Compare Constellations

Docter, Raymond, 1917-. Oral history interview with Raymond Docter, Apr. 8, 2002.

Title: Oral history interview with Raymond Docter, Apr. 8, 2002.

Docter discusses the Herzl Junior Guild, a social group for young Jewish adults sponsored by the Herzl Conservative Congregation in the 1930s and 1940s. Docter was an active member, serving as president in 1941. He describes the various social activities hosted by the guild and names some of the active members, most of whom belonged to Herzl.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassette (ca. 20 min.) : analog, mono.Transcript: 6 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50772338 View

Sidell, David, 1922-. Oral history interview with David Sidell, May 9, 2002.

Title: Oral history interview with David Sidell, May 9, 2002.

Sidell discusses two of the youth activities he was involved in during the 1930s. At age 12 (ca. 1934) he joined Boy Scout Troop 46, the only Jewish troop in Seattle. B'nai B'rith sponsored the troop, Harry Ash and Sol Levy were on the advisory committee, and Max Gurvich served as scoutmaster. Sidell describes some of the troop activities and names fellow members. At age 15 (ca. 1937), he joined Aleph Zadik Aleph, a nationwide, service-oriented Jewish youth group also sponsored by B'nai B'rith. Sidell describes many of the social, athletic, and competitive activities hosted by the Seattle chapter (#73) of AZA. He comments on the important role of AZA in his life and the lives of many of his friends and contemporaries. Sidell also mentions a social divide in the Seattle Jewish community that kept the groups living north and south of Cherry Street separate from each other.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassette (ca. 65 min.) : analog, mono.Transcript: 13 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50772130 View

Halfon, Sol,. Oral history interview with Sol Halfon, Nov. 7, 2001.

Title: Oral history interview with Sol Halfon, Nov. 7, 2001.

Halfon names and describes many of the establishments that lined Yesler Way in the 1930s, when Yesler and the Central District were the heart of Seattle's Jewish community. The reminiscence follows Yesler from 12th Avenue to 25th. Halfon remembers and comments on the businesses, homes, and institutions on each block.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassette (ca. 30 min.) : analog, mono.Transcript: 16 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50772306 View

Kaminoff, Max, 1914-. Oral history interview with Max Kaminoff, July 12, 2002.

Title: Oral history interview with Max Kaminoff, July 12, 2002.

Kaminoff discusses his youth on Yesler Way in Seattle's Central District. He explains that 17th Avenue and Yesler Way was the hub of the Jewish community during the 1910s through the mid-1940s. Naming the establishments along Yesler between 17th and 26th Avenue, Kaminoff mentions various stores, bakeries, meat markets, homes of prominent citizens, the Yesler library, his father's grocery store on 26th, and the card room between 19th and 20th. He particularly notes the Bikur Cholim synagogue and the Talmud Torah which were located between 17th and 18th avenues. Kaminoff reminisces about social life in the neighborhood. He also explains that after World War II, the neighborhood began to disperse.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassette (ca. 40 min.) : analog, mono.Transcript: 8 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50772286 View

Stiefel, Ernest,. Oral history interview with Ernest Stiefel, Jan. 31, 1982.

Title: Oral history interview with Ernest Stiefel, Jan. 31, 1982.

Stiefel discusses his immigration to the United States after escaping Nazi Germany in 1940. He talks about his experiences at the University of Washington (1946-1949) and discusses the Hillel Foundation and Adult Board, Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Alpha Psi, Alpha Kappa Psi, the Alumni Association, and the Jewish Club of Washington. Stiefel lists rabbis who served as Hillel directors from the late 1940s to 1955. He touches on the anti-Semitism he encounted at the University and later in the accounting field. He talks about his entry into the field of accounting. He also discusses Conservative Jewish congregational life, first in Herzl and then Ner Tamid. He discusses the Herzl rabbis who served from the late 1940s to 1956/1957, a time when Stiefel served on the synagogue Board. He also recalls the Herzl Club Seventy. He mentions the starting of Ner Tamid in 1964 and his joining Beth Shalom.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassettes : analog, mono.Transcript: 26 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50626909 View

Druxman, Esther Myers,. Oral history interview with Esther Myers Druxman, Lucille Almeleh Spring, and Ernest Stiefel, May 15, 2002.

Title: Oral history interview with Esther Myers Druxman, Lucille Almeleh Spring, and Ernest Stiefel, May 15, 2002.

Druxman and Spring discuss their involvement in the Councilettes. The group's purpose was to encourage Jewish high-school-aged girls to become involved in service activities, such as providing aid for needy Jewish families in Europe. The organization was also social, and they recall one of the dances hosted by the group in 1949. The Councilettes were open to all Jewish girls, but recruitment was primarily through Temple de Hirsch. Rita Phillips and Adele Golub served as group advisors. Druxman and Spring also discuss the limited non-Jewish activities available for girls in that period and note the Councilette's positive social role. Druxman served as the president of the Councilettes in 1950, and thus was also a member of the Seattle Jewish Youth Council. This umbrella organization was a monthly meeting of leaders in Seattle's Jewish youth groups. Activities of the council included a citywide "Brotherhood Forum" for understanding between ethnic groups, an annual fundraiser, and a conference with a similar group in Portland, Oregon. Stiefel also served on the Youth Council in the late 1940s as head of the Zionist youth group Habonim. Stiefel gives some history on the Youth Council, discusses 1940s presidents, and notes that the group broke up in the 1950s. The interviewees also mention the Temple de Hirsch music program, directed by Samuel Goldfarb.

ArchivalResource: Sound recordings: 1 sound cassette (ca. 50 min.) : analog, mono.Transcript: 18 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50772264 View