Finding aid for the Montefiore Home Records


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Montefiore Home
Title: Montefiore Home Records
Dates: 1880-1976
Extent: 17.10 linear feet (13 containers, 12 oversize volumes, and 1 oversize folder)
Abstract: The Montefiore Home was established in 1882 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Kesher Shel Barzel Order (Band of Iron), District Grand Lodge No. 4, and called the Aged and Infirm Israelites Home. In 1884 it was renamed the Sir Moses Montefiore Kesher Home for Aged and Infirm Israelites. In 1923 it became simply the Montefiore Home. The collection consists of minutes, correspondence, administrative reports and records, staff memos and lists, departmental reports, records of auxiliary organizations, residents files, audits, ledgers and other financial records, and subject files relating to the Home's interaction with other agencies such as the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes for Aged, Inc., the Jewish Community Federation, the Jewish Family Service Association, United Appeal of Greater Cleveland, the Welfare Federation of Cleveland, the White House Conference on Aging, and Julius and Helen Weil.
MS Number MS 3835
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Montefiore Home

The Montefiore Home was originally established in Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1882 as the Aged and Infirm Israelites Home of District Grand Lodge Number 4, Order Kesher Shel Barzel. The home initially served the Jewish elderly from nine mid-western states.

Members of the Jewish fraternal order, Kesher Shel Barzel (Band of Iron), began the discussions which led to the creation of the home in 1880. They were aware that many of the pioneer Jewish immigrants to the Midwest were reaching old age and that some provision needed to be made for their care. The particular religious and cultural needs of the Jews and the restrictive admittance policies of existing homes for the elderly dictated that the Jewish community establish its own home for the aged.

The home's first facility was located in the former Protestant Orphan Home at Willson (East 55th Street) and Woodland Avenues in Cleveland. In 1884, the home was renamed the Sir Moses Montefiore Kesher Home for Aged and Infirm Israelites in honor of the 100th birthday of the English-Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore. It retained this name until 1923 when the current name was adopted.

A board of directors and trustees oversaw the general operations of the institution. The board included representatives from throughout the Midwest. Jacob Rohrheimer, Jacob Mandelbaum, Simon Sampliner, Mrs. Yetta Joseph, Mr. Meyer Weil, and Mrs. Caroline Weil were among the Clevelanders who sat on the board in the nineteenth century. Day to day operation of the facility was overseen by a paid superintendent.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the home primarily provided a facility in which its "inmates" could live out their remaining days with adequate food, clothing, and shelter, and in which the cultural and religious aspects of Judaism were observed. The board rigorously controlled admissions to the home by reviewing each applicant's health, financial status, and area of residence.

By 1900 the home had been engulfed by the expanding city. The trustees began a search for a new site away from the dirt, noise, and unhealthy conditions of the city. In 1918 the home relocated to a new structure near Lee and Mayfield Roads in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Constructed specifically to meet the needs of the elderly, the new structure marked the beginning of a change in technique and attitude in the care of the aged. The open grounds at the new site permitted the establishment of a resident gardening program in the 1920s. Expanded health care facilities replaced periodic visits by the home's physician. In the 1940s, the Montefiore Home began a nationally recognized sheltered workshop program. This allowed able residents to work, on site, for wages on jobs contracted to the home by various factories and businesses.

During the post-World War II era, the Montefiore Home expanded its facilities and began to implement many of the new gerontological practices developed during the 1950s and 1960s. Full time nursing care for non-ambulatory patients, and expansion of physical and psychological therapy programs, and the growth of the Home's recreational and social programs have been among the hallmarks of its recent history.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Montefiore Home


Scope and Content

The Montefiore Home Records, 1880-1976 and undated, consist of minutes, correspondence, administrative reports and records, staff memos and lists, departmental reports, records of auxiliary organizations, residents files, audits, ledgers and other financial records, and subject files relating to the Home's interaction with other agencies such as the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes for Aged, Inc., the Jewish Community Federation, the Jewish Family Service Association, United Appeal of Greater Cleveland, the Welfare Federation of Cleveland, the White House Conference on Aging, and Julius and Helen Weil.

This collection provides an important source for the study of social service activity in the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio, and the development of gerontological technique. The voluminous administrative files permit a detailed investigation of the agency's evolutions from a regional to a local, Cleveland, institution. Similarly, these files provide some insight into the home's transition from a traditional to a reform Jewish agency.

Most importantly, both the administrative and subject files thoroughly trace the home's development as a gerontological institution. Files maintained during the directorship of Julius and Helen Weil during the 1940s and 1950s are extensive and relate largely to the changing attitudes toward the care of the aged during this period. A number of staff reports dating from the 1910s assist in tracing the home's changing philosophy and technique.

Certain of the subject tiles relate to the home's interaction with other agencies in the Cleveland Jewish community. These include the Jewish Community Federation, the Jewish Family Service Association, and Mount Sinai Hospital.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series.
Series I: Administrative Files is arranged in nine sub-series.
Sub-series A: Board Files is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Sub-series B: Reports is arranged by office of origin and then chronologically.
Sub-series C: Committee Files is arranged alphabetically by committee name and then chronologically.
Sub-series D: Correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Sub-series E: Staff Files is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Sub-series F: Departmental and Auxiliary Files is arranged alphabetically by department with auxiliary records placed at the end of the sub-series. Arrangement is then chronological.
Sub-series G: Resident Files is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Sub-series H: General Administrative Files is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series I: Financial Records is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series II: Other Agencies is arranged alphabetically by organization name or subject and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4455 Montefiore Home Records, Series II; MS 4662 Montefiore Home Records, Series III; PG 259 Montefiore Home Photographs; and MS 4499 Julius and Helen K. Weil Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Jewish aged -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jewish old age homes -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Charities.
Montefiore Home (Cleveland, Ohio)
Older people -- Institutional care -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Social work with older people -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3835 Montefiore Home Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Montefiore Home in 1975, 1976, and 1982.

Processing Information

Processed by Lucinda Kay Arnold in 1982.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Administrative Files 1880-1976 undated

Sub-series A: Board Files 1880-1966 undated

Box Folder
1 1 Constitutions and bylaws 1960 undated
1 2 Annual reports 1880-1892
1 3 Annual reports (1955 and 1963 consist of mailing lists only) 1905-1907 1912 1917 1948 1955 1958-1963
1 4 Histories and informational booklets 1947-1965 undated
1 5 Agendas for board meetings 1955-1956
1 6-12 Minutes and reports of board meetings 1922-1965 undated
1 13 Lists of board members 1953-1965 undated
1 14 Board meeting attendance records 1953-1963
1 15 General board correspondence 1925-1964 undated
1 16 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Harry Affelder 1955-1963 undated
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Lester Auerbach 1958-1966 undated
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Julius Bloomberg 1957-1958
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Morton Epstein 1961-1966 undated
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Harold Fallon 1962-1966 undated
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Thomas Felber 1956-1963 undated
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Mina Freedheim 1956-1963
1 17 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Marian Friedlander 1961-1965 undated
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, William Friedman 1956-1963 undated
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Martha Gross 1963-1966 undated
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Carolyn Grossman 1961
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Paul Handleman 1961-1964
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Robert Henfield 1961-1963
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Harry Horvitz 1956-1963 undated
1 18 Board alphabetical correspondence files, George Kaye 1961-1966
1 19 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Leroy Kendis 1945-1963 undated
1 19 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Cary Korach 1961
1 20 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Abe M. Luntz 1956-1963 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Ted Luntz 1961
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, George Mayer 1958
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Marion Neumark 1955-1964 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Arthur Reinthal 1956
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Eraine Scheuer 1956-1961 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Ernest Seigler 1956-1963 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Fred Stashower 1959-1963 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, David Warshawsky 1956-1962 undated
1 21 Board alphabetical correspondence files, Frank Wulliger, Jr. 1956-1964 undated
1 21 Trustee questionnaires 1949
Volume
1 Oversize Volume 1: Minutes of the Local Board 1899-1915
Volume
2 Oversize Volume 2: Minutes of the Local Board 1915-1920
Volume
3 Oversize Volume 3: Minutes of the Local Board 1920-1926
Volume
4 Oversize Volume 4: Minutes of the Local Board 1926-1933
Volume
5 Oversize Volume 5: Minutes of the Local Board 1933-1939
Volume
6 Oversize Volume 6: Minutes of the Local Board 1939-1945

Sub-series B: Reports 1917-1967

Box Folder
2 22 List of presidents of Montefiore 1956
2 22 Presidents' reports 1917-1951 1957
2 23-25 Superintendent's reports 1920-1944
2 26-28 Executive Director's reports 1944-1967
2 29 Matron's reports 1941-1945
2 30 Secretaries' reports 1922-1923

Sub-series C: Committee Files 1938-1966 undated

Box Folder
2 31 Committee lists and correspondence relating to appointments to committees 1955-1966 undated
2 32-33 Budget, Finance, and Investment Committee 1939-1966 undated
2 34 Building, Maintenance, and House Committee 1938-1962
2 35 Decorating Committee 1956
2 35 Dedication Committee 1957 undated
2 36 Entertainment Committee 1939-1964 undated
2 37 Executive Committee 1962
2 38 Expansion Committee 1955-1958
2 39 Food Committee 1939-1953
2 40 House Committee 1955-1957
2 41 Intramural Committee 1960 1966
2 42 Medical Committee 1952-1964 undated
2 43 Medical Criterial Sub-Committee 1961-1964
2 44 Nominating Committee 1952-1964
2 45 Planning Committee 1963
2 46 Public Relations and Legal Committee 1955 1963
2 47 Regional Committee 1951-1959 undated
2 48 Safety Measures Committee 1956 undated
2 49 Residents' Committee 1955
2 50 Miscellaneous committees 1939-1948 undated

Sub-series D: Correspondence 1922-1968 undated

Box Folder
2 51-54 General correspondence 1922-1963
Box Folder
3 55-58 General correspondence 1964-1968 undated

Sub-series E: Staff Files 1946-1968 undated

Box Folder
3 59 Staff lists 1964-1966
3 59-62 Agendas and minutes of staff meetings 1951-1966 undated
3 63 Staff correspondence and writings 1950-1965 undated
3 64-67 Staff memoranda 1946-1968 undated
3 68 Job descriptions 1957 1965 undated

Sub-series F: Departmental and Auxiliary Files 1931-1976 undated

Box Folder
3 69 Administrative forms undated
3 70 Hospital medical reports 1931-1948
3 71 Hospital medications 1961-1963 undated
3 72 Household Department reports 1947-1956 undated
3 73 Laundry Department reports 1948-1964 undated
3 74 Occupational Therapy Department reports 1941-1965 undated
3 75 Physical Therapy Department reports 1948 1964
3 76 Miscellaneous departmental materials 1946-1965 undated
3 77 Montefiore Auxiliary records 1956-1976 undated

Sub-series G: Resident Files 1924-1970 undated

Box Folder
3 78 Montefiore Social Club, reports 1944 1957 undated
3 79 Montefiore Social Club, minutes 1941-1943 1954-1958
Box Folder
4 80-81 Montefiore Social Club, minutes 1958-1970
4 82-83 Montefiore Social Club, account book and enclosures 1945-1955 1964-1970
4 84 Montefiore Social Club, miscellaneous materials 1954-1970 undated
4 85 Lists of residents 1924 1938-1964 undated
4 86 Caseworkers' presentation of residents' cases before the board 1955-1962
4 87-88 Caseworkers' reports 1952-1969
4 89 Classification of residents 1953-1965 undated
4 90 Day care of residents 1949-1967 undated
4 91-92 Intake of residents, policies and procedures 1940-1965 undated
4 93-96 Intake of residents, statistical reports 1951-1970

Sub-series H: General Administrative Files 1884-1968 undated

Box Folder
4 97-100 Building and expansion 1941-1955
Box Folder
5 101-103 Building and expansion 1956-1965 undated
5 104 Building fund account book undated
Volume
8 Oversize Volume 8: Building fund ledger undated
Box Folder
5 105-107 Calendars and programs of events 1941-1968
5 108-112 Capital repairs and replacements 1945-1964 undated
5 113 Charges, materials concerning increased fees 1950-1964
5 114 Cleveland Trust 1926-1927
5 115 Contributions 1964-1965
5 116-119 Food costs 1959-1962
5 120 Holidays 1959-1966 undated
Box Folder
6 121-124 Insurance 1952-1964 undated
6 125 Legal documents 1910-1959 undated
6 126 Publicity 1942-1967 undated
Folder
314 Oversize Folder 1: Architectural drawings, certificates, rules and regulations of the home, and miscellaneous materials 1884-1959 undated

Sub-series I: Financial Records 1881-1969 undated

Box Folder
6 127-130 Account book and enclosures 1881-1954
Volume
7 Oversize Volume 7: Account book 1882-1917
Box Folder
6 131 Accountants reports 1923-1962
6 132-134 Appraisals 1936-1949
6 135-136 Budgets 1951-1961 undated
6 137 Financial reports 1950-1965 undated
Volume
9 Oversize Volume 9: Home store account book and enclosures 1954-1969
Box Folder
6 138 Reports on examinations 1939-1949
6 139-140 Tax records 1933-1961 undated
Volume
10 Oversize Volume 10: Treasurer's book 1882-1919
Volume
11 Oversize Volume 11: Treasurer's reports 1895-1906
Box Folder
6 141-144 Treasurer's reports 1922-1943
Box Folder
7 145-146 Treasurer's reports 1944-1947
7 147 Miscellaneous financial documents 1923-1960 undated

Series II: Other Agencies 1912-1973 undated

Box Folder
7 148-149 Accreditation 1960-1966 undated
7 150 Admission application revision 1959-1964 undated
7 151 Aid for the Aged 1949-1966 undated
7 152 American Association of Homes for the Aging 1961-1962
7 153 American Hospital Association 1962-1965 undated
7 154 American Orthopsychiatric Association 1964
7 155 American Public Welfare Association 1949-1959 undated
7 156 Apartment House Project 1945-1965 undated
7 157-162 Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes for the Aged, Inc. 1948-1967 undated
7 163 Benjamin Rose Institute 1946-1961 undated
7 164-165 Case Western Reserve University 1956-1968 undated
7 166 Central District Nursing Home Association 1966
Box Folder
8 167 Civilian defense 1954-1958 undated
8 168 Cleveland Mental health Association 1952-1960 undated
8 169 Cleveland Society for the Blind 1959-1965
8 170 Committee on International Jewish Social Welfare 1956 undated
8 171 Consumers' League of Ohio 1953-1962 undated
8 172 Council Gardens 1961-1963 undated
8 173 Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc., annual report worksheets 1947-1968
8 174-176 Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc., correspondence 1950-1968
8 177 Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc., newsletters 1950-1964
8 178 Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc., miscellaneous materials 1952-1972 undated
8 179 Cuyahoga County Welfare Department 1955-1966 undated
8 180 Economic Opportunity Program (Project 1060) 1967 undated
8 181 Eightieth Anniversary celebration 1961-1962
8 182 Family Service Association 1949-1962 undated
8 183 Farm Project 1950-1961 undated
8 184 Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations of Greater Cleveland 1952-1953
8 185 Gerontological Society, Inc. 1952-1963 undated
8 186 Governor's Commission on Aging 1959-1961 undated
8 187 Grand Jury Association 1956-1964 undated
8 188 Group Activity Project 1962
8 189 Highland View Hospital 1956-1964 undated
8 190-194 Homes for the aged (general) 1951-1968 undated
8 195 Hospitals (general) 1957 undated
8 196 International Association of Gerontology 1954-1963 undated
Box Folder
9 197 International Conference of Social Work, Inc. 1948-1961
9 198 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, board lists 1958-1964
9 199-200 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Budget Committee 1956-1962 undated
9 201 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, capital repairs and replacements 1959-1964
9 202-205 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, correspondence 1940-1968
9 206-207 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Commission on Services to Older Persons 1955-1967
9 208 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Commission on Services to Older Persons, Professional Committee 1954-1967 undated
9 209 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Commission on Services to Older Persons, Protective Services Committee 1965-1966
9 210 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Commission on Services to Older Persons, Subcommittee on Problems of Senility 1959-1960
9 211 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Committee on Older Persons (Commission on Aging) 1957-1959
9 212 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, "Everybody's Business" newsletter 1957-1965
9 213 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, retirement plan 1956-1962 undated
9 214-217 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Social Agency Committee 1951-1965 undated
9 218 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, miscellaneous materials 1952-1973 undated
Box Folder
10 219 Jewish Convalescent Hospital 1955-1967 undated
10 220 Jewish Family Service Association, aged reports and special services summary 1953-1969
10 221 Jewish Family Service Association, caseload and intake reports 1939-1969
10 222 Jewish Family Service Association, census tract reports of services 1948-1968
10 223 Jewish Family Service Association, children's reports 1952-1967
10 224 Jewish Family Service Association, closing reports 1953-1967
10 225 Jewish Family Service Association, correspondence 1948-1970 undated
10 226 Jewish Family Service Association, homemaker and special homemaker service 1960-1968
10 227 Jewish Family Service Association, interview count reports 1958-1969
10 228 Jewish Family Service Association, monthly service reports 1962-1969
10 229 Jewish Family Service Association, national volume of service count 1961-1967
10 230 Jewish Family Service Association, referral sources 1948-1969
10 231 Jewish Family Service Association, refugee service reports 1948-1969 undated
10 232 Jewish Family Service Association, speeches delivered by Beatrice Zimet (supervisor) 1956-1965 undated
10 233-234 Jewish Family Service Association, miscellaneous materials 1945-1972 undated
10 235 Jewish Social Service Bureau, annual reports and board list 1917-1920
10 236-237 Jewish Social Service Bureau, budget and financial reports 1912-1938
10 238-239 Jewish Social Service Bureau, correspondence 1918-1954
10 240 Jewish Social Service Bureau, family case work statistic reports 1936-1938
10 240 Jewish Social Service Bureau, Jewish family welfare organizations volume of work reports 1937-1938
10 241 Jewish Social Service Bureau, newspaper clippings 1933-1936 undated
10 242 Jewish Social Service Bureau, service reports 1922-1925
10 243 Jewish Social Service Bureau, miscellaneous materials 1919-1938 undated
10 244 Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland, budget 1950
10 244 Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland, financial statement 1942
10 245 Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland, A Study of Vocational Guidance and Placement Resources 1938
10 246 Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland, miscellaneous materials 1947-1967 undated
10 247 Memorial Fund 1937-1944
Box Folder
11 248 Memorial Fund 1945-1947 undated
11 249 Mt. Sinai Hospital 1947-1966
11 250 National Association of Jewish Homes for the Aged 1962-1965 undated
11 251-252 National Association of Social Workers 1954-1968 undated
11 253 National Conference of Christians and Jews 1958 1963 undated
11 254 National Conference of Jewish Communal Service 1954-1965 undated
11 255 National Conference on Aging 1950
11 256 National Conference on Social Welfare 1958-1964 undateed
11 257 National Council on Aging 1958-1967
11 258 National Geriatrics Society 1956-1971 undated
11 259 National Institute of Mental health 1957-1958
11 260 Nurses (foreign) 1962
11 261 Nurses aide programs 1963-1966 undated
11 262-263 Ohio Citizens' Council 1948-1964 undated
11 264 Ohio Commission on Aging 1956-1962
11 265 Ohio Hospital Association 1959-1966 undated
11 266 Ohio state government 1934-1966 undated
11 267-268 Ohio Welfare Conference 1955-1965 undated
11 269 Phyllis Wheatley Association 1963-1964
11 270 Rehabilitation Program 1956
11 271 Students 1959-1966 undated
11 272 Survey of Jewish aged and chronically ill 1947-1963 undated
11 273 Training Institute for Public Welfare personnel in Aging 1965
11 274 Training programs 1948-1964 undated
Box Folder
12 275-277 United Appeal of Greater Cleveland 1956-1968 undated
12 278 United Help, Inc. 1954-1963
12 279 United States government 1952-1965 undated
12 280 University Hospitals of Cleveland 1964
12 281 University of Michigan, Division of Gerontology 1956-1959 undated
12 282 Volunteer services 1950-1964 undated
12 283-284 Waiting List Project 1961-1966 undated
12 285-288 Weil, Julius and Helen 1941-1966 undated
12 289 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Casework Council 1948-1967
12 290 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Committee on Community Planning (Casework Council) 1957-1958
12 291-293 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Committee on Older Persons 1956-1967 undated
12 294-295 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, correspondence 1957-1963
Box Folder
13 296 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, correspondence 1964-1968 undated
13 297-298 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Golden Age Center 1946-1967 undated
13 299-301 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Occupational Planning Committee, Sheltered Workshops 1943-1964 undated
13 302 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Occupational Planning Committee, Sheltered Workshops, expansion account book 1951-1954
13 303 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Occupational Planning Committee, Sheltered Workshops payroll sheets 1963-1965
13 304 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, Occupational Planning Committee, Sheltered Workshops payroll sheets 1966-1968
13 305 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, "Welfare Talks" newsletter 1957-1965
13 306 Welfare Federation of Cleveland, miscellaneous materials 1944-1966 undated
13 307-309 White House Conference on Aging 1959-1961
13 310 White House Regional Conference 1961
13 311-313 Newspaper clippings dates vary
Volume
12 Oversize Volume 12: Newspaper clippings 1950-1972