Monday, June 7, 2021

A Welcoming Place: Part 2 of my series on the history of Kitchissippi's Jewish community

The new issue of the Kitchissippi Times for June 2021 has just come out, and I'm proud to say my article is the cover story! And it is an important one. In May I told the story of the first Jewish residents in Kitchissippi, and the struggles they endured in coming to Canada, finding work and making a new home. 

Part two looks at the era between the world wars, and an incredible piece of local history - the arrival of 14 families between 1919 and 1921 in Hintonburg, creating a mini-Jewish district almost overnight. 11 of the families lived right on Wellington Street West all within a very short distance, and almost all of them opened businesses on Wellington! What a story! 

The article also tells about the first residents in other neighbourhoods in Kitchissippi, and highlights some individuals who helped grow the Jewish community, and how they grew. The article also looks at some of the reasons why Canadian Jewish immigration numbers decreased in the 1930s and 1940, tragically when the Jews around the world needed Canada the most. 

Check out your copy of the June issue of the Times in your mailbox, at a local street box, or at the link below.  

https://kitchissippi.com/2021/06/04/a-welcoming-place-the-growth-of-kitchissippis-jewish-community-in-the-20th-century/