In 1984, Kathie Bernstein and other Milwaukee Jewish Federation workers found a box containing photographs of MJF leaders, groups and events — none of them identified.
“I am happy I was smart enough to know that that box of pictures was important,” Bernstein said 31 years later. The box became the seed of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, which opened in 2008 with Bernstein as its executive director.
“I’m proud that we did this, that our little community has this magnificent museum that thousands of people see every year,” Bernstein told The Chronicle in an interview on May 13. “And that we create meaningful, educational and entertaining exhibits and programs that bring in people of all ages.”
Bernstein is retiring from the JMM this month. The last exhibit that she will oversee is “Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American,” which opens June 14.
She will be followed on June 15 by Patti Sherman-Cisler, currently deputy director of operations for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. (An interview with Sherman-Cisler will be in the July Chronicle.)
Bernstein was not a stranger to the MJF in 1984. She had worked for Melvin S. Zaret (1918-2010), then executive vice president, before she married attorney and Jewish activist Eliot Bernstein (1922-2013) in 1966.
After taking time to be a homemaker, Bernstein returned to the MJF part-time in 1983 “just doing odd jobs.” She became full-time in 1984, working for the then Women’s Division (now Women’s Philanthropy) and supervising MJF support staff.
When she and others discovered the box of photos, they decided to gather some people who could identify the individuals and subjects “before it was too late.” A group began meeting that included former Chronicle editor Edwarde F. Perlson (1906-1987).
“We had so much fun” doing this, Bernstein recalled, and she began creating a filing system to preserve the pictures. But then people outside the MJF began hearing about this effort and bringing their own photographs in.
At first the effort was “very informal, sort of like my daytime hobby,” Bernstein said. But soon, she and the others decided they had enough for an exhibit.
The Women’s Division formed an Archives/Roots Committee that began meeting in 1985. It was renamed the Archives Committee and the informal group became the Identification Committee, both in 1986.
In 1988, the committee presented its first exhibit, called “A Century of Jewish Life in Milwaukee: 1850-1950” and displayed at what is now the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
This led to people bringing in more material and to more exhibits. “Everybody liked what we were doing and people understood its importance,” Bernstein said.
One of the donors was Howard Weinshel (1904-2001), who had helped found Milwaukee’s Yiddish theater company, the Perhift Players. Jewish cultural leader Tybie Taglin (1925-2014) suggested that Weinshel’s memories be recorded. So began what became the JMM oral history project.
In 1991, people involved in creating the Milwaukee Jewish community sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) urged the MJF and the Jewish Community Foundation to have the Milwaukee Jewish Archives study the idea of making a museum and historical society.
Bernstein herself, however, was not at first keen on the idea of a museum. “I was archivally focused,” more interested in preserving the materials, she said.
But it became clear what a museum could do. “In addition to preserving and presenting, we saw it as a central place representing the Jewish community for the Jewish community and the greater Milwaukee community,” Bernstein said. Moreover, “it could be a place where Jews with no religious affiliation could come and feel comfortable.”
It took a struggle to realize the project. Money was always a problem, especially as there were community and Israel needs to be met. Some community leaders wondered if a museum could be self-sustaining.
Moreover, Bernstein did more than work on archives and the museum idea. Her many jobs included staff person for the MJF’s then Israel Committee, helping to hire emissaries from Israel. She was also campaign director for three campaigns.
In 1997, the archives changed its name to Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society, and Marianne Lubar became its chair the following year. During some of the struggle for the museum, Bernstein expressed doubts whether it would happen, but Lubar said, “I’ll stay if you stay.” “And she did,” said Bernstein. “That meant a lot to me.”
Finally, the MJF board of directors in 2005 approved a capital campaign for remodeling the Karl Jewish Community Campus and the Helfaer Community Service Building, and creating the JMM was included in the plans.
Since the museum opened in 2008, it has featured many exhibits on such topics as Jewish weddings, Jewish businesses, Jews in rock music and many more. But as Bernstein said, “the pinnacle” was “Stitching History from the Holocaust,” a collaboration with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater that has received “acclaim from around the world” and will be touring.
“I’ve met the goals that I’ve had,” Bernstein said. “The museum is in a good place. I feel comfortable leaving it.”
And what will she do now? “I don’t know,” she said. “My life will evolve just like the archives evolved.”
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