Holidays in the Valley : The Jewish Experience : Immigration: A six-week exhibit chronicles the history and accomplishments of the Valley’s diverse and expanding community. The material will later be used as a permanent archive.

When a German-Jewish immigrant from Bavaria named Isaac Lankershim purchased 60,000 acres in the San Fernando Valley in 1869, little did he know that, 122 years later, the area--which included present-day North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Reseda, Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills--would become a major center of Jewish life in the United States.

Since that time, thousands of Jews have migrated to the Valley and contributed to its growth and development. Today, the Valley is home to nearly 300,000 Jews, making it the fifth-largest Jewish community in the world. It is also a diverse Jewish population that includes thousands of Israelis, Russians and Persians.

To catalogue the accomplishments and history of Jews in the Valley, the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California and the Rosenkrantz Library of the West Valley Jewish Community Center in West Hills are hosting “The Valley Jewish Experience,” an exhibit that opened Nov. 17 and runs through Dec. 31.

This is the first time that an effort has been made to chronicle the history of Jewish life in the Valley. The presentation coincides with the celebration of November as Jewish Book Month and will feature panel discussions, photographic exhibitions and memorabilia from Jewish organizations and individuals.

“We are developing a collection of oral histories and archival materials of Jews so that we can have a verbal record of what it was like growing up in the Valley,” said Stephen J. Sass of the Jewish Historical Society, who is also a member of the seven-member committee assembled for this task.

“We need to do this now, before many of the older Jews who grew up in the Valley years ago pass away,” he said.

After the six-week exhibit closes, the materials will be used as a permanent archive that will serve as a repository of oral histories and printed memorabilia. The archives will be housed at the Rosenkrantz Library.

“Appraising and processing materials will be an important part of the collection, because they will become a permanent part of the archives,” said Paul Soifer, a professional historian who will be in charge of the archives.

The idea to look at the history of Jews living in the Valley came about in January, when Harriette Herman, a volunteer at the Rosenkrantz Library, talked to Sass about setting up a historical documentation on Jews in the Valley, such as has been done on Jews in the Fairfax area, and which is now being done on Jews in Boyle Heights.

In July, organizers of the project started mailing letters to local individuals and Jewish organizations asking them to donate or send in any information that could be used in this collection.

“We’ve gotten a very good response so far,” said Herman, co-chairwoman of the project. “We have about 20 volunteers going to community groups, service organizations, synagogues and schools trying to get memorabilia.”

Did you know that, at one time, North Hollywood was named Lankershim? Or that the city of San Fernando had a vibrant Jewish community that worshiped at Temple Menorah? Or that there are numerous streets and areas--including Ratner Street, Gershwin Drive and the Warner Center--in the Valley named after Jews?

This is some of the information that the committee has been able to get in the short period of time that it has been collecting materials for “The Valley Jewish Experience.”

“We’re trying to get as much information as fast as we can, because a lot of people have clippings and information that their kids will probably throw out some day,” Herman said. “Our job is to get a hold of these materials before they are lost forever.”

Among the facts and items they have already uncovered are stories of people such as Morris L. Goodman, who was the only Jew to serve on the first Los Angeles City Council in 1850; in fact, he was the only American citizen on the council, the others were Mexican nationals. After he left the City Council in 1854, he became a deputy sheriff and was responsible for patrolling the San Fernando Valley.

Then there was Selig Levi, the first Jewish resident to settle in the Valley, who moved to Van Nuys in 1907. He was also the first Jewish farmer in the Valley. He specialized in growing peaches and walnuts.

Louis Greenberg set up his blacksmith shop in the Valley in 1910 and, by 1919, was operating the Rivoli Theater on Van Nuys Boulevard.

Starting in the second decade of this century, Jewish-owned film companies moved to the Valley and set up their studios.

Movie mogul Carl Laemmle purchased 235 acres in the San Fernando Valley in 1914 and proceeded to open Universal Film Manufacturers Co. and to develop Universal City. In the 1920s, other Jewish-owned film companies, such as Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, made their way to Burbank. Some Jews who worked in the film industry moved to what is now Studio City and North Hollywood, and that was the first area in the Valley to become heavily Jewish years later.

In 1914, Alex and Anne Ratner moved to the Valley and tried to organize the Valley’s first synagogue in 1928 with money from local Jewish families.

“What happened was the Depression hit, and the families lost their money, and that ended the first try at forming an organized congregation,” Sass said.

It was 10 years later that the Valley Jewish Community Center, now known as Adat Ari El, formed as the first Jewish congregation in the Valley. It became affiliated with the Conservative Jewish movement. Temple Beth Hillel, founded in 1946, was the first Reform temple, and Shaarey Zedek, founded in 1948, was the first Orthodox synagogue in the Valley.

“The time after World War II was a tremendous growth period for the Jewish community in the Valley,” Soifer said.

The library committee recently received a 1953 report on the future of Los Angeles Jewry. It was written by a researcher at the Jewish Community Council. The report states that many younger families were moving to the Valley because of affordable housing. In 1951, there were 35,500 Jews in the Valley from an overall Jewish population in Los Angeles of 323,000. By 1958, the report estimated, there would be 81,000 Jews in the Valley out of a total Jewish population of 390,000.

“You could already see more than 30 years ago, that the trend of Jews moving to the Valley was going to be enormous,” Sass said.

According to Sass, Jews first settled in large numbers in Studio City and North Hollywood in the late 1940s; Van Nuys and Northridge in the ‘50s; Sherman Oaks and Reseda in the ‘60s; Tarzana and Woodland Hills in the ‘70s; and Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, and Simi and Santa Clarita valleys in the ‘80s.

Much information on Jewish life in the 1940s and ‘50s has come from issues of the old Valley Jewish News. Information on Jewish businesses has come from family records and longtime residents who have frequented those businesses, such as the bookstore House of David and Drexler’s kosher restaurant, both in North Hollywood; Art’s Deli in Studio City; Fromin’s Restaurant in Encino and Gelson’s Markets.

The archives will include material on Jewish politicians who have represented the Valley in local, state and national government. City Council members of the past, such as Howard Finn, and of the present, including Joy Picus, Joel Wachs, Marvin Braude, Zev Yaroslavsky and Hal Bernson, will be represented. State legislators will include Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana) and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar). Federal lawmakers represented will include former Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.

“These archives will give the San Fernando Valley Jewish community some sense of the past,” Soifer said. “Jews should get actively involved, because archives are of no value if they are not used.”

To keep the project going after the six-week exhibit, committee members said that they would look for funding from Jewish organizations, government agencies and individual donors.

“It’s not going to be easy, but this project and archives will be an important look at Jewish life in the Valley for people in the next century, and that’s why we’re working so hard to get this started and going,” Sass said.

“The Valley Jewish Experience” opened Nov. 17 and will be on view from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 31.

After the exhibit closes, appointments to view materials or be interviewed for an oral history may be made by calling librarian Sue Greening, (818) 587-3300.