Friendship and keeping in touch with old friends are very important, says Ken Heller. “Looking back, my teenage years were a wonderful time of life with less stress and a place to go every week to have fun.” Several months ago, Heller, 66, began planning a 50th anniversary reunion with the former members of Club…
Tag: JEWISH TORONTO
Restoration of old Mount Sinai Hospital
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Although most of the old Mount Sinai Hospital on Yorkville Avenue is gone, a prominent architectural firm has agreed to restore the only wing of the hospital still standing. The wing, built as an addition around 1928, was used as a nursing home after Mount Sinai moved to its present location on University Avenue in…
Hyman’s book store was Spadina landmark
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As the “people of the book,” wherever Jews live, they will always find a dealer who can provide them with sforim — Hebrew, Jewish and religious books. Before the turn of the century, rabbis and scholars brought with them numerous sacred books, and from time to time, a shipment of books would arrive here. Barenholtz…
Landsmanshaft societies helped immigrants feel at home
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As Jews from Eastern European countries began to settle in Toronto and other urban areas, they formed landsmanshaften, groups of individuals from the same area or shtetI. Along with the friendships, camaraderie and the social aspects of the landsmanshaft, these societies fulfilled many other needs of the immigrants. They arranged for funerals and purchased burial grounds,…
Many at funeral of Flora Draimin (1842-1925)
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This obituary appeared in the Toronto Evening Telegram, November 2, 1925. Many at funeral of Mrs. Draimin Deceased Was One of First Jewish Citizens of Toronto In the death of Mrs. Flora Draimin, aged 83 years, wife of the late Jacob Draimin, who died at the home of her son, Archie Draimin, at 80 Beverley…
Snapshot of Jewish education in Toronto, 1917
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From the Toronto Daily Star, August 11, 1917 Toronto Jews Foster the Higher Education Schools Many, and No One Is Neglected Among the City’s 35,000 Hebrews AND LIBRARIES TOO Hebrew and Yiddish Taught, and a Yiddish Paper is Published Although the Jewish population in Toronto forms but one-sixteenth part of the entire city’s population, there…
Edmund Scheuer and the Toronto Jewish Free School
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The Toronto Star Weekly of February 12, 1916, carried this report on the Jewish Free School sponsored by Jewish philanthropist Edmund Scheuer. Making Good Canadians Out of Girls of Jewish Birth Splendid Work Being Done at the Jewish Free School Tolerance for Creeds of Others Taught Loyalty to King and Country Strongly Emphasized. The Jewish…
1911 profile of Mrs. Jacobs, wife of Holy Blossom rabbi
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Note: The following article, which appeared in the Toronto Star Weekly of April 15, 1911, highlights the various activities of Mrs. Jacobs, wife of the Rabbi Solomon Jacobs of the city’s most prominent Jewish congregation, Holy Blossom, then situated at 97 Bond Street. * * * Mrs. Jacobs, Leader Among Jewish Women, and Working Girls’…
Glass family reunion in Toronto, 1985
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Samuel Hersh and Leah Devorah Glass of Kovel, Volhynia, Ukraine, were the revered ancestors of more than 150 relatives who gathered in Toronto in 1985 for a family reunion, reported the Canadian Jewish News on August 22, 1985. Samuel and Leah and their nine daughters settled in Toronto in 1905, and some scant details about…
Gryfe family reunion in Toronto, 2010
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One century after Sam Gryfe left his home in Botosani, Romania and came to Canada, more than 100 of his descendants gathered for a family reunion in Toronto, reported the Canadian Jewish News on June 3, 2010. Well-known descendants include Mark Gryfe, who is involved in the Baycrest Foundation, and Moishe Gryfe, who runs Gryfe’s…
