Exploring the Jewish Historical Society’s Oral History Project

Although her mother, Marti Rosenfield Goorey, died in 2012, Susie Petrak says, “I can hear my mother now,” as she poses for a photograph. ” ‘Susie! Your bangs are in your eyes.’ ” Luckily for Petrak and her sister, Sharon Starr, they still have the opportunity to hear that voice just by pushing “play.”

Goorey’s is one of nearly 300 interviews the Columbus Jewish Historical Society (CJHS) has conducted, transcribed and posted on the Oral Histories page of its website, columbusjewishhistory.org.

The organization’s interview subjects represent a wide range of experience, from rabbis to veterans to people who have lived in Columbus their whole lives to those who have made a great economic impact on the city (Schottenstein, Solove, Lazarus).

CJHS has big hopes for the future of the project, including creating digital stories using clips of the recordings and perhaps images of the interviewees curated into various reoccurring subjects and themes, such as migration (both to America and around or out of Columbus), faith, discrimination and the Jewish community’s business and cultural impact.

History is more than worthy of our attention, the project members say-to the community and individuals alike.

“But for that strong [CJHS] community, we wouldn’t have information that adds so much value to our family history,” Starr says. “Families should take advantage of the resources. We plan on starting volume two, our stories, soon.”

Through Brief’s genealogical investigation for the sisters and their journey with their mom’s oral history project, Starr and Petrak have found cousins, added six generations to their family tree and discovered their ancestors founded Agudas Achim temple on East Broad Street.

“This project made me feel the weight of responsibility of carrying Judaism forward,” Petrak says. “It weighs heavily on me that they left everything they had for religious freedom.”