To mark the occasion, the Jewish Voice is publishing a historic chronicle of each decade, with assistance from the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware (JHSD). While the JHSD will provide a chronicle of historic events that will be published in each issue of the Jewish Voice, online we will share your personal memories of a particular decade.

Perhaps you were around in the 1940s and remember community activities centered on the founding of Israel? Or maybe you remember the ground breaking for the construction of the new Jewish Community Center in the 1960s? Do you recall when 33 Russian immigrant families came to Delaware in the 1970s? We want to hear your memories!

To send your remembrances, go online to the Jewish Federation of Delaware website at: www.ShalomDelaware.org, click on the “JFD 75th Anniversary” story, and fill in the form. You may also send your memories by mail to:

The Jewish Voice
Editor, Michelle Effron Miller
Jewish Federation of Delaware
100 W. 10th St., Suite 301
Wilmington, DE 19801-1628

(If you mail in your memories, please include your name and a phone number where we can reach you.)

We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing our history in the printed pages of the Jewish Voice!

*The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware keeps memories of our community alive. Please call 302-655-6232 for more information about JHSD, a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.

Continue to watch the Jewish Voice and our website www.ShalomDelaware.org for details on the Jewish Federation of Delaware’s 75th anniversary celebrations!

1970s

Roberta Matz: "We moved here in January 1977, in a snow storm and my first stop was the JCC for pre-school. The staff, Deanne Kattler and Diane Horn, were so welcoming of my 3-year-old and assured me that he would love his new school. My next stop was Congregation Beth Shalom, where I was a religious school teacher for many years, and my third stop was the Albert Einstein Academy, where I began to substitute teach. In a few weeks, I felt so entrenched in a warm, welcoming Jewish community and felt that everything was just a few moments from my new home. We lived here for 5 years and were active in B'nai Brith Women, the Jewish Boy Scouts, the JCC and our synagogue."

Barbara S. Keil: "Many things were different from today. Two examples: availability and attire. Women were more available for volunteer/organization work because women were not as career oriented as we are today. Attire at these afternoon/luncheon meetings was not casual, and often included "hat and gloves," especially if one sat at the "head table."

I was honored to serve as President of the Wilmington Chapter of Hadassah, followed by two years as vice chair of the JFD Women's Division campaign. My responsibility with JFD was to help to "connect the dots" between Wilmington and the growing Jewish communities in Newark and Dover. That is when I met Leni Markell, as she "defined" the Jewish community of Newark.

Service on the JCC Board for me was during the construction of the original building on Garden of Eden Road. The move from our down town location at 515 French Street was dramatic. Native Wilmingtonians like us had spent many hours in worthwhile activities and organizations at the old YMHA. That location was originally built by Adas Kodesch and connected to the synagogue within the buildings. We know from the history of Jews in WIlmington that Adas Kodesch had to close their new addition during the Depression years (before my time!), and that it opened again 12 years later as the YMHA."