Browse Items (561 total)
- Collection: Recollection Wisconsin
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Oral history interview with Marc Rosenthal
Marc Rosenthal was on the staff of Community Action on Latin America (CALA) in 1983-6 and worked tirelessly to educate people in Madison about the reality in Central America and our country’s part in the torture, violence and disappearances there. …
Oral history interview with Joe Szwaja
Joe Szwaja played a key role in mobilizing Madisonians in support of the Madison-Arcatao Sister City initiative. As a graduate student at UW, he became involved with Community Action in Latin America (CALA), ultimately joining as paid staff. He,…
Oral history interview with Jenny Beatty
In 1983, Jenny Beatty was 21 years old and coordinator of the 18 month sanctuary of “Rogelio and Maria Gonzalez” (assumed names to protect their identity) and their four children in Madison, Wisconsin. The "Gonzalez" journey for sanctuary was due to…
Oral history interview with Antonio Portillo
Antonio Portillo was 28 years old when he fled Guatemala with his wife, Estella, and their four children. In this interview, Antonio recounts the horrific story of why they were forced to leave Guatemala from one day to the next and how they found…
Photo of Rev. Arthur Lloyd and Laurie Lemel sitting behind four El Salvador refugees at St. Francis House, circa 1983
This photo accompanied a news article in the Wisconsin State Journal on May 24, 1983. It shows the group of refugees in Madison Sanctuary Site #1 at a public sanctuary event at St. Francis Student House in Madison. (l to r in back) the Reverend Art…
Photo of "Gonzalez" family, 1984
"Gonzalez" family at home in Madison in 1984.
Photo of Jenny Beatty, Antonio and Estella Portillo and Meg Skinner at a Sanctuary reunion in Madison, 2015
Jenny Beatty, Antonio and Estella Portillo and Meg Skinner at a Sanctuary reunion in Madison in 2015. Meg was the first coordinator of the Madison Sanctuary Site and continued helping with the many activities needed to support the "Gonzalez" family…
Photo of the "Gonzalez" family's public introduction to the Madison community, Feb 19, 1984
The "Gonzalez" family was publicly introduced to the Madison community at Bethany United Methodist Church on Feb 19, 1984. The entire family was masked and were going by pseudonyms to protect their identities from the US, Guatemalan and Salvadoran…
Photo of Bob Skloot, 1980
This photo is of Bob Skloot in 1980. His daughter, Sarah's hands are on his shoulders. Sarah was 6 years old at the time and Bob had been on the Theatre and Drama faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1968. He continued to teach…
Photo of Marc Rosenthal being arrested in an anti-apartheid demonstration at Madison's Capitol Square, 1983
In the early 1980s when Marc was the staff person for Community Action on Latin America (CALA), they coordinated a program that brought Victor Rubio of the FMLN/FDR together with Neo Mnumzana of the African National Congress (ANC) to speak. The…
Photo of Portillo family at retirement party for both Antonio and Estella, 2022
Portillo family at retirement party in 2022 for both Antonio and Estella
Photo of "Gonzalez" family on the grounds of St. Benedict's Monastery where they were in Sanctuary, 1984
"Gonzalez" family on the grounds of St. Benedict's Monastery where they were in Sanctuary in 1984.
Oral history interview with Sylvia Dworetzky Grunes
Sylvia Dworetzky Grunes grew up in the tight knit Jewish community in Madison's Greenbush neighborhood, with her Yiddish-speaking Russian immigrant parents. Sylvia lived with her family in several residences in the Greenbush neighborhood beginning…
Photo of Workmen’s Circle annual concert program, 1935
Cover of the 1935 program (4th ed.) for the Workmen’s Circle annual concert. At the lower edge of the cover is a Yiddish transliteration for the location of the concert: “In university theater, Bascom Hall, Madison Wis.” Prior to 1938, when the…
Photo of Monica Cliff, mask design, Madison, 2018
Monica Cliff putting details on a mask for a production of Madgascar by the Children's Theater of Madison. 2018
Photo of social painting event hosted by Inventiva works. Madison ca. 2018
Photo of participants at a social painting event hosted by Inventiva Works, an arts and arts education company in Madison, WI. ca. 2018
Photo of youth theater rehearsal, Inventiva Works, Madison, ca 2021
Photo of a rehearsal of the children's play La leyenda del tlacuache. Performers and crew are wearing face covering due to the COVID-19 epidemic. La leyenda del tlacuache is a Nahua folk tale adapted for theater by Monica Cliiff and produced by…
Digital flyer, alebrijes craft workshop, Inventiva Works, 2023
Digital flyer announcing a papier-mâché alebrije workshop for children. Alebrijes are Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. Workshop was conducted by Inventiva Works.
VR Construction, work on house foundation, Madison, ca. 2020
A builder from VR Construction works on the foundation of a house in Madison.
Oral history interview with Harvey Barash
Harvey Barash and his family lived and worked in and around the Greenbush neighborhood from 1939-1951. He was born at Madison General Hospital (now Meriter Hospital) in 1939. Interestingly, after receiving his medical degree from Albert Einstein…
Photo of Students from the Talmud Torah (Hebrew School) at the Agudas Achim Synagogue, 1948
Students from the Talmud Torah (Hebrew School) at the Agudas Achim Synagogue prepare to conduct their own junior congregation services for the high holidays and sabbath. This photo accompanied a newspaper article discussing the 1948 Jewish New Year…
The Workmen’s Circle Labor Lyceum, Madison, 1953
The Workmen’s Circle Labor Lyceum provided a community center for the immigrant Eastern European Jewish community in Madison. The Arbeiter Ring, as it was called in Yiddish (a language which combines Hebrew and German words), is a national…
Students from the Workmen’s Circle School, Madison, 1933.
Students from the Workmen’s Circle school assembled on the stage of the Labor Lyceum. At the center of the group is the school’s principal and only teacher, Philip Seigel. Students would be taught to: “read, write and speak the Yiddish language,…
Detail from the image "Students from the Workmen’s Circle school," Madison, 1933.
Students from the 1933Workmen’s Circle school assembled on the stage of the Labor Lyceum. One students is holding a poster in Yiddish.
Yiddish translation of header text: “Send your children to the Arbeiter Ring Shule” (Workmen’s Circle School)…
Yiddish translation of header text: “Send your children to the Arbeiter Ring Shule” (Workmen’s Circle School)…
Birthday party at the Labor Lyceum, Madison, 1948
Interior view of the Labor Lyceum. The doors at the rear of the hall (beneath the balcony) led to the library (center-left), front entrance (center-right) and school office (right). Translation of the Yiddish text on the library door reads: “A R…
Program for the 1935 Workmen’s Circle annual concert, Madison, 1935
List of orchestral and choir music to be performed at the 1935 Workmen’s Circle annual concert. The classical orchestra musicians were drawn from the Madison Symphony and the UW-Madison School of Music.
At the bottom of the page is a list of songs…
At the bottom of the page is a list of songs…
Evelyn Dworetsky performing in “200,000/The Big Lottery," Madison, 1939
Every year the students staged a major theatrical performance, in Yiddish. Evelyn Dworetsky (Sylvia’s older sister, left photo) performed in Shalom Aleichem’s “200,000/The Big Lottery” in 1939. Shalom Aleichem is perhaps best know for writing the …
Lawrence Weinstein and Betty (Blachman) Jacobs performing in “200,000/The Big Lottery," Madison, 1939
Every year the students staged a major theatrical performance, in Yiddish. Lawrence Weinstein and Betty (Blachman) Jacobs (photo right) performed in Shalom Aleichem’s “200,000/The Big Lottery” in 1939. Shalom Aleichem is perhaps best known for…
Estelle Sweet and Anita Roszansky performing in “Yiddish King Lear,” Madison, 1938
In 1938 the students performed the “Yiddish King Lear.” This production was not a translation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” but the title does acknowledge the play’s plot source. The play is set in Lithuania in 1890. Estelle Sweet (L) and Anita…
Sylvia Dworetsky Grunes with Workmen's Circle School program, Madison, 2023
Sylvia Dworetsky Grunes holds the program for the Workmen’s Circle School’s first annual performance in 1933. Sylvia, who was a seven-year-old student at the time of the performance, turned 97 in 2023.
Oral history interview with Sam Moss
Samuel Moss fondly recalls the Jewish community in the Greenbush neighborhood where he was born in 1938 at St. Mary’s Hospital. His Russian born grandparents moved to Madison in 1924 to open the kosher Milwaukee Bakery on S. Murray St. His extended…
Sam Moss, Madison, 2022
Sam Moss, whose grandparents Ida and Samuel Moskowsky operated the Milwaukee Bakery, displays the bell that once hung above the entry door to the family-owned shop.
Photo courtesy Daniel Einstein.
Photo courtesy Daniel Einstein.
Mary Lee Griggs and Children with Blocks, Madison, 1941
Miss Mary Lee Giggs, Neighborhood House playschool director, poses with her young charges (L-R): Catherine Oliva, Delores Caire, and Sam Moskowsky (Moss). The students posing for this image were selected to highlight the ethnic diversity of the…
Photo of Early MASCP Organizers at 25th Anniversary celebration at the Cardinal Bar, Madison (Wis.), 2011
This photo was taken at MASCP's 25th anniversary party in the spring of 2011 in Madison,WI. The guests of honor were Augustin Menjívar, head of the Junta Directiva in Arcatao at that time, and these very early supporters of MASCP: (from left to…
List of Public Presentations by the "Gonzalez" family in Madison, Wisconsin, 1984-1985
This is a partial list of the presentations that "Rogelio Gonzalez" and his wife, "Maria Gonzalez" gave in Madison from Feb 1984-July 1985. Theirs was a public rather than secret sanctuary. This meant that they were willing and eager to tell their…
Madison Common Council resolution to establish a Sister City Relationship with the town of Arcatao in El Salvador, 1986
Copy of the official Madison Common Council resolution, #42,209, naming Arcatao Madison's first sister city. The resolution was authored by Rosa Escamilla, our first Latinx council member and was passed on April 1, 1986. The “Whereas” section makes…
The Milwaukee Bakery, Madison ca 1940
The Milwaukee Bakery at 214 S. Murray Street was operated by the Moskowsky family from 1924-1952. The extended family lived in the apartment above the bakery. Each day the bakers prepared fresh breads on the wood fired hearth for sale all across the…
Agudas Achim Synagogue, Madison, ca 1940.
The Agudas Achim synagogue, founded in 1904 at 827 Mound Street, served Madison’s Jewish Orthodox community. The main floor of the worship sanctuary was reserved for men, and the women occupied the balcony area. The community Hebrew School (Talmud…
Abe Barash working at his shoe repair shop, Madison, 1944
Abe Barash (1913-1987) at work in his shoe repair shop in 1944.
Abe Barash's original shoe repair storefront, Madison, ca 1940
Abe Barash's original shoe repair storefront (right) at 1107 ½ Regent St. The adjacent barber shop space (left) was later annexed to enlarge the shoe repair operation.
Abe Barash, standing in the entrance to his repair shop, Madison, ca 1940
Abe Barash, standing in the entrance to his repair shop. View looking east on Regent Street. Dolly’s Café is currently (2023) the Hong Kong Café.
Oral History interview with Libby Schwartz
Libby Schwartz spent her youth in and around the Greenbush community. She was born in 1940 in the neighborhood’s Madison General Hospital (now Meriter Hospital), and departed Madison after graduating from the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy in 1961.…
Interior view of Schwartz Pharmacy, Madison, ca 1930.
Interior view of Schwartz Pharmacy, around the time it opened in 1930.. Pictured left to right: Sam Schwartz (owner), Dr. A.E. Kuehn (physician), Ann McCorquodale (nurse), Rose Schwartz (spouse to Sam), and Norman Lempert (store clerk and stepbrother…
Sam Schwartz (right) and Alex Swartz (left) sort through mail sent to the pharmacy by soldiers serving during WWII, Madison, ca. 1943.
Sam Schwartz (right) and Alex Swartz (left) sort through mail sent to the pharmacy by soldiers serving during WWII. The letters and postcards were then shared with the community who would stop by the store to learn first-hand news from the…
Sam Schwartz at his pharmacy, 902 Mound St, Madison, 1952
Sam Schwartz inside his pharmacy at 902 Mound St. in 1952. In addition to dispensing drugs the store sold a wide variety of goods, including clocks and cosmetics, as can be seen on the display shelves.
Libby Schwartz (front row far right) , with members of the women’s professional pharmacy fraternity, Kappa Epsilon at UW-Madison in 1960.
Libby Schwartz (front row far right) , with members of the women’s professional pharmacy fraternity, Kappa Epsilon at UW-Madison in 1960.. Although this organization had all female members, it is officially known as a fraternity. Libby graduated from…
The Schwartz Pharmacy at the corner of South Park and Mound streets, Madison, ca 1960
The Schwartz Pharmacy at the corner of South Park and Mound streets, around 1960, a few years before demolition as part of the urban renewal project. An addition to Meriter Hospital now occupies this site.
Sam Schwartz (center with shovel) participates in groundbreaking ceremony for a new medical center building at 20 S. Park Street, Madison 1965.
Sam Schwartz (center with shovel) participates in groundbreaking ceremony for a new medical center building at 20 S. Park Street. Although the Schwartz Pharmacy was demolished as part of the Triangle Redevelopment Project, he was able to re-locate…
Marc Rosenthal, near the town of Arcatao in Chalatenango, El Salvador, 2017
Marc Rosenthal near Arcatao in Chalatenango, El Salvador in January of 2017
Billy Feitlinger, Madison, 1982
Billy Feitlinger represented Madison's 6th district as an alder in the 1980s. He serve as council president in 1986, when the Common Council voted to formalize a sister city relationship with the town of Arcatao in Chalatenango, El Salvador
Billy Feitlinger, Madison, 2023
Billy Feitlinger has worked for social and economic justice for all throughout his adult life and he served Madison, Dane County and the State of Wisconsin in many ways over his long career in public service. He co-founded Common Wealth Development…
Joe Szwaja campaign brochure cover, Madison, 1986
Joe Szwaja was elected to the City Council in a special election in 1986, and ran for reelection in April of 1987. While on the City Council, he continued his support of the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project in new ways
Joe Szwaja, Seattle (Wash), 2022
Joe Szwaja’s experience with the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project in the 1980s has continued to have an influence on his life. For example, in Seattle, where he now lives, he helped to form a kind of grassroots sistering affiliation with Nuevo…
Joe Szwaja and Carmen Cruz, Madison, ca 1986
Detail from Joe Szwaja's (left) campaign literature. Carmen Cruz (right), lived in Szwaja's district and was one of the people who was concerned about Arcato. Cruz worked hard with other activists to contact the US government and convince others to…
VR Construction, work on roof structure, Madison, ca. 2020
Two builders from VR Construction work on the joists of a house in Madison,
Victor Rojas working on an attic, Madison, winter ca 2020.
Victor Rojas, from VR Construction, snaps a selfie on a cold day in Madison, while working on an attic.
VR Construction, work on the inside of an attic, Madison, ca 2020
A builder from VR Construction works on the internal structure of attic in Madison.
VR Construction vehicle in front of construction site, Madison, ca. 2020
A pick-up and trailer from VR Construction, parked in front of a construction site in Madison.
VR Construction, work on house exterior with a cherry picker, Madison, ca 2020
A builder from VR Construction, stands on a cherry pickers, while he works on the second story exterior of a house in Madison.
Detail of a construction site, Madison, ca 2020
Detail from a construction site in Madison, showing parts of the unfinished foundation and the first floor of the home.
Construction site, VR Construction, Madison, ca 2020
View of a construction site, where a home is being built by VR construction, with a cherry picker construction vehicle and a portable toiled in the foreground.