Documenting Maine Jewry
www.MaineJews.org
From generation to generation to generation
Solomon Schechter Day School (Upper School)
Nov 14, 2010
Documenting Maine Jewry
A community-based history project
providing information on
Jewish citizens of Maine
through a state-of-the-art
genealogical and historical resource
reflecting the Jewish traditions of
memory, remembrance and
inter-generational learning
DMJ Minyan
coordinating group
Michael Cohen
Susan Cummings-Lawrence
David Freidenreich
Annette Elowitch
Harris Gleckman
Steve Hirshon
Elaine Crasnick Kahaner
Barbara Blumenthal Stern
Abe Peck
Wilma Rose
Ruthanne Singal
Anne Schneider
Amy Waterman
What are we trying to do ?
 Community-based history
 Not just a genealogical / cemetery record file
 Genealogical data yes but also
 Occupations / Education / Community Service
 Organizational involvement yes but also
 Organizational histories
 Preserving historical information yes but also
 Figuring out how to the internet and PC change the way we
see our own history (virtual visiting to cemeteries)
 Hard data yes but also
 Oral Histories (Stories & recollections)
How are we trying to do it ?
 Build on the work of family historians
Family trees / oral histories
Link up with Jewish institutions around the state
 Membership/ Yarhzeit / cemetery / memorial boards /
newsletters and commemorative books
Support regional town and city groups
 Each community gabbiim and group has its own unique in its
approach and style
Establish partnerships with everyone
 DMJ as the virtual museum : MJM as physical exhibition place
 DMJ as the hard data resource : Colby U. as the research team
 DMJ as the state genealogical umbrella : JewishGen / GBJGS /
Experiment
 Follow up dialogues with those who register for the website
 Virtual visits to cemetery
 Mystery photographs
 Matching census and other official records with family
knowledge
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

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People
genealogical info
What’s next for data on individual Maine Jews?
 Contributions under way by DMJ-related historians
 1880 – 1930 Federal census and resident data for Waterville
 With new resources
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Support family genealogists to build their own family records and to
share these records with other via DMJ’s website
Analyze the information that will be collected on ‘mad lib cards’ from
the MJM exhibition
People
Genealogical info
Community ties
Organizations
History
Key Leaders
What’s next for data on Maine Jewish Organizations?
 Contributions in progress by current DMJ-related
historians
 an Index of Jewish businesses in Bangor
 accounts of Jews in Maine’s shoe industry
 With new resources
 Support to local synagogues, community organizations, cemetery
associations, and social organizations in building their own
organizational histories and sharing the outcome of their efforts via
the DMJ’s website
People
Genealogical info
Community Ties
POB, Lived In, POD
Organizations
History
Key Leaders
Locations
Places
Local Home Pages
Maps
DMJ's town/city/county Gabbiim
(regional coordinators)
Auburn-Lewiston
Augusta
Bangor
Bath
Biddeford-Saco
Greater Portland
Greater Rockland
Old Town & Orono
Waterville
Rural Maine
- Phyllis Graber Jensen
- Rabbi Sue Bulba Carvutto and Natalie E Cohen
- Marcia Lieberman, Ruthanne Singal & Judy
Gatchell
- Fred Weinberg & Nathan Cogan
- Jenny Aaronwitz & Beth Strassler
– Annette Elowitch, Judy Halpert & Steve Hirshorn
– Deborah Weisgall
– Beth Hillson
– Peter and Joan Beckerman & David Friedenreich
- Barry Tracy
What’s next for data on Maine Jewish cities & towns?
 Contributions underway by DMJ-related historians
 Records on the Bangor Jewish community from the Bangor Public
Library
 Stories on ‘sub-Minyan sized’ Jewish areas in the state
 With resources,
 Re-structuring the on-line website to give greater visibility to local
Jewish portals
 A fund could support grants to local Jewish history groups to
collect information on their communities
People
Genealogical info
Community Ties
POB, Lived In, POD
Oral
Histories /
Biographies
Organizations
History
Key Leaders
Location
Places
Local home pages
Maps
What’s next for oral histories?
 Contributions underway by DMJ-related historians
 Release of 80+ Greater Portland oral histories on the website of the
Portland Public Library
 Private collections from long time Bangor residents
 With new resources

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Support to other Maine Jewish communities to do their own
collection of oral histories
An audio index to the 80+ existing oral histories could be created
that would allow listeners to jump to the precise track that
included a discussion of a particular theme
People
genealogical info
POB, Lived In, POD
Images
Oral
Histories /
Biographies
Organizations
History
Location
Images
Photographs
/ Documents
Places
Local home pages
Maps
What’s next for original documents & photographs?
 Contributions underway by DMJ-related historians
 Yiddish minutes from the Portland Vaad 1909 – 1919 c
 Photographs from the Bangor Public Library and the Jewish
Community Alliance
 With new resources


Revision of website to enhance on-line editing and the
contribution of documents
Upgrade of the behind-the-scenes Access database routines
People
genealogical info
POB, Lived In, POD
Significant Events
Images
Oral
Histories /
Biographies
Organizations
Places
History
Location
Significant Events
Images
Photographs
/ Documents
Local home pages
Maps
Years
Significant
Events
World As it Was
People
genealogical info
POB, Lived In, POD
Significant Events
Images
Burial records
Oral
Histories /
Biographies
Organizations
Places
History
Location
Significant Events
Images
Photographs
/ Documents
Local home pages
Maps
Years
Cemeteries
Significant
Events
World As it Was
Burial info
Public Index
What’s next for cemetery data?
 Contributions under way by DMJ-related historians
 Headstone images will be taken next spring at the Beth Abraham
(Auburn) cemetery
 Headstone census at Mt Sinai is being completed by a professional
engineering company who added GPS markings for each grave site
 With new resources
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Headstone images could be taken for the remaining Maine Jewish
cemeteries
An updating of burial records for all the Maine Jewish cemeteries
People
genealogical info
POB, Lived In, POD
Significant Events
Images
Burial records
Oral
Histories /
Biographies
Organizations
Places
History
Location
Significant Events
Images
Photographs
/ Documents
Sources &
Software
Local home pages
Maps
Years
Cemeteries
Significant
Events
World As it Was
Burial info
Public Index
What’s next for sources and software?
 Contributions under way by DMJ-related historians
 1909 – 1919 c Portland Vaad records in Yiddish
 Private collections from long time Bangor residents
 With new resources



Revision of website to enhance on-line editing and the
contribution of documents
Upgrade the behind-the-scenes Access database routines
Share the methodology and software with other communities
(ethnic, religious or cultural in Maine and Jewish communities
outside of Maine)
DMJ Project with the
Maine Jewish
Museum, located at
the restored
Etz Chaim (Portland)
Why undertake this task?
• Jewish traditions
• Our naming tradition : Beget beget beget
• Uses the PC-world to support memories of our ancestors
• Maine and Jewish sense of history
• People should ‘own’ their own history
• Where we have been helps to define where we are going
• Fun and a mitzvah at the same time
• Re-uniting family members and friends
• Preserving strands in our Maine history that should not get
lost (Arbeiter Ring)