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October 2021

Sarah Strouse and New Jewish Cemeteries Database

Situation: You are charged with safeguarding precious community records collected over 200 years. You learn that the digital platform which supports your antiquated data software will go out of existence on a date not far in the future. Your funds are already stretched. What’s at stake: Your basic business functions, but more importantly, your data: . . . Read More

Volunteers Help to Preserve Cincinnati’s 200-Year-Old Jewish Cemetery

Jewish Community Prepares for its Bicentennial To prepare for the bicentennial of Cincinnati’s Jewish community, Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati and Ohio History Service Corps teamed up to clean headstones at the oldest Jewish cemetery west of the Allegheny Mountains. Volunteers spent a few hours at Chestnut Street Cemetery, removing air pollutants and organic materials . . . Read More

History of Chestnut Street Cemetery Marked by Two Pandemics

By Marlene A. Ostrow, M.A. 2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Chestnut Street Cemetery, the oldest Jewish cemetery west of the Allegheny Mountains. The handful of earliest Jewish settlers in Cincinnati had met on a few occasions for services, but they did not even have an official congregation. When the need . . . Read More

Stein Family Supports Restoration of Historic Cemetery Gates

For over 170 years, a set of graceful wrought-iron gates has welcomed visitors to the sacred grounds of the UJC-Walnut Hills Cemetery. Thanks to a generous gift from the family of Jacob K. Stein, a lawyer and community leader who is buried in the cemetery, the gates have been restored to their original beauty. “We . . . Read More

Letter from the Executive Director

On a beautiful Sunday morning, September 26, 2021, Jewish Cemeteries rededicated the Chestnut Street Cemetery and dedicated a new educational plaza. We partnered with Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial and the ish Festival to have the 200-year-old cemetery rededication serve as the formal launch of the bicentennial year, which will include programs throughout the Jewish community and . . . Read More