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Tag: Alysa Routtenberg

JQT history exhibit launched

JQT history exhibit launched

Carmel Tanaka, JQT Vancouver executive director, speaks at the May 28 launch of the B.C. Jewish Queer &Trans Oral History Project online exhibit. (photo by Brianne Nord-Stewart)

The B.C. Jewish Queer &Trans Oral History Project online exhibit went live amid the cheers of those gathered in the standing-room-only Zack Gallery May 28.

With a total of 38 interviews, the project is “one of, if not the, largest Jewish LGBTQ archives in the world,” said Carmel Tanaka, JQT Vancouver executive director, after she guided attendees – both online and in-person – through the website, jqtvancouver.ca/jqt-oral-history-bc.

The project had its beginning in 2019, when Tanaka approached the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC) asking if there was any queer and trans content in the archives. When the answer was no, JMABC and JQT Vancouver joined as partners to train volunteers in interview procedures, identify and connect with interviewees and record the stories of Jewish queer and trans elders throughout the province.

Alysa Routtenberg, archivist at JMABC, shared with the Independent how the collection of oral histories, proceeded. “We approached our funding partners, to fund the training of 13 volunteer interviewers in best practices and how to ensure consent from the interviewees, as the information would be archived and accessible to all, with each contributor identified and ‘out’ as Jewish and LGBTQ. The energy of Carmel Tanaka positively influenced the framing of the interview questions and our understanding of the Jewish queer community and ensured the inclusion of all willing community members in the oral history archives,” she said, welcoming the volunteers who were trained to participate in other oral history projects with the JMABC.

The target group for the B.C. Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project was identified as Jewish, trans and queer and age 65 years and older. The intention was to gather interviewees’ lived experiences in community as Jewish and LGBTQ. It was an intergenerational effort, with many of the interviewers being younger than the storytellers. When the pandemic hit, the interviews moved onto Zoom accounts already in place with the museum, and everyone learned new technical skills and continued collecting the stories. Funding for the project was provided by the Jewish Community Foundation, Isaac and Sophie Waldman Endowment Fund, Live Educate Transform Society, and the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Yosef Wosk Publication Fund, along with private donors.

The B.C. Jewish Queer &Trans Oral History Project was a catalyst for two other JQT initiatives: Twice Blessed 2.0 and The B.C. Jewish Queer and Trans Seniors Resource Guide.

When Tanaka interviewed Jacqueline Walters for the oral history project, Walters shared that she had conducted a community needs assessment in 2004 while working in the counseling department of what was then called the Jewish Family Services Agency (and is now just Jewish Family Services). Walters had kept a copy of the full report and offered it to Tanaka. Thus, the Twice Blessed 2.0 project took flight. A new needs assessment took place and data points were compared to get a sense of what has and hasn’t changed in the past two decades. Twice Blessed 2.0 – with its 13 calls for community action – is available on JQT’s website. Walters flew in from Salt Spring Island to be at the launch.

“Also, during these interviews,” said Tanaka at the event, “we began to hear firsthand the fears of our community members when it comes to aging, particularly homophobia, transphobia and antisemitism upon entering assisted living and long-term care. This led to the creation of the JQT Seniors Initiative, a community response network, and this initiative just released a seniors resource guide, basically a report card on what you can and cannot prepare for as you get older in the Jewish community, in the LGBTQ community, and in the healthcare system in B.C. in 2023.” The guide is also available on JQT’s website.

With the formal JMABC interviews completed, the online exhibit was the next step undertaken by JQT, with Tanaka as project coordinator, and a team of volunteers. “I am thankful for the wisdom and resilience of everyone involved with this project,” Tanaka told the Independent.

photo - Some of the many people who contributed to and/or supported the B.C. Jewish Queer &Trans Oral History Project online exhibit
Some of the many people who contributed to and/or supported the B.C. Jewish Queer &Trans Oral History Project online exhibit. (photo by Brianne Nord-Stewart)

The online exhibit features an interactive timeline of B.C. Jewish queer and trans activity from the 1920s to 2020s; an essay weaving together the stories that emerged from the interviews; an article on the Klezbians music group; video excerpts from the oral history interviews; interviewee statistics; and more. Three of the interviewees spoke with the Independent.

Syd Lapan lives in Comox and was “absolutely” enthusiastic about being included. Lapan said she has been out since 1971. Living in the United States at the time, she said she was, as a lesbian, considered illegal and insane. She was active in the women’s liberation movement, then in the gay rights movement in Colorado. Excited about JQT’s oral history project from the beginning, she was glad to share her story, to have it noted, and she joined the launch via the Facebook livestream. When she saw the video on the oral history site of herself being interviewed, she confessed that she cried a bit, finding it emotionally striking. She was thankful for the care Tanaka displayed while interviewing her.

Ira Rogers attended the launch, but, unlike Lapan, he was not initially keen about being included in the project – Tanaka’s enthusiasm won him over, he remarked. Rogers said he felt good sharing his story, he liked going back to earlier chapters of his life. He grew up in New York and moved to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue a career in songwriting – among other things, he contributed to a Grammy-nominated Reba McEntire album, helping create the songs “All Dressed Up (With Nowhere To Go)” and “For My Broken Heart.” Even with such successes, living in Tennessee became too much, though, and Rogers set out to find a gay-friendly city, eventually relocating to Vancouver. Rogers currently is associated with the Vancouver Men’s Chorus.

Finally, Marc Gelmon, who transitioned at age 19, discovered JQT while searching online for information related to his work at TransCareBC. He made a note to himself and got on with life. When contacted to participate in the oral history, he was interested right from the start. “I’m a Vancouverite, I’ve lived my adult life as a trans person. I love telling my story, as it is always cathartic for me,” he said. “I hope it is also cathartic for others.” At the time of his interview with the Independent, Gelmon had not seen his oral history interview online, as he was traveling in the United Kingdom.

In addition to Tanaka and Routtenberg, also speaking at the May 8 launch were emcees Aviva Rathbone, chair of JQT, and Sophie Macdonald, JQT vice-chair. Mack Paul of Musqueam First Nation gave the land acknowledgement. Alison Cristall, assistant executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, shared a few words, as did Allison Dunne, co-executive director of Vancouver Pride Society. Carol Herbert, past chair of the JMABC, spoke and Raegan Swanson, archivist and executive director or the ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2S+ Archives, joined the proceedings virtually, from Toronto. JQT ethnographer Maxa Sawyer, speaking from Winnipeg, closed out the proceedings.

To view the JMABC oral history collection catalogue, including all the interviews conducted for this project, go to archives.jewishmuseum.ca and enter JQT or the name of the interviewee. To access any of the full interviews, contact the museum at [email protected] or 604-257-5199. Go to jqtvancouver.ca to view the online exhibit, a video of the launch event and learn more about JQT.

Trude LaBossiere Huebner is a Vancouver freelance writer.

Posted on June 23, 2023June 23, 2023Author Trude LaBossiere HuebnerCategories LocalTags 2SLGBTQIA+, Alysa Routtenberg, B.C. Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Projec, Carmel Tanaka, Ira Rogers, JQT Vancouver, LGBTQ+, Marc Gelmon, Syd Lapan
Community milestones … a special visit, a big birthday, a cycling win and a wedding

Community milestones … a special visit, a big birthday, a cycling win and a wedding

Left to right are Shirley Barnett, Michael Schwartz, Sam Sullivan, Julian Prieto, Margaret Sutherland and Alysa Routtenberg. (photo from Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia)

The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia was pleased to welcome Sam Sullivan, MLA for Vancouver-False Creek, for a tour of the B.C. Jewish Community Archives on Aug. 15, 2019. Archivist Alysa Routtenberg and director of community engagement Michael Schwartz shared highlights of the archival collection and explained how JMABC staff and volunteers work to preserve and share these important documents.

Among his many accomplishments, Sullivan is a former mayor of Vancouver and the founder of Transcribimus, an online service dedicated to transcribing early Vancouver city council meeting minutes and publishing them online. Transcribimus was an essential resource in the JMABC’s efforts to restore the Jewish section of Mountain View Cemetery in 2013-2015, an initiative led by former JMABC board member Shirley Barnett.

***

President Cate Stoller gives an overview of the year.
photo - Jane Stoller reports on Operation Dress-Up
Jane Stoller reports on Operation Dress-Up.
photo - Vancouver musician Babe Coal entertains
Vancouver musician Babe Coal entertains (photos from NCJW Vancouver)

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada celebrated its 95th year in Vancouver with a birthday party June 4, 2019, at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club.

* * *

photo - Ben Etkin-Goulet
Ben Etkin-Goulet (photo by Cheralyn Chok)

Ben Etkin-Goulet beat all the other cyclists in his category at the GranFondo Axel Merckx Okanagan on July 14. The 24-year-old Vancouverite completed the 92-kilometre Mediofondo in two hours and 30 minutes, beating out hundreds of competitors. It was only his second competitive race.

“I’ve been commuting for as long as I can remember,” said Etkin-Goulet, “but I started cycling more as a sport in 2016 and I’ve been ramping up since then. This last year was my first year training throughout the winter.”

Etkin-Goulet graduated last year with a degree in commerce from the University of British Columbia and works in data analytics at Boeing. He is the son of Fabienne Goulet and Alan Etkin and grandson of Leonor Etkin.

* * *

photo - Newlyweds Jaclyn and Alex
Newlyweds Jaclyn and Alex

Parents Cyndi and Max Mintzberg and Ricki and Mark Kahn and grandparents Evelyn, Gloria and Irwin are delighted to celebrate the marriage of Jaclyn and Alex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Format ImagePosted on August 30, 2019August 29, 2019Author Community members/organizationsCategories LocalTags Alysa Routtenberg, Babe Coal, Ben Etkin-Goulet, Cate Stoller, Jane Stoller, Julian Prieto, Kahn, Margaret Sutherland, Michael Schwartz, Mintzberg, NCJW, Sam Sullivan, Shirley Barnett
Come celebrate our history

Come celebrate our history

Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia archivist Alysa Routtenberg holds a minute book from Victoria’s Congregation Emanu-El, circa 1920. (photo from Alysa Routtenberg)

The documents and artifacts collected, processed and housed by the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia are part of “everyone’s story,” JMABC archivist Alysa Routtenberg told the Independent in a recent interview. She encouraged people to donate material, join museum walking tours and visit the archives.

Routtenberg, who was born and raised in Vancouver, did her undergraduate studies in history and art history at the University of British Columbia before heading to Montreal for two years to earn her master’s of library information and archival studies at McGill University. In the summer of 2014, she had the opportunity to work in her field at the JMABC and, when she completed her studies, the museum’s then-archivist, Jennifer Yuhasz, was getting ready to move on and Routtenberg won the job.

“I ended up moving back to Vancouver, and was lucky enough to get this position not that long after I moved back to start my career as an archivist here,” she said.

Routtenberg’s family has been very involved in historical societies and groups for generations, and she always has loved her family’s library and the study of history.

“We did a lot of trips – like Fort Langley and all sorts of museums and things – so I always knew I wanted a career in history,” she said. “It was just a matter of figuring out the practicality of what that looked like.”

The JMABC originally started out as the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia in 1971. Its founding president was Routtenberg’s grandfather, Cyril Leonoff, who passed away last year. Since its beginnings, the museum’s mandate has evolved, but the core objective has stayed the same – to preserve, collect and share the history of Jewish people in British Columbia.

The museum and archives makes information “accessible so people can come in and research,” said Routtenberg. “Then, we try to use that material in our public programming, whether that be with walking tours, lectures or physical exhibits. It’s all about celebrating and sharing the history. It’s a fairly short history compared to Jewish people in other provinces, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important.”

The oldest material in the archives is from 1862 – from Congregation Emanu-El in Victoria. While not Canada’s oldest synagogue, it is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the country. It’s been open and operational ever since it was started a couple years after Jews first arrived in the province.

“They were mostly coming up from California during the gold rush,” said Routtenberg of these pioneers. “And then, they developed businesses and, within a couple years, wanted to start a synagogue. So, that’s our oldest material. They are pretty special … very beautiful … handwritten notebooks and things.”

The first Jewish arrivals, she said, “set up businesses where they sold supplies to the guys who were going off panning [for gold]. So, that’s what allowed them to build a community. They built a business, a home, then a synagogue…. A couple guys called themselves wholesalers, selling every kind of supply. And then, as soon as there were actually people staying in Victoria and wanting to live there … I know there were a couple clothing stores and then a women’s clothing store, specifically, and a fur store … that sort of thing.”

As others did, Jews kept trickling into British Columbia, moving west with the hope of a better life, with more space. In the 1920s and 1940s, the Jewish community got big population boosts and communal groups began to be organized. Some community groups and businesses have now been around for three or four generations.

“There were furniture and scrap metal dealers … and we’ve collected a lot of those stories, fortunately, while those people were still with us,” said Routtenberg. “We’ve been able to write a couple of books about them,” she said, referring to the JMABC’s annual journal, The Scribe. The museum also publishes a newsletter, The Chronicle, twice a year.

Routtenberg’s job is to collect and preserve all the historical artifacts from the Jewish community, and the artifacts are divided into two major groups.

One group is family collections, which includes letters, photos, certificates and any other correspondence or paper material a family produced over the years. In that area, the JMABC has many great collections from a range of people.

“They were involved with any number of organizations,” said Routtenberg. “We’ll have their handwritten notes from meetings from the 1950s. We’ll have their letters back and forth with relatives across the country. Those are the sorts of things we have in the family collection.”

The second group focuses on community organizations, with collections from the Jewish Community Fund and Council, the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Hebrew Free Loan Association, as but three examples. The material in these collections includes correspondence, meeting minutes, agendas, publications they produced, information relating to events, etc.

“We’re very lucky in that most of the synagogues in the city have agreed to donate their materials to us,” added Routtenberg. “We collect the material related to the synagogue’s administration, meeting minutes, member lists, committee minutes, photos, events and publications.”

One important aspect of Routtenberg’s job is to reach out to and speak with people and organizations, to explain what it is that the JMABC does, what types of things it collects and, at times, making house calls to help sort materials.

“Once materials have been fully processed, everything is in a file and we know exactly what it is, what the dates are, and where to find it,” said Routtenberg. “So, that’s the main job we do.

“We deal with a lot of research requests as well,” she added. “A lot of people call or email and they are researching their family, asking what information we might have about them. Also, a lot of students, from high school to doctoral students, contact us when they are doing projects and want to know about a theme.

“I’ll make notes about those. I’ll try to answer right away, but often it requires some searching. Usually, looking through material in the archives needs to wait for a volunteer to be available or I encourage people to come in themselves.”

Routtenberg especially enjoys getting to dig into a box, and she has made some exciting discoveries.

“Something I love finding are handwritten letters,” she said. “We have a number of collections in the archives that are very thorough. There’s one that’s [between] a couple who was in Vancouver and Montreal in 1920, and they wrote letters back and forth.

“They met in Montreal, I believe, and then were secretly engaged for I think six months or so. And they wrote letters everyday, sometimes twice a day, back and forth. It’s those kinds of things that people don’t necessarily think is important, but they tell us so much about what life was like back then – things they struggled with and thought about. They are just beautiful.”

The archives are meant to preserve everyone’s history, not just the visible part of the community, stressed Routtenberg.

“If we don’t preserve our history, no one else will,” she said. “That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day. It’s really easy for people to think they’re not important, that their stuff isn’t important, thinking there is no reason why we would want it. People, all the time, bring stuff from the 1970s and 1980s, and they think it’s not important … but, if we don’t do it now, it never gets to be 150 years old.

“And we get so many research requests – we average 650 to 700 per year. These are all people with a wide range of questions wanting to know about the Jewish community. I don’t want to have to sit there and explain something, because I happen to know it – I want the evidence to back it up, providing the original documents for people to be able to come and look through.

“We’ve really been trying to promote community ownership of these archives,” she said. “They’re not this thing to be locked away from the public. They’re really everyone’s story.”

For more information, visit jewishmuseum.ca.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Format ImagePosted on March 17, 2017March 14, 2017Author Rebeca KuropatwaCategories LocalTags Alysa Routtenberg, archives, British Columbia, history, Jewish museum, JMABC
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