Historic Happenings Blog

Wednesday, October 23 and Tuesday, October 29 -- Middlesex County The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series , presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Dr. Marcia Midler,  entitled  "Gertrude Berg: Broadcasting Pioneer/Creator of Molly Goldberg; the Original Jewish Mother."   Gertrude Berg, “Molly” of "The Goldbergs" (per the NY Times obituary) was the creative force behind a "Goldbergs" media empire spanning over 30 years. As Molly, she was the Oprah of her day, welcomed into the homes of millions.  "The First Lady of Radio," she was the second-most admired woman in the country. (The first was Eleanor Roosevelt, the actual First Lady.) She raised millions of dollars selling war bonds, and writing scripts supporting the war effort. Join us on to learn why the most famous female writer/performer and beloved media character of their time remains largely unknown ...

Tuesday, September 10 and Wednesday, September 18 – Middlesex County SEPTEMBER LECTURE ENTITLED: "HOW NJ JEWS STARTED THE AMERICAN GUIDE DOG REVOLUTION. WITH A LIVE DEMONSTRATION!" 9/10/19 AND 9/18/19. The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series , presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Fred Kaimann,  entitled " How NJ Jews Started the American Guide Dog Revolution. With a Live Demonstration!" A hundred years ago one of Man's Best Friends became a blind man's eyes when he led him across busy Broadway and became America's first service dog.  Hear the story of how Jews were at the center of the service dog revolution which has benefited people with blindness, paralysis, diabeties, seizure disorders, mental health issues, and more.  There will be a live demonstration by Gemini, New Jersey's most famous service dog .      Frederick Kaimann has b...

Tuesday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 21 – Middlesex County     The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series , presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Jack Feinstein,  entitled " After DNA testing, I Was Contacted by Cousins with Unfamiliar Last Names. Now What?"      More and more people are having their DNA tested to identify their genealogy heritage. The speaker will explain the problems of identifying family ties with your newly found Jewish relatives.     Jack Feinstein has been active in researching his family’s genealogy for many years and has produced two videos, one documenting the lives of his maternal great- grandparents and their children (his grandmother and her 8 siblings) and another video documenting the lives of his maternal grandparents, their children and grandchildren. Jack is a member of the Ge...

Tuesday, July 9 and Wednesday, July 17 – Middlesex County     The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series, presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Barbara Michaels and Jean Klerman  entitled  "Faces of Genius: Jewish Noble Prize Laureates in Science and Medicine."      Jews number less than 0.2% of the world's population yet comprise 22% of all Nobel Prize winners. " Faces of Genius " is a PowerPoint slide show celebrating 10 of these brilliant Jewish American Nobel Laureates. The presenters are Jean Klerman and Barbara Michaels who with Jeffrey Wolf created the original show in 2014. Jean and Barbara are founding board members of the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County and have been producing programs for the Museum since its incorporation in 2006. Barbara who currently lives in Freehold Township is a retired teacher; Jean a long...

Tuesday, June 11 and Wednesday, June 19 – Middlesex County     The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series, presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Mr. Art Finkle   entitled “The Jews of Trenton ." Did you know that a thriving Jewish community lived in Trenton, NJ, between Philadelphia and New York? Beginning with a few Sephardic Jews, it's German-Jewish population in the 1850s established many of the first Jewish institutions. The Great Russian Jewish Migration (1881-1914) propelled this community to intellectual and business dominance.     The lecture will be held on  Tuesday, June 11th, at 10:00 a.m. at Jewish Family Services, 52 Concordia Shopping Center, Monroe Township.     Mr. Arthur L. Finkle, a Trentonian, an educator, and historian traces the passage of an Eternal People from a cast-about pariah t...

Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 – Middlesex County     The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series, presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, continues for its 22nd consecutive year with a presentation by  Mr. Steve Stein   entitled “Observing the 7th Commandment: Were Your Family Members Telling the Truth to the Government? And Other Inaccuracies ." Have you ever gotten conflicting information from different sources, even official government documents? Genealogical research often turns up discrepancies, faulty memories, typos, or outright lies. Learn how to recognize and assess these issues, use search strategies to overcome them, and determine which is correct (or live with it) .      The lecture will be held on  Tuesday, May 14th, at 10:00 a.m. at Jewish Family Services, 52 Concordia Shopping Center, Monroe Township.     Steve is a retired telecommunications soft...

Thursday, January 24 – Middlesex County The next Meeting of the Genealogy Club of Central Jersey (GCCJ) will be on Thursday, January 24. (PLEASE NOTE UNUSUAL DATE!), at 7:00 p.m. at Ahavas Achim Synagogue,  216 South 1st Ave., in Highland Park .  If you know persons who might be interested in attending our meetings, please feel free to invite them!! Our meetings are held on the second floor of the building. The room where we meet can be reached by stairways either at the front or rear of the main lobby on the first floor, or by an elevator near the rear (parking lot side) of the building. The meeting room is at the front (1st Avenue) end of the building. Using JRI-Poland and the Polish Archives for Genealogical Research, Elana Broch, PhD, MLIS Elana Broch is an amateur genealogist who has spent much of her research efforts trying to find out about her grandfather, Saul Lichtman, a 1941 "euthanasia" victim. Although Lichtman's birth town (Bilshivts...