The year the Big Fresno Fair museum showcases the history of the local Jewish community
As the high Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashonah, the New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, came to a close early this month, an opening also took place. If you haven’t visited the Community Cultural Center in the Fresno Historical Museum at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds, you will be fascinated if you do. The newest exhibit is about Fresno’s Jewish community; it features a handsome blue-and-white mini- tower with angles reflecting the shape of the traditional Star of David.
The museum is located near the Fairgrounds entrance and is open during the annual Big Fresno Fair, this year from Oct. 5-15. During the year, the museum itself is open. The first floor features ethnic and other groups that make Fresno a wonderfully diverse city. Among the ethnicities represented are Italian, Armenian, German and Russian, African American, Mexican and Japanese There is a sports exhibit and an old-time grocery store.
The Jewish exhibit was funded by donations from members of the Jewish community as well as a donation from the Jewish Federation of Central California, headquartered in Fresno. Designer Andrea Kaye had a vision for the project, made a reality by a professional architect, while Temple Beth Israel members Amy Schmidt, Brenna Barks and Jeanna Francis wrote captions for the displays. Local residents submitted photos, artifacts and historical reference materials to fit the theme of the exhibit, “Things that Brought Us, Things that Bind Us.” It features Jewish pioneers in the commercial, civic and agricultural worlds of Fresno. European anti-Semitism and the Holocaust are treated briefly, while there are interesting interactive digital displays of Fresno Jewish pioneers, prominent Fresno Jews past and present, and Jewish landmarks in Fresno.
Esti Barak is the current president of the Jewish Federation. She is excited about the exhibit and says, “We are so proud of this opportunity to share information about the Jewish community’s history in Fresno. Of special interest are the symbols of our faith: the ‘tallit’ or prayer shawl warm at services; the shofar, a ram’s horn that is blown on holy occasions; and a mini version of the Torah, the five books of Moses that is at the center of our faith.
“The volunteer team that assembled this exhibit deserve thanks for a presentation that honors our faith and invites the community to recognize our heritage, much of which has links in common with our non-Jewish friends and neighbors. “
Historical records tell us that the Central California Colony was established south of Fresno in 1875 by Bernard Marks, a Jewish pioneer, which set the model for a system of development that was used through the San Joaquin Valley. Tracts of land were subdivided into 20 to 40 acre parcels, irrigated from a system of canals and often landscaped with boulevards of palms, eucalyptus or other drought-resistant trees. By 1903 there were 48 separate colonies or tracts in Fresno County, which drew farmers and their families from Scandinavia and from across the United States.
During the 1890s general stores and grocery stores became more numerous in Fresno. Kutner-Goldstein & Co.’s main store was the corner of Mariposa and H streets. The Jewish founders and owners offered dry goods, carpets, curtains and wallpaper. The firm was started in a 25 x 60-foot store room in 1874 and grew into a $2 million a year business when it was terminated in 1929. The founders were Adolph Kutner, who came to Fresno from Reno, and Samuel Goldstein, who came to Fresno from Sacramento. An old photo shows two boys making grocer deliveries in a horse and wagon.
First debuted in 2013, The Big Fresno Fair Museum showcases a cross-section of history from the past 137 years One of the biggest capital improvement projects in the last decade at the Fairgrounds, the $3.2 million, 14,000-square-foot, two-story building showcases everything from public safety and military to boxing and racing history, plus a celebration of the cultures that make Fresno County unique.
Francine M. Farber is a retired school psychologist and educational administrator. She is the volunteer editor of The Focus, the quarterly publication of the Jewish Federation of the Central Valley.
