Greenwich Library Oral History Project interviews used by the Greenwich Historical Society for its exhibition

An American Odyssey: The Jewish Experience in Greenwich

November 15, 2017 – April 15, 2018

Greenwich Historical Society

The Favorite Shoe Store, started by I. J. Weiss in 1906. 
Photo taken 1915, courtesy of Ricky Weiss Arcade and Joe Arcade.

We at the Greenwich Library Oral History Project are pleased to announce our part in providing oral history interviews from our collection in conjunction with the Greenwich Historical Society’s latest exhibition, An American Odyssey: The Jewish Experience in Greenwich.

The exhibition, which will run November 15, 2017 – April 15, 2018, explores the history of the Jewish community in Greenwich, focusing on family living and working experiences in the town for more than a century. It includes Oral History Project transcript excerpts and audio clips of narrators’ voices.

Below is a partial list of the interviews from the Greenwich Library Oral History Project’s collection that helped to shape the exhibition’s exploration of the Jewish experience in Greenwich:

Eskowetz, Jennie, Jewish Community in Greenwich and Childhood Memories.

Detail from early Clam Box Menu, 
OHP archives

Gross, Arthur, The Clam Box.

Kletz, Marie, The Jewish Community of Greenwich.

Levine, Jennie M., Early Life in Greenwich, Establishment of Marks Bros. Stationary Store, and the Jewish Community of Greenwich.

Resnick, David, Life in the Fourth Ward.

Schacter, Edward, Richards and Greenwich Avenue.

Silverman, Rabbi Hillel E., Temple Sholom/Jews in Greenwich.

Steinberg, Sayde Cohen, Mayer H. Cohen and Cohen Brothers.

Tuchman, Barbara, Growing Up in Cos Cob.

Photo of Jennie Marks Levine,

 OHP archives

In all, twenty Greenwich Library Oral History Project interviews were consulted by the Greenwich Historical Society for its exhibition.

Anyone interested in reading these interviews may do so by visiting the Greenwich Library Oral History Project office located on the lower level of the library. Copies of the interviews are available for purchase and can be requested by phone by calling 203-622-7945 or online by emailing ohistory@greenwichlibrary.org. The interviews can be read in the Greenwich Library reference area located on the first floor. All the interviews will also be listed on the Oral History Project kiosk on the first floor near the non-fiction collection.

An American Odyssey: The Jewish Experience in Greenwich will be curated by Dr. Ann Meyerson, a nationally recognized independent museum curator who most recently co-curated The First Jewish Americans: Freedom and Culture in the New World (October 28, 2016 to March 12, 2017) at the New-York Historical Society.

The address for the Greenwich Historical Society is 39 Strickland Road Cos Cob, CT 06807. The phone number is 203/869-6899, and the website is www.greenwichhistory.org. The Greenwich Historical Society is open March-December, Wednesday—Sunday, noon—4 p.m. January—February, Saturday—Sunday, noon—4 p.m. Adults: $10, seniors $8, children under 18 free. Free first Wednesday of each month.