Jane V. Fischman Papers

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0200-0002

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The scrapbook and associated separated loose papers of Jane Vogel Fischman offer an understanding of teen Jewish culture through materials created for Jewish youth and made by Jewish youth including bar mitzvah invitations, religious school materials and several teen Jewish organizations. To maintain original and relational order, labeled slips mark the position of materials that had become separated due to age, or creator action. Some locations indicate that materials were removed from the scrapbook and not returned. The scrapbook is particularly rich in bar mitzvah documentation. Alongside the text of a speech from Jane Ann Vogel’s Bat Mitzvah, held on April 19, 1952, is a range of other bar and bat (bas) mitzvah related ephemera. While in America, the first recorded bat mitzvah was observed in 1922, it was not until the 1950s that the bat mitzvah emerged as a more popular ceremony. One indication on a slowly emerging phenomena as yet underserved by marketing, is indicated by a Bar Mitzvah card, altered by hand to read “Bas”. Associated with this section of the scrapbook is a list of gifts received for her bat mitzvah and numerous bar mitzvah invitations. Other materials include a significant proportion of documentation from Temple Beth El’s Religious School, including awards, correspondence, programs, notes and in the associated files, texts of essays in Hebrew and English as well as a speech for the festival of Shavuot.

Other sections of the scrapbook document cultural and academic life at a local private school, the Park School, including graduating exercises, graduation song sheets, speeches given by Jane Vogel, programs, and school ephemera such as a Class of ’53 napkin and class ribbons.

The scrapbook also includes items from Camp Kawagama, a Jewish sleep away camp located in Ontario, Canada. The fourteen file folders include materials derived from loose materials within the scrapbook at 14 separate locations. These locations, in some cases, may not have been the original place where materials were first placed.

Dates

1951-1956

Creator

Fischman, Jane Vogel (Person)

Terms and Access

The personal papers of Jane V. Fischman Papers, 1951-1956, are open for research. There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this collection.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Biographical Note

Long active in education, Dr. Jane Vogel Fischman has taught at Riverside and Hutchinson Technical High Schools, Kadimah, a local Jewish day school, and several colleges including Canisius and Hilbert Colleges as well as at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has an undergraduate degree in English Education, a Masters in Reading and English, and a Diploma in Computers in Education, SUNY Buffalo, and teaching certifications. In 1996, she was awarded a Ph.D. in English Education with a dissertation on, “The Teaching of Holocaust Literature in American Universities.” Also a writer, she co-edited a cookbook for a local community college and has contributed interviews for the Buffalo Jewish Review relating to life in Israel. Active as a community lay leader and organizer, she has chaired book selections for the Jewish Community Book Fair, served on the Jewish Film Festival Committee, and the Women’s Education Committee of the Jewish Federation. She also has been an active board member of the Holocaust Resource Center and a chair of the Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee. At the Jewish Federation she has served on the Women’s Campaign and Co-chaired a Women’s Conference, organized through the Women’s Education Committee of Jewish Federation. A third generation member of Temple Beth El (now merged into Beth Tzedek), she was both a student at the religious school, and taught in the religious school. She has served on several Temple Beth El committees including Library, Museum and Continuing Education, as well as the board of the synagogue. She served on the Bureau of Jewish Education board and in 2002, she was the recipient of a Community Relations Award. Active in Jewish genealogy, she has served as a board member of Jewish Genealogical Society of Buffalo for many years. Since 2010, Dr. Jane Fischman has resided in Israel with her husband Dr. Stuart Fischman.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 flat box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Personal papers documenting aspects of Jewish youth culture. Material includes programs, newspaper clippings, essays, invitations, and ephemera relating to Temple Beth El, Jewish Community Building, sororities and fraternities, Park School Buffalo, and Camp Kawagama in Ontario.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series as follows:

Scrapbook of Jane Ann Vogel

Acquisition Information

The papers of Jane V. Fischman were donated in March 2016 by Dr. Jane and Dr. Stuart Fischman. The papers were arranged in April 2016 and it was deposited at the University Archives, Special Collections by the Jewish Buffalo Archives Project in April 2016.

The Jewish Buffalo Archives Project was founded in late 2007 under the auspices of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Buffalo with a seed grant from the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies. The Archives Project collects mainly 20th century documentation relating to the diverse histories, religious traditions and cultures of Jewish communities within the Greater Buffalo area of Western New York, encompassing the geographic areas of Erie and Niagara Counties and partners with the University Archives at the University at Buffalo to make these records accessible.

The arrangement and description of the Jane V. Fischman Papers, was made possible by funding obtained through the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies.