AUGUST 2025
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JPL’S ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS NEWSLETTER
The JPL Archives team with Louis Rastelli of ARCMTL on a recent field trip.
We had the pleasure of visiting ARCMTL recently. Their mandate focuses on promoting and preserving local independent culture in Montreal, often collecting items that are outside of scope of major institutions, resulting in a rich supply of underground arts culture in the form of posters, independently produced publications, and a large amount of audio recordings.
It’s always great to connect with other archives; we encountered new solutions to common problems, and did some collective imagining of what the future of our institutions could look like. A huge thank you to Louis for taking the time to show us around!
Upcoming Events
“Composing History, a World to Build,” by Melsa Montagne, August 2025. Photo courtesy Olivier Bousquet.
Vernissage for Ethel Stark Mural
Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 5pm-7pm
Ethel-Stark Park, corner of Clark St and Prince-Arthur St W
Free | Open to all | No Registration
In the summer of 2025, muralist Melsa Montagne created Composer l’histoire, un monde à batir (Composing History, a World to Build) on the wall of a residential building overlooking Ethel-Stark Park as part of MU’s Montreal Trailblazer Artists series. The park, situated in the heart of le Plateau, was named in honour of the famed conductor and violinist Ethel Stark (1910-2012) by the city of Montreal in 2015.
Join us in celebrating the official launch of this mural, honouring the woman for whom the park is named.
Léa Roback, 1983. (Cropped.) Courtesy the JPL Archives, Léa Roback Fonds, 1243-6-[16]-PR014948.
Authors from Home: Léa Roback: Quebec Social Justice Activist by Tara Goldstein
Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 7pm-9pm
In-person: Gelber Conference Centre and Virtual: Zoom
Free | Open to all | Registration Required
As part of the JPL Authors from Home series, join us for a discussion with author and great niece of Lea Roback, Tara Goldstein, about her latest work Léa Roback: Quebec Social Justice Activist.
The JPL Archives were instrumental in the research Goldstein conducted for this book. The JPL’s own Reference Archivist Sam Pappas will be moderating the conversation, and the Archives will be preparing a one-night only display of material from the Léa Roback Fonds for visitors to enjoy.
exhibitionS
Team Spirit exhibition on now across from circulation at the Jewish Public Library.
Team Spirit: The Sporting Days of Ida “Wisey” Bly
JULY 1, 2025 - OCTOBER 1, 2025
In-House & Virtual Exhibition
Jewish Public Library, across from circulation desk
Ida “Wisey” Bly (née Wiseberg), 1915-1990, was an athlete active in Montreal’s women’s softball and basketball leagues in the 1930s and 1940s. She was known for her sportsmanship and team spirit as well as her determination on the court; she often led her team in points scored during games. She is described as “a versatile forward,” “clever ball handler,” and “deadly at the target” in several of the newspaper articles covering her career.
Spread throughout all four of our display cases for the first time, this rich exhibition features memorabilia from Ida Bly’s sports career, from her uniforms, softball glove, trophies, photographs, and newspaper clippings detailing her athletic accomplishments. To learn more about the history of women’s sports, basketball’s place in Jewish history, and about some of the famous people Bly was surrounded by during her career, read more at the virtual exhibition linked below.
Joining in on the celebration of decorated athlete Ida Bly, the Norman Berman Children's Library has put on an exhibition of their own featuring sports books and archival photos for the 2025 Summer Season! They’ve created a children’s work booklet (English | French) with a scavenger hunt as well as other activities that you can pick up at circulation. Their support helps us engage our youth with their history and the larger history of Jewish Montreal.
A Norman Berman Children’s Library exhibition celebrating sports alongside the Ida Bly exhibition.
FOR THE RECORD:
A blog about all things JPL Archives
Mrs. Levy in front of Habitat 67 during a visit to Expo 67, 1967. Courtesy JPL Archives, Levy Family Fonds, 1294-[5].
Summer Break
Our blog is taking a summer break. It’s a great time to a tourist in your own city, like Mrs. Levy, above!
recollections with the jpl podcast
Der zamler is a Yiddish term meaning “the collector” and is related to the verb zamlen, which means “to gather.” In using this name, we join a long history of people dedicated to gathering and preserving Jewish culture around the world. A heartfelt thank-you goes to Sam Bick for the initial idea and to Anna Fishman Gonshor for providing the cultural context.
All non-archival photography, unless otherwise credited, by staff of the JPL Archives.
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