Arizona: Historic Jewish time capsule opened

The Jewish History Museum in Tucson, Arizona, opened its century-old time capsule.

The Arizona Jewish Post covered the event that attracted hundreds of people.

The capsule was placed under the building's cornerstone - then the Stone Avenue Temple - when it was built in 1910. It was the first home of Temple Emanu-El.

It was removed and opened by US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (photo right. Credit: Marilyn Friedman/Jewish History Museum). Her father, Spencer Giffords, became a bar mitzvah in the synagogue.

The small metal box contained coins, a Masonic medal, old documents and newspapers from June 1910, including the Tucson Citizen and Arizona Daily Star, announcing that a bill for Arizona statehood (admitted February 1912) had been passed.

Speaking to the crowd before the box was chiseled out from beneath the cornerstone, Giffords noted that not only were Jews present in Arizona prior to statehood, they were involved in business, politics, education and “caring for the community.” Along with many of the other speakers, she remarked on the diversity of the Tucson community, noting particularly the participation of the Grand Lodge of Arizona Free and Accepted Masons — whose forebears had helped lay the cornerstone — in the day’s ceremonies.

Giffords wondered what Tucson would be like 100 years in the future.

When built, the structure cost less than $5,000, but more than $600,000 was spent to protect and preserve it. The building was effectively abandoned in 1999, prior to restoration efforts.
A new time capsule included histories of the Jewish community, and three congregations which began life in that building, a history of Southern Arizona's Holocaust Survivors, 2010 coins, copies of the Arizona Jewish Post and Arizona Daily Star, a flag of Israel, a US 48-star flag carried in the city on Arizona Statehood Day in 1912, and a copy of the day's events.

The cornerstone was rededicated by the Masons, who poured “the corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment and the oil of joy” into the cavity.

For more information, click here.

Tucson: Jewish centennial celebration, Oct. 24

Tucson, Arizona will celebrate the Jewish community's centennial on October 24, when the cornerstone placed in the first synagogue building will be removed and opened.

Following the opening of the original capsule, a new 2010 Centennial Time Capsule will be placed into the original space, the cornerstone will be replaced and sealed. It will be opened at the bicentennial in 2110.

For more information on the Jewish History Museum event, click here.

The Jews of southern Arizona began gathering in the 1880s. In 1884, the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society was formed. Twenty years later, they took up the challenge to aise funds for a permanent synagogue. Jewish settlers in other communities, such as Globe, Bisbee and Nogales also contributed.

On June 20, 1910, the grand lodge of Arizona Masons laid the Temple’s cornerstone. The first services were held on Rosh HaShanah, October 3, 1910. Built before Arizona achieved statehood, the synagogue served as an important center of Jewish community for the entire Southwest US.

Temple Emanu-El grew significantly and moved from Stone Avenue in September 1949. Over the years, the original building was used for other purposes.

In 1982, the Temple reclaimed its roots at a ceremony sponsored by the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, the Arizona Heritage Center, and the southern Arizona chapter of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society.

A trilingual brass plaque (Hebrew, Spanish, and English) was set and plans made for rehabilation and preservation, although those plans were not completed.

Eventually, the Historic Stone Avenue Temple was taken over by the Jewish History Museum.

For more information on the early history, click here.

Arizona: Jewish centenary, time capsule contest

The Tucson Jewish community will hold its centennial celebration and time-capsule opening on October 24.

The Centennial Exhibit opened in mid-August and will run through December 23. Below see a 1914 postcard of the first synagogue in Arizona, termed by the card's publisher (Kressge) the "Jewish Church." The synagogue is now the Jewish History Museum, the only one in Arizona.

In conjunction with the celebration is the Jewish History Museum's "Be a Part of History" contest.

On exhibit: The history of the Southwest Jewish Pioneers ~ 1860 to present day • Photos taken by Jewish Pioneer Leo Goldschmidt ~ 1870-1890 • Photos and historic newsletter from early Temple Emanu-El • Red White and Blue Dress worn on July 4, 1876 • Statehood Dress worn February 14, 1912 • The Life Cycle Journal of Rabbi Marcus Breger, Anshei Israel • Holocaust Surviving Torah • Southern Arizona Holocaust Survivors Memorial Quilt.

Readers can enter to win their own personal time capsule and to participate in the removal of the original century-old capsule from the building's cornerstone.

The day starts at noon with a live music street festival from Klezmer and everything else!

At 2pm, the cornerstone placed by Jewish pioneers in the foundation of Arizona's historic first synagogue building will be opened.

Following the opening of the old capsule, the new 2010 capsule will be placed and sealed until the 2110 bicentennial event. Five winners will have a chance to win a personal time capsule and help remove the old one. The new capsule will be returned to the winner's descendants in 2110.

Readers can also become a part of the first synagogue and the only Jewish History Museum in Arizona. by having your name and message engraved on a 12-inch x 12-inch granite stone to be permanently installed in the Centennial Courtyard of the museum.

They'd also like you to tell them what should be placed in the new capsule. All suggested items will be submitted to the Museum Board for consideration.

The Jewish History Museum is housed in the oldest synagogue building in Arizona. Built in 1910 it was the home of Temple Emanu-El from 1910 to 1949. Saved from the wrecking ball in 1999, the historic structure has been completely restored and today is the home of the only Jewish History Museum in the Southwest.

For more information on the event and exhibit, click the museum link above.

The Jews of southern Arizona began gathering in the 1880s. In 1884, the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society was formed. Twenty years later, they took up the challenge to aise funds for a permanent synagogue. Jewish settlers in other communities, such as Globe, Bisbee and Nogales also contributed.

On June 20, 1910, the grand lodge of Arizona Masons laid the Temple’s cornerstone. The first services were held on Rosh HaShanah, October 3, 1910. Built before Arizona achieved statehood, the synagogue served as an important center of Jewish community for the entire Southwest US. Temple Emanu-El grew significantly and moved from Stone Avenue in September 1949. Over the years, the original building was used for other purposes.

In 1982, the Temple reclaimed its roots at a ceremony sponsored by the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, the Arizona Heritage Center, and the southern Arizona chapter of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society.

California: Win free family history expo tickets!

Local genealogy events enable participants to network with area individuals sharing mutual interests, have more one-on-one time with major speakers and jump start research.

The events bring genealogy to the people in an easy-to-reach, short-term format, requiring less traveling time and lower costs.

They provide a wide range of excellent programs to participants of various skill levels. Tracing the Tribe feels that participants - particularly beginners - will be much better prepared to later attend larger conferences, such as the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (14-19 August 2011, Washington, DC).

Family History Expos (FHE) runs excellent programs - according to many geneabloggers who have attended and presented. Their next event is set for the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Pleasanton, California (Friday-Saturday, October 8-9), with an excellent lineup of topics and speakers (see below).

Even better, Geneabloggers.com - the genealogy community's resource for genealogy bloggers - is running a contest to give away two free adminission tickets (normally $75 each) to the October event.

It's simple to enter. All you have to do is let Geneabloggers know how attending a Family History Expo event would help your own genealogy research. Click here for more information and to enter.

Enter from September 21-24, and check Geneabloggers.com on September 25 to see which lucky people have received those tickets.

The Pleasanton program is here.

Well-known speakers include Beau Sharbrough, Amy Coffin, Geoggrey D. Rasmussen, Jean, Wilcox Hibben, Arlene Eakle, Thomas MacEntee, Bruce Buzbee, Ron Arons, Lisa Louise Cooke, Lisa Alzo, Leland K. Meitzler, Janet Hovorka and Craig Manson, as well as staffers from Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, software vendors and others.

Topics include blogging, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), software, African American research, US Census, mapping, Irish research, California resources, land and property records, how to track down elusive ancestors, photographs (preservation, scanning, retouching), organizing, German records, genealogy gifts and games, Google search, beginning genealogy, and scheduled one-on-one appointments with the experts.

Upcoming FHE events are set for Atlanta, Georgia (November 12-13) and Mesa, Arizona (January 2011).

Arizona: History, genealogy and more, January-February

The Jewish History Museum in Tucson, Arizona presents its third Jewish Story Telling Festival during January and February. The first program is tomorrow (Saturday evening, January 9).

The Jewish History Museum has set five interesting programs. Fee: members, $4; others, $5.

7pm, Saturday, January 9
The Third Golden Age of Judaism: Pioneer Jews of the West and Why They Succeeded So Well with Jewish storyteller and historian David W. Epstein as keynote speaker.

Noted as a story-telling historian, presenting his material in such a way that listeners can easily pass these wonderful stories on to family and friends in the best of Jewish tradition. Epstein is co-publisher/managing editor of the excellent Western States Jewish History, a historical journal published for nearly 40 years, and chronicling the history of the Jews in the growth and development of the American West. He is also co-editor of "Pioneer Jews of Los Angeles in the Nineteenth Century."

2pm, Sunday, January 10
The First Jewish Pioneer: The Journey of Nathan Appel with Jewish historian and genealogist Alfred Lipsey

Lipsey is the former president of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Arizona and currently a board member of The Jewish History Museum. He will answer the question of who really was the first Jew to settle in the barren Arizona Territory and what brought this enterprising individual to the desert Southwest.

Noon, Sunday, January 24
Spinning Family Stories: A Workshop To Get You Started with historian and storyteller Sheila Wilensky

This workshop will teach you how to collect all your family stories, organize them and save them for the next generations.

2pm, Sunday, January 24
My Year of Living Religiously with storyteller and playwright Warren Bodow

Bodow tells his story of a fun-loving, baseball-card collecting child dealing with the way-to-early death of a parent, as he struggles to fulfill a daily religious and family obligation rarely met by Jewish adults. For nearly 20 years, Warren served as general manager of the New York Times radio stations. He has written a number of plays. Two were presented Off-Broadway, New York City, and three at the Beowulf Alley Theatre in Tucson.

7pm, Sunday, February 7
Charles Strauss: Tucson’s First Jewish Mayor with historian and storyteller Jim Turner

Turner holds a masters degree in history and served seven years as Arizona Historical Society historian. He makes history come alive. Jim will tell the story of Tucson’s first Jewish mayor who helped to establish the University of Arizona, caused the courthouse and library to be built, started a street improvement program and was part of the Arizona Legislature. Today his is one of the most widely recognized photos of the West. Yet not one building, plaza or street is named after this controversial pioneer.

Check out the Jewish History Museum website (link above) for much more. On February 14, the museum's annual ketubah (Jewish marriage document) exhibit opens.

Arizona: Family secrets revealed

Life is a puzzle, and when some researchers start rooting around, the pieces may reveal long-hidden secrets.

That's the experience of an Arizona woman whose story is told here. There's also a video here.

Terri Brahm discovered that her father Ralph was really Uri Hanauer, one of 15,000 children who entered a prison camp in Germany between 1941 and 1945. Only 132 children survived.

The secret was kept hidden for years until she decided to do some digging and the puzzle pieces came together.

From the very beginning, Terri had an intriguing story. She grew up in the Hollywood Hills and her parents lived a rather glamorous life.

Terri's dad owned a limousine company and became friends with many famous people. She even has a picture of her dad, Ralph, with singer Tom Jones. But beneath the surface there was a lot more to this story.

Terri admits, “It's very emotional for me.” It wasn't until her father died in a tragic accident that Terri released just how intriguing her life really was. It was a mystery that began to unravel slowly and painfully. “When I found out my family was in a Jewish concentration camp I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything there was to know about my family.”

He had kept the secret from everyone, including his wife and children. His daughter has spent the past five years discovering the truth.

Her research revealed that her grandfather Hans was sent to Auschwitz and uncovered a postcard he had written on the day he was deported. The translation read, “Always know that there is someone thinking of you. Someone who loves you. I just hope all will be good once again.”

Her grandparents never saw each other again, as Hans Hanauer was murdered at Auschwitz at age 34.

Eventually, she discovered thousands of letters and original documents dating back to early-20th-century Germany.

Psychologist Kim Popkey is quoted in the story. She says uncovering family history is very therapeutic: "Our life is like a puzzle and as we grow the more wisdom we get the more pieces we get. We want to become a complete and whole person. It took years for Terri to put the pieces of her life together. She wanted to do it for herself but also for her father."

Terri shared the resources she used to trace her family history:
- My Heritage
- World Vital Records
- Gene Tree
- Ancient Faces
- Ancestry
- German Genealogy Database

Read the complete story and see the video at the link above.

Arizona: Phoenix's Jewish experience

Jewish historical societies play an essential role in preserving community experiences. They often hold archives, libraries, photographs and other collections of the life of the community from the arrival of the first Jews to their later contributions.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center holds the state's Jewish history, according to The Arizona Republic.

The site dates to 1921. From 1922-1949, it was first Congregation Beth Israel, then the city's first Chinese-speaking church and then a Hispanic church. In 2002, the Arizona Jewish Historical Society bought the site and is completely renovating it.

"It has served three ethnic groups that have made important contributions to the city of Phoenix," said Larry Bell, executive director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, which is renovating the site as a museum and gallery.

When open to the public it will focus on the Arizona Jewish experience and the other groups and congregations that occupied the building.

For more, click here.