JCC Summer Canteen is back!

The Summer Canteen Saturday night dances, sponsored by the East Side Jewish Community Center on Sessions Street (roughly where the small playground and community gardens are now – for reference, the driveways to the old parking lot are still there) from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s, brought together the Jewish teenagers of the Metro Providence area. For some 10 years, every summer, the Jewish teenager had a place to go to meet with their fellow Jewish contemporaries from Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, Warwick and other surrounding cities and towns.

Esta Rabinowitz Avedesian wrote of this event in the September 12 issue of The Jewish Voice (“Fifty years of friendship add up to a lifetime of memories”) and its effects on the Jewish community. Esta’s article led Mark Rechter, Jerry Chorney and others to attempt a reunion for those who once frequented these summer dances. Folks may remember Jerry as the Canteen disc jockey and he promises to reprise that role at the reunion!

They have started a Facebook page “East Side Jewish Community Center” and invite others to join the page and share memories and thoughts about holding the reunion this coming June. Mark says that they plan to hold the reunion/dance at the current JCC on Elmgrove Ave, Providence. They stress that, in order to make the event a success, they are counting on people to contact friends who may not receive The Jewish Voice.

especially for those who do not do social media, contact Mark Rechter at Mrech48@cox.net. Others to contact: Esta Rabinowitz Avedisian, Jerry Chorney, Margie Kessler Busby, Nancy Weisman Hawksley, Gary M. Coken and Mona Chamuel Dabbon.