Albert M. Brown (1901-1994) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1901, the son of Russian immigrants Esther and Abraham Brown. He attended Central High School until World War I. Too young to enlist in military service, he left school to help support his family. His brother Jack died in the influenza epidemic in 1918.
Brown later returned to night school, graduating in 1920. After working at the H. S. Rivitz Company, he became involved in social work. He worked at the Kinsman branch of the Council Educational Alliance (1923-1929) and a settlement house in New York City (1930-1938) before returning to Cleveland to work at the National Youth Administration (1938-1940) and Bellefaire (1941-1942). In 1942 he became director of the Toledo Jewish Community Center. After returning to Cleveland in 1955, he served as executive director of the Community Temple (Beth Am) until 1963 when he was appointed the founding director of Council Gardens in Cleveland Heights, a senior adult housing community.
Brown wrote and produced many one-act plays for children and adults. He also wrote The Camp Wise Story: 1907-1988, published in 1989 by the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland and the Western Reserve Historical Society. After retiring, Brown worked part-time as the social director of his own residence, the Concord Apartments in Cleveland Heights. He died in 1994.
The Albert M. Brown Papers, 1928-1993 and undated, consist of certificates, correspondence, programs, newspaper clippings, playscripts and other writings.
The collection is of value to researchers studying Jewish communal organizations and activities. Several of the writings contain valuable historical information about Cleveland Jewish institutions, such as the Council Educational Alliance, the forerunner of the Jewish Community Center, Camp Wise and the Council Gardens. Brown's autobiographical essay gives insight into the career of an individual who worked in these institutions.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject, then alphabetically by document type, and then chronologically.
All photographs have been removed to PG 486 Albert M. Brown Photographs. Audiotapes and audio cassette tapes have been removed to the audiovisual collection.
The researcher should also consult MS 3668 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Records and MS 4696 Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Records, Series II.
Processed by Jane A. Avner in 1997
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4760 Albert M. Brown Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Aline Brown Shader, 1995
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.