Home for Aged Jews Tenth Annual Garden Party, promotional booklet, Penarth, 30 June 1957

Description

A booklet publicising the tenth annual garden party of the Home for Aged Jews (run by their Welfare Committee), which was to be held at Holme Tower, Bridgeman Road, Penarth on Sunday, 30 June, 1957. Penarth was the second location of the Home for Aged Jews: Mr Henry Silver and other members of the community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in Canton in 1946, which then moved to Penarth, its official opening being 5 December 1948. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959. Also featured on the cover is the quote "Cast us not off in our old age; forsake us not when our strength faileth", a photograph of the exterior of the home and a list of honoured guests: Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Cardiff, Mr and Mrs Morgan and Councillor J. J. McCormack, J. P.(Chairman of the Penarth Urban District Council) and Mrs McCormack. The opening ceremony was to be at 3pm and opened by Mrs Louis C. Cohen.

Inside the booklet is an entry written by Chairman, Leah Jessel, explaining how honoured the Home was to welcome the honoured guests listed on the cover and thanking local businesses and organisations for their gifts, stalls and donations. The entry also announces that the Cohen's were "adding to their previous splendid generosity and endowing a further ward" at the Home. Finally, the Welfare Committee was thanked for their hard work not only in organising the garden party but also the Silver Ticket Ball.

On the adjacent page is a list of stalls and the names and organisations who ran them. For example, catering was organised by Cardiff Ladies' Auxiliary Group, a raffle stall was ran by the Newport Ladies Stall, a coconut shie was ran by Messrs M. Bloom and B. Kaye and drinks and equipment were "kindly donated" by Coca-Cola Ltd.

On the back of the booklet is a list of thanks to those who had donated food and drink and loaned equipment, such as the Roath Furnishing Company, who loaned a microphone and amplifier. The final thanks is to "ALL FIRMS AND FRIENDS who have co-operated so kindly with gifts, donations and equipment".

At article in the September 1957 edition of Cajex magazine reports on the garden party. Despite there having previously been weeks of good weather, it rained the whole afternoon of the party. Nevertheless, there were around five hundred visitors, including large groups from Newport, Bristol, Swansea and Merthyr. The Ladies' Auxiliary Group (under the Chairmanship of Mrs S. Walters) was praised for organising the catering: a self-service buffet. Speeches were given by Mrs Louis C. Cohen, the Lord Mayor (Alderman J. H. Morgan, J.P.) and Mrs Leah Jessel.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Sources:
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, pp. 60- 65;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. VII, No. 3, Seventh Year - September, 1957, pp. 42-43;
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968 http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.