The Education Team Goes Shopping!

Post author By RachelK
Post date 12/19/2019
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A blog post by Director of Learning and Visitor Engagement Ilene Dackman-Alon. To read more posts by Ilene click HERE.

It always fun when we can get out of the office – and when you can connect shopping with work-especially going to second-hand stores – I must say- I am all about it! Last week, Marisa and I had two opportunities to do just that.

We needed to find objects to be included in an education resource that we are creating – **The Ida Rehr Education Initiative** – that is being supported by the *Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Education Fund for the Enrichment of Jewish Education of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.*

This comprehensive curriculum will support learning outcomes in Jewish history, social studies, storytelling, and primary-source research centered around the Voices of Lombard Street exhibit combined with the living history performance of Ida Rehr, a Jewish immigrant that arrived in Baltimore in 1914 from the Ukraine.

The modules for the education initiative include a pre-visit experience that combine performance and education, facilitated by the living history character, Ida Rehr. This experience will introduce the concepts of the exhibit, including Jewish immigration, Americanization, Maryland and Baltimore history, and neighborhoods and communities. Ida Rehr is performed by professional actress, Katherine Lyons who has been playing the role for over 15 years.

Following the pre-visit experience in the classroom, students will visit the JMM and visit the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue as well as see the Voices of Lombard Street exhibition. Here specific concepts about Ida’s life will be highlighted and students will also learn how to interpret primary sources, from archival objects such as immigration papers, birth certificates, and letters to other material culture artifacts, such as garments, jewelry, or household goods.

The post visit experience will take place back in the classroom which will be introduced in a video, by the character Ida Rehr whom the students met in their pre-visit experience. Through the video students will be invited to put all their new skills to work, using (reproductions of) primary sources provided by the Museum tointerpret Ida Rehr’s life and creating their own classroom museum.

JMM is excited to introduce these new modules to both Jewish and non-Jewish students. We intend to pilot them this spring (2020) with schools served by CHAI’s School and Community Partnerships team—members of the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Neighborhood Public Schools. These schools serve both Jewish and non-Jewish students.

So, we needed to go SHOPPING to find some of the items for Ida’s trunk, to help her tell the story of her life and her journey to the United States from the Ukraine.

Our first stop was the Hadassah Resale Store where we found two sets of Shabbat candlesticks along with two Hannukiot (menorahs) to represent the ritual objects that Ida uses to tell her immigration story in the living history performance.

We purchased vintage metal lunch pails from eBay to represent the lunch pails that Ida took to work when she was a seamstress at Sonneborns. Ida brought her lunch to work in the metal pail so that the rats would not be able to get inside and eat her lunch.

Our final shopping trip was to the GoodWill Store on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. We bought two outer coats that will also be used as props to tell the immigration story. I headed over to the area where there were framed items and started browsing. I came across the most charming and delightful cross-stitch work- I just had to stop and admire.

I really took a liking to this handiwork- complete with “Fiddler on the Roof” characters and the initials “HL” on the right-hand bottom corner. I thought the people were charming and loved the detail in the cross-stitch – especially the men’s’ beards.

I wondered who “HL” was – and if they lived in Baltimore- and what other works did they create?

In many instances, when I come across Judaica at secondhand stores and flea markets, I feel a need to rescue the pieces. Often I buy them and give things away as gifts. But sometimes I just have to keep them. This framed piece clearly needed a permanent home, and I knew the perfect place. Once I brought it back to my office, I noticed something else: The cross-stitch had a message – SHALOM!

I think that shopping second-hand stores is always an adventure- and usually includes finding that “special item.”

I love that our work allows me to combine two areas of interest- education and history. How fun is it that the Ida Rehr Education Initiative allowed us to find this incredible piece of art! In the next week or so, we intend to find the best spot for this piece here in the Education Wing. Be sure to stop by and admire our Fabulous Fun New Find!

The Education Team Goes Shopping!

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