Levine, Fanny_1972/11/1, Oral History

Subjects of interview include: Family to America, Farming, Education (Religious), Family Husband, Jewish Organizations, Hadassah, Zionism Israel, Children

GREATER HARTFORD JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION

Tape No.: 41 No. of Tapes: Name of Interviewee: Levine, Fanny Sheketoff (Mr. Harry) Date of Interview: November 1, 1972 Occupation: Bookkeeper in Hadassah and Garden Street. Synagogue Date of Birth: Circa 1890 Place of Birth: Kiev, Russia Transcript (yes/no): Yes No. of Pages: 20

Abstract: Mrs. Levine was not quite three years old when she came to America with her parents and two older brothers, Maurice and Charles. They settled in Colchester. CT, and then, with the help of the Baron de Hirsch fund, bought a farm in Hebron, CT, where her sister was born. The children were sent to relatives in different towns in order to get a Jewish education. Fanny was sent to an aunt in New York where she completed school and then took a business course at The Eastman Business School. She married in 1909 and her husband joined her father in the coal and fuel business known as the American Coal Co. They belonged first to the Worcester Street Synagogue and then to the Garden Street Synagogue which her brother, Maurice, helped to build.

Mrs. Levine was active in many Jewish organizations and was honored by Hadassah for her long years of keeping books for them by making her the first member to be a permanent board member without first being a president. She was very active in the Garden Street Synagogue, the Hartford Yeshiva, Talmud Torah, the Old Peoples Home, the Denver Hospital and also a founder of Emanuel Synagogue. She gave a good deal of information about the development, organization and accomplishments of Hadassah. She was also very active in Zionist affairs.

Subject Index: Community Activities (in the Jewish Community) Community Leadership (in the Jewish Community) Colchester, CT Hadassah Oral History Volunteer Business Synagogues Farming