The 1940s
In 1944 a mass meeting was held in the synagogue to discuss the construction of a Jewish Centre. Saul Granek and Abe Herzog were elected Chair and Vice- Chair of the Building Committee respectively. They held a donor dinner in order to raise funds and had Rabbi J.L. Fink come in from Buffalo to serve as a guest speaker. The Sisterhood and Lord Melchett Lodge of B’nai Brith pledged their support in the amount of $10,000 for the initiative.
The Building Committee acquired property on Church Street next to the synagogue. A plan for the building was submitted by the National Jewish Welfare Board of New York and was accepted.
The congregation adopted a constitution in 1945. The synagogue remained affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Mixed seating emerged during the later years of the decade, as the shul began to adopt a more Conservative approach to its services. However, Orthodox rabbis continued to serve the synagogue for years to come. Membership at this time was around 134 individuals.
