Mount Zion Temple Oral History records

Founded in 1856 by eight German-Jewish families, Mount Zion Hebrew Association (as it was then called) was the very first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. Through the 1860s the congregation met in rented rooms around St. Paul before their first building was completed in 1871, located at East Tenth Street and Minnesota Street in the Lowertown district. In 1878 Mount Zion joined the liberal Reform Judaism. When larger numbers of Eastern European Jews began to immigrate to St. Paul, Mount Zion congregants came to their aid to offer support, creating relief groups. In 1904 a new temple was completed at the intersection of Holly and Avon; they looked to move again in 1951 to Summit Avenue. The new building, completed and dedicated in 1954, was designed by internationally recognized architect Erich Mendelsohn. In 2006 Mount Zion celebrated their 150th anniversary; in 2012 they had over 1,000 members.

The oral histories that comprise this collection began as part of a project to mark Mount Zion Temple's 150th Anniversary in 2006. Beginning in 2003, oral histories were conducted with noted congregants, interviewed by Mary Ann Barrows Wark and Nancy Mason Hauser. Later, a committee would be formed to assist in creating interview questions and videotaping the interviewees. Interviews were also conducted by Steve Silverman, Connie Ross, Ellen Sampson, Brian Krasnow and Charles Fodor, along with Mary Ann Wark. Later, two Legacy grants made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund in Minnesota allowed for transcripts to be created and more oral histories were conducted. To date, Mount Zion Temple has conducted over 133 oral histories; all of these reside both at the Congregation in St. Paul, with portions donated to the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives.