B'nai Brith
In 1932, the St. Catharines Jewish community established a B’nai Brith lodge. It was referred to as the Lord Melchett (1153rd) Lodge. The first president was A.J. Victor. During the 1930s, the men met on the first and third Monday of each month in the vestry room of the synagogue. The organization tried to uphold the ideals of “brotherhood,” “benevolence” and “brotherly love and harmony.” Some of the activities that they initiated included an annual general meeting, smokers, stags, speaking engagements, an annual picnic in July, as well as fundraising drives to support the Jewish National Fund and the United Palestine Appeal. The Canadian Conference for B’nai Brith took place on 6 November 1939 at the Leonard Hotel in St. Catharines, which was owned by the Kamin family. The members of this lodge contributed their time and efforts to make that event a great success.
On 6 December 1937, a group of about 20 women met at Mrs. S. Goodman’s home and formed a women’s chapter of the lodge. Mrs. E. Binder was elected its first president. By the early 1950s, the women’s chapter boasted 82 members. Adele Slepkov Tomarin, an active member of the local chapter of B’nai Brith, served as founding president of District 22, which united all of the Eastern Canadian chapters under a uniquely Canadian leadership. The chapters worked to support organizations and causes such as the Red Cross, Cancer Fund, Hospital Aid, the local Federation and the Salvation Army. They also funded institutes in Israel such as the B’nai Brith Children’s Home, Hebrew University, libraries, hospitals and other causes. Like the Sisterhood, they also contributed $10,000 toward the new Jewish Centre in 1944.
Another B’nai Brith lodge that served St. Catharines was called the Niagara District Lodge. It was composed of members from St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls and Port Colborne. In 1944, the community supported the creation of a second lodge for the three communities known as the Jacob Goldblatt Lodge. Dr. Hyman O. Singer, a relatively new resident of Welland, became the first member of the Lodge. He served as president from 1949 to 1950. Some of the community members remained involved in this lodge for some time, such as Harry Carrel, who was on the executive for many years.
