Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Betsy Abrams and Bobbie Burstein interviewed Ida Mae Kahn on July 11, 1997, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, as a part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Kahn talks about her Jewish upbringing, meeting her husband, starting a family, and her extensive involvement in volunteer work, including leadership roles in various organizations and serving on the board of Public Welfare.

Rachel Alexander interviewed Janet Printz Kaplan on November 6, 1997, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Kaplan discusses her upbringing in Brookline, her experiences at Temple Israel, her love for art and dogs, her marriage and family life, community involvement, and her close relationship with a German exchange student who was born in a concentration camp.

Frances Godine interviewed Ruth Stellar Klein on May 30, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Klein shares her deep connection to Temple Israel, her musical background, family life, experiences during World War II, discrimination faced, and her passion for education and teaching.

Miriam Smulow interviewed Ruth Salmonson Krasnoff on January 18, 1983, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Span the Century Oral History Project. Krasnoff shares her family's immigration history, her upbringing in Dorchester, her career in the business world, and her deep connection to Temple Israel.

In this oral history interview, Ida Meshoulam recounts her childhood in a Jewish community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, her family’s migration to Palestine in the 1930s, her marriage and life in Tel Aviv and the early years of Israel, and her decades of community service, family life, and cultural engagement before eventually returning to the United States after more than forty years in Israel.

On February 16, 1993, Emily Mehlman interviewed Theresa Morse in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in an interview that traces Morse’s upbringing in a German-Jewish family, her education at Barnard and Radcliffe, her World War II service, and her decades of leadership in public housing, family services, philanthropy, and Jewish communal life in Greater Boston.

Ellen Rovner interviewed Muriel Pokross on December 20, 1996, and June 30, 1997, in Belmont, Massachusetts, for the Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Pokross reflects on her experiences during significant historical events, her efforts to aid Jewish refugees, and her career as a rehabilitation counselor, while emphasizing the passing down of values and her close family bonds.

In this oral history interview, Sylvia Schatz reflects on her upbringing in Philadelphia, her family’s immigrant history, education, religious life, experiences during World War II, marriage and motherhood, professional aspirations, and evolving views on gender, aging, family, and Jewish identity across generations.

Emily Mehlman interviewed Charlotte Scheiberg on July 1, 1996, in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of the Women Whose Lives Span the Century Oral History Project. Scheiberg discusses her upbringing in Germany, her immigration to the United States, her return to Germany in 1985, her experiences during World War II, acts of kindness she and her mother performed, and her involvement as a volunteer in the Fellowship of Jewish and Arab Youth.

On April 24, 1999, Susan Cooper interviewed Ruth Berkowitch Schneider for the Temple Sinai Oral History Project about her upbringing in Boston, her family’s Jewish and musical traditions, her work in public health and education, her involvement with Temple Israel and Temple Sinai, and the deaths of her husband and two sons.

Vicki Gabriner interviewed Ronya Schwaab on January 18 and 26, February 3 and 7, and June 18, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Schwaab recounts her childhood in Gomel, Belarus, highlighting aspects such as the First World War, Jewish traditions, women's roles, interfaith relations, arranged marriages, and encounters with the anti-revolutionary group, the Chyornaya Sotnya.

Roberta Burstein interviewed Jane Sickles Segal on August 14, 1997, in Brookhaven, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Segal shares her family history, including her mother's conversion to Christian Science, her grandparents' immigration from Germany, her college experience, and life in Chillicothe and Boston, discussing topics such as the rise of Nazi groups in the US and her involvement in Jewish community councils.

Joan Rachlin interviewed Yemema Seligson on January 7, 1998, in Brookline, Massachusetts, for the Women Who Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Seligson reflects on her family's immigration, her mother's work as a seamstress, childhood memories, the friendship with linguist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, her career journey, and her current life, activities, and friendships.

Emily Mehlman and Fran Putnoi interviewed Freema Shapiro on July 25, 1997, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Shapiro reflects on life after her husband's passing, her pursuit of personal passions, and her journey toward self-discovery through meditation and holistic health practices.

Frances Godine interviewed Jeanette Simon on October 7 and February 7, 1998, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Simon shares her memories of growing up during the Great Depression, her education at Wellesley College, and her active life, including her involvement in a women's investment club and her connection to Judaism.

Iris Geik interviewed Sara Wallace on February 8, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Wallace talks about her community activism and career as a lawyer, discusses her immigrant upbringing, her pioneering role as a woman in the legal profession, her involvement in social advocacy, and her membership with Temple Israel Boston.

These two interviews trace Anita Winer’s life from her early-20th-century Jewish upbringing in Boston through marriage, family life, and mid-century social change, reflecting on identity, gender roles, religion, and the evolution of American Jewish and domestic life.

Ellen Rovner interviewed Mildred Zanditon on November 10, 1997 in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Zanditon recalls learning how to make challah with her daughter, her advocacy work for institutionalized individuals and the founding of the non-profit Vinfen, and her pride in passing on values of tzedakah and Tikkun Olam to her daughters.