In searching through the city directories in the St. Catharines Public library, it was discovered that the man pictured below, Ralph Jacob Hoffman, first appeared as a merchant and resident before 1908. He came here because his wife Eva Andrews was a step-daughter of one of the earliest itinerant pedlars to make their way to Niagara. However, once R. J. as he was known settled, he was here for the rest of his life and played a key role in the evolution of the community. Not only did he raise a large family here but he was also instrumental in providing a livelihood to new comers to the community that came after him. Time after time, the directories indicating other Jewish settlers declared their employer to be R. J. Hoffman as cutters, or salesclerks, or accountants. Sometimes, these same employees also found a place to stay under his roof.
It could be argued persuasively that R. J. was one of the two main pillars of the community. In the picture below, he is shown in the historic cornerstone laying of the new synagogue to be put up at the corner of Church and Calvin Streets. The property for the synagogue was acquired by Jacob Cooperman who, by this time, was the other pillar of the community. The cornerstone was laid at the end of August in 1924 and the new synagogue was dedicated in September, 1925, just in time for the High Holy Days. From the very first days in the present structure, R. J. sat immediately to the right of the bima facing the congregation and on the opposite side sat Jacob Cooperman.
But R. J. made much more of an impact in the community besides being instrumental in ensuring a synagogue was built. His oldest granddaughter related that her zayde spent time in England and was a dedicated Zionist even as a young man. He attended the early Zionist Congresses in England before he left for Canada and brought with him to St. Catharines a life long passion for the Zionist cause which led to St. Catharines being the location of one of the earliest centres of the Zionist Youth Movement called Canadian Young Judaea, encouraged one of his daughters to such an extent that she became a president of Canadian Hadassah – WIZO, and ensured that different residents in St. Catharines also became dedicated life long Zionists.
This beautiful menorah was made in India so the imprint on the bottom says and it has long been a mystery how such a beautiful piece would have ended up in St. Catharines. But knowing that R. J. J. lived in England before coming to St. Catharines helps to solve puzzle of its being located here. It is not a stretch to imagine it having been brought to St. Catharines by R. J. when coming here because such an item could easily have been bought in London where things from India were found for sale in abundance.