By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — Longtime San Diego residents Robert and Helaine Baum were doing some Spring cleaning and found hundreds of pins and patches that they had collected over the years, then put away, and forgot.
Their wide-ranging collection included memorabilia from the worlds of politics, sports, broadcasting, the labor movement, local San Diego events (Remember the Homeport San Diego Festival of 1983?), their children’s schools, and Jewish life.
We chose 18 (chai!) Jewish-themed items from their collection for the display above. Most of them come from the decades of the 1980s and the 1990s. .
From left to right, top row: The Clinton Gore campaign button included the presidential and vice presidential candidates’ names in transliterated Hebrew. Lynn Schenk ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Supervisors District 3 seat, but later went on to win a Congressional seat. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein served together as U.S. Senators. Schenk, Boxer, Feinstein and Marty Block, mentioned below, are all Jewish.
Second row: Women’s American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation Through Training) started in the early 20th century primarily to aid Jews of Eastern Europe, but its mission grew over the years to offer vocational training to both Jews and Gentiles. Henry Weinberger B’nai B’rith Lodge No. 370 is today inactive, but once was one of the volunteer spark plugs of San Diego’s Jewish community, providing a training grounds for local leaders. The local district of Women’s American Ort in 1980 saluted the centennial of the overall organization, which includes both Men’s and Women’s ORT. Marty Block began his political career with election to the County Board of Education. He subsequently was elected as a San Diego Community College Trustee, a member of the State Assembly, and later as a California State Senator.
Third Row: The National Jewish Democratic Council is particularly active in congressional and presidential elections. Volunteering for the NJDC could involve everything from knocking at doors, distributing flyers; and addressing envelopes. Beth Israel is San Diego’s oldest and largest synagogue. The National Asthma Center is operated in Denver, Colorado, by National Jewish Health.
Fourth Row: Israel-related pins include one declaring “I am a Zionist,” another boosting Israel’s National Airline, El Al,and a third promoting aliyah: “Let’s Go Home.” Pop singers Simon and Garfunkel performed in San Diego in Summer 1983. Harold Thomas, son of friends of the Baums, had his bar mitzvah in 1980. “Burning the mortgage” at the Jewish Community Center referred to a campaign to pay off the building and to symbolically burn the loan papers.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com