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July 31, 2009
Early Jews fascinate
Leonoff is dedicated to Jewish history in B.C.
OLGA LIVSHIN
For an amateur historian, Cyril Leonoff is a prolific historical writer. He has written more than half a dozen books and numerous articles on the subject of Jewish history in Western Canada. His latest work, The Rise of Jewish Life and Religion in British Columbia, 1858-1948, is a culmination of 40 years of historical research. It was published as a special 2008 edition of The Scribe, which is the publication of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia (JHSBC).
A dedicated enthusiast of Jewish history in Western Canada, Leonoff considers the first Jewish settlers of the Canadian West unique among their brethren. Unlike later surges of Jewish emigration, which consisted mostly of people running away from persecution in eastern Europe, from wars and the Holocaust, the first wave of Jewish immigration to the West came to create their futures. Brave and enterprising souls, they were not escapees but explorers and developers.
According to Leonoff, many moved north from San Francisco and were already acculturated to North American values. Set to carve their new homes from the primeval forest of British Columbia, few of them had much stock in Jewish traditions or religion. They were merchants and peddlers, adventurers and fur traders, gold prospectors and tailors. Their Jewish connections and religious involvement grew as the community grew.
Leonoff writes that these Jews nurtured their culture in Victoria and Vancouver – the first places of worship and the first cemeteries, the first traditional Jewish celebrations, the first rabbis and the first Hebrew schools.
Tales of birth and murder, Kaddish and seder intertwine in Leonoff's book in the biographies of prominent members of the local Jewish community, alongside tidbits of historical trivia. For example, from 1888-1891, the first mayor of Vancouver, and Jewish mayor at that, David Oppenheimer, served without salary. It was he that championed the opening of Stanley Park, set up the city's fire department, sewer system and transportation networks. The first Jewish community centre in Vancouver opened its doors in 1928, at the corner of Oak and 11th.
"It was the hardest of my books to write," Leonoff confided in an interview with the Independent. "I tried to be neutral, not to show any preference to any religious congregation. I wanted this to be a story interesting not only for the Jewish audience but for everyone. I wanted to explain Judaism for the general population."
Meticulously researched, Leo-noff's fascinating tractate fills 180 pages, the entire Scribe. In a way, both the journal and the historical society owe their existence to Leonoff, who was instrumental in founding the JHSBC and served as its first president.
A civil engineer by profession, Leonoff has been interested in Jewish history since childhood. As he grew older, his interest deepened. With a group of like-minded volunteers, he formed the JHSBC in 1970 and started collecting artifacts, documents and newspaper clippings, and they interviewed the surviving pioneers. "We developed a sizable oral history," he recalled, remarking that, in the beginning, the society had no money and no place to house its rapidly accumulating collection. They kept it in the members' basements until 2007, when the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC) was born.
After his retirement in 1985, Leonoff finally indulged his lifelong passion for history. He enrolled in the public history program at Simon Fraser University, so he could proudly proclaim himself a professional historian. And he continues his association with the JHSBC as historian emeritus.
One of the works that he found most satisfying to produce is An Enterprising Life: Leonard Frank Photographs, 1895-1944, published in 1990. "Frank was the best photographer in B.C.," Leonoff said. "His life was the most interesting to research, and his photos remain the prime pictorial source of the province's history."
Together with its companion book, Bridges of Light: Otto Landauer of Leonard Frank Photographs, 1945-1980, published in 1997, these two publications provide one of the most comprehensive renditions of the visual history of the province. As well, Leonoff's efforts contributed greatly to the JHSBC acquiring a huge collection of Frank's and Landauer's photos – well over 30,000 images. The digitization of those photos, to make them available online for future researchers, is an ongoing project of JMABC.
Despite his 85 years, Leonoff remains active and is a lively and inquisitive person. He continues to write, rides his horses and reads a lot.
As for his reading choices, predictably, popular history is one of Leonoff's favorite genres. "I like Canadiana and Pierre Berton," he shared. Although he reads fiction occasionally, he prefers real life stories and biographies of famous Jews. On the other hand, television doesn't attract his attention much. "I'm too busy to watch TV," he joked. "I like creating things myself." The notable exception to the rule is hockey, of course. Like any Canadian boy who grew up in Manitoba, Leonoff played hockey in his youth and still enjoys watching the game.
An adventurous descendant of the first pioneers of Western Canada, Leonoff followed in his ancestors' footsteps in his pursuits as an engineer, an historian and a writer. He is considering penning a new book in the near future, but its final topic remains elusive – it will probably be historical.
For those who would like a copy of Leonoff's The Rise of Jewish Life and Religion in British Columbia, 1858-1948, it is available for purchase at the JMABC.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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