Josephine Weiner (Audio Only)
Interviewed by Mary Baroff
June 1975
Home of Josephine Weiner
Josephine Weiner (Audio Only)
Video 01:20:23
Josephine Weiner (Audio Only)
Audio 01:20:23
Abstract
Josephine “Jo” Weiner discusses her childhood in Detroit and how her parents raised her with a sense of community and a commitment to service.
She discusses how she became involved with the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) after college. She became the organizing chairwoman of a junior group for the council working with 125 young women. This group provided services for the elderly, children, and helped raise money and support of the national organization’s goals. In reaction to World War II they were also involved with resettlement programs for immigrants.
She goes on to discuss the Twelfth Street Council Center and how they provided classes and daycare for young women and mothers. She also talks about her involvement with the Jewish Federation and Women’s Division. She served in various leadership roles throughout her involvement. She also speaks at length about The Orchards program which served troubled youth.
History of Narrator
Josephine “Jo” Weiner was born on April 8, 1912 to Milford and Mollie (Sillman) Stern. She grew up on the East Side of Detroit. Weiner attended Detroit public schools, and then spent a semester at the National Park Women’s Finishing School in Maryland. She earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English at the University of Michigan (where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa). Later, Weiner earned a teaching certificate at Wayne State University. In 1936, she married Leonard Weiner, and they had one daughter, Sarah.
After graduating college, Weiner dedicated herself to volunteering full-time. In 1934, she became the founding president of the Junior Council of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Detroit section and was later elected Detroit section president. The Council Thrift (resale) Shops, designed to provide a source of affordable clothes and household goods to new Americans displaced by World War II, were an innovation created during her tenure. Weiner also served on the Council’s national board, and was the national president from 1967-1971.
Weiner helped to establish the School for Research and Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Women’s Committee of United Community Services in Detroit, the Women’s Division of the Jewish Welfare Federation, Orchards Children’s Services, and Women in Community Service (WICS).
Weiner died October 24, 2000.
Transcript
Important Subjects
Important Names
Credit as: Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Josephine Weiner Oral History Interview, Jun 1975.