Cynthia Gasner

Lawyer’s roots are a real pickle

Longtime friends of commercial and real estate lawyer Sam Moskowitz refer to him affectionately as “the son of the pickle man.” If you ask him what pickles and law have in common, he will tell you “everything.” His fond memories of his parents’ store at 186 Baldwin St., filled with barrels of pickles, herring, tomatoes,…

Rabbi co-owned Miriam’s Fine Judaica for 41 years

Rabbi William Rosenthal, a beloved teacher and dedicated volunteer who co-owned Miriam’s Fine Judaica for 41 years, died on April 11 (2008). He was 97. Born in Miskolc, Hungary in 1911, he and his brother operated a lumber business. He had attended yeshiva and at age 34, he became engaged to Miriam Schwarcz who lived…

Memoirist grew up Jewish in Toronto’s Little Italy

A comment that Saul Cantor’s daughter, Rochelle, made more than five years ago inspired him to write his memoirs. She said to him, in 2000, “I know some of the things about your life, but there are a lot of things I don’t know,” he writes in his recently published book, From Then to Now:…

Island Yacht Club dedicates new clubhouse

It was a festive afternoon as 300 members, guests, politicians and representatives of other local yacht clubs came to Mugg’s Island for the official ribbon cutting of the Island Yacht Club’s new clubhouse. Father’s Day, June 18 (2006), marked the second anniversary of the late-afternoon fire on Father’s Day in 2004 that destroyed the club’s…

Upper Canada Lodge marks 60 years of chesed

Since 1946, the members of B’nai Brith’s Upper Canada Lodge have performed numerous services for the Jewish and general communities. As the lodge celebrates its 60th year (in 2006), it can look back on its outstanding accomplishments and selfless dedication from its first president and founding father, former Toronto mayor Phil Givens (1946-47), to its…

Camp Arrowhead holds 50-year reunion

Excitement is mounting as alumni, parents and campers prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Camp Arrowhead at a reunion on Sunday, August 13, 2006, from 2 to 10 p.m. The fun-filled day will include activities for the entire family, such as memorabilia exhibits, a corn roast, carnival games, sports, arts and crafts, a live…

Genealogist explores her family’s history in Stropkov

Jews settled in Stropkov, in the Slovak Republic, around 1640. It was a little town in the backwoods of Slovakia with a Jewish atmosphere because it was between Galicia and Hungary and thus attracted Jews fleeing from those two areas. On May 24, 1942, the day before the Nazis began to deport Jews, the records…

Abram’s latest crime novel features hard-boiled cop

As a volunteer for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, the organization created by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, author Alvin Abram gained first-hand knowledge of the experiences of Holocaust survivors. In his recently published seventh book, The Minyan, Abram combines his flare for detective crime mysteries with a story about the Holocaust, featuring locales…

Dental fraternity to mark 100th anniversary in 2007

Steve Braunstein of Buffalo, New York, the international president of the Alpha Omega dental fraternity, was in town recently to address members of the group’s Toronto Alumni Chapter at its annual dinner. More than 325 people attended the September 18 (2006) event, held at Shaarei Shomayim Congregation. Founded in Baltimore in 1907 by a group…

WWII veteran remembered for his generosity

Sam Cohen, a retired regimental sergeant major who fought with the Toronto Scottish Regiment machine gun unit in Europe in World War II, died on April 18 (2007) at 101. Cohen served in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Luxembourg and was decorated with many medals, ribbons and citations for his war service. He was a…