ination for an tinued had SHOFAR THE hours, at the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization ALEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) of the he next me was that a March, 1979 eing in Rocky cluded every- Golden Anniversary Issue: seniors Around rogram. held on The Story of BBG Little he best ip. This This month the B'nai B'rith Girls celebrate their Golden Anniversary. In point of fact, the The ages of these girls varied as much as the names of the Chapters. Ranging from 15 endship history of BBG dates back more than fifty years. As early as 1926, in Seattle, Washington, a into the 30's, there were also a number of sub-junior groups which enrolled girls between group of girls organized as the first "Junior Auxiliary of B'nai B'rith Girls." Unfortunately, a 12 and 15. remain short while later, the Emma Lazarus Junior Auxiliary was disbanded. Each Chapter developed its own activities, based on the interests of the members. How- ar. The In March of 1927, a Chapter of "Junior B'nai B'rith Girls" was organized in Newark, ever, the program was patterned basically after the "Five-Fold and Full" program, which vantage New Jersey. This also disbanded. was suggested to the AZA in 1928 by Dr. Boris D. Bogen, then secretary of the B'nai B'rith. did go The emphasis was primarily on social and community service activities. though not to the them as exclusion of educational, religious, and recreational activities duated Obviously, since there was no organized development of the girls' groups, there were no uud in national projects in the early years Many girls' groups participated in such AZA observances as AZA Sabbath and AZA Parents' Day or imitated other AZA national programs. Later, Regional and District programs began to emerge as the girls formed their own Regional and District associations. Since the B'nai B'rith Women (then known as B'naf B'rith Auxiliaries) experienced their most rapid early growth on the West Coast, it was only natural for the Junior Auxiliaries to find their most fertile soil on the shores of the Pacific However, girls groups also sprang up in the East and Midwest. Only in the two Southern Districts, where the organization of womens Chapters lagged behind the other Districts, was there a slow building of girls Chapters District Growth Rose Mauser, founder of BBG's Judge Lenore Underwood, first Following this pattern of moving from West to East, the first District organization came to tell first permanent Chapter and B'nai B'rith Women president, into being in 1933. In that year, 10 West Coast Chapters met in Santa Cruz, California and ve are organizer of BBG in District #4 under whose leadership BBW established the Western Conference of B'nai B'rith Junior Auxiliaries (now District 4). Age what limits were fixed at 15 to 21. adopted BBG Israel In 1935, District 1. embracing the territory from New York up through Eastern Canada, was organized. Most of the Chapters enrolled girls in high school and up, with a smaller The first permanent Chapter of what is now B'nai B'rith Girls was organized in December, 0, 70; 1927 in San Francisco by Rose Mauser. Sponsored by what is now San Francisco B'nai number consisting of members between 13 and years of age. B'rith Women's Chapter #1, Mattie Olcovich and Essie Solomon served as the first advisors. District 6 followed shortly afterwards with girls' groups ranging in age from 15 up to about round 30. The District 6 girls benefited from the talents and vitality of Mrs. Louis Perlman of Unlike AZA, which began in Omaha and then spread to become a national and then ael?' I Chicago who became District chairman. Anita Perlman was to go on to become the first International organization, Chapters of girls began to mushroom throughout the United some- National Chairman of B'nai B'rith Girls, International President of B'nai B'rith Women, and States and Canada in response to spontaneous local forces without any central pattern of later, the Chairman of the B'nai B'rith Youth Commission. In those early days, she had her structure or policy and without professional supervision. opose hands full attempting to organize separate groups of high school girls. As a matter of fact, there was no common organizational name. The early Chapters were you a District 2 was the next to organize, beginning in 1937 with girls in high school and up known as Junior Auxiliaries, Girls' Auxiliaries, Young Women's Auxiliaries, B'nai B'rith to 21 welcomed into their Chapters. Junior Leagues, B'nai B'rith Girls, B'nai B'rith Young Women, and BZB. The last, intended it and catchy substitute for AZA, was often taken by Chapters of girls that were "sponsored" In 1941, District 3 organized with girls ranging from high school age up to 25; District 5 any- AZA Chapters. (continued on page 2) had only sons. could We h that to say ealist. ewish et this e and Prime of her score mem- Anita Perlman (center), organizer of national BBG, addresses a BBG convention. Convention. At right, a typical BBG convention business session. Left, a Judaism Last year Mrs. Perlman helped kick off BBG's 50th celebration at International seminar in the late 40's.