Guide to the National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records, 1894-2011 AIS.1964.40

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Pittsburgh Section, Records
Creator
National Council of Jewish Women. Pittsburgh Section
Collection Number
AIS.1964.40
Extent
139.71 Linear Feet (120 boxes, 5 volumes, and 8 drawers of cassette tapes)
Date
1894-2011
Abstract
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Pittsburgh Section Records, consist of organizational records, including correspondence, memorabilia, reports, minutes, photographs, and oral histories for the period 1894 to 1997. The bulk of the records are from the NCJW Pittsburgh Section, however, there are some materials in the collection regarding NCJW state and national activities. Digital reproductions of the audio component of the oral history project are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Ida Selavan and was rewritten and revised by Kate Colligan with the assistance of Betty Berger (NCJW). Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in June 2003. Wendy Pflug processed new materials added to the collection in July-August 2011.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) was founded in 1893 at the Jewish Women's Congress of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Mrs. Pauline Rosenberg founded the Pittsburgh Section in 1894 and this became the fourth section of NCJW. The Pittsburgh Section was called the Columbian Council until May 1906. The Pittsburgh Section has been devoted to many activities at the local, state, and national levels. Activities have included fundraising, education, political and social reforms, workshops and institutes. Almost all of these activities directly assist Jewish causes.

The Pittsburgh Section has always been dedicated to establishing programs to provide quality education. They created the first free kindergarten in Pittsburgh and a religious school for the children of immigrants in Pittsburgh's Hill District. This was the first of a network of Sunday Schools run jointly with Temple Rodef Shalom Sisterhood for many years. Their varied programs for children resulted in the establishment of the Columbian School, a full-fledged settlement house in its own quarters in 1900. Columbian School, later Columbian School and Settlement, became the Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS) in 1909. A new building and endowment fund was given by the parents of the late Irene Kaufmann, Henry and Theresa Kaufmann. The Pittsburgh Section also had volunteers run an informal Americanization class for immigrants. This later became a fully staffed and organized Evening School, the first of its kind in the Pittsburgh area. The "ethnic revival" of the late sixties led to a renewed interest in Jewish education, and in the 1970s Pittsburgh Section volunteers catalogued the Judaic holdings of local libraries. The Pittsburgh Section's interest in public education has continued unabated through the decades.

The Pittsburgh Section has also been involved in many public health issues. The Columbian School introduced the first visiting nurse to Pittsburgh. The second nurse hired for the job in 1902, Miss Anna B. Heldman, stayed until her death in 1940. She sponsored many public health measures with Pittsburgh Section's aid. Involvement in public health enterprises at the local and national level continues into the present. The Pittsburgh Section assists with the Red Cross, Health and Welfare Federation of Allegheny County, Veteran's Administration Volunteer Service, Council House Rehabilitation of Psychiatric Patients, Department of Health Infant Care at Arsenal Health Center, and the Pittsburgh Race for the Cure.

In addition to the above activities the Pittsburgh Section has been involved in countless activities, including the establishment of various committees to study political and social reforms; published guides and reference works on taxes and other subjects; work for civil rights, the handicapped, and the elderly; shown great interest in developing projects in Israel since its founding in 1948; and was in the forefront of "preventive philanthropy" activities, making it possible for people to avoid charity by becoming self-supporting.

The NCJW Pittsburgh Section has also taken a special interest with issues concerning women. The Pittsburgh Section founded the Council House for Working Girls and has had a long-standing cooperative relationship with many women's organizations, including the Federation of Women's Clubs, the Pittsburgh Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations, Women in Community Service Corporation, and Women in the Urban Crisis of Western Pennsylvania.

Along with the serious business there has always been a lighter side to the Pittsburgh Section's activities. Early programs of the Section's include musical events, dramatics, and socials. During the 1940s and 1950s fun and fundraising were combined in carnivals, dances, and shows.

Related Material

Allegheny County Committee on Fair Employment Practices Records, 1945-1954, AIS.1969.11, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

American Service Institute Records, ca.1920-1961, AIS.1963.01, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Committee on Immigration and Naturalization of Allegheny County Records, 1953-1967, AIS.1968.09, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Congress of Clubs and Club Women of Western Pennsylvania Records, 1890-1963, AIS.1964.10, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Health and Welfare Federation of Allegheny County Records, 1943-1950, AIS.1968.14a, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Records, 1937-1953, AIS.1966.08, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Jewish Community Relations Council Records, 1928-1959, AIS.1965.11, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Oliver M. Kaufmann Photograph Collection-The History of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh, 1912-1969, AIS.1978.12, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System Pittsburgh Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations Records, 1923-1963, AIS.1968.17, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Rauh Family Papers, AIS.1966.12, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Lillian A. Friedberg Papers, 1904-1975, AIS.2000.04, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains the organizational records of the NCJW Pittsburgh Section (variously Columbian Council and Greater Pittsburgh Section) founded in 1894. This collection includes correspondence, memorabilia, reports, minutes, photographs, and oral histories for the period 1894 to 1997. The bulk of the records are from the NCJW Pittsburgh Section, however there are some materials in the collection regarding NCJW state and national activities. However, the first three decades of the Pittsburgh Section history are not adequately represented in these records. The minutes and reports were probably kept in the executives' homes and were lost at their deaths. This history must be reconstructed from the historical summaries and yearbooks. The first fifteen years of Pittsburgh Section history are covered in Ida Cohen Selavan book, The Columbian Council of Pittsburgh, 1894-1909: A Case Study of Adult Immigrant Education, and unpublished doctoral dissertation written in 1976.

There are fairly complete records for programs begun in the 1920s to the 1990s, as well as available historic and organizational materials. The Pittsburgh Section has also been associated with many organizations on the local, state, and national level, including the German Jewish Children's Aid Committee, American Service Institute, Health and Welfare Federation of Allegheny County, Allegheny County Council on Civil Rights, Allegheny County Federation of Women's Clubs, Women in Community Services Corporation, Women in the Urban Crisis of Western Pennsylvania, American Jewish Conference, American Jewish Congress, Irene Kaufmann Settlement, Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Social Service Bureau, Pittsburgh Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations, United Jewish Federation, and Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association. Materials on these organizations can be found throughout the collection.

Also found in the various series is correspondence with prominent Americans such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry A. Wallace, U.S. and State Senators and Representatives, Governors, Mayors, Clergymen, and local dignitaries. Besides correspondence, the collection also includes one tape recording of the First Annual Louis Rosenthal Legislative Institute, autograph albums dedicated to Section leaders, unmounted photographs of people involved in Section projects, and a series of scrapbooks with newspaper clippings documenting Section projects from the mid-1920s through the 1950s.

Of particular importance to the Pittsburgh Section has been their Oral History Project initiated in 1968. Volunteers for the project interviewed over 200 Jewish residents of Pittsburgh who had immigrated between 1890-1924. The interviewees were tape recorded and filled out questionnaires. The project resulted in the publication of a book in 1972, By Myself I'm a Book! An Oral History of the Immigrant Jewish Experience in Pittsburgh. A second project, carried out between 1974 and 2001, inspired the book My Voice was Heard. Tapes from both projects have been digitized and are available online on the website, Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community. For more information on the NCJW Oral History Projects, refer to Series XXVIII.

In June 2011, NCJW Oral History Project Co-Chairs, Marcia Frumerman and Marlene Haus, donated additional material relating to the NCJW Oral History Projects. Included in this donation were further materials for both Oral History Project I & II and extensive files on curriculum and course development based on the oral history interviews. The new materials also include information on creating and standardizing abstracts and indices to create Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community a guide to the oral history interviews. The new materials mostly have been added to the existing Series XXVIII. NCJW Oral History Project. New material has also been added to Series XVI. Subject Files. Further scope notes are found in both series.

The NCJW Pittsburgh Section has made many deposits to the Archives Service Center since 1964, however, all additions to the collection are located under AIS.1964.40.

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into the following series:

  • Series I. History, 1894-1983
  • Series II. Charter, By-laws, and Organization, 1894-1974
  • Series III. Governing Bodies, 1914-1973
  • Series IV. Officers, 1894-1978
  • Series V. Administration, 1921-1977
  • Series VI. Fundraising, 1927-1979
  • Series VII. Education, 1894-1974
  • Series VIII. Philanthropic Activities, 1901-1975
  • Series IX. Community and Oversees Services, 1927-1980
  • Series X. Health and Welfare Services, 1946-1973
  • Series XI. Political Action, 1929-1979
  • Series XII. Jewish Affiliations, 1928-1975
  • Series XIII. Affiliation Networks, 1896-1976
  • Series XIV. Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Record Books, 1960-1973
  • Series XV. Publications and Organizational Records, 1959-1987
  • Series XVI. Subject Files, 1943-1995
  • Series XVII. Organizational Records, 1934-1989
  • Series XVIII. Council Journals, 1949-1954
  • Series XIX. Publications and Papers, 1967-1976
  • Series XX. Scrapbooks, 1944-1990
  • Series XXI. Photographs and Slides, 1933-1990
  • Series XXII. Awards, 1954-1993
  • Series XXIII. Organizational Records, 1947-1990
  • Series XXIV. Photographs, 1970-1989
  • Series XXV. Organizational Records, 1956-1994
  • Series XXVI. Membership and Volunteer Service, 1956-1993
  • Series XXVII. Photographs, 1990-2003
  • Series XXVIII. NCJW Oral History Projects, 1968-2001
  • Series XXIX. Scrapbooks and Posters, 1960-1989

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Accruals

Subsequent additions made in 1976, 1984, 1992, 2002, 2005 and 2011.

Acquisition Information

Gift of the National Council of Jewish Women on September 9, 1964.

Previous Citation

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records, 1894-2011, AIS.1964.40, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Papers, 1894-2003, AIS.1964.40, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records, 1894-2011, AIS.1964.40, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This guide to the collection was originally prepared by: Ida Selavan in 1982 and was rewritten and revised by Kate Colligan and Betty Berger (NCJW). Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in August 2003. Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Julie Aher in August 2003. Wendy Pflug processed the materials added to the collection in June 2001.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/n/ncjw/.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • National Council of Jewish Women. Pittsburgh Section. South Hills Branch
    • National Council of Jewish Women. Pittsburgh Section

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Emigration and immigration
    • Pennsylvania -- Emigration and immigration
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Social conditions

    Genres

    • Oral histories (Document genres)
    • Interviews

    Other Subjects

    • Women -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Societies and clubs
    • Oral history
    • Ethnic groups
    • Jews -- Social life and customs
    • Women
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- History
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Interviews
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Interviews
    • Societies
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Social conditions
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Societies and clubs
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Charities
    • Jewish women -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Societies and clubs

Container List