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Jewish Neighborhood Voices
Welcome!
Welcome to “Jewish Neighborhood Voices,” a project of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center (JHC) that documents Jewish life in three Greater Boston Jewish communities in the first half of the 20th century.
Based on oral histories with 20 individuals growing up in the neighborhoods of Chelsea, Dorchester and Roxbury, and Lynn in the 1920s through the 1950s, this exhibit combines recorded stories with photographs and archival material from JHC collections—to bring these historical Jewish neighborhoods to life. You can listen to the full oral histories on the JHC’s Digital Archive.
In this exhibit, you will hear the voices of our narrators as they recall and relive their formative experiences with immigrant parents and grandparents, with Jewish customs and American life, and with the neighborhoods themselves. You can explore their stories by neighborhood, theme, or individual.
Join us to visit these vibrant Jewish neighborhoods of the past!
Visit the neighborhoods
Dorchester and Roxbury
Learn about the Jewish history of Dorchester and Roxbury, and hear memories of the neighborhoods.
Explore the Themes
Moving Up and Moving Out:
Class Distinctions, Blockbusting, and the American Dream
Meet the Narrators
Chelsea Narrators
Learn about the narrators, and hear selected stories of growing up in Chelsea.
Dorchester and Roxbury Narrators
Learn about the narrators, and hear selected stories of growing up in Dorchester and Roxbury.
Lynn Narrators
Learn about the narrators, and hear selected stories of growing up in Lynn.
Listen to and Explore All the Stories
“Whatever you needed for daily life, there were stores on Blue Hill Avenue”
Audio file
“There was even a specialty shop where you could buy herring out of a barrel. All this guy sold was herring, pickled herring, and he had this large barrel, and he would reach in and wrap it up in a newspaper and hand it to you.”
Audio file
Learn About the Project
About the Project
A project of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors, “Jewish Neighborhood Voices” is a collection of oral histories about the Jewish experience in three Massachusetts communities in the first half of the 20th century. Learn more about the goals, methods, participants, and supporters of the project.
Watch a Webinar
Webinar: Introducing Jewish Neighborhood Voices
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, JHC staff gave a webinar about "Jewish Neighborhood Voices," which takes viewers on a tour of the online exhibit and gives background about the JHC's process for conducting and exhibiting oral histories.
Contribute to Jewish Neighborhood Voices
Jack Fox serving dinner, circa 1950s, Jewish Neighborhood Voices collection in the JHC archive.
Support This Work
Help the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center capture and preserve more stories from the Jewish past.
Quizdown at Shurtleff School in Chelsea, undated, Sterling and Selesnick Family Papers in the JHC archive.
Share Your Memories
Do you have stories from your own childhood growing up in these Greater Boston neighborhoods during the 1920s through 1950s?