A duplicate portrait photograph of Nellie Weiss Bondy in her wedding dress. Nellie Weiss married Louis Bondy in 1886: the event is reputed to have been the first Jewish wedding in Duluth.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of a woman using a measuring tape to measure the length of a skirt on Ida Blehart. Neighborhood House was founded by the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society. Neighborhood House was founded primarily to provide recreational, educational and social activities to residents of the West Side neighborhood. It maintained an active recreational program for girls in the neighborhood, teaching sewing, cooking and other domestic arts.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A view showing the front exterior of the building which housed the Saint Paul Hebrew Institute, and the Jewish Shelter Home. The Hebrew Institute was on the second floor, and served children of Orthodox families affiliated with several St. Paul Orthodox synagogues. The Jewish Shelter Home on the first floor functioned as a way house for indigent and transient Jews, thus fulfilling an important mitzvah to care for the traveler and the homeless.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Poale Zion was a Zionist-Socialist-Laborite group founded in Russia. The St. Paul chapter in the picture is promoting "Tag Day" a fundraising activity supporting Jewish emigration to Palestine. A close look at the photo shows coin collection cans, called "pushkes" and paper tags with Mogen Davids (Star of Davids) in several of the young women's hands.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph showing members of the Workmen's Circle outdoors. Yiddish-speaking Socialists in Minneapolis and St. Paul established a vibrant network of cultural, educational, political and fraternal networks and organizations. Workman's Circles provided medical and insurance benefits to its members. In addition, circles organized Yiddish libraries, theatrical events, Yiddish language classes and lectures. Circles were secular rather than religion-oriented.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Girls, some holding dolls or teddy bears, in this group photograph of the Girl's Club at Neighborhood House. Neighborhood House was founded by the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society. Neighborhood House was founded primarily to provide recreational, educational and social activities to residents of the West Side neighborhood. It maintained an active recreational program for girls in the neighborhood, teaching sewing, cooking and other domestic arts.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of members of the Workmen's Circle, which was created in the late 1800s by Jewish immigrants as a mutual aid society. The Circle was secular, practical and leftist, and many members were involved in support for Palestine.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph showing members of the Minneapolis Workmen's Circle. Workman's Circle members were non-religious, politically active Jews, many of whom were Socialists. They espoused a classless society, favored the use of Yiddish for cultural expression, and created a variety of services for members, including medical and insurance benefits.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of some men affiliated with Central Community House. Central Community House and its West Side counterpart, Neighborhood House, were created to assist immigrants newly arrived to the community. Although the settlement house roots were in the Jewish community, the curriculum and activities offered emphasized Americanization and secularization. The group of young Jewish men in the photo may be members of Coming Men of America, a fraternal order with Masonic roots who met at the House.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph showing members of the National Jewish Workers Alliance Home standing in front of the meeting hall, which appears to be a personal home. N. J. W. A. was the Americanized name for the Farband. This is the second part of a two part photograph. See also mhs06636.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph showing members of the National Jewish Workers Alliance Home standing in front of the meeting hall, which appears to be a personal home. N. J. W. A. was the Americanized name for the Farband. This is the second part of a two part photograph. See also mhs06636.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph showing the front exterior of the Neighborhood House, which was the first settlement house in St. Paul serving the Jewish community. It was founded in 1897 by the women of Temple Mt. Zion as a place for newly arrived Eastern European immigrants to receive social and medical services.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Children of varying ages sit on the steps outside of the Jewish Sheltering Home. An unidentified man and woman sit to either side of the children. The Sheltering Home was a community resource dedicated to providing a stable, Jewish environment for Jewish children unable to live with their families. Residency was for the most part short term, with children staying until a sick parent recovered, or a child could be taken in by a member of an extended family. the children attended public school, and went to Talmud Torah after school. The St. Paul community also provided support for the home.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Board of Directors of the Workman's Circle Loan Association sitting at a table, working and chatting. Both St. Paul and Minneapolis had Workmen's Circle chapters.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Portrait photograph of the Board of Directors for the Workman's Circle Loan Association, posed at a table. Workman's Circle groups loaned money to members cost free. A person paid a small fee to be a member and could then apply for a loan. He or she would then pay the loan back at a scheduled rate.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
This photo may reflect a gathering of boys from several different groups, suggested by the different numbers on the sleeves of several of the scouts. Many of the troops that Jewish boys and girls belonged to were synagogue-sponsored. That allowed for the adaptation of scouting themes and activities to incorporate Jewish values.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Atlas Club was one of several Jewish social clubs in the Twin Cities operating during the early 1900s to the 1920s. The clubs were a response to the fact that "downtown" social clubs such as the Athletic Clubs would not admit Jews. The Atlas Club was absorbed into Gymea Doled in 1919. Unfortunately, there is no additional information on Rhoda and Harry Hirsch, the "World's Greatest Entertainers."
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Front exterior view of the Jewish Sheltering Home, also known as the Oak Park Home. Founded as a safe harbor for Jewish children unable to live with their families, the Minneapolis Jewish community paid for the structure and all of the care offered by staff. Children at the home attended nearby public schools and the Talmud Torah. Most stays at the Home were of relatively short duration.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
View of the front exterior of the Emanuel Cohen Center. The Center's primary role was to provide the North Side Jewish youth with an alternative to being on the street. The E. C. C. had a pool and a gymnasium, and sponsored sports teams for both young men and women. It also housed a dental clinic, well-baby and children's clinic for young mothers. The building still stands on Elwood Avenue in Minneapolis, across from the former Jewish Sheltering Home building.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A photograph of four unidentified girls standing in front of Central Community House, holding hands. Central Community House in St. Paul was established in 1921. It offered recreational and social activities for children, as well as baby clinics and day care for mothers working factory jobs during World War II.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph of men and women sitting at a long table set with coffee cup and water glasses. The Gymal Doled Club was a Minneapolis "town club"--an alternative to a "country club"--that provided opportunities for socializing without the attendant golf and status issues. Town clubs were secular in nature, organized to "develop…Jewish ideals and American patriotism." The Minneapolis-based club flourished long after its St. Paul counterpart disappeared. The staying power of Minneapolis clubs was due in part to aggressive anti-Semitism in Minneapolis, where Jews were excluded from many social and civic organizations. "Gymal" and "Doled" are the third and fourth letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives