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J. S. Granatstein runs for alderman, 1906

The following article, which appeared in the Toronto Star of December 8, 1906, highlights the fact that Toronto Jews did indeed get involved in municipal politics, even in the relatively early period of their citizenship in our free and democratic Canada.  In an interview with the Star, aldermanic candidate J. S. Granatstein presented his views…

Opening of the Standard Yiddish Theatre, 1922

The Standard Theatre Successful Opening of New Yiddish Temple of the Drama Last Night The opening ceremony and initial performance at the Standard Theatre, the latest addition to the places of amusement of the city, passed off very successfully last night. His Worship the Mayor snatched a half-hour from his duties at the City Hall…

Devor family reunion in Toronto, 1983

Thanks to the prodigious efforts of Toronto accountant Louis Devor, 180 members of a clan that variously spelled its surname as Devor, Devore, Dwor and D’wor, met in Toronto in the summer of 1983, reported Frank Rasky in a story in the Canadian Jewish News of August 4, 1983. Participants, who ranged in age from…

A Bacher family reunion in the Catskills, 1983

More than 250 members of the Bacher family met for a reunion at Grossinger’s, the Catskills resort, reported the Canadian Jewish News on July 21, 1983. The following is a summary of the original story. Ethel Bacher and Yossel Yussiper of Bukovina, Romania, who died in an 1860s cholera epidemic, were the ancestors to which…

Massey Hall rally for Jews in Europe, 1915

IT’S clear from this article from the Globe and Mail of August 9, 1915, that the situation of Jews in Europe was desperate and that Jews in Toronto were keen to ease their affliction. The rally at Massey Hall reportedly attracted some 2,000 people and representatives of more than 50 Jewish organizations. The keynote speaker was…

Marriage of Yiddish actors attracts 3,000 in 1913

THE following stories attest to a theatrical event within Toronto’s Jewish community that drew a crowd of 3,000 people in June 1913. The occasion was the actual marriage of two actors on stage after the Saturday evening performance of a Yiddish melodrama at the Lyric Theatre at Terauley and Agnes  (now Bay and Dundas). The…

Toronto’s colored population in 1908

THIS appraisal of the lot of the colored population of Toronto in 1908 presents a fairly positive and upbeat portrait, but it is clear nonetheless that the “negro” of a century ago faced genuine discrimination in this city, with many doors closed in his face. The era was one in which the vast British-descended Anglo-Saxon…

Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section C

Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section A (pages 1 to 59) Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section B (pages 60 to 125) Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section C (below) (pages 126 to 191) Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section D (pages 192 to 245) Canadian…

Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section B

Above: View of University Ave, 1950, north to Queen’s Park, with Canada Life on left and Armouries & Goel Tzedec on right (CTA f1231_it0121) Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section A (pages 1 to 59) Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933) — Section B (below) (pages 60 to 125) Canadian Jewry: Prominent…

Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada (1933)

Panorama of Toronto harbour, 1910 THE following book is a wonderful resource for genealogists who are researching particular families that were in Canada in the early 1930s, and anyone interested in the history of the Jewish community in Canada up to that era. Titled “Canadian Jewry: Prominent Jews of Canada,” it describes itself as “A History…