There was a time when the East Side mother led the sad and lonely life of an exile. A stranger in a strange land, not understanding the customs that her children quickly made their own, not having a part and portion in the social and political life of the country, not sharing in the activities of the entire community, she suffered acutely from economic troubles as well as from a deep spiritual loneliness. Her own children grew away from her; they immersed themselves joyously in the invigorating stream of American life, striking out toward new aims and tempting prizes. But the East Side mother was left high and dry on a sandbank, her only possessions being memories and regrets.
If today all is changed, if today the East Side mother has become a true companion of her children, taking an intense interest in the community life about her, sharing in all its problems and contributing to their solution, the honor for such achievement is due to Mrs. Celia Kamelmann whose splendid service has brought about this miraculous change.
Mrs. Kamelmann is, as far as service is concerned, one of the oldest staff members of the Educational Alliance, an institution which has always exerted the most beneficial influence on the East Side life. As Miss Celia Silbert she was librarian of the Educational Alliance, guiding young and old in choice of their intellectual food, getting intimately acquainted with her library public. learning to understand the people. their economic struggle, their wistful desires, their shy dreams, their hopes and their frustrations.
She saw them baffled and often beaten down by the incomprehensible forces. Celia Silbert decided to devote her life to the East Side and its improvement.
Mrs. Kamelmann has created a new department in the Educational Alliance. She has organized East Side mothers clubs. There she discussed with untutored but eager women educational, social, and political problems with much success. The response was so spontaneous and so gratifying, the East Side mothers were so eager to learn, so grateful to be taught, their interest in personal and civic hygiene, in child-welfare, in the political questions of the day was so warm and sincere that Mrs. Kamelmann felt herself amply repaid for her work. How well she has succeeded this instance proves. In April a delegation went to Albany urging the Governor to abolish the unsanitary and dangerous tenement fire-traps of the city. A most important part of this delegation consisted of members of the Mothers’ Clubs under the leadership of Mrs. Kamelmann.
To evoke in the East Side women such civic consciousness is a fine achievement indeed, and this Sunday, which is Mother’s Day throughout the country, Mrs. Kamelmann’s fine work for Jewish Mothers ought to be gratefully remembered.
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.
