 |
   |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
       |
 |
||||||||
|
Feb. 22, 2013 Bringing local history to lifeMICHELLE DODEK“This will be a mitzvah point for the whole community. It’s not religious, it’s not political, it’s not controversial and it will connect people not only to the history of the Jewish community in Vancouver, but also to forgotten elements of Jewish symbolism and ritual. It will do all kinds of things,” said Shirley Barnett. As chair of a recently assembled advisory council, Barnett and the group are dedicated to the restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Jewish section at Mountain View Cemetery, which is accessible through the gate located at 33rd Avenue and Fraser Street. Mountain View Cemetery, which is on land purchased by the City of Vancouver in 1887, ”underwent a million dollar restoration of its own starting 10 years ago,” Barnett told the Independent. She and others felt that it was time for the Jewish section, which was established in 1891, to catch up. Barnett approached the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery board, the governing body responsible for the Jewish section at Mountain View, with a proposal to restore the old cemetery. With Barnett at the helm, the board decided to undertake the project, which will give this section a renewed and more prominent place in the community. This is a huge undertaking, one that Barnett is approaching after years of Jewish community involvement, as well as a personal interest in Mountain View. “My parents took me to the cemetery when I was a child because my mother’s father, Abraham Nemetz, is buried there, and I was always kind of interested,” she explained. “Then, when I wrote the history of the Jewish Family Service Agency and the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Vancouver, I searched for the founders and realized most are buried there.” Barnett said she knew just where to start the process. “The first step [has been] to put an advisory committee together. The skill set of a number of people who have different interests in this is enormous, and we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The group I’m putting together seems large, but it’s because many of these people have specific interests and will work on small, specific tasks,” she said. A project co-ordinator will also be retained. The committee includes community members Arnold Silber, Herb Silber, Yosef Wosk, Richard Menkis, Wendy Oberlander, Earl Lesk, Ronnie Tessler, Norman Franks, Lani Levine and Edward Fitch. Also on the committee is cemetery expert Bill Pechet, Mountain View business manager Robin Naiman, Jennifer Standeven from the City of Vancouver and Rosemarie Newall of J.B. Newall Memorials. Jewish community historian and photographer Cyril Leonoff, whose writings and photographs will be invaluable to this project, will also play a role. It’s likely that the restoration will take two years to complete, Barnett said. The shape and scope of this undertaking is already well defined, however. According to Barnett, there will be four components and each one will have its own budget, with a staff person and a committee member. “The first one will be community awareness. We will have the display cases … [for] a photo exhibit at the [Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver]. There are many photographs of the old cemetery, which have never been seen by the public. The exhibit will also feature panel discussions on Jewish ritual and burial,” she said. “The name of the exhibit will be Irreplaceable Landscape: A History of the Jewish Cemetery in Vancouver. It will have an awareness purpose, a genealogical purpose, an information purpose.” Once the community becomes more involved in the project, the research and documentation phase will begin. “The education will continue from the genealogical point of view as we begin to search for families,” Barnett said. “Who are these people who are buried there? Are their families interested? We want to find families that are connected to the old burials. For some, it will be a major reconnection to their roots, and others [may] not be interested.” Finding the names of family members will hopefully lead to descendants taking an interest in the third phase of the project, its physical restoration. This will include new headstones for the many unmarked graves, security, repairs and cleaning of the existing stones. Barnett would love to see the majestic old gate and fence that had surrounded the Jewish section until 1971 restored, as well. She hopes donors come forward to dedicate a ritual hand-washing station and benches, so that the estimated 450 Jewish graves can be honored and appreciated appropriately, with Jewish ritual in mind. From a practical perspective, Barnett added, the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery board is interested in further examining the cemetery, as plots may be available if they have not been claimed in 70 years. It may be that there is room for more burials in the future. The living legacy of this two-year, $300,000 project is manifested in the fourth part of the project, in the eventual public awareness education programs, such as guided and self-guided public tours, and for school groups. Committee member Arnold Silber explained, “It will bring an appreciation to the next generation of the people, of the founding fathers of this city, of those who started this community, the charities, the organizations. Hopefully, it can bring a sense of commitment to the next generation.” As a primary historical source, the Jewish section at Mountain View is a valuable resource. With poetic inscriptions on the headstones, types of inscriptions that were once commonplace, and with the causes of deaths displayed so clearly – such as the typhoid and cholera epidemics that took so many babies in the early part of the 20th century – along with inscriptions paying tribute to those who were “killed by electric [street] cars,” Mountain View will once again become a visit destination for the local community and for visitors from elsewhere. Mountain View is also pleased that the community has plans for the Jewish section of the cemetery. “Mountain View has shown what can be done with historic cemeteries in North America and the City of Vancouver is thrilled to see this continued,” Barnett noted. Partners in the restoration include the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia, the Jewish Genealogical Institute of British Columbia, and other organizations have shown interest in partnering in this project, as well. Barnett and the committee plan to hold a public forum for members of the Jewish public to present ideas. Barnett is excited to see this project get off the ground and hopes that the community will want to become engaged with its success. “Many people in the community were not aware this cemetery has existed since 1891,” she said, “but, soon, everyone will know about it.” For more information, contact Barnett at [email protected]. Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver. Timeline of Jewish burial in Vancouver
|
|||||||
