Pictured at a planning meeting for the 60th anniversary celebration
of the Leonard Mayzel Ontario Lodge are, seated from left, president
Ralph Gan, event chairman Bernie Jadd, program chair Moishe
Grossinger, and archives and displays chair Eric Eisen; and standing,
from left, advertising chair Max Berg, decorations chair Shae Eckler,
and souvenir book chair Alvin Abram.
TORONTO — Since 1948, B’nai Brith’s Leonard Mayzel Ontario Lodge (LMOL)has fulfilled its original mandate of “People Helping People.”
On Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Paradise Ballroom, hundreds of members, friends and executive members of other B’nai Brith lodges will celebrate LMOL’s 60th anniversary with a Diamond Jubilee Reunion.
“As we enter our seventh decade of service, we may lack the energy of the youth of 1948, but our commitment to the principals of B’nai Brith is stronger than ever,” said Ralph Gan, the recently elected president of LMOL.
“We continue with an active program of community service and an outstanding array of social, cultural and athletic activities.”
In 1948, when Jews were still reeling from the horrors of the Holocaust and the State of Israel was struggling to be born, a group of young men who belonged to Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) found that they were too old for B’nai Brith’s youth chapter.
The AZA alumni petitioned B’nai Brith to grant them a charter for a new lodge. There was overwhelming resistance and a great deal of negotiation, but after much persuasion by Harry Pachter, a charter was granted.
There were 53 charter members, and Manny Hershberg was the lodge’s first president.
From the lodge’s inception, its members embarked on fundraising activities for a myriad of charities, volunteering their services to community agencies both Jewish and non-Jewish, and they formed athletic programs that set the foundation for the lodge’s legendary growth.
“Let’s put 1948 into perspective as to what was happening back then,” said Bernie Jadd, a past president of LMOL and the chair and master of ceremonies for the 60th anniversary celebration.
“In sports, Toronto took the Stanley Cup in a series with Detroit Red Wings in four straight. Mackenzie King was prime minister of Canada, Robert H. Saunders was Toronto’s mayor and the Academy Award-winning movie was Hamlet.”
Working together to help those in need and participating in sports activities helped the members and their wives form lifelong friendships. Their bowling league remains active, and the lodge spearheaded a successful baseball team from its inception.
Over the past six decades, Jadd noted, LMOL has lent a helping hand to many projects, including Princess Margaret, Sunnybrook and Mount Sinai hospitals, as well as Baycrest, Muscular Dystrophy, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Toronto Police Ride Program, blood donor clinics, and holiday programs for seniors.
The lodge has been involved in fundraising for almost every major charity in the area. “Raising funds through bingos, Monte Carlos, auctions, dinner draws and golf tournaments, we are able to support B’nai Brith, along with foundations as varied as the Mandarin School, the Wellesley Hospital Burn Centre, Leah Posluns Theatre, and many more,” Jadd said.
“We are very proud of the scope and depth of our fundraising efforts, and the dedicated chairmen who made this happen.”
To commemorate the lodge’s 60th anniversary and the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, LMOL member Max Berg organized and led a tour of lodge members and friends to Israel.
Three founding charter lodge members will attend the Oct. 26 event: Hersh Buckstein, Morey Eckler and Arnold Weinberg. It will also feature an array of archival material.
The program will include a parade of past presidents, a candlelighting ceremony and the distribution of a souvenir book.
The keynote speaker will be Israeli Consul General Amir Gissin.
“The secret of our longevity is that this lodge was fortunate to have had leaders of vision with the ability to make things happen. All organizations today are struggling to keep members active and involved. LMOL has been advised that several members who left previously are rejoining,” Jadd said.
