Local News
Mystery of why $725,000 donation to the Simkin Centre was made is likely solved
By BERNIE BELLAN
Readers of this website may recall our story posted a couple weeks ago in which we told about a $725,000 donation that was given to the Simkin Centre by something called the Myer and Corrine Geller Trust.
The donation – which was actually made out to the Sharon Home, was in the form of a $575,000 US cheque. It arrived in August of this year. The only information that the Simkin Centre had about the source of the cheque was that Myer Geller had graduated from St. John’s Tech in 1943, that he went to MIT, became a physicist, and that he was granted several patents.
With that scant information – and with the help of several other individuals, including several readers of this paper, especially Ed Feuer, and someone by the name of Christian Cassidy who read my story about the Gellers on our website and who went to extraordinary lengths to piece together the Geller family history on a blog known as “West End Dumplings”, we were able to amass quite a few details about Myer Geller and his family. Eventually we were led to the conclusion that Myer Geller’s mother, Sarah, must have been a resident of the Sharon Home until her death in 1984.
Based on information available on a variety of websites, including the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s archives, Ancestry.ca, Truthfinder.com, Newspaper-archive.ca, and in the Winnipeg Henderson Directory of 1965, along with the St. John’s yearbook of 1943 (that was loaned to us by a reader who had it in his possession, but asked us not to reveal his name), along with information provided by Christian Cassidy, here is what we found:
Myer Geller was born in 1926 (which we reported in the Oct. 28 issue). His parents were Max and Sarah. Max Geller was born in 1887 and died in 1966. Sarah Geller (whose maiden name was Feldman) was born in 1893 and died in 1984. The Gellers were married in 1916 in Winnipeg.
The following is taken from Christian Cassidy’s blog, the “Western Dumpling”: “The earliest mention I can find of the Geller family comes in the 1921 Census of Canada. It shows Max Geller, 30, wife Sarah, 24, and eldest child, Rose, 3, renting a room at 689 Selkirk Avenue, the home of the Peck family.
“The census taker noted that the parents were Jewish and had emigrated from Russia, Sarah in 1912 and Max in 1913. Rose was born in Manitoba ca. 1918.
“Max’s profession is listed as a merchant of produce and eggs.”
The blog also noted that Frances Geller was born in 1922.
At the time that Myer Geller would have gone to St. John’s Tech the Geller family lived at 284 Bannerman Avenue.
Again, according to Christian Cassidy, “Max Geller’s entry in the 1942 Henderson Directory lists him as a travelling salesman. From 1943 to 1945, he is a produce manager. No place of work is ever given.
“In 1946, Max gets into the fur industry as an employee of Elias Reich and Co. fur manufactures located on the 6th floor of the Jacob Crowley Building. He worked there and for its successor, J. H. Hecht, until 1948.
“In 1949 and 1950, Max’s occupation is listed as a “tracker” – no explanation of the job title or a place of work was given.”
Both Rose and Frances Geller married and lived in Toronto. Rose married someone named Louis Lieberman, while Frances married someone named Edward Jordan. We were not able to find any further references to either of the sisters once they left Winnipeg, although we did confirm that Louis Lieberman has died.
We did learn though that Myer Geller did have an illustrious career. Following his graduation from St. John’s Tech, he went to the University of Manitoba, then the University of Minnesota, where he obtained a master’s degree in physics. Evidently he returned to Manitoba for at least a short while because we were able to learn that he crossed into the United States in 1949, became an American citizen in 1950, then went to MIT from 1951-55, from where he obtained his PhD in physics.
Myer Geller married Corrine Taper in 1954 in New York. The Gellers lived at various times in New York, Pennsylvania, and finally California. As we also noted in our Oct. 28 story, Myer Geller’s name was associated with 15 different patents.
We learned that for at least a period of his life Myer Geller worked for a branch of the US Navy known as NOSC (Naval Operations Support Centre). With the help of a genealogist friend of former Winnipeggers Carol and Chuck Faiman we also learned this about Myer Geller: “in 1960 or 1961 he moved from a job at Hughes Products to be a senior scientist at the Solid State Division of Electro-Optical Systems in Pasadena, CA.”
In 1966 the Gellers moved to San Diego, which is where they lived until they both died, Myer in 2016, and Corrine in 2019. They did not have any children.
Here is the final information we were able to learn about Myer Geller’s parents:
Max and Sarah Geller eventually moved to a small apartment at 206 Perth Avenue, although whether they lived somewhere else after Bannerman is not clear. The 1965 Henderson Directory lists his occupation as a parking lot attendant. Max died in 1966 in St. Boniface Hospital.
Now, at this point what I’m writing is pure speculation: Sarah Geller likely remained in Winnipeg. When she died in 1984 she was buried in Rosh Pina Cemetery alongside her husband. Her children all lived in different cities – a situation which is quite familiar to so many of us. We cannot absolutely confirm that Mrs. Geller remained in Winnipeg, but here is what we speculate: A woman who would have been 73 when her husband died, and with no visible means of support, living in a very modest apartment, would likely have been dependent upon her children for support.
And where did individuals in that position usually end up? The evidence would seem to point to the Sharon Home, at 146 Magnus Avenue. Here we have an elderly widow with at least one of her children earning what must have been a very good income. (The Myer and Corrine Geller Trust eventually donated over $7 million Cdn, altogether, of which the donation to the Sharon Home/Simkin Centre was only 11% of the total amount donated.)
The likelihood is that Sarah Geller ended her days at the Sharon Home; hence the huge donation made to the Sharon Home.
Although we are told that the Simkin Centre did do a search in order to try to determine the basis for the donation they received from the Geller Trust, until now there would have been very scant information upon which an investigation could have proceeded.
We are not certain whether it will be possible to find records that would prove Sarah Geller was a resident there, but according to Shelly Faintuch, daughter of the late Dr. Henry Faintuch, who was executive director of the Sharon Home for many years, her father kept meticulous records of all residents in the home. If those records still exist, they should answer the question whether Sarah Geller did indeed live in the Sharon Home. In the meantime though, we are told the Simkin Centre is preoccupied with other matters, i.e., dealing with the COVID pandemic, and so it is quite understandable that any search for records that might show that Sarah Geller lived at the Sharon Home will have to be put off until the emergency situation has abated.
By no means do we want to indicate that the mystery is conclusively solved; we merely want to show that the trail of evidence which has emerged has led in a direction that could reasonably lead one to conclude why Myer Geller would have wanted to make such a large donation to the Sharon Home.
Local News
Richard Morantz and Sheree Walder contribute $1 million to ongoing Shaarey Zedek Synagogue Capital Campaign
By MYRON LOVE “We really welcome the decision of Richard Morantz and Sheree Walder to donate $1-million to our ongoing capital campaign,” said Rena Secter Elbaze, the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue’s executive director, on October 9. “They and their families have a long history of supporting our community organizations and the State of Israel. Their contribution to the Shaarey Zedek is inspirational.”
The husband and wife team officially presented the cheque to Elbaze at a brief ceremony at the synagogue the morning of October 9, in the newly renamed Richard Morantz and Sheree Walder Auditorium.
In their remarks, both Morantz, the president and CEO of Globe Property Management, and Walder, a lawyer who is a former partner in the law firm Myers LLP, spoke of their long family connection to the Shaarey Zedek. “My mother’s family were Jewish pioneers in Winnipeg,” Walder noted. “My great-grandfather, Samuel Cohen, for whom I am named, was an original member of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. I started coming here with my own grandfather, Sidney Cohen, when I was about two years old. I remember exactly which pew we sat in and how my grandfather helped me to follow along in the siddur during services. Shaarey Zedek has always been a place of great comfort for me.”
Morantz added that his own bar mitzvah took place at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on April 29, 1972. “I learned my maftir from the legendary Rabbi Berkal,” he recalled. “We continued to celebrate here with our own children’s bar and bat mitzvahs. I am very grateful that we got to watch our own children shine on the bimah.”
It was the Hamas-led assault on Israel and subsequent tsunami of antisemitism worldwide that prompted the couple to consider stepping up and contributing to the Shaaray Zedek campaign in such a magnanimous way.
“I have never been a religious person,” Morantz remarked. “While I may be more secular, I strongly believe in the traditions of Judaism. I had a charmed upbringing in the 60s and 70s in River Heights. It is not the case that I experienced no antisemitism, but those experiences were very minimal. Post-October 7th, I found myself, for the first time in my life, having to judge every situation and every person I came across before divulging the fact that I am Jewish or discussing Israel. I came to the realization, during the process of considering this donation, that a primary driver for us is that this synagogue is a safe place for Jews, where we can comfortably be ourselves.”
Walder pointed out that while her mother’s large family were Jewish pioneers, her father was a Romanian Holocaust survivor, with almost no family after the war. “Family matters a great deal to us,” she said. “In addition to strongly agreeing with Richard that the tragedy of October 7th and continuing and growing anti Semitism are big drivers for us in making this donation, we also want to see Shaarey Zedek be a safe and special part of the lives of our now adult children and the generations that will follow them. It is very fulfilling to us that we are contributing to making that happen.”
Walder further credits the encouragement of her old friend and law school classmate, Neil Duboff, for helping to clinch the decision for her and her husband to make the donation. “Neil has worked so hard for the synagogue and our community for so many years and we applaud his efforts and commitment,” she noted.
(Duboff is a past president of the Shaarey Zedek and chaired the capital campaign.)
Walder also mentioned the support of Gail Asper in making the decision. “I met Gail on our first day of law school in 1981,” she recalled, “and we have been very close ever since. While we can all agree that Gail certainly knows how to talk, she also really knows how to listen. Through all of our discussions with her about making this donation, she listened hard, she came up with solid answers, and she was instrumental in leading us to the decision to donate. Shaarey Zedek is extremely lucky to have such a talented fundraiser.”
“We have to make special mention of Rena Secter Elbaze,” Morantz noted. “Rena literally blew me away when I met her for a tour of the synagogue. Her passion and knowledge are remarkable. We believe that our synagogue is in great hands and we feel much comfort and confidence making this donation.
“We are very proud of the recent renovations and upgrades to the synagogue,” he added. “This place is absolutely beautiful. We also feel privileged to have met with Rabbi Carnie Rose. We know he will be a great asset to the synagogue and all of its members for a long time to come.
“We are so honoured to be here with you today and to feel that we are making a difference to this special place”.
He concluded his remarks with an observation by Elie Wiesel that “a synagogue is a house of memory as well as a house of prayer. It reminds us of who we are and where we come from.”
Local News
Winnipegger Charlotte Kittner traces ancestry back to the Jewish expulsion from Spain
By MYRON LOVE Ladino was long the spoken language of the Jews from the Iberian peninsula and North Africa just as Yiddish was the day to day language of the Jews of Eastern Europe. Charlotte Kittner is most likely the only Winnipegger – and one of the few left in the world – who still speaks Ladino.
But Ladino is just one of eight languages that Kittner, who turned 100 in August, can speak – the others being Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Turkish and English.
Charlette (Sarlota) Kittner was born in Bulgaria – in a Jewish community whose members were largely descended from the Jews who were forced out of Spain in 1492 (and Portugal a few years later) by the Spanish expulsion.
A few days after her birth, that part of Bulgaria became part of Romania. She was so small at birth, she recounts, that the doctor had little hope she would survive more than a few years. She slept in a drawer of a chiffonier lined with many layers of cotton for the first year.
The youngest of three sisters, she recalls growing up comfortably in a warm and observant community. Her father, Avram, who operated a textile factor, attended synagogue on Shabbat and all the Yom Tovim.
The family – along with all the other Jewish families in Romania, fell on hard times with the advent of World War II. Although Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany and was never occupied, members of the Romanian Iron Guard – the local equivalent of the Nazis – could be just as sadistic and murderous as their German counterparts. Although most Romanian Jews outside of Bucharest were murdered, those living in the capital city, while facing much discrimination and many restrictions – were spared internment and deportation.
Kittner notes that mother, Minduch, died in 1945 and she lost her father in 1946.
During the war Charlotte and her sister, Lisa, were assigned to a factory making linens and garments for the Nazis.
She recalls that life was tough after liberation and continued to be difficult after the coming of Communism in immediate post-war Romania.
After the war, Kittner trained as an accountant and found work with a large manufacturer. That is where she met her husband, Mike (Misu) Kittner. They were married in Bucharest in November,1952.
Kittner’s sisters, Suzanna and Lisa, both made aliyah after the war. Charlotte and Mike followed in 1964. They lived in Israel for three years. Charlotte quickly learned Hebrew and found work as an accountant.
But life in Israel was difficult economically in those days. Mike’s brothers, Fred and Serge, had previously settled in Winnipeg and encouraged Mike and Charlotte to join them. They did – in May 1967.
The next year, Chralotte’s sister Lisa and husband, Nick, also moved to Winnipeg.
Their other sister, Suzanna, and her husband, Selu, a well known painter, remained in Israel.
Over the years, Kittner has visited Israel – where she has numerous nephews, nieces and cousins – as well as having taken trips back to Romania and to other European countries.
Once in Winnipeg, she and Mike quickly found work in the garment industry. She was first hired as a bookkeeper by Stall and Son. After a short time she moved over to Silpit Industries, where she served as chief accountant for many years. Kittner has favourable memories of her boss, the late community leader Harry Silverberg. She later worked for another Silverberg firm, Brown and Rutherford, a lumber processing operation.
Mike only worked in the garment industry for a short time. He found his niche in insurance sales – where he excelled. He also founded Broadway Agencies and became a booking agent for budding new performing artists in Europe whom he brought to Winnipeg to appear in popular local night clubs.
Mike and Charlotte’s nephew, Brad Kittner, recalls as a youngster going with his
parents, aunts and uncles to those clubs and watching what he describes as “these fabulous singers.” He says that they inspired him to pursue his own successful career as a karaoke singer and performer for hire.
Charlotte and Mike first lived in East Kildonan for a year, then moved to Partridge Avenue in West Kildonan. A few years later, they bought a new house on Drimes Place, north of Templeton, in northwest Winnipeg.
While Mike Kittner passed away in 1991, Charlotte continued to work into her 70s.
Through the years, she has led a busy social life with family and friends. As Brad Kittner notes, even at 100, “Aunt Charlotte continues hosting friends and family for full course meals and gatherings at her place.”
Charlotte celebrated her hundredth birthday with more than 20 relatives and friends at the Ichiban Restaurant.
Although hard of hearing and somewhat frail of body, her mind remains relatively clear. She still enjoys reading fiction, doing crosswords and looking forward to her weekly card games with her sister-in-law, Sylvia, who also lives at Chateau West on Jefferson, and other friends.
May she live to 120!
Local News
Over 2000 supporters turned out for walk for Israel despite overcast skies, rain
By MYRON LOVE October 5 started out overcast and rainy. The rain – which fortunately stopped just before the Walk for Israel began – didn’t prevent over 2,000 supporters of Israel – both members of our Jewish community and those from outside of our community from turning out for the second annual Walk for Israel commemorating the horrific events of October 7 – two years ago – the darkest day in post-Holocaust Jewish history
As with last year, the 45-minute walk began and ended at the Asper Campus. While last year the walk was followed by speeches from community leaders and various politicians, this year the only speaker was Paula Parks, President of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, who pointed out that the ongoing anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations- post October 7- have strengthened the bonds within our community and spurred more people to affiliate with our communal organizations. She further noted that more of us are speaking out and we need to continue to do that.
“The number of people who participated was inspirational,” says Gustavo Zentner, the representative for Manitoba and Saskatchewan for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “We had numerous allies as well as members of our Jewish community. We had people from all walks of life.”
“We had a fantastic turnout,” added Jeff Lieberman, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s CEO. “Paula spoke very well. Her comments were meaningful.”
He expressed his hope that the hostages would be released very soon, the war would be ended, and Israelis can finally live in peace.
The commemoration’s focus this year was primarily on visual images rather than words. The walk featured a number of photos taken by local members of the Winnipeg Jewish community who visited the Nova site in person or attended the Nova exhibit that travelled to various parts of Canada and the United States. The photos were displayed for the day along the fence on Doncaster Avenue – the first stage of the walk. Participants were handed Israeli flags and kalaniot (red anemones) flowers, the official flower of Israel, and were encouraged to place them around the photos on the fence.
As well, as part of the October 7 commemoration, 33 paintings depicting some of those taken hostage on October 7 were put on display along Main Street of the Campus from the week of October 3-October 10. The paintings were the work of well-known Israeli illustrator, cartoonist, humourist, performance artist and political activist, Zeev Engelmayer.
The walk on October 5 concluded with Israeli shimshinim – Israeli youth representatives here in Winnipeg from Israel – and other young people from our community reciting a prayer for the hostages (who were finally freed last week), and members of the IDF, followed by the singing of “O Canada” and “Hatikvah.”