In Gilbert Sandler’s “Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album” (Johns Hopkins University Press), the late Miriam Greenberg Paperman recalled the joys of participating in plays and public speaking engagements at the old Jewish Educational Alliance during the first half of the 20th century.
“It was a happy time because we didn’t know we were poor,” she said. “We didn’t have skates or dolls or bicycles. Our parents would give us a choice: ‘You want a pickle or an ice cream. What?'”
Based in East Baltimore, the JEA provided Jewish immigrant adults and children with such activities as English language classes, citizenship courses, job training, athletic and social clubs, a religious school and day camp, and arts, dance and music programming.
Though now a distant and beloved memory, the JEA and its legacy live on. On Thursday, Nov. 10, the longtime leadership of the JEA Fellowship Association — Melvin “Mickey” Crystal and Jerome Sefret — along with their families and friends gathered at the Rosenbloom Owings Mills Jewish Community Center to donate the remainder of their organization’s funds to the JCC of Greater Baltimore, the Jewish Museum of Maryland and The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
Representing those organizations were JCC Chief Executive Officer Barak Hermann, Robert A. Manekin, a member of the JMM’s board of trustees, and Marc B. Terrill, president of The Associated.
A philanthropic group, the fellowship recently went out of existence after 112 years of community service and socialization programming. Approximately 30 charities and nonprofits were supported by the fellowship’s fundraising endeavors over the years.
At its zenith, the fellowship met once a month and held yearly anniversary parties honoring esteemed members of the alumni. In recent years, the group’s roster included 25 people who found it increasingly challenging to attend meetings and gatherings due to advanced age and health issues.
The fellowship evolved out of the JEA, which was founded in 1909 and originally opened its doors at 1216 E. Baltimore Street.
“The JEA reflected the maturing of the relationship between Baltimore’s two distinct Jewish communities in the decade before World War I,” wrote Eric L. Goldstein and Dr. Deborah R. Weiner in “On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore” (Johns Hopkins University Press). “In many ways, [immigrants from Eastern Europe] still relied on the acculturated Jewish establishment for aid and leadership, but they were poised to assert themselves in more significant ways as the coming war and the rise of a new generation promised to further transform Jewish life in Baltimore.”
In 1951, the JEA, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association and Camp Woodlands merged (under the guidance of the Associated Jewish Charities) and were absorbed by the JCC of Greater Baltimore.
“It was my home away from home,” Crystal told Jmore last year. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if it weren’t for the JEA. … They did a fantastic job of keeping us kids involved. We didn’t have enough time to get into trouble. I went there every day after school. The instructors were always available for us. Always.”
For information about the history of the JEA, watch this video.
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