributions in this issue of The Scribe, but, as attested by the copious amount of endnotes, the articles in this issue are well researched and well documented. While there is a need for more trained historians to engage with the available archival mate- rial and for the community as a whole to take more of a vested inter- est in recording the voices of our elders, contributing historical docu- ments and fostering scholarship, this issue underscores the incredible resources that do exist. Every author in this issue of Th e Scribe took it upon themselves to research and write an article about an aspect of communal Jewish life in British Columbia, or to review a publication that documents other aspects of Jewish history. Included in this issue are articles on the National Council of Jewish 8 T H E S C R I B E Women, both as an example of the need to give a rightful place to Jewish women’s organizations in the account of Canadian Jewish his- tory, and as an example of an organization that has had an impact beyond the Jewish community; an in-depth look at the 60-plus-year history of Vancouver Hillel and the influence it has had on genera- tions of students; and personal insight into the role of a Jewish prison chaplain in British Columbia. In the Focus on Recording Community History section, the interview with Cyril E. Leonoff and Irene Dodek provides a glimpse at how the JMABC’s Oral History Program began, and oral histories provide much of the basis for the look back at Congregation Beth Israel since its establishment in 1925. The oral history excerpts and selected images from the JHSBC collection offer but a hint of all that the archives has collected to date. In the Books in Review section, there are four publications that, in very different ways, attempt to preserve specifically Jewish history, collective and individual. Appropriately, JMABC archivist Jennifer Yuhasz completes the journal’s articles with her report, which highlights the delightful discoveries that can be found in the archives – most re cently, in the form of a Hadassah-WIZO advertising book long thought discarded, work attributed to artist Jack Shadbolt. Everyone can contribute to the work of the archives, if not by donating items and/or financial support, then with an article, essay, interview, commentary or review in The Scribe. Submission informa- tion is found at the end of this journal. Back issues of The Scribe can be downloaded from http://www.jewishmuseum.ca/Scribe, while current issues can be obtained by contacting the museum directly at 604-257-5199 or [email protected]. Simon Goldenberg: The State of Vancouver’s Jewish History 9 THE STATE OF VANCOUVER’S JEWISH HISTORY By Simon Goldenberg On March 1, 2011, the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia ( JMABC) relocated from the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver to a much-smaller space at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. According to Molly Winston, then-edu- cation coordinator at the JMABC, the move “was mainly for financial reasons.”1 JMABC archivist Jennife r Yuhasz noted that it was diffi- cult to get foot traffic to the third floor of the community centre and, as a result, the setting became financially unfeasible.2 At first glance, the move may appear a minor change, the Peretz Centre being a little more than one kilometre away from the museum’s original location, but the need to relocate – which was mainly financial – speaks to the current interest in and accessibility of Jewish history in Vancouver. The new location is no longer a museum in the conventional sense: there is no room for exhibits and artifacts and the archives are stored elsewhere.