Main Gallery
Since our class is small, and our artifacts are so diverse, we are exhibiting them all in one gallery entitled Main Gallery.
Army Prayer Book
USA
Mother, Lori L.
My artifact is small book titled "Readings from the Holy Scriptures for Jewish Soldiers and Sailors" The cover is made of a textured leather material and has the title and the letters JWB in a Star of David within a circle. We believe the JWB stands for the Jewish Welfare Board. The date of March 6, 1941 is inside and the title page says Psalms, Books and Writings. Proverbs and Songs are also included.
This book of Readings from Holy Scriptures was given to my grandfather, Martin W., when he was serving in the United States Army from 1953 - 1955. He served in Fort Monmouth, NJ and Yuma, Arizona. He was in the Signal Corps and fixed helicopters. My grandfather was proud of his service and he passed his book down to my mother, who is sharing it with me.
Chai/Star of David and Lucky Tokens
?/NYC
Grandma Susan
My first artifact is a Chai/Star of David that belonged to my Great Grandfather Al. This piece has a gold circular rim etched with little line designs. Rotating in the center of the circular rim is a gold Star of David on one side, and a gold Chai on the other. There is a small ring to attach this piece to a chain. The Chai and Star can be reversed by rotating it.
The other artifacts are stamped lucky tokens made of aluminum. The machines that made these were found in arcades and amusement sites. These particular tokens were made by a machine manufactured by the Harvard Aut. Mach. Co. of Jamestown NY. The patent no. 1455289 listed on the back of the tokens was issued to G.W. Heene on 5/15/1923. The tokens are stamped with my Great Grandfather's and Great Grandmother's names and the numbers 1902 59 St.
The Chai/Star of David is significant to my family because it showed that my Great Grandfather Al was Jewish. He probably received this as a gift for his Bar Mitzvah. The tokens are important because they show what our family name used to be. It is fun to imagine my great grandparents enjoying a fun day sightseeing or visiting an arcade and stopping to make these lucky coins. They must have wanted to remember that special day.
Shabbat Candle Holder
Poland
Family
This antique candle holder measures 15 inches tall and is about 10 inches wide at the top. There are five individual candle holders on branches coming up from a single round base. One of the five candle holders is set up higher and more prominently in the center. Each candle holder has a removable insert made to hold a smaller candle than the primary cup. The candle holder is silver but it is tarnished in some areas. On the stem, some of the silver plating has fallen off to expose a gold and brown metal underneath.
This Shabbat candle holder belonged to my Great Great Grandma Annie. She brought the candle holder from Poland. My Grandma Bonnie remembers watching her Grandma Annie using this every Friday night when she lit Shabbat candles. Grandma Annie used to put a napkin on her head and cover her eyes when she said the blessings over the candles. This candle holder has been in my family a long time.
Boy Scout Hatchet
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Army Prayer Book
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lucky coins and Star of David
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Documents
Russia/Germany
Family
This map I found in my online research of the Russian and German empire in 1916 shows the area my family came from near the border of the German Empire and the Russian Empire. They fled the Russian pogroms against Jews that were taking place at the time. They lived in the disputed territory between the two empires. The photographs are the travel documents of my great grandfather. They are his birth certificate from 1899, his Russian travel passport with the last name Wilke and some pictures of the ticket for the boat they took from Hamburg, Germany. From doing research online, I found out that the boat they took arrived in Hoboken, NJ. There is also some left over German money from 1916 that my great grandfather used to get to America.
These documents are important to my family and me because it is my family's history. Having the passport in Russian from my great grandfather reminds us that my great grandfather, according to my dad, spoke only English and German, but actually came from the Russian empire. These documents show evidence, not just stories.
Candle Holder
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Siddur
Tel Aviv, Israel
Steven G
This is a miniature silver Siddur with four large turquoise stones in the corners of the front cover. The front cover has engravings of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, each tablet with a Star of David on the top with a small turquoise stone in it. Above the Ten Commandments, there is a crown with four more small turquoise stones.
The back of the Siddur is engraved and decorated with icons of the Twelve Tribes around the border. It is very ornate and beautiful.
The title page says "Siddur Avodat Israel with English Translation, Sinai Publishing, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
This Siddur belonged to my grandmother on my father's side. Her boyfriend gave it to her as a gift from Israel. It means a lot to me and my family because it is one of the items that represents our Jewish heritage through a family heirloom.
Boy Scout Hatchet
Bridgeport, CT, USA
Saba, Rudolph B.
This is a Bridgeport Official Boy Scout Hatchet made in approximately 1934. The wooden hatchet is about 12 inches long. The blade is about 4 3/4 inches and is made of steel. The blade is engraved with the official Boy Scouts of America symbol and the Scout motto: Be Prepared. The blade also has the word Bridgeport engraved on it. The wooden handle also has Bridgeport Hdwe Mfg Corp (Hardware Manufacturing Corporation) on it. This company was founded in 1899 and added official Boy Scout Hatchets to their lineup in 1934. They produced these official items in one variation or another until 1969. The handle has remnants of red paint (so it was most likely entirely red) and the grip was wrapped in black leather strapping.
This hatchet belonged to my Great, Great Grandfather, Herman (Hymie) B. He started the first Jewish Boy Scout troop in Brooklyn, New York around 1935. He was given this hatchet when he became the Scout leader. His troop met in a local shul (synagogue) in Brooklyn every week. He passed it down to my Great Uncle Manny when he became a scout. Later, Uncle Manny passed it down to my Saba (grandfather) Rudolph B. when he became a scout in the 1940s. Then my Saba passed it on to me when I became a scout last year. It wasn't until I received this boy scout hatchet that I learned about my family's long history of scouting. Now I feel that I have a greater connection to these relatives who I never met because of this hatchet.
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