In December, Linda Stork donated a collection of fifteen home movie reels created by her father, Jack Stork, which document the lives of the Stork and Shecter families between 1950 and 1963. The reels capture a wide range of family milestones and leisure activities, including Passover dinners, a bar mitzvah, a wedding, birthdays, and holidays at Crystal Beach, the Catskills, and in Florida. They also include scenes of everyday life and travel, such as views of the Welland Canal and trips to New York City.

 What makes this accession especially valuable is its intimate portrayal of mid-twentieth-century Jewish family life in Ontario and beyond. The films prominently feature Jack Stork’s immediate family as well as his wife Rose’s relatives, particularly Max and Florence Shecter and their children. Viewed decades later by Jack’s nephew, Randy Goldman, the reels provide rich visual documentation that will be of interest to researchers studying Jewish social history, family networks, and leisure culture, as well as genealogists seeking to better understand the lived experiences of the Stork and Shecter families.