Recording Our Past
Since its founding in 1977 by Nathan and Sophie Gass, Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore has become a repository for memorabilia and recollections, an archive, a producer of educational events, and the director of research projects to salvage history. Inspired in 1975 by “Insights,” a series of programs initiated by the American Jewish Committee as part of the U.S. Bicentennial observance, a small group presented an evening of remembrances. It was pure nostalgia. An ambitious paper on the history of Lynn Jewry, written by Nathan Gass, was read by his wife, Sophie. Other stories were told about the early Jewish families and the program was videotaped. The question was raised as to what should be done with the tape. With advice from the American Jewish Historical Society, the project was launched with the support of the Jewish Federation, to establish an historical society in 1977.
Today the Society collects and catalogues documents, photographs, records, recordings, oral histories, and family genealogies — all objects of historical value that portray the life of the Jewish communities from 1855 to the present. With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Society commissioned a study of the Jewish community in Lynn and the way the shoe industry allowed the early Russian immigrants and their children to realize the American dream.
A prize-winning video, “Reasons to Remember,” has been presented to many Jewish organizations. The group welcomes contributions of documents, family trees, photographs, and art objects. We are now located at Temple Sinai in Marblehead, where our priceless collection is available for anyone to see and study.