Elaine (Kellem) Baskin, 2022-08-02
Scope and Contents
This series contains the transcripts of the oral history interviews. The transcripts are organized by neighborhood, and then alphabetically by last name.
Dates
- 2022-08-02
Creator
- From the Collection: Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society (99 Newbury Street Boston, MA ) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for researcher use. Please contact us to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.
Biographical / Historical
Elaine (Kellem) Baskin was born in Boston, MA, in 1935. Her parents were Dorothy (née Giller, of Malden, MA) and Samuel Kellem (of Ukraine). Elaine lived in Roxbury, MA until she was five, when her family moved to Dorchester, MA. As an adult, she earned a Master’s in Education and raised three children. In her oral history, Elaine describes growing up in a Jewish area of Dorchester, with such intimate detail as walking to school by herself at an early age and using her pocket money to buy a pickle on her way home. She also vividly brings to life her grandparents and others of their generation who spoke Yiddish and followed Orthodox tradition. She recounts how her father, who had come to the United States in 1921 and had an eighth-grade education, was successful enough as a tradesman to move the family to Newton, MA in the late 1940s, following the general socioeconomic and geographical pattern of Jewish families of the time—and how her parents went on to co-found Temple Reyim in Newton. Elaine currently lives in Worcester, MA.
Extent
From the Collection: 0.25 linear feet
Language of Materials
From the Series: English
Repository Details
Part of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors Repository