On most days, the archives of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee are a quiet place where research is performed and vast collections of artifacts and materials are meticulously catalogued.
On Monday mornings, however, visitors witness a flurry of activity and the buzz of conversation as volunteers lend a hand by processing materials for the archives.
The number of volunteers, led by Clarice Resnick, chair of the archives catalogue committee, varies on any given Monday depending on the time of year, but the group has 19 volunteers in total, with years of service ranging from one year to 24, reaching back to the creation of the archives in 1986.
When I visited the archives in mid-March, I was greeted by nine volunteers who were elbow-deep in paper, but happy to share their experiences and current and past projects with a fellow history buff.
The main charge of the volunteers is to sort and catalogue items donated by organizations and people in the Jewish community. Current projects include items from the former Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations (now the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation), the National Council of Jewish Women and the Helen Bader Foundation.
Harriet Dizack, who is processing Soviet resettlement archives, finds interesting items along the way. “It’s been fascinating to find little notes people write and postcards from people getting out of Russia. That to me is more fun than the press; anyone can read the press.”
Though the volunteers enjoy working with any artifacts, each admits to having favorite projects.
“Not being a Milwaukee native, I find that I have learned more about Milwaukee working on large projects in the Archives,” said Bernice Spivek, a 16-year volunteer who is currently working on personal biographical archives.
Arlene Mann recently finished cataloguing sermons by various rabbis, including Rabbi Jay Brickman and Rabbi Harry Pastor, and eventually used parts of sermons dating back to 1941 for her own Passover seders.
“I like projects that involve people who make a difference. We can grab that back and make it important today,” said Mann.
Stories of how the volunteers came to the archives are almost as varied as those they catalogue. Many of them were referred by friends. In at least two cases, what started out as a trip to the archives to donate personal items ended in years of volunteer service.
“We came to donate and they tricked us!” laughed Marlis Lippow.
Others like to see and feel history for themselves. “I love to look through things, and I’m really enjoying myself. I learn as I go along,” said Lil Rakita.
The archives volunteers come from various backgrounds, but all share an interest in history, and especially historical preservation and genealogy. They are committed to preserving their own histories, and most volunteers have their own files to which they routinely add items.
Joan Barnett, who curated a show at the Milwaukee Art Museum, submitted the exhibit’s catalogue to her file, and Harriet Dizack routinely adds news clippings about her grandson, a jazz trumpeter, to hers.
All of the volunteers have become the archives’ and Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s best ambassadors, urging their friends, family and neighbors to donate their items.
Said Barnett, “I tell my children and grandchildren that after I’m gone, to look for everything in the Jewish archives.”
The Monday morning volunteer group has become a family, with strong friendships and even farther-reaching connections. The first day Marlis Lippow worked in the Archives and saw Harriet Dizack, her former Brownie troop leader whom she hadn’t seen for years, she was pleasantly surprised and addressed her as “Mrs. Dizack,” to which Harriet replied, “I think enough time has passed. You can call me Harriet now!”
Overseeing the group and its projects is archivist Jay Hyland, who believes the volunteers’ efforts are priceless.
“They are my mentors, because going into this I had little information about the Jewish community, but they have all taught me so much,” he said.
“They are the backbone of the archives, and the archives and Jewish Museum Milwaukee would not be what they are without them.”
The volunteers have equal praise for Hyland’s guidance: “We adore him,” said Dizack. Spivek adds, “He is our gold find.”
The importance of the archives extends beyond Milwaukee’s Jewish community, as requests for information have been submitted from worldwide as people trace their family histories and students of all education levels working on term papers.
The archives were the main resource for John Gurda’s 2009 book, “One People, Many Paths: A History of Jewish Milwaukee.”
“The Archives tell the history of our community and preserves the legacy of the Jews,” said Annalee Sosman. Mann agreed. “It’s our history, and we’re important. Jews in history are important. I cannot imagine Milwaukee without the Jewish Museum or the archives. This is who you are.”
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee and its archives are a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. You can help ensure that work in the archives continues by making the most generous gift possible to the 2010 Annual Campaign of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, which provides essential support to this vital program. Invest in the programs that define our community.
Make your gift today by visiting www.milwaukeejewish.org or mailing a check to The Milwaukee Jewish Federation, 1360 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee
1360 N. Prospect Ave.
Hours: Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Fridays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sundays, noon-4 p.m.
Preserve your history and donate your items to the archives of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee. Please call Jay Hyland at 414-390-5759 or e-mail jayh@milwaukeejewish.org for more information.
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