Saul Sherter Greenfield Jewish Community Oral History Collection

Claire Kirschenbaum (1923-2022) was the youngest of ten children born to immigrant parents in Brooklyn, NY. She worked for several years in a store, factory, and hotel, before marrying her husband George in 1948 and moving to various places in western and upstate New York. They lived in Greenfield for five years earlier in adulthood before moving away and then returning in 1970 or ‘71. She was the mother of two children. In this interview, Kirschenbaum describes her parents' different approaches to life as immigrants in America and her father’s involvement in Socialist workers’ movements. She talks about her memories of the Great Depression, her social life in various Jewish communities from childhood to the cities and towns she lived in as an adult, and becoming more religious after she had children. She also discusses her involvement in women’s organizations at temples, including the Sisterhood and Hadassah.

Marvin Wizwer (1942-2022) was born in Holyoke, MA and raised in Greenfield. He attended Greenfield Community College and American International College, then spent his career as the owner of Philmar Furniture in Greenfield, a business that his father started. He and his wife Barbara were the parents of two daughters. In this interview, Wizwer discusses the relative lack of antisemitism he experienced growing up in Greenfield, his experiences with Hebrew school and the Greenfield Jewish community as a child, and the frequent turnover of rabbis when he was young, among other topics.

Dr. Milton M. Sisson (1907-1992) was born and raised in the greater Boston area in an observant Jewish immigrant family. He graduated from Boston Latin School, then attended Tufts University as an undergraduate, followed by Tufts Medical School. He moved to Greenfield, MA in 1934 to become a general practitioner. In this interview, he discusses going to Hebrew school as a youth, his experiences in school, service in the Army Medical Corps in World War II, and the Jewish community in Greenfield when he arrived, among other topics.

Myer Rubin (1908-1998) was born in Worcester, MA and raised in Millers Falls and Turners Falls, MA. He had to leave school at a young age to work to support his family collecting rags and paper. He married Ethel Hechler in 1933 and raised four children with her in Turners Falls. In this interview, Rubin discusses his childhood in Turners Falls, including the small Jewish community there, his role as a co-founder of the former B'rith Abraham Synagogue in Turners Falls, which was later incorporated into Temple Israel in Greenfield, his love of the area, happiness with his life, and his Jewish faith, among other topics. His wife Ethel was present during the interview and speaks in several places. In parts, voices are inaudible due to background noise and tape degradation.