The Jewish Community Center of Cleveland was established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1948 after a Group Work Study sponsored by the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland recommended the merger of four predecessor agencies: The Council Educational Alliance; Camp Wise; the Jewish Young Adult Bureau; and the Cultural Department of the Jewish Community Council. Although each of these agencies was separately organized, all were established "to make daily living ricer and more constructive through group experiences in recreational, social, and cultural programs."
The Council Educational Alliance was founded in 1899 by the Cleveland Section, National Council of Jewish Women. Although originally housed in the Moritz Joseph mansion near Perry Street and Woodland Avenue, growing needs and a mobile Jewish population prompted two additional moves to East 37th Street and Woodland Avenue in 1909, and finally to East 135th Street and Kinsman Avenue, with an extension program on East 105th Street in 1928.
Organized as a settlement house in the heart of the immigrant community, Council Educational Alliance assisted its patrons in adjusting to the Cleveland Jewish community as well as to American society in general. Classes in citizenship training, English, handicrafts, and manual training were all offered by the Alliance. The Council was responsive to the specific needs of the Jewish community and acted as a meeting place for various Jewish fraternal and Zionist organizations.
In 1928, with immigration nearly at a halt, Americanization and settlement programs gave way to new activities such as athletics, dances, and other social functions to meet the needs of a population becoming predominantly American-born. The Great Depression years brought added needs for vocational guidance and an employment service became the forerunner of the Jewish Vocational Service.
The Jewish Young Adult Bureau was formed in 1939 because of the needs and pressures of many organized young adult groups, who complained of lack of facilities for meeting and activities. Throughout its existence, the Young Adult Bureau carried on a coordinated program of cultural and recreational activities for more than fifty groups, embracing four service areas: service to groups and individuals; conduct of programs cutting across all groups; inter-group cooperation; and community wide activities of both a Jewish and general character. In 1948, the Jewish Young Adult Bureau was merged with the newly created Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, becoming the Young Adult Services Division.
Camp Wise was founded in 1907 to enable Jewish children of differing backgrounds to experience country living in a camp setting. Unlike other camp programs available during this period, Camp Wise offered a distinctive Jewish milieu including a kosher kitchen and Sabbath services. In 1926 a section of the Camp Wise site was loaned to the Council Educational Alliance and a separate facility was formed and named Camp Henry Baker. After the second World War both camps were merged under the administration of the Alliance and subsequently merged under the Jewish Community Center in 1948.
The Cultural Department of the Jewish Community Council came into existence in 1945 as an experiment in revitalizing Jewish cultural activity for adults. During its first three years of activity, the Cultural Department sponsored a Jewish Arts Festival, a program consultation service for organizations, a Program Chairmen's Planning Conference, a Jewish Music Committee, Art Committee, and Yiddish Cultural Committee. In October 1948, the Department was merged into the Adult Services Division of the Jewish Community Center.
From 1948-1959 the Jewish Community Center was without a major facility and therefore performed all business and functions through its five branches: Arlington; Shaker-Lee (Mount Pleasant); Euclid; Heights; and Mayfield. In 1958 land was purchased on Mayfield Road, a new modern facility was erected, and all branch operations were closed. The establishment of the Jewish Community Center in 1948, and the erection of a new building in 1959 allowed for the continuation of the services provided by its four predecessor agencies.
The Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Records, 1899-1966 and undated, consist of minutes, reports, administrative files, financial records, and other records of the Jewish Community Center, the Council Educational Alliance, and the Jewish Young Adult Bureau, and camp applications, historical material and other records of Camp Wise.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of the Jewish community in Cleveland, Ohio, in the twentieth century and the activities of the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland.
The Council Educational Alliance files in this collection represent years of work in settlement and educational activities. Modeled after local as well as national settlement houses, the CEA records reflect many of the attitudes and reforms of the Progressive Era. Numerous Alliance-sponsored programs such a public library, reading rooms, social rooms, immigrant classes, clubs, entertainment and lectures, practical work (kindergarten, sewing school, dressmaking, stenography, etc.) and playground are thoroughly documented in both the minutes and annual reports.
The files of the Jewish Young Adult Bureau are indicative of the Young Adult Bureau's activities as a social and cultural organization for young people. This series of material documents activities relating to both national and local concerns including Zionism and World War II domestic activities. Specific local organizations such as the Cleveland Jewish Youth Council, and the Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland are touched upon. Extensive material relating to the Group Work Study of the Jewish Welfare Federation, which researched the feasibility of the merger of the Council Educational Alliance, Jewish Young Adult Bureau, Camp Wise, and the Cultural Department of the Jewish Community Council is also included in this series.
The records of Camp Wise consist primarily of camp applications and historical material. The applications are indicative of both the social and economic background of many of the families whose children frequented the camp prior to 1948.
The records of the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland document the administrative aspects of the organization. Much of the material relates to the activities of other agencies with which the director of the organization had business, such as the Jewish Community Federation, the National Association of Jewish Center Workers, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the Welfare Federation of Cleveland, and Western Reserve University. The collection also contains records relating to the new building.
The branch files document the activities of numerous extension programs organized by the Jewish Community Center to meet the needs of a large and sporadically located Jewish population. This series of files contains administrative records, records of clubs and classes, and records of special activities sponsored by each branch.
The Division files relate to programs and activities sponsored by the divisions of the Central Administration for all members of the Jewish Community Center regardless of branch affiliation. These programs include activities for adults, children, youth, and the elderly that addressed the athletic, camping, drama, health, and physical education needs of the Jewish community.
The collection is arranged in six series. Each series and sub-series is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 4696 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Records, Series II; PG 149 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Photographs; and PG 502 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Photographs, Series II.
Processed by Sandra Berman in 1976.
Access to Container 2 requires the written permission of the donor. Consult the WRHS Curator of Manuscripts for details.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3668 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gifts of the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland in 1975 and 1976.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.