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Sholom Alchanan Singer was born into an orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1924. Yiddish was the language spoken at home and his father, William, was a cantor. His mother, Miriam, was an artist and pianist. Singer inherited his parents' musicality, singing liturgical and opera music. Singer attended public school until second grade, when his parents decided to send him to Yeshiva. After earning his orthodox rabbinic ordination, he became interested in the teachings of Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise. This led him to attend Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, completing his studies in 1951, as a Reform rabbi. He also earned advanced degrees in secular studies, completing a bachelor's degree at Yeshiva University, a master's at Columbia University, and his Ph.D. in intellectual history at the University of Chicago. He had quite an accomplished academic career: He was an associate professor of history at DePaul University. He also taught at Lake Forest College, Northeastern Illinois University, and Spertus College of Jewish Studies. He was a guest lecturer at Carleton College, Princeton University, and Cambridge University England and at Oxford Centre for Graduate Jewish Studies at Oxford University. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Hebrew Union College in 1976. He lectured extensively and published many articles and two books. Singer and his family, which included his wife, Vivian, and three children, came to B'nai Torah in Highland Park in 1957. At the time, the 3-year-old congregation used office space at a storefront location on Central Avenue. Services were held at Lincoln School. The permanent building on Oak Street was purchased in 1959. Singer added innovations to the Reform prayer service, including the "temple in the round," a drama-sermon. Adult study opportunities were offered, including a series of eight lectures on various topics by experts, and the Sunday morning Round Table, a series of 10 lectures held two Sundays a month. After Israel’s Six Day War in 1967, the Singers led a trip to Israel, in part to share their love for the country. Singer felt strongly that Jews living outside Israel should maintain a residence there, leading to the congregation maintaining an apartment in Jerusalem. B'nai Torah also served as the headquarters for the American Association for Ethiopian Jews for many years, thanks to Rabbi Singer. This organization, which ran from 1969-1993, aimed to educate the world about the Beta Israel. B'nai Torah also ran a busy religious school. In a letter addressed to the congregation during the High Holiday services in 1987, he wrote, "As for life, it is not always what we want, but it is all that we've got. Use it wisely. Make the best of it." (Excerpted from "Rabbi brought faith, intellectualism to congregation" Chicago Tribune, November 17, 2014)

This artificial collection, created by the Highland Park Historical Society, contains records relating to the Ravinia Park in Highland Park, IL. The collection contains records relating to Ravinia's history, construction, opening and annual festival. The collection also contains photographs of the park as well as newsletters that contain articles about the park. The dates of the materials range from the early 20th century to the early 21st century; the bulk of the material dates from the 20th century.

The collection contains documents and physical artifacts related to the Grotti family of Highland Park, Illinois. The vast majority of the collection material was created prior to 1990 and includes documents related to the emigration of the Grotti brothers from Italy, records related to the disputation of their property in Marion County, Illinois and photographs of family members from a variety of eras.

Frank Green was the husband of Dr. Milton Baker's daughter. These images are chiefly family photos with ephemeral identification.

The Glass Slides collection comprises 19 untitled glass slides, many hand colored. The slides contain various women in different outfits, scenery and landscapes, and a few miscellaneous slides with images. The collection has 3 series. The first is miscellaneous. All slides measure 3.5”x4,” both in color and black and white. One of the slides is cracked and should be handled with care. The second series is portraits, containing women in various costumes. The women are in a variety of settings and their clothing is not necessarily from the period in which the image was taken. These items range in size starting at 4”x5” and ending at 5”x7,” all have been colored. A few slides are cracked. The last series is scenery and landscapes, these items are pictures of places and not necessarily used in conjunction with the portraits. These slides are all 5”x7” is size and are all in color. None of these items are broken.

This collection is presumed to be of events, places and people in Highland Park, Illinois.

The collection is comprised of 470 lantern slides positives, chiefly in black and white. The slides range in date from the late 1890’s to the mid-1910’s. The largest series (93 slides) are illustrated biblical passages of the Old Testament. The collection also comprises images of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Navy, the Wreck of the Maine in Havana, Cuba (1898), the Battle of Bacolod (1902), and the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Included in the slides are images of China, Alaska, Cuba, Philippines, and several unidentified locations and portraits.

The collection contains awards, reports, administrative documents, publicity, tax records, photographs, and related materials about the activities of the Ravinia Garden Club and its members.

The Ernest A. Grunsfeld Jr collection contains hand drawn architectural plans, schedules, surveys, detailed notes, and blueprints. The collection is a combination of new construction undertaken by Grunsfled and various collaborators, including alterations Grunsfeld undertook on existing buildings. All the buildings covered are private residences and were built in the area now known as Highland Park, Illinois.