Guide to the Records of the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association  1924-1982   RG 1627

Title: Guide to the Records of the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association  1924-1982   RG 1627

ID: RG 1627 FA

Extent: 4.04 Linear Feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The series are arranged by type of material.

Languages: English, Yiddish

The Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association was founded “by bakers and for bakers” in 1913. It provided financial support to sick or unemployed members, helped cover burial experiences for members who passed away, and held social events. The records primarily contain financial records, including dues books and ledgers of benefits paid, but also include minute books detailing the meetings that took place and the constitutions that established the rules and operations of the association.

The Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association Records contain primarily the financial records of the society, including dues books and ledgers of benefits paid. There are overviews such as annual audits, and smaller more incidental records such as cash books and receipts. There are also cemetery maps, indicating the sections of the cemeteries owned by the society, and of which members purchased which graves, as well as transfers subsequent to the original purchase. There are receipts for cemetery care such as monuments built and landscaping services performed. In addition there are meeting minutes that record the activities of the society discussed in the meetings, and constitutions that set out the rules and regulations under which the society was run. There are also a few incidentals such as official stamps, copper plaques commemorating the officers of the society, and a photograph taken at the banquet celebrating the society’s fortieth anniversary.

The Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association was founded “by bakers and for bakers” in 1913. It provided financial support to sick or unemployed members, helped cover burial experiences for members who passed away, and held social events. The association collected dues, creating a fund to cover these expenses, and elected officers to oversee the execution of all their activities. All their activities were conducted in Yiddish at the outset, though over time English took on an increasingly prominent role.

Members of the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association could be either men or women, which was unusual for a mutual aid society, in which women generally attained benefits only by virtue of their relationship to a male member. All members were required to also be members of the Bakers’ Union of the International Bakery and Confectionary Workers, however. This union was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.

Like most mutual aid societies, the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association declined in its importance in the lives of its members during the second half of the twentieth century. As its membership aged and moved away from New York, financial support was no longer tenable, nor indeed necessary, as the social programs of the New Deal provided many of the same benefits and services. The Association dissolved in 1980.

References

Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Society. Constitution , 1940; Records of the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association; RG 1627; Box 9; Folder 58; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Bronx (New York, N.Y.), Documents - Ledgers (account books), Documents - Minute Books, Documents - Receipts (Financial Records), Fraternal organizations, Hevra kaddisha

Alternate Extent Statement: 11 boxes

Access Restrictions: Permission to use the collection must be obtained from the YIVO Archivist.

Use Restrictions:

Permission to publish part or parts of the collection must be obtained from the YIVO Archives. For more information, contact:

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Acquisition Method: These records were received from the New York State Department of Insurance in 2004.

Preferred Citation: Published citations should take the following form:Identification of item, date (if known); Records of the Bronx Bakers Mutual Aid Association; RG 1627; box number; folder number; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.