Local News
“The Soundtrack of our Lives”: JHCWC program leaves audience enthralled
Posted July 5 By BERNIE BELLAN (Note: This article first appeared in our June 7 issue but there’s nothing in it that doesn’t bear repeating now.)
Put an audience of aging baby boomers together with three also aging musicians who are experts on Winnipeg’s music scene – and all three great raconteurs besides, along with an MC who is also himself an aging musical aficionado – and what do you get? An afternoon of nostalgia mixed with great humour and the occasional anecdote that defied belief.
Such was the case on a glorious Sunday afternoon, May 28, when, despite the gorgeous weather outside, Temple Shalom was packed with many formerly hirsute men along with an assortment of graying (and a few nicely hair-dyed) women. They were there to attend what was billed as “The Soundtrack of our Lives: Jews in Winnipeg’s Music Industry.”
Although there had been a fair bit of advance billing for the program, including an excellent preview article in the Winnipeg Free Press, even the three experts who had been assembled on stage really had no idea what was going to ensue.
The event was sponsored by the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, which continues to come up with imaginative programming year after year (even if they haven’t yet agreed to follow up on my proposal to do a program on famous Jewish criminals in Manitoba’s history.)
The three expert panelists included, in order: Owen Clark, a musician of great repute (voted “Winnipeg jazz musician of the year” in 2009), also a historian of Winnipeg’s music scene going back to the 1920s; Len Udow, folk singer, cantor, seven-time performer at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and recording artist – with three solo albums of his own; and John Einarson, former musician with a number of different bands and the writer of over 20 books telling the stories of a host of different Winnipeg musicians, including his opus, “Heart of Gold,” which is a comprehensive history of Manitoba musicians, and which is now in its fourth printing.
Keeping the entire affair coherent was MC Kinzey Posen, who was able to inject his own experiences as a band member into the proceedings – going back to a time when as, Jewish Heritage Centre former president Dan Stone noted, Kinzey not only had hair, he had lots of it.
Stone told this story about Kinzey (and, like a lot of the stories told that afternoon, it might have been greatly embellished): It seems that Kinzey (a.k.a. Martin) was kicked out of school for two weeks for having too long hair. His parents, Stone claimed, offered Kinzey a deal: “If you cut your hair, we’ll buy you a bass and amplifier.”
Owen Clark was the first of the panelists to talk about Jewish musicians of the past. He began by showing a 1920s era photo on the screen (next to the stage) of the “Minnedosa Little Symphony Orchestra,” led by Leon Asper and his wife, Cecilia.
Thus began a chronology of Jewish musicians and others associated with the music industry, including Harry Smith, owner of Club Morocco, whose real name, Clark revealed, was Herschel Shmudkin.
Among the musicians mentioned by Clark was Al Sprintz who, as Clark noted, “went to Club Morocco for two weeks and stayed for 22 years.”
Clark also discussed the integration of black musicians into bands that had Jewish musicians over the years, noting that, as members of two groups that suffered from discrimination, there was a kinship that led to the breaking down of barriers for both blacks and Jews.
Len Udow took a somewhat different tack than Clark – also later Einarson, as he focused primarily on his own history of growing up in a supremely musically talented family, including his mother Sarah, his aunt Belva, and uncle David, all of whom were talented opera singers.
Udow recounted his early childhood experiences of being in the Rosh Pina children’s choir and performing at the old YMHA on Hargrave as having been significant in his own development as a performer.
He told one story of having been a member of a group as a teenager known as the “Wayward Four Plus One.” According to Udow, the group was invited to appear on the CKY Amateur Hour one time, where they won the competition by beating out someone by the name of Burton Cummings (who played trumpet that day).
Later, Udow told of his many experiences on the stage of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, paying tribute to two pioneers of that festival, Mitch Podolak and Marvin Terhoch.
Speaking of Mitch Podolak (about whom Kinzey Posen wrote a moving tribute in our October 11, 2017 issue, which you can find on our website), John Einarson began his own remarks about Jews in Winnipeg’s music scene through the years by telling this story: It seems that Einarson and Podolak had never met until one day their paths happened to cross and Podolak told Einarson that he was thinking of starting a music festival for Winnipeg. He asked Einarson what he thought of the idea?
Einarson’s answer, he recounted was: “It’ll never work.”
Growing up in the 1950s, Einarson recalled, opened up a whole new world for him – and countless other youngsters, with the invention of the transistor radio.
“It made a great difference in listening to music,” he explained.
“It broke down barriers…Rock ‘n roll was a great equalizer” among kids in those days.
“I grew up with Jewish musicians,” Einarson continued. “They went on to become doctors and lawyers…The place to go for music was community clubs.”
Einarson took the audience through a Powerpoint presentation that showed pictures of bands from the 1950s, 60s and 70s that were either entirely Jewish or else had a majority of Jewish members.
He also paid tribute to others who played instrumental roles in promoting local talent, such as DJs Doc Steen and Howard Mandshein.
There were other notable figures who were important promoters, Einarson noted, including such individuals as Ivan Berkowits (who hit upon the idea of promoting his Monarch Wear brand of jeans known as TJs through music, with girls wearing TJs appearing at community clubs); Fred Glazerman; Frank Wiener (just recently passed), who opened the Hungry I booking agency; Terry Morris; Jerry Shore (who ran Celebrity Box Office); Roy Levin (of Transcontinental Productions, and who was the first to book the Guess Who here): Sam Katz (of Nite Out Entertainment); and Lorne Saifer (the longtime manager of the Guess Who).
Then, there were the club owners, Einarson told about: Jerry Huck (Jay’s Discotheque); Dick Golfman (The Twilight Zone); Bruce Druxerman (The Fireplace); Phil and Ray Kives (The Zoo, on Osborne); and the Gindin family (St. Vital Hotel).
There were also the record store owners: Murray Posner (Mother’s Records); Norman Stein (Opus 69); and Lilian Lewis (Lilian Lewis Records).
One more name Einarson mentioned was Harry Kreindler, of Banquex Amplifiers.
He told the story how former Manitoba Cabinet Minister Maitland Steinkopf had arranged to bring what was then one of the biggest bands in the world, Led Zeppelin, to play at the old Winnipeg Stadium in 1970 in celebration of Manitoba’s Centennial.
It started to rain, Einarson explained, and the band left the stage. “They had a clause saying they didn’t have to play if it started to rain,” Einarson continued.
But Steinkopf went to the hotel where the band was staying, accompanied by a well-known singer at the time, Diane Hetherington, in an attempt to persuade the band to come back and play inside the Winnipeg Arena.
Steinkopf was told the band wouldn’t do that unless he came up with $25,000US in cash. Somehow, he came back with a suitcase loaded with cash –and the concert did carry on – in the Arena.
Einarson also said that there was a story he had heard – which had never been corroborated, and he asked whether anyone had ever heard the same story: It revolved around well-known restaurateur Oscar Grubert and the Rolling Stones.
Apparently Grubert was the promoter who brought the Rolling Stones to Winnipeg. (Einarson said that Grubert had also tried to bring the Beatles to Winnipeg.) The story he had heard, Einarson said, was that the Rolling Stones stayed at Grubert’s Garden City home. (In later correspondence that I had with Einarson, Kinzey Posen, and Stan Carbone, curator of the Jewish Heritage Centre, when I asked all three of them whether they had heard anything more about that story, Stan Carbone suggested that the Stones had stayed at a hotel owned by Grubert and somehow it got misinterpreted that they had stayed at his home. John Einarson later emailed me to confirm that the Stones had stayed at the Champs Motor Inn on Osborne (which was later bought by the Kives brothers and became the Osborne Motor Inn.)
Too bad, it would have been more fun to think that one of the most famous rock ‘n roll bands in the world actually stayed on Forest Park Drive, no doubt eating only kosher food. (Oscar Grubert was at one time head of the Va’ad Ha’ir in this city.)
Speaking of wild misinterpretations, I interrupted Einarson with my own story, which was about Barbra Streisand. I said that, years ago, I was working for another well-known restaurateur (also nightclub owner), Auby Galpern.
By now, the story of Streisand either being fired by Galpern – or leaving Winnipeg of her own accord, is legendary. (She appeared at the Towers Nightclub in July 1961, when she was only 19, and just starting out in her career).
I said that Auby had told me that he fired Streisand because she was “a dirty hippie” and “sang too loud.” (Later Kinzey Posen told me that she couldn’t have been a “dirty hippie” in 1961; a “dirty beatnik” maybe. Why am I always being corrected?)
A very good website about the history of Winnipeg, known as “Local Dumplings” takes issue with that account of what happened: “Local lore says that Streisand was ‘fired’ by T & C co-owner Auby Galpern and told that she would never make it as a cabaret singer. That has recently been disputed by a couple of former senior T & C staffers who say that she was released early at the request of her agent to return to the U.S. for work.
“In an April 23, 1964 Gene Telpner column, Galpern said of Streisand’”I liked her but I thought she dressed very strangely (she bought her wardrobe at rummage sales to give her an eclectic look).”
In any event, my recalling the famous Barbra Streisand story set off a chain of comments – both from panelists and from audience members, but the wildest stories revolved around Barbra Streisand supposedly being set up on a blind date while she was in Winnipeg. (Later, John Einarson wrote me that would have been impossible because she was only here three nights and would have been performing each evening, so when would she have had time for a date?)
Regardless, the craziest story came from one audience member who said he had heard that Barbra was set up with Ron Braunstein who, at the time, was a very successful curler on his brother Terry’s team. According to what the audience member said, Ron Braunstein told Barbra that, unless she wanted to come to a curling match that night, he couldn’t make it. But this was July! See how tell tales get started! (In subsequent email correspondence with Einarson, Posen, and Carbone, I suggested that I wouldn’t be surprised if the two wild stories – about the Rolling Stones and Barbra Streisand, got so intertwined some day that someone would say they had heard that Barbra Streisand was set up on a blind date with Mick Jagger at Oscar Grubert’s house.)
Speaking of clubs, John Einarson recalled that Winnipeg musicians, after they had finished their gigs in various clubs, used to head over to the Club Morocco after 1 am because it was the only club still serving food.
Someone in the audience brought up the name of another club, The Fourth Dimension (later bought by Mickey Cooperband). Einarson said that many famous musicians had played there, including Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Don McLean, and Neil Young. (Later, after the program was over, someone told me that a musician by the name of Bob Zimmerman (a.k.a. Bob Dylan) used to come to Winnipeg to visit relatives here and stay at Neil Young’s house.)
Len Udow told an amusing story about musician Bernie Senensky. Apparently Udow and Senensky were in a Grade 10 British History class together in high school.
“We were not great students,” Udow remarked. “We didn’t share our intellect with anyone.”
Still, Udow recalled, when he would look over at Senensky, he was busy arranging music rather than paying attention to what was going on in class. “He was so obsessed with music,” Udow said. You could see what lay ahead for Senensky, who went on to a great career as a jazz pianist and composer.
One final – and very astute observation was brought up by someone else in the audience who observed that, while community clubs might have been the venues of choice for rock ‘n roll, church halls were where folk music could be heard. Then, one election year in Manitoba, Gary Doer hit upon the idea of going after the youth vote by promising to lower the drinking age to 18 from 21 – and all of a sudden all those kids congregating in church halls listening to folk music were now able to hit the bars – “and that killed the folk music scene.”
It was truly a great afternoon of memories and anecdotes. I had noticed someone was videoing the program when I walked in, so I emailed Stan Carbone to ask whether a video of the program might be available for people to see. He said he’ll get back to me with further information.
Local News
Further to the Simkin Centre’s financial situation
By BERNIE BELLAN A while back I published an article about the deficit situation at the Simkin Centre. (You can read it at “Simkin Centre deficit situation.“) I was prompted to write that particular article after reading a piece written by Free Press Faith writer John Longhurst in the August 5 issue of the Free Press about the dire situation personal care homes in Winnipeg are in when it comes to trying to provide their residents with decent food.
Yet, Longhurst made one very serious mistake in his article when he wrote that the “provincial government, through the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, has not increased the amount of funding it provides for care-home residents in Manitoba since 2009.”
In fact, the WRHA has given annual increases to personal care homes, but its allocations are not broken down by categories, such as food or salaries. As a spokesperson for the WRHA explained to me in an email: “PCHs receive per diem global operating funding based on the number of licensed beds they operate. This funding model is designed to support the full range of operating costs associated with resident care, including staffing, food services, utilities, building operations, and other day-to-day expenses.”
Now, one can make a perfectly valid argument that the level of funding from the WRHA has not kept up with inflation, especially inflation in food costs, but the Simkin Centre is in an even more precarious position because of the skyrocketing cost of kosher food.
“In recent years,” according to an article on the internet, “the cost of kosher food has increased significantly, often outpacing general food inflation due to unique supply chain pressures and specialized production requirements.”
Yet, when I asked Laurie Cerqueti how much maintaining a kosher facility has cost the Simkin Centre, as I noted in my previous article about the deficit situation at Simkin, she responded: “approximately $300,000 of our deficit was due to food services. I do not have a specific number as far as how much of the deficit is a result of kosher food…So really this is not a kosher food issue as much is it is an inflation and funding issue.”
One reader, however, after having read my article about the deficit situation at Simkin, had this to say: “In John Longhurst’s article on Aug 5, 2025 in the Free Press, Laurie (Cerqueti) was quoted as saying that the annual kosher meal costs at Simkin were $6070 per resident. At Bethania nursing home in 2023, the non-kosher meal costs in 2023 were quoted as $4056 per resident per year. Even allowing for a 15% increase for inflation over 2 years, the non-kosher food costs there would be $4664.40 or 24% lower than Simkin’s annual current kosher food costs. If Simkin served non-kosher food to 150 of its 200 residents and kosher food to half of its Jewish residents who wish to keep kosher, by my calculation it would save approximately $200,000/year. If all of Simkin’s Jewish residents wished to keep kosher, the annual savings would be slightly less at $141,000.”
But – let’s be honest: Even though many Jewish nursing homes in the US have adopted exactly that model of food service – where kosher food is available to those residents who would want it, otherwise the food served would be nonkosher, it appears that keeping Simkin kosher – even though 45% of its residents aren’t even Jewish – is a “sacred cow” (pun intended.)
So, if Simkin must remain kosher – even though maintaining it as a kosher facility is only adding to its accumulated deficit situation – which currently stands at $779,426 as of March 31, 2025,I wondered whether there were some other ways Simkin could address its deficit while still remaining kosher.
In response to my asking her how Simkin proposes to deal with its deficit situation, Laurie Cerqueti wrote: “There are other homes in worse financial position than us. There are 2 homes I am aware of that are in the process of handing over the keys to the WRHA as they are no longer financially sustainable.”
I wondered though, whether the Simkin Centre Foundation, which is managed by the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba might not be able to help the Simkin Centre reduce its deficit. According to the Jewish Foundation’s 2024 annual report, The Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation, which is managed by the Jewish Foundation, had a total value of $11,017,635.
The Jewish Foundation did distribute $565,078 to the Simkin Centre in 2024, but even so, I wondered whether it might be able to distribute more.
According to John Diamond, CEO of the Jewish Foundation, however, the bylaws of the Foundation dictate that no more than 5% of the value of a particular fund be distributed in any one year. There is one distinguishing characteristic about the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation, in that a portion of their fund is “encroachable.” The encroachable capital is not owned by JFM. It is held in trust by JFM but is beneficially owned by Simkin, similar to a “bank deposit”. While held by the JFM, these funds are included in the calculation of Simkin’s annual distribution.
I asked John Diamond whether any consideration had been given to increasing the distribution that the Jewish Foundation could make to the Simkin Centre above the 5% limit that would normally apply to a particular fund under the Foundation’s management.
Here is what John wrote in response: “The Simkin does have an encroachable fund. That means that at their request, they can encroach on the capital of that fund only (with restrictions). This encroachment is not an increased distribution; rather, it represents a return of capital that also negatively affects the endowment’s future distributions.
”It is strongly recommended that encroachable funds not be used for operating expenses. If you encroach and spend the capital, the organization will receive fewer distribution dollars in the next year and every year as the capital base erodes. Therefore, the intent of encroachable funds is for capital projects, not recurring expenses.”
I asked Laurie Cerqueti whether there might be some consideration given to asking for an “encroachment” into the capital within the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation?
She responded: “We are not in a position where we are needing to dip into the encroachable part of our endowment fund. Both of our Boards (the Simkin Centre board and the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation board) are aware of our financial situation and we are all working together to move forward in a sustainable way.”
At the same time though, I wondered where donations to the Simkin Centre end up? Do they all end up in the Simkin Centre Foundation, for instance, I asked Laurie Cerqueti on December 15.
Her response back then was: “All donations go through our Foundation.”
I was somewhat surprised to read that answer, so I asked a follow-up question for clarification: “Do all donations made to the Simkin Centre end up in the Simkin Centre Foundation at the Jewish Foundation?”
The response this time was: “No they do not.”
So, I asked: “So, how do you decide which donations end up at the Foundation? Is there a formula?”
Laurie’s response was: “We have a mechanism in place for this and it is an internal matter.”
Finally, I asked how then, the Simkin Centre was financing its accumulated deficit? Was it through a “line of credit with a bank?” I wondered.
To date, I have yet to receive a response to that question. I admit that I am puzzled that a personal care home which has a sizeable foundation supporting it would not want to dip into the capital of that foundation when it is facing a financial predicament. Yes, I can see wanting the value of the foundation to grow – but that’s for the future. I don’t know whether I’d call a $779,425 deficit a crisis; that’s for others to determine, but it seems pretty serious to me.
One area that I didn’t even touch upon in this article, though – and it’s something I’ve written about time and time again, is the quality of the food at the Simkin Centre.
To end this, I’ll refer to a quote Laurie Cerqueti gave to John Longhurst when he wrote his article about the problems personal care homes in Winnipeg are facing: “When it comes to her food budget, ‘we can’t keep making the same number of bricks with less straw.’ “
Local News
Exclusive: Security Enhancement Fund to be announced by Province in coming days
By NOAH STRAUSS The province is set to announce a new program called the Security Enhancement Fund, which
will provide funding to religious and faith groups to improve security at institutions such as
synagogues and mosques. In an exclusive interview, Minister of Justice Matt Wiebe outlined the
plan and detailed what the province has already done to help protect Jewish Manitobans.
“What we want to do is to be able to provide the community with the kind of tools that they need
to stay safe and to ensure that everyone in the community feels safe,” said Wiebe.
The fund will provide a missing link between government and religious communities, and
communities will now be able to make their own choices without money being a big restraint.
Essentially, the power will be in the hands of community leaders and not government officials.
The minister noted that the new partnerships will provide the province a better understanding of
the needs of every community. Rather than the province making the choices, they are
essentially giving a voice to each community. The grants, totalling $1 million, will provide funds to enhance security at facilities like synagogues.
The Jewish Post reached out to Dr. Rena Secter Elbaze, executive director of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. “It’s important that the government show us that they’re taking security seriously and stepping up to the plate to make this offer. We will absolutely be applying for grant money,” she said. Elbaze also wants to know whether or not the government will cover the costs of things the synagogue has already spent money on. She noted that the province has, in the past, made grants available to have security guards present.
When speaking about what the Justice Ministry has already done to protect Jewish Manitobans,
Wiebe brought up the new special prosecutor that is focusing on hate crimes. Wiebe said the
special prosecutor works closely with the Winnipeg Police Service “to support investigations and
prosecute hate crimes. Wiebe also went on to say how the Department of Education has been helping to fight antisemitism. “The creation of the Holocaust education curriculum is an important step in the right direction,” he said. When asked about Oliver Didtger Ederhof, the individual charged with 14 counts of mischief including vandalism of Shaarey Zedek, Wiebe said decisions like bail and police undertakings are decisions that are in part made by the federal government through the criminal code and policies. “We’re going to continue to advocate for stricter bail reform at the federal level…. I’ve been very clear, we issued clarified directives around bail to our Crown prosecutors.”
The full announcement from the province is expected in the coming days.
Local News
March of the Living 2023 participants form Taste of Hope project to help honour the memory of Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman
By BERNIE BELLAN The March of the Living is an annual two-week international educational program that brings thousands of students and adults to Poland and Israel to study the Holocaust, Jewish history, and the rise of the State of Israel. Founded in 1988, it features a 3-kilometer silent walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
Attendees on the march are accompanied by adults, some of whom themselves have been Holocaust survivors.
Following the week in Poland, participants travel to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day), marking a journey from darkness to life.
For many years the coordinator of the march in Winnipeg was Roberta Malam, working on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. More recently Abby Flackman filled that role, and now the person in charge is Lindsey Kerr.
Since its inception 37 years ago the March of the Living has become a rite of passage for many young Winnipeg Jews who have been able to participate as an organized group from Winnipeg and combine visits to the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland with the subsequent trip to Israel.
Then – the Covid pandemic hit – in 2020, and the March of the Living was put on hold for two years – in 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, the March of the Living resumed, but there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg participating. (There may have been some Winnipeggers who did go on the march that year, but if there were any they would have been part of a general Canadian group since there was no Winnipeg coordinator that year.)
In 2023, however, once again a very large contingent of young Canadian Jews – 51 altogether, of whom approximately two-thirds were from Winnipeg, went on that year’s March of the Living. That particular march was memorable for many reasons, including the fact it was the last full march since 2019 and was to remain the last march to have an organized Winnipeg contingent in the past six years as the years 2024 and 2025 were interrupted by the war in Gaza. (There were smaller marches held in 2024 and 2025, but again there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg.)
Recently, we were contacted by one of the participants of that 2023 march, Ethan Levene, who asked us whether we’d be interested in running what turned out be a very poignant story about one particular aspect of that 2023 March of the Living.
Here is what Ethan wrote:
“In April 2023, the Coast to Coast Canadian delegation of March of the Living was privileged to travel with Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman (z”l). March of the Living is a Holocaust education trip that allows participants to visit and bear witness to the sites of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, while sharing his story in Poland, Alex passed away. However, the impact he left on us students was immeasurable.
“While speaking to us in Warsaw, Alex told us the story of his Aunt Becky’s gâteau à l’orange (orange cake). While in Ravensbruck concentration camp, his aunt managed to write down this recipe. After his parents’ murder, his Aunt Becky went on to raise Alex after surviving. In addition to sharing his story, Alex tasked us with baking the cake with family and friends.
“Out of this, a group of alumni from our trip have created this project: ‘A Taste of Hope.’ On February 1st, university students from over 5 universities across Canada will come together to bake the gâteau à l’orange and hear Alex’s story. Proceeds from the event and this fundraising page will support the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants. Alex was heavily involved with this organization, whose mission is to both create community for Holocaust survivors and their descendants and educate about the Holocaust to help fight against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry and hate.
“Here is information from our fundraising page for the event – ‘A Taste of Hope’: Fundraising for A Taste of Hope.
Ethan added that “it’s completely student led, all by alumni from our 2023 trip attending university at these various locations across Canada; Winnipeg, London, Kingston, Montreal.”
He also added: “Follow us on instagram@tastehope.“
Here is a link to a CBC story about Alex Buckman: Alex Buckman story
In a subsequent email Ethan gave the names of Winnipeggers who are involved in A Taste of Hope: Ethan Levene (studies at McGill), Zahra Slutchuk, Alex Stoller (studies at Queens), Coby Samphir, Izzy Silver (studies at Waterloo).
He also added names of others who are involved in the project: Jessie Ages, Anneke Goodwin, Lilah Silver, Ella Pertman, Ellie Vogel, and Talia Cherun.
To find out more about March of the Living in Winnipeg go to: March of the Living