A history of the growth of the Jewish Children’s Home from a small and humble beginning until it has reached pre-eminence among institutions of its type, featured the celebration of its diamond jubilee.
This service was marked by praise of the institution on the part of Rabbi David Fichman, executive director of the Jewish Federation, and an outline of its growth by Joseph S. Loeb, vice-president of the Jewish Children’s Home and a member of its board for many years.
Mr. Loeb said that in 1854, when the Jewish colony of New Orleans had been reduced to 2,000 by the ravages of a yellow fever epidemic, a group of 17 met to discuss ways and means of alleviating the suffering, and decided upon the establishment of the Association for Relief of Jewish Widows and Orphans. In 1856 They opened a home, costing $19,000, to thirteen inmates, a widow and her five children, and seven others. The home was then established on solid ground even though through the years it suffered from more epidemics, and during the war between the states, when the board was forced to take the savings out of the bank to block confiscation by the Union forces.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
