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[Page 111 English]
by Mrs. Yetta Rafel, Honorary President, New Jersey
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At the height of the Gombiner Young Men's successful organization, they urged the ladies to form an independent Women's Organization. Its main purpose and function was to raise funds for the Gombiner Relief, to furnish social activities and form a separate chapter. This developed into a very useful group which performed a great number of enterprises. Who of us can forget the theatre parties which brought in large sums of money and also the exciting get together and the fun we all had from the package parties. Each woman brought a lunch for two and the man who bid the highest bought the package and shared it with the woman who brought it. Thus, we achieved two goals: we raised funds and had fun. The Chanuka parties were in a class of its own. They were festive with candelabras, “sudah–tablets”, etc. They also brought in funds for the relief. The Purim parties were gay and colourful. Who will or can forget the choosing of Queen Esther? The woman who got the highest number of votes was crowned Esther. There was great competition among the men, everybody wanting his wife to receive the royal title. However, there was no jealousy and no one was hurt as there was great comradeship and sportsmanship and the consciousness of purpose. Thus, money was again raised for relief. Looking back at the annual meetings in the country which were wonderful occasions for enjoyment, for talk, story– telling and dancing, we shall never forget these beautiful events. Everyone brought back wonderful memories and new plans for further activities. The same can be said of the women in Newark, Chicago and Detroit. They had the same purpose: [Page 112 - English] funds for relief and a close friendship. To give due credit to all would require mentioning scores of names. Their thanks lie in the knowledge and satisfaction of having contributed to a human cause. Let us take the opportunity and mention the names of some past presidents of our Gombiner Ladies Organization. Helen Jacklin; Fanny Temple; Yetta Rafel; Minnie Schacter; A. Offenberg; B. Chitel; B. Lean; L. Green and from Newark: P. Jacklin; B. Kleinert; A. Piuro; R. Levy; S. Winter; M. Tiber and A. Kesselman.
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Frist President of the Gombiner Society in N.Y. |
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[Page 113 - English]
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[Page 115 English]
by Nathan Kleinert
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Influential Member of the Organization in Newark |
The Newark Gombiner belonged to the New York Organization since it originated. Most of the New Jersey members were very active and due to some outstanding members such as: Sam Fogel; Mr. Bloom; Mr. Jacklin; Mr. Nathan Kleinert; Mr. Kesselman; Mr. Puro and others, the N.Y. Organization grew in membership and prestige.
Around 1939, after being with the N.Y. Organization for about fifteen years, dissatisfaction arose among the New Jersey members; there were various reasons for wanting to form their own organization. Some argued that it was too far to travel from New Jersey to attend meetings in New York. Others claimed that the members of New Jersey had risen to such an extent that they were able to form their own organization. Thus, after lengthy and stormy meetings in New York, the New Jersey members broke ties with the New York organization and, in November, 1939, a meeting was called for the sole purpose of forming the New Jersey branch.
The first meeting was held at the home of Mr. S. Lasky. Mr. Kesselman, a prominent lawyer, was elected first President and Mr. Nathan Kleinert was elected secretary. After serving 1 year, elections were held and Mr. Jacklin was elected President. It was he who was instrumental in obtaining a charter from the state of New Jersey for their organization. It was a successful and prosperous society. They worked hand–in–hand with the New York, Detroit and Chicago organization. The goal of
[Page 116]
the New Jersey society was to help financially the Gombiner landsleit wherever they were. New Jersey was active in promoting the building of our Gombiner House in Israel. They also contributed very heavily towards the “Kasa“ so that the Gombiner in Israel could borrow money whenever they needed it.
Several years passed and the ladies auxiliary came in to existence. Its purpose was to raise funds for the Gombiner relief, to furnish social activities and to form a separate chapter.
Some of the outstanding names were the following: Mrs. Puro; Mrs. Yetta Rafel; Mrs. B. Kleinert; Mrs. Levy; Mrs. Blum; Mrs. Kornfeld; Mrs. Jaclin; Mrs. Vinter and Mrs. Hyber.
When the war in Europe came to an end and it was known that some Gombiner young men were saved from Hitler's regime, a tremendous task was undertaken in order to bringing them to the United States. Under the leadership of Mr. Sam Rafel, many Gombiner families were brought to America to lead a peaceful life. They, in turn, helped the member organization become a more successful one.
At present, they constitute a membership of about 50 men and women. The present leader is Mr. Jack Frenkel and Mr. Janowitz is financial secretary.
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[Page 117]
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