Archives West Finding Aid

During the 1930's and 1940's, Helen Siegel Weiss lived with her family on Jefferson Street, one block south of Cherry Street, an area she describes as "pretty solid Jewish." Her many Jewish neighbors included Jack and Lillian Radinsky, Isaac Genauer, and Irwin and Ida Lawson. Other neighborhood families were the Chipruts, Aarons, Katkims, and Krems.

Weiss recalls the neighborhood with great fondness, remembering the numerous locally owned and operated small business including the Madrona Theater, LaSalle's Shoe Repair, the Jewish butcher shops (Ziegman's and White Kosher Meat Markets), the Jewish groceries and deli's (Raine's, Glazer's, and Nelson's), and the bakeries (Egger Brothers, Brenner's, and Lippman's). She also describes the week-long bazaars held in March at the Seattle Talmud Torah on 25th and Columbia. The Yesler Library also figured prominently in her life because in addition to being a place to study, its collection of Yiddish books served the neighborhood well.