In the early ’60s, when the baby boom was at its peak, the St. Catharines B’nai Israel congregational family was growing by leaps and bounds. There were a lot of young couples, meaning couples with kids in high school or younger, and the Hebrew School had at its peak back then 100 children. Purim had already become a holiday that meant costumes and carnivals and parties. Sometimes, the parties were held in the Jewish Community Centre, but sometimes, they were also held at a local Jewish-owned hotel (The Queensway) which was often the site of many simchas. The pictures below, taken by an amateur photographer using, what in those days was considered a high – end 35 mm camera, indicate the fun that the adults were capable of having. See if you can recognize any of the people in the pictures below.
