The Post-War Years
As the Second World War came to an end, the Cornwall Jewish community was established and doing well. In 1946, an alternative solution for the growing need to build a social hall was found. A large hut that had been part of the wartime Cornwall Army Basic Training Centre on Marlborough Street was moved in its entirety to a location adjoining the synagogue. The community now had its social hall.
The peak of attendance at synagogue came during the mid-1950s, when there were approximately 232 members. Community members were divided in their Jewish preferences between Orthodox and Conservative, with a majority favouring the Conservative approach. A few preferred the Reform philosophy, but a Reform rabbi who served a brief stint in Cornwall in the post-war decades was not well received.
The Best Clothes in Town
Joan Horovitz Aaron reveals some of her vivid memories of the Jewish merchants on Pitt Street in downtown Cornwall.
Interview with Joan Horovitz Aaron, 1 August 2007, Sharon Gubbay Helfer. OJA, Oral History #319.
Click here to watch the video
