The Jews of Windsor, 1790-1990. Jonathan V. Plaut

Led by Max Madoff and others, the school was enthusiastically supported by parents who wanted a fine, secular type of education for their children.¹⁴⁸ Under the guidance of a Mr. Drachler, their first teacher, twenty-three students attended classes, first in the little house on Parent Avenue and, later, in a double house on Erie Street that had been purchased with the help of the Arbeitering. Mr. Bluestein taught there in 1939 and former students also remembered teachers Mrs. Malke Yuzpe and the short, red-haired Mr. Kligman, who stayed on as principal for many years.

      Besides raising funds to celebrate a simcha, the school usually charged a fee of thirty-five cents to anyone wishing to attend their various meetings. Such prominent Detroit speakers as Dr. Hayim Zhitlovsky, Mr. Hershbain, Mr. Vineberg, Mr. David Einhorn, and other outstanding Peretz Shule members gave lectures.¹⁴⁹

      Existing records indicate that the school operated a Mother’s Club. Two of its chairmen were Chaver Bogen and Chaver Cheifetz, while Messrs. Madoff, Byer, Gordner, Forman, and Parnes are listed among its slate of elected officers.

       The Primrose Club and B’nai B’rith

      The Primrose Club began operations on November 21, 1923. Founded to provide social and recreational facilities for Windsor’s Jewish business and professional men, its premises were located at 415 Ouellette Avenue. They housed a billiard room, a library, meeting and card rooms, lounges, and an entertainment hall.¹⁵⁰ Samuel K. Baum was the club’s first president, N. Rotenburg, the first vice president, and Maxwell Schott, the first secretary treasurer. In 1924, J. A. Glanz succeeded Baum; Robert G. Cohen took over from Rotenburg; Jack Gelber, David Caplan, and Saul Rotenberg were members of the entertainment committee, while Schott retained his post as secretary-treasurer.¹⁵¹

      Yet, even before the Primrose Club was established, its members had been approached by visitors to the city, who were trying to arouse their interest in the work done by B’nai B’rith, a fraternal organization whose programs seemed more appealing to them than those offered by the Primrose Club. It was not surprising that B’nai B’rith soon became its logical successor. The Windsor Chapter received its charter on March 15, 1925, electing Jerry A. Glanz as its first president. Maxwell Schott, who held the post until 1928, was succeeded by Robert G. Cohen, who served during the 1929–30 term. In 1930–31, Dr. Louis Perlman took over, followed by Mr. M. Silver. Other presidents were M. Levine (1933–34), Ben Matthews (1934–36), Harry Cherniak (1936–37), Bernard D. Caplan (1937–38), and Milton Meretsky (1938–40).¹⁵²

      Photo courtesy of the Windsor Star

      Windsor’s chapter of B’nai Brith celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1975. The oldest and longest members (from the left, Harry Meretsky, Robert Cohen, and Maxwell Schott), toast each other at the joint installation of officers. A ceremony and dinner was held at Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue to both mark the investment of the newly elected executive officers and honour those who had built the lodge a half century ago. Mr. Cohen and Mr. Schott were original members.

      Around 1928, after B’nai B’rith had established a Ladies Auxiliary, Dr. M. Levine’s wife became its first president, Mrs. Hyams its vice president, Mrs. I. Cohen its financial secretary, Miss H. Hurwitz its recording secretary, and Mrs. M. Silver its treasurer. Continuing to further B’nai Brith’s humanitarian causes, the group ran numerous impressive programs.¹⁵³

       Prominent Jewish Religious Leaders

      Before dealing with the major shift in Windsor’s religious institutions during the mid-1920s, it might be appropriate to mention the significant roles played by two of Windsor’s spiritual leaders.

      Esser Kamenkowitz served Windsor’s Jewish community as chazan (cantor) and shochet for more than a decade. Born in Lithuania,¹⁵⁴ the son of a wealthy banker, he was an educated man who had received a doctorate from the University of Vilna. When he came to the United States, he tried to make a living as a chazan and shochet in various cities. He then decided to settle in Windsor with his wife and seven children.

      Well remembered for his beautiful voice, Esser Kamenkowitz was a man of medium height. He sported a moustache and sometimes a beard, and was a little on the stout side.¹⁵⁵ Serving Shaarey Zedek for many years, he then had disagreements with some of its directors, which induced him in 1924–25 to move to Ford City, where he ran a grocery and butcher store.¹⁵⁶ He occasionally led religious services at Tifereth Israel and performed wedding ceremonies and other rabbinical functions in the Windsor area, which brought him into conflict with Abraham Able, another itinerant teacher, rabbi, and shochet.¹⁵⁷

      Abraham Able came from a long line of rabbis. Born in Dgisno, Poland in 1892,¹⁵⁸ he had arrived in the Border Cities in 1924, bringing with him his wife and children — one son and four daughters¹⁵⁹ — one of whom eventually married a son of Esser Kamenkowitz.¹⁶⁰ Since Able was closely associated with Talmud Torah, people remember him well as a man about five feet, five inches tall, with red hair, a red beard, a ruddy complexion, and a shrill voice.¹⁶¹ Although somewhat nervous and excitable, he was apparently quite a pleasant individual.

      On December 1, 1926, Esser Kamenkowitz died suddenly. Interviews with his son — who incidentally had changed his name to Sockley Kamin and was the man who married one of Abraham Able’s daughters — revealed the near-starvation existence the family had had to endure after their father’s death, and how little financial help his mother received from the Jewish community.¹⁶²