Cataloging begins!

A big round of applause for Jerry, Everett and Cyndi who all worked really hard on Saturday with our first day of cataloging. I purchased some archival tags and labels and we began with assigning and affixing numbers to all the 3-dimensional objects in category #2 (Ligonier People). This was no easy task... there were 166 objects! All of the 2-dimensional items (photos, newspaper clippings, and other paper) will be organized later, put into folders, and then the folders will be compiled into archival boxes. These boxes will then have numbers. We started a simple spreadsheet which we will later flow into the collections management software once it's up and running on a server. 

During this process, we found objects that weren't related to Ligonier's history, objects that were "unknown" and objects that fell into other categories. We did catalog some pretty interesting things. One item of note was the ballot box pictured here. It had white marbles and black cubes inside. This was used by the Stansbury Woman's relief core to anonymously vote on who was "in" (white marble) and who was "out" (black cube). The ballot box was donated by Eleanor Steller on June 1, 1992 and it proudly bears the new object number of: 2013.002.100!

Genealogical Query: Chester V. Joseph

Minute book housed at the AJA

This week I received an email from the Noble County Genealogical Society regarding a researcher looking for Chester V. Joseph. Apparently, Mr. Joseph was born in Indianapolis and was married in Ligonier. It was her hope that she could track down some records of Mr. Joseph in Ligonier. 

Last year I travelled to the American Jewish Archives (AJA) in Cincinnati to look at the Ahavas Sholom minutes book which is held in their collection. I photographed all 141 pages which are hand written and quite difficult to read. Needless to say, as a volunteer, I haven't gone through the whole book. However, it is accessible at any time at the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati. http://americanjewisharchives.org/catalog/Record/vtls000027055

I took a look at "The Jews of Ligonier: An American Experience" by Lois Fields Schwartz  (published 1978) which lists who is buried in the cemetery. There are no Josephs listed there. I also took a look at "Intimate Circles: Nineteenth-Century German Jewish Immigrants in Northeastern Indiana" by Judith Saul Stix (published 1989) Stix recorded marriages in Ligonier between 1859-1899. There were no Josephs listed there.

As an aside, I recommended she check out wedding newspaper announcements for the year the Josephs were married in Ligonier. I will continue to think about other resources to consult.  

First work day: success!

Jerry, Jeana, Everett, Angie, Ann and I worked for a good part of Saturday organizing the historical society's collections inside the Ahavas Sholom temple. We started out with a short overview, from the American Association (Alliance) of Museums, on the importance of organizing, cataloging, and registering the collections for future generations. Basically, without information about the objects and knowing what their significance is, many objects have minimal historical value.

With this first pass at organizing, we sorted the objects into the following categories: Jewish community, Ligonier people, City of Ligonier, businesses in Ligonier, Ligonier area schools, non-Ligonier history, and "unknown". Our biggest obstacle was staying on-task! It was very tempting to sit and read the very ledgers, letters, and books we were supposed to be sorting!

Regardless of this temptation, we got a LOT done. I think we should be able to organize all the collections during our next work day (December 15) and begin registering the objects with unique numbers! Many thanks to all the volunteers!

Temple volunteers to organize museum collections

Our project team has agreed on the following Saturdays to get together for all-day organization workshops at Ahavas Sholom. We plan to sift through and organize all the objects and papers in the collections and catalog them in a simple and accessible way. Our methods will employ both archival as well as museum collections cataloging best practices with our goal of implementing a digital cataloging system in the near future. Finally, all the graduate classes I took at The George Washington University on collections management and registration will pay off!  

Workshop Saturdays:

November 10, 2012

December 15, 2012

January 19, 2013

February 16, 2013

March 23, 2013

April 13, 2013

Expert Provides Analysis of Temple's Stained Glass

The three large windows in the Temple depict
scenes from King David's life.

Last week, Jed picked up Jules Mominee at the Goshen airport (Jules has his own plane!). Jules came from the Mominee stained glass Studios in Evansville, Indiana. and is finishing his PhD in stained glass conservation at Ball State. After Jules had a chance to check out the windows at Ahavas Sholom, he called to give me the run-down. The windows are original to the building and are most likely from a stained glass factory out of Kokomo, Indiana. I'm sure I can find out more details on this in the information I collected at the archives in Cincinnati. There are a few pieces of antique glass which were integrated into the design, but most are contemporary to 1889. He did notice that there were a few replacement pieces- most notably at the bottom center of each panel. Jules suggested that these pieces were used to replace those which might have had donors names written on them, possibly in Hebrew. The pieces were probably replaced in the 1950s when the temple was sold to a church. The vitreous painted glass (the panes which depict clothing and other designs) seem to be in good shape. However, those panes which were painted with enamels, such as the faces and other flesh tones, are showing a bit of flaking. He recommended that we be very careful when cleaning the glass, especially in these areas. The lead composition is still holding up and has not oxidized much.

My main concern when I called Jules was the bowing at the bottom of the panels. Jules recognized this and explained that the bowing is due to the panels being a bit too large for the T-bars that were chosen to support them when they were installed. These bars have sagged and constantly push on the stained glass at the bottom of the panels. However, this was not Jules' main concern. He stated that the biggest issue with the windows was the fact that the windows are covered with plexiglass storm windows on the outside. These storm windows, although they have helped prevent breakage, have actually damaged the stained glass by trapping heat and moisture inside. He noticed the damage this has caused by the deteriorating putty between the lead and glass on the outside. In the end, he recommends replacing the storm windows with a specific window that is designed to help increase ventilation and keep the stained glass from enduring harsh temperature and humidity conditions while at the same time, protecting them from outside elements. He estimated that if we were to replace the storm windows, the stained glass would last for another 40-50 years without any other remedies. If we leave the windows as they are, they will most definitely need to be restored in 20 years. On overall restoration like this is quite costly. It is obvious that we need to begin looking into new storm windows to protect the beautiful stained glass at Ahavas Sholom. 

A weekend of Indiana's Historic Synagogues!

Beth El, 1925, Indianapolis

Temple Israel, 1867, West Lafayette

This Labor Day weekend, I met with Isaiah Kuperstein and his wife Elana at the Ahavas Sholom synagogue building. Thankfully, Jed Mast was there to help us into the building. Isaiah is currently working on a project to help restore the 1925 Beth El temple on 34th and Ruckles streets in Indianapolis and create a new Jewish Heritage museum. We had a wonderful meeting at Ahavas Sholom, with the Marshmallow Festival going on nearby! Jed and I were also joined by Cyndi, Everett, and Jerry who are on our project team. It was great to catch up with them a bit and to brainstorm about our next meeting and next steps for the synagogue project. Isaiah got me thinking about the oldest synagogue building- created to be a synagogue- that is still standing in Indiana.

After our visit, he inquired about this synagogue and I sent him the information about Temple Israel's 1867 building in West Lafayette. This building is 22 years older than our Ahavas Sholom building in Ligonier. Of course there is a reason why I prefaced the above with "created to be a synagogue that is still standing." Temple Israel is in fact not the oldest synagogue in Indiana. This title belongs to Achduth VeSholom in Fort Wayne. I met with Rabbi Javier Cattapan at Achuduth VeSholom this past Friday and received a tour of their museum located at their 1961 synagogue built on 10 beautiful acres. This congregation, the oldest in Indiana, purchased an empty German Methodist Church and dedicated it as a synagogue in 1857 (a decade older than Temple Israel). However, this congregation did not actually build their own synagoge building until 1874. Unfortunately for those interested in historic architecture, both of these buildings in Fort Wayne have been demolished. The Achduth VeSholom congregation is currently in the midst of revitalizing their museum and are welcoming both the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Historical Society of Indiana onto their synagogue campus. I wish I could spend every holiday weekend learning about local Jewish History, and meeting brilliant new people who are passionate about celebrating diversity in Indiana!

Area Rabbi visits Ahavas Sholom

It is unfortunate that I missed Shaul Solomon's recent visit to the Ahavas Sholom synagogue building. He and a friend of his, the self-proclaimed "Roving Rabbis," came to visit Ligonier and emailed me wondering if there were any Jews left in the city or if I knew of any families who had connections to the founding members of the Jewish congregation of Ligonier. I replied that although most of Ligonier's Jews left in the 1950s for places like Chicago, Indianapolis, South Bend, and Ft. Wayne, there is one woman from Fort Wayne who I know of who has a direct connection to Ligonier and remembers the last Jewish service in the building. I followed this up with inviting him to participate on a panel or conduct a talk about religious diversity and tolerance from the 1850s to present times. Hopefully we'll hear back and be able to organize an event for the Ligonier community!