Page 8 - The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday^ October 16, 1980
OiiSanizations end People
By MIRIAM CHINSKY
The Primrose Club will mark its 60th anniversar>-with a. dinner honoring Mrs. Dora Till at its premises, St. Clair Avenue West and. Russell HilT Road. Thursday. Oct. 23, when she will receive the
first Primrose Club Award. Guest speaker is the Honorable Mark Mac-Guigan, secretary of state for Canada.
■ Inaugurated by Senator Daivd Croli, the award will be presented, annually to "a. person in the greater Toronto community for
extraordinary sacrifice and leadership in the network of Jewish services." It will take the' form of a SI ,000 grant.to be donated to a.charity designated by the honbree. A wall plaquf installed in the. building-wij] be engraved each-year with the name, of the'
. recipient, and a scroll presented to the individual.
The purpose is to give recognition to that person . whose contribution of time and effort is valued but seldom publicly noted. He or sheneed not be a menri-ber^f the Primrose Club.
Mrs. Till, widow of the
oflheveiy
TORO^NTO —
A .woman's lifetime of service in the tradition exemplified by ' her parents in the early daysof Toronto's struggling Jewish community is "to be honored by the Primrose Club at a special presentation on Oct. 23.
Dora Anna till, whose involvement in the organizational life of Toronto spans more than half a century, has been chosen by the Primrose Club's board of governors to be the first recipient of what is to be an annual award known as "The PrimroSe Award," It takes the form of SI,000 to be donated to a charity of the honoree's choice.
. ."The purpose of this award is to honor a person whose name seldom appears in public print, whose character, service and sacrifice are appreciated and respected but seldom recognized publicly.said Noel Zeidin, club president.
"The Primrose Award salutes extraordinary service and leadership to the network of Jewish services in the community. Mrs, Till was the unanimous choice of the awards committee, and fulfills all these conditions quite admirably. She is a remarkable person.. . . one who has lived a life of service to others."
Mrs. Till's reactiion to the news that she had been chosen as honoree was that "the award is not only for me, but for that army of women who give most generously of their time and energy and taJents on behalf of those who need help. I am most grateful to ; the Priinrose Club for this riscognltlon.'\
Born in New York City, Mrs. Tillvvas brought to Toronto as a child, one of six children of Ma.x" and Yetta Tobias. They lived on William St.; better known later as St. Patrick.
St. ■ ■. :
"1 was brought up in an. atmosphere of mitzvah," said-Mrs; Till when interviewed, at her Eglinton Ave. aipartment.' "Our home was open to so many in.need, 1 often wondered how mother found room, for "them ■all. She was mother to evervone on the
block.'- ■ ;
Zionism was a growing force when she was' in her teens, and her interest, in the movemen.t, was en-, couraged in her home. Ah.
Dora Till, left, with.former Ontario lieutenant-governor, Pauline McGlbbon.
uncle was president of the first Zionist executive formed in Canada before World War 1.
She became a member of a Zionist youth movement called "The Herzl Girls." and recalls how impressed she was by Herzl's famous dictum, "It you will it, it is no dream." It has been the guiding principle of her years of community effort.
Soon after her marriage to Morris Till in 1916 she became active in the. Hebrew Maternity Aid. which did pioneering social, work after the great flu epidemic of 1918. That involvement led her to found, with others. The Mothers aiid Babes Summer Rest Home in' 1920 at Bronte. In 1941 it was . relocated at a site near Barrie on Lake Simcoc. , She was president of its board of directors for 15 years. After 1945 the camp was alsodevoted to assisting 'concentration camp survivors.-. ',
iNumerous oi-ganiza-■ tions found a willing and able volunteerin Dora Till. Her leadership- qualities brought her the burden of top responsibility, and she. accepted all chaliehges! She. was;chairman of the. woman's division of the United Jewish Appeal in 1941-42. .a member of thp Naomi chapter of Hadas-. sah for 35 years and-a former president, aiong^ .time worker for the United.
Jewish Welfare Fund, the Wilcocks Ave. Primrose Club, the Brunswick Ave. Talmud. Torah and the Y. She has long been a member of Beth Tzedec Synagogue and was active in its sisterhood for 25 years.
Her greatest passion is Baycrest. She became Involved in 1951 when Abe Posluns asked her to take charge of the furnishings and decor for the new building then being planned. She is proud of her role in establishing resident participation in the choice of furniture and materials. She was also the only woman on the Baycrest building commit-Ice. ;
When Baycrest opened in 1954 ,,she founded and became the first president of the ladies' au.xiliary. She was its president for four years,, and is still an active member. She recalls'the'enthusiasm, the energy and the competence of the women volunteers at that time:"From June. 1954. when the, auxiliary was founded, to Decenibcr of the sanie year'.. 11 major projects were put in.motion by the a u. X i 1 i a ry. ra n g i ri g. fro hi libi-ary acquisitions to.. ci;afts progi^anis." '■ ; At an; age when most women . have long since . retired, Mrs. Till is re-. markable. She is still in
charge of the furnishings and decor at Baycrest: She is re^onsible as vvell for its historical records, is the vice-chairman of its heritage museum, sits.on the board of the women's auxiliary.at Mount Sinai Hospital and on the board •of the women's division of the Unircd.Jewish Appeal, and remains ah active canvasser for UJ.A.
"I haven't bought a rocking-chair yet. "she chuckled.
There is a long-standing Jink between the Primrose Club and the Till family. Mrs. Till's late husband Morris was an active memberas far back as the 1930s. He served sis presir dent of the club;, and was named honorary life president In 1959.
The award presentation will take place on Oct. 23 at the Primrose Club. Present to help honor Mrs. Till will be her brother Fred: Tobias! her granddaughter Shaila and.huis-band Kenny Gbttiieb, her son-in-law Frank Goldhar and wife Marge. Her grandson Garson Goldhar and her , oldest great-granddaughter Lisa .Gottlieb will also attend. . . . Senator David Croli;, chairman of the awards committeeat the Primrose; Club, will introduce the evening's guest, speaker,-; the minister for external affaii's. Mark MacGuigan,
Saturday & Suiiday Morning
Tutcra Workshops
9 a;ra;-12 nooh; .;;; Grades 1-8
: Hoping €Mdren Learn Centre
789-9536
late Morris Till is a "gentle, lovely woman, "whose cornmunity concerns are far ranging;
Primrose evolved from the Cosmopolitan Club when a small group of "substantial'', , Jewish men, including stockbroker Elly Marks, Park Plaza financier -Joseph Schwartz, fur dealer Harry -Birnbaum, and manufacturer Barney Stone, decided that they wanted a congenial plaice to meet socially.
They purchased two adjoining houses^ on Will-cocks Street convenient to the Spadiha Avenue business centre, broke through the walls, and converted them into one handsome structure with warm interior wood paneling, reminiscent of the English private clubs.
They adopted the naihe Primrose Club for Benjamin Disraeli, whose fi^vor-ite flower was the primrose. AhHough Disraeli had converted to Christianity (no Jew could become a member of parliament then) he maintained a lifelong interest in Juda- ;
ism. A portrait of the British Prime Minister painted by Elizabeth Lunen-feld, hangs in the St. Clair Avenue building.
The Club operated at 41 Willcocks until years ago when the property was expropriated by the University of Toronto. Virtually unchanged, it has become a University of Toronto Faculty Club.
Close to 30 sites Were inspected before the present one was chosen. "Some members wanted
to remain downtown," says Sam Gotfrid, honorary president, "but we cbuldn't find anything decent, and besides, a lot of our members are now in. the Forest Hill area; we have no regretS; about lo-catinghere."
Gotfrid recalls that architect John Parkin, corrimissioned to design the new three storey contemporary classic building, estimated the cost at about $800,000 but when tenders were submitted they were in the million and a half range.
"Since 1 was the only one not totally speechless," says Gotfrid, I suggested that Parkin redesign the whole thing, but he said no, instead of having a Cadillac air conditioning sustem, we would have a Buick one, and rather than a round elevator as requested, we'd manage with a square one, and he
brought the cost down, but not to the proposed $800,000."
The late Adlai Steveii-son spoke at the opening inl.960.
Members/on Willcocks Street-^ had dwindled to about 300, but with the move north it: increased to 500 men and 100 women. ; ~T The Primrose was essentially a'men'is club but when members died, their widows were permitted to assume the husbands' membership- and coih-mencing in 1965, women were admitted in their own right. Howeveir the conception remains primarily that of a gathering place for men, and their facilities dominate.
The building houses spacious lounges; card rooms, an extensive health club with sauna, massage and exercise rooms for the men, plus similar biit limited facili-
. (Cont'd, on page 12]
Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am
55 Yebmans Road, Downsvie\v
The public is cordialiy invited to attend the . second annual
ITiiii^ay, Octobe^^
: Guest Speaker:: _
Profe8§or IRWIN COTLER
National President,—-Canadian Jewish Congress -
Subject: "Prospects for Canadian Jewry in the 1980'8''
The Arthur Rosen Memorial Lecture has been endowed / by Mrs. Florence Rosen and members of the Rosen,
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one
one
How times change
TEL AVIV (ZINS) —
A long list of skyrocketing prices since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was compiled by the afternoon daily, Yediot Ahronot. Following are some striking examples: compared with prices in 1948, bread now costs 100 times as much; meat 300 times more. The cost of apartments is up by a factor of, 400. Whoever was shrewd enough to invest in gold can now cash in at a profit of 1.900. Compared with
the year 1978, the average Israeli now earns 308 times as much and can afford more than he was able to 32 years ago.
'*When Survival is Not Enough.''
essor
ISAAC'S BAKERY
3390 Bathurst 789-7587
X
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President^ Weizmann Institute
or ^tence
will be the
Chaplaincy Workshop
^F!ocii8 on the Volunteer" Thursday, October 23, 1980 9-12 noon
Adath Israel §3ntiago|9riie
. 23 Southbourne Avenue
Guest Speaker. Elizabeth KUbourne
Otaplain, Toronto General Hospital
For Reservations & Further Information Contact: Ruth Resnick, '
Toronto JewishCongress.977 3811. Ex. 287
Featured Speaker
at a Reception -to mark the Dedication of the
Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship Fund
at the Institute in Rehovot, Israel
Thursday evening, October 16, 1980
at eight o'clock Centennial Ballroom, Inn on the Park
Sponsored by the Toronto Chapter, Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science
Mary Beck William Singer Co-chairmen, . .Scholarship Fund
X
X
X X
otic
IXJC
otic
OtiC
OtiC
OtiC
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1920 The Congregation
,J ■'■'-■„:■■: of the . ,
Beach Hebrew Institute
invites their friends to celebrate with them at a ■
D
Wednesday, Noverr^^ 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Park Plaza Hotel, 4 Avenue Road Honorary Chairman: Mr, Jack Wolfe
: Mr. J. B. Salsberg
Convert S60.00 per person : ; ' . Reception 7:00 p.m:
. . / : F'or reservations please call: :\.[':.:/: 699-3367 . . . ■ 782-0756 \. : 698-6897^
. ■ You are invited to hear: ;
Director, .' ., Institute of Holocaust Studies
Hebrew University of Jerusalem : /
"The Holoeaust —
Have We Lost Pefspcctivc?"
Introduction by: .;:^' ■ Dr. Emil Fack^nh^iin ^
8:30 p.m.
: AuditorfUm, university of Toronto
' ■ (corner College and University)
Medical Sciences Building
• Sponsored by:
Caiiadian Friends of the_Hebrew University ^ Bi^ai^rith Hillei FoundtttipnJewish Students Union 5;l?)ewiab Studies Course Union, U. of T. , )
BETH EMETH BAK YEHUDA SYNAGOGUE
AMALOAMATKO' HKBKKw MKN'oF KNaLAND , ( t •?«) .' , • ' . . A F Fl LI A TK D. WITH THB UNITK P t v N A aOGU K OF AMKHtCA
OCTOBER 1980
Rabbi Joseph H. Kelman :Wilfred Kideckel, President
Rabbi Barry Schneider Sigmund Reiser, Chairman
, Cantor Louis Danto V
Friday, October 17
One^ Shabbath 8:30 pjn.
Guest Speaker: Rabbi Yaacov Roeoifaerg
Vice-chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary
Honoring Sisterhood Past Presidents for the Past 25 Years
Saturday, October 18
Shabbath Service- Honoring the B'nai and B^not Miizvahs for the Past 25 Years
Call and let us know you are coming, 633-3838.
Shabbath Afternoon - 5 p.m. - Discussion Question and Answer Period ^ ■ ; with RABBI YAAKGV ROSENBERG : :
Jerusalem Cabaret r ^
Isradi Folt Smginj» & Dan
:■:;:'8:30pjtn.r ^'j;
For the Young and Young at Heart
Mdnight Ett^
For the Young Adults 18—25
Sunday, October 19, 6 pjn.
A GalaBaU Honoring 25 Years of Synagogue ■,;;;■■ Presidents By Invitation Only . , ,
SAM FIRESTONE CATERERS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SHAAREI SHOMAYIM =CONGREGATION
ARE PLEASED TO OFFER CATERING SERVICES FOR
WEDDINGS BAR MITZVAHS BANQUETS SHOWERS ANNIVERSARIES ORGANIZATION FUNCTIONS
Under supf-rvision of the Rabbinical Vaad Hakasnruth, Canadian Jewish Congress
INQUIRIES INVITED FROM THE ENTIRE TORONTO COMMUNITY
789-3213 221-6329