Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Gift of Sharon Abron Drache, 2014 Includes extensive correspondence, manuscripts, etc. with Joe Rosenblatt, David Gurr; drafts, research and correspondence related to Barbara Klein-Muskrat: Then and Now; The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue; Ritual Slaughter; The Mikveh Man; The Golden Ghetto; The Magic Pot; correspondence, research and drafts for piece on Richard Landon and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library; Arthur Drache material; unpublished children’s stories; family material; ghost writing; mentoring and other material related to the life and work of Sharon Abron Drache. Extent: 40 boxes (6 metres) Biographical family note from the Ontario Jewish Archives Sharon Abron Drache fonds: Sharon Abron Drache attended Forest Hill Collegiate(graduating in 1962) and then completed an undergraduate degree and post-graduate diploma in Psychology at the University of Toronto, the latter from the Institute of Child Study. She was enrolled as a special student in the Department of Religion at Carleton University from 1974-78. She has published four books of adult fiction, The Mikveh Man, Ritual Slaughter, The Golden Ghetto, Barbara Klein-Muskrat – then and now, and two children’s books, The Magic Pot and The Lubavitchers are coming to Second Avenue. She has also worked as a literary journalist and book reviewer for several newspapers and journals including, The Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, Books In Canada, the Glebe Report and The Ottawa and Western Jewish Bulletins. Murray Abramowitz was born in 1912 in Toronto. His parents were David (1884-1963) and Sarah (nee Winfield) (1885-1955). David arrived in Toronto in 1906. Sarah and her parents, Jacob and Anna, settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania around 1880. Jacob worked as a grocer and relocated his family to Toronto around 1894. Sarah and David were married at the McCaul Street Synagogue in Toronto on 6 March 1906. They resided at 159 York Street after their nuptuals. The couple had three children: Rose, 1907- 2001; Oscar, 1910-1986; Murray, 1912-2005. David’s father, Shevach, served as the lay cantor at Adath Israel. David owned the Men’s shop in the Union Station and his sister, Sophie Abramowitz, ran the Ladies shop. The shops were located on the east end of the Great Hall beneath the composite glass windows. Rose Abron Lahman became a physician, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Initially, she practiced in Toronto and then in Atlanta, Georgia. Rose graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto when there were quotas for both women and Jews. Murray married Edythe (née Levinter) on 8 June , 1941. The event took place at the bride’s family’s home at 1169 Bloor Street West, above the family’s furniture store. The couple had one child, Sharon Abron Drache. Murray began using the Abron surname during the 1940s, changing it legally in the 1950s. During his life, Murray worked as a hotelier and ran several businesses. They included the Rex Hotel in Toronto, theTent City Hotel at Lake Simcoe(ca. 1935-1945), and the St. Lawrence Hotel in Port Hope(1949-1955). When Murray managed the Rex Hotel he was a 50/50 partner with his mother’s brother-in-law, Leo Hertzman. Leo owned and managed the store, United Clothing, which fronted the Rex Hotel on Queen Street at the south side of the beverage room. When Leo’s son Harold Hertzman returned from military service in 1945, Leo bought out Murray’s share in the business for Harold. Jack Ross and Morris Meyers purchased the hotel from the Hertzmans in 1951. Coinciding with his Rex hotel 1 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) years, Murray was co-owner of the Tent City Hotel at Lake Simcoe with his father David Abramowitz. During the late 1950s Murray worked as a real estate broker in Toronto and Florida. From the 1960s to the early 1970s he worked in his mother-in-law’s furniture business, J. Levinter Ltd. After Murray retired from the furniture business he became a stock broker. His hobbies included fishing, telling stories and photography. He died on 10 October 2005. The Levinter family were headed by Samuel and Rebecca (née Godfried). They were both born in Austria(Galicia) and came to Canada in their teens. After their marriage in 1890, they resided in St. John’s Ward. The couple had seven children: Jacob, b. 1892; Etta, b. 1894; Manny, b. 1895; Isadore, b. 1898; Molly, b. 1900; Rose and Dolly. Isadore became a prominent Toronto lawyer and was the first Jew appointed as a bencher at the Law Society of Upper Canada. Samuel established Levinter Furniture in 1890. The business was initially located at 401-405 Queen Street. By 1925 Samuel had relocated his store to 287 Queen Street West and his son Jacob had opened a second location at 1169 Bloor Street West. Jacob later expanded his location to 1171 Bloor Street West. Samuel died on April 30, 1942; Rebecca died in 1952. Jacob married Sara Kamin on 25 June 1916. They had six children: Edythe, 1918- 2011; Alfred, 1919-1919; Evelyn, 1922-2006; Murray, 1925- ; Molly, 1927- ; Florence, 1930- ; Jacob died of a heart attack in 1944. After his death, Sara (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland, d. Toronto in 1990) took his place as owner and manager of the family furniture business, grooming her son, Murray, to succeed her. Sara’s daughter, Molly, had an early career as a concert pianist in Toronto and New York City. Notes on associated materials at other archives: Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Manuscript Division, MG D 150 –finding Aid#1484; literary papers and corrspondence from 1977 to 1994. Ottawa Jewish Archives, Ottawa. Journalism and related correspondence from 1980 -2011. Ontario Jewish Archives, Toronto. Papers and photographs, home movies, related to parents Murray and Edythe (née Levinter) Abron. Box 1 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue 32 folders Manuscripts art correspondence Folder 1 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue Word processed draft 2 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 2 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue Illustrations Folders 3-5 Spiegelman art re: The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue Cover Folder 6 A Writer’s Life High schools 2007 Folder 7 Bell High School April 2007 Folder 8 Mutchmor School December 2007 Folder 9 Hillel Lodge Tea Folder 10 Kaleidoscope Folder 11 Nancy Beale Folder 12 Mordechai Ben-Dat Folder 13 Begamudré Folder 14 Irene Bessette Folder 15 Sonia Birch-Jones Folder 16 John Bart Gerald and Julie Maas Folder 17 Pierre Berton dinner April 2001 Folder 18 Roger Bird 3 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 19 Toby Brooks Folder 20 Linda Greene Bennett 1 black and white photograph Folder 21 Anne Campbell Folder 22 David Carpenter Folder 23 Anne Clouse, photographer Folder 24 Susan Crean Folder 25 Alan Cumyn Folder 26 Penny Dickens Folder 27 Bronwen Drainie Folder 28 Sonja Dunn Folder 29 Gretl Fischer Folder 30 Gabriela Goliger Folder 31 Joan Finnigan Folder 32 Herb Gray Box 2 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue 38 folders Correspondence other Folder 1 Jayne Lemon Folder 2 National Library 2006 4 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 3 National Library launch Folder 4 OJB 2006 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue Folders 5-6 Ottawa Public Library Round Table Folder 7 First Avenue Public School Folder 8 Mutchmor Reads More May 19th, 2004 Folder 9 AJW Festival 2004 Folder 10 Ottawa Small Press Book Fair 2004 Folder 11 National Library Conference Folder 12 Janet Rothwell Folder 13 Paul Ovens Folder 14 Hillel Lodge Tea 2003 Folder 15 The Magic Pot Spring 2004 Folder 16 Ottawa Jewish Book Fair 2003 Folder 17 Daybreak Betty Neelin 2005 Folder 18 Kolel Toronto March 2005 Folder 19 Miles Nadal Toronto 2004 Folder 20 List of potential readings 5 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 21 Book Fair Listings Folder 22 Toronto Book Fair 2004 Folder 23 Israel Day Festival June 2005 Folder 24 University of Toronto great books/great grads 2007 5 colour photographs Folder 25 Great Books for Great Grads University of Toronto 2003 Folder 26 Vancouver/Victoria Jewish kidlit events Folder 27 Vancouver Jewish Book Fair Folder 28 Vancouver/Victoria kidlit events Folder 29 Victoria Shul Folder 30 Children’s Book Center Folders 31-32 The Magic Pot Toronto list June 15, 2003 Folder 33 The Magic Pot Reviews/promotion Folder 34 Canadian Materials Folder 35 CJH review Folder 36 Books in Canada 6 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 37 Glebe Report Folder 38 Reviews Box 3 The Magic Pot 38 folders The Lubavitchers Are Coming To Second Avenue Folder 1 Independently reviewed Folder 2 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Folder 3 Ottawa Citizen Folder 4 Jewish Outlook Folder 5 Resource links Folder 6 Canadian Jewish News Folder 7 Ottawa Pre-launch promotional/review for The Lubavitchers Are Coming To Second Avenue Folder 8 Glebe Report review and A Taste of Hanukkah Folder 9 Vancouver Jewish Bulletin Folder 10 Ottawa Citizen Folder 11 Magic Pot – CJH Folder 12 L’Dor Vador Publications 2003 and 2006 Folder 13 Barcode Magic Pot Folder 14 PST exemption Magic Pot 7 Ms. Drache, Sharon Abron Coll. papers 00684 (2B Annex) Folder 15 Business # for postbox key Folder 16 CIP Magic Pot Folder 17 Ellen Showalter Folder 18 Printing Folder 19 The Magic Pot 2 CDs Folder 20 Submissions 2006 L’Dor Vador Folder 21 July 2004 submission Folder 22 Myrna Levy submission Folder 23 Submission L’Dor Vador 2003 Folder 24 Submissions 2007 Folder 25 ISBN The Magic Pot Folder 26 Reviews Folder 27 The Lubavitchers Are Coming to Second Avenue Plastic publicity and direct sales Folder 28 The Magic Pot press release Folder 29 L’Dor Vador Publications, Fall 2003 Folder 30 The Magic Pot Chanuka sell Folder 31 Sunnyside Public Library 8 Ms.