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Ernest Rymer Photographs and Other Material

Call Number

PHOTOS.245

Dates

1929-1982, inclusive
; 1939-1959, bulk

Creator

Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order of the I.W.O. (U.S.)
Rymer, Ernest, 1908-1986
Rymer, Judith (Role: Donor)

Extent

2.75 Linear Feet in 2 oversize flat boxes, 1 manuscript box, and 7 folders

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

Ernest Rymer (1908-1986) served as director of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO), part of the International Workers Order (I.W.O.), after World War II until sometime in the 1950s. He was possibly director of the JPFO's youth division prior to his appointment as JPFO director. The collection mainly consists of photographs that document the various conferences, demonstrations, performances, and other activities of the Jewish Young Fraternalists, part of the Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order (JPFO), I.W.O.; the activities of the general JPFO, I.W.O.; and the activities of I.W.O. as a larger organization. The collection also contains a plaque awarded to Rymer and his World War II-era Navy uniform, as well as a number of political and/or commemorative buttons and pins.

Historical/Biographical Note

Ernest Rymer (1908-1986) was born in Ukraine in 1908. He came to the United States when he was still a boy, and his family resided in New York City. Rymer was a union organizer in the 1930s, and during World War II he served in the Navy.

After the war, Rymer (according to his daughter) worked as the "junior director" of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO), part of the International Workers Order (I.W.O.). (This title may indicate that he served as director of the Jewish Young Fraternalists, the youth division of JPFO.) Rymer later served as director of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order, I.W.O. until sometime in the 1950s. Around the same period, Rymer was involved in the campaign to create a State of Israel. He was also a member of the Jewish War Veterans and was founder and chairman of the Great Neck chapter of the New Jewish Agenda.

Rymer had a career as a draftsman and construction designer. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was treasurer of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 66.

Rymer died in Manhasset, Long Island, NY in 1986 at age 77.

Arrangement

Collection is intellectually arranged alphabetically according to folder title or contents of box.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of around eighty photographs dating from 1929 to the late 1970s, through the majority are from the 1940s and 1950s. The images document the various conferences, demonstrations, performances, and other activities of the Jewish Young Fraternalists, part of the Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order of the International Workers Order (I.W.O), as well as the activities of the general Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order, I.W.O. and the I.W.O. as a larger organization. Many photographs feature Ernest Rymer, which is indicated by the captions on the back of the photographs. The captions also contain other descriptive information about events and individuals.

To a lesser extent, there are photographs dating from 1929 of the Pioneers Camp at Camp Nitgedaiget, as well as photographs from Camp Wo-Chi-Ca. There are also three photographs unrelated to the I.W.O. which are credited to Joe Hall and depict the unemployed and breadlines in New York City during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Four color snapshots are of an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration in New York City, probably during the late 1970s. Two photographs are portraits of Ernest Rymer, one taken by his cousin, S. Rymer.

In addition to the photographs, there is also correspondence related to Rymer's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for his records, as well as the federal documents he received in response to his request. The collection includes a plaque awarded to Rymer by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 66, as well as Rymer's World War II-era Navy uniform, dog tag, and Jewish War Veterans and Navy pins. A number of political and/or commemorative buttons and pins on a variety of topics are also present, including approximately 40 pins, a keychain, and some miscellaneous small artifacts from the Soviet Union.

Donors

Rymer, Judith

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Ernest Rymer were transferred to New York University in 2013 by Judith Rymer. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2630.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date; Ernest Rymer Photographs and Other Material; PHOTOS 245; Box number; Folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Judith Rymer (daughter), 2007 and 2013. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 2007.001, 2013.015, and NPA.2007.034.

Related Archival Materials

Researchers interested in the Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order of the I.W.O. and the I.W.O. as a whole may wish to consult the International Workers Order Records (TAM 001) located at this repository. The bulk of the I.W.O. records are held by Cornell University's Kheel Center in Ithaca, New York.

Researchers can also consult the Fagel Stern Papers (TAM 091) at this repository. Stern was a Polish Jewish communist who was active in the Jewish section of the I.W.O.

Researchers interested in Camp Wo-Chi-Ca may wish to consult the William Golden Camp Wo-Chi-Ca Photographs (PHOTOS 156), the Camp Wo-Chi-Ca Records (TAM 206), and the Lea Lerner Camp Wo-Chi-Ca Graphics and Photographs (GRAPHICS 016).

There are images of Camp Nitgedaiget in Box 1, Folder 69 of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Labor and Radicalism Photograph Collection (PHOTOS 001).

Collection processed by

Rachel Schimke, 2013

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:44:14 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid is in English

Processing Information

Materials have been rehoused in archival boxes and folders. Some political buttons were mounted onto acid-free corrugated cardboard.

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012