Involvement in Community and Political Life
Members of the Jewish community served or contributed to the broader community in a myriad of way. Abraham Newman was the first Jewish alderman in St. Catharines, serving during the 1920s. Bernie Cooperman also served as an alderman as well as a member of the City Planning Board and the board of the General Hospital. He also was the chair of the local library board and served as the chair for the building committee for the new Centennial Library. In turn, Harold Nash served as a City Alderman during the 1970s. Finally, Elaine Herzog was a member of the Lincoln Board of Education as well as the Regional Council.
Many of the local businessmen were involved in municipal affairs as well. For instance, R.J. Hoffman, M. Levee and J. Cooperman were the first Jews to become members of the Board of Trade. Max Kaminsky, a local hotel executive who married into the Kamin family who owned two local hotels, served as a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
One individual who became widely known within the community and had a very high profile and the moniker “Mr. St. Catharines” was Archie Katzman. He was a successful local businessman, a political fundraiser for the provincial Conservative party and the General Manager of the St. Catharines Club. Katzman was appointed to the Niagara Parks Commission in 1971 and served in that capacity for several decades. His service to the city was recognized in a variety of ways. In 1989, he was granted the Community Service Award. Subsequently, Katzman was given an honorary doctorate degree from Brock University in 1993. In 2006, Katzman was awarded the prestigious Niagara Entrepreneur Community Contribution Award and was named the first local recipient of the Canadian Red Cross Power of Humanity Award. In 2007, Katzman was named Honorary Co-Chair of the Niagara Health System capital campaign to build the city’s new hospital and regional Walker Family Cancer Centre.
Another local citizen who was publicly recognized for his contribution to the city was Bernie Cooperman. He was given the Ontario Centennial Medal and in 1985 and was awarded the Senior Citizen of the Year Award.
