Handwritten list of the thirty one members of the Ahavath Sholom Congregation in 1895 in Fort Worth, Texas. The front of the document lists the members of the congregation, and the back of the document lists the officers. When the list was created, Ahavath Sholom was the only synagogue in Fort Worth.

Handwritten minutes for the Ahavath Sholom Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas. The minutes are written in Yiddish, the native tongue of the members. The minutes discuss a legal dispute with a "chazzan," or a prayer leader who sued the congregation.

Handwritten minutes for the Ahavath Sholom Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas. The minutes are written in Yiddish, the native tongue of the members. The document discusses the Sabbath morning services for the congregation.

Letterhead stationary for the Hebrew Institute Building Fund Committee outlining all the donors for the institute and their monetary contributions. The building, designed by the architectural firm of Field and Clarkson, was constructed between April and August of 1914 in the 800 block of Taylor Street in Fort Worth, Texas at a cost of $14,668. The top left corner of the document shows an architectural drawing of the building.

Photograph of Temple Beth-El, the first house of worship for Beth-El, Fort Worth's Reform Jewish congregation. It was a two-story, neo-classical synagogue constructed of wood and stucco. Above the columned entrance was a wooden Star of David, beneath which were the Hebrew words "Y'he Or," meaning "Let There Be Light." Handwritten notes on the back of the photograph say, "Beth-El Congregation's 1st synagogue; built 1908 @ 5th & Taylor Streets. Photo from The Jewish Monitor, 1915. Greek Revival Style, The Hebrew Lettering says: 'Let there be light.'"

In 1921, Fort Worth’s Congregation Ahavath Sholom introduced the rite of Confirmation, the graduation from religious school that coincides with the Jewish holiday Shavuos when Moses received the Ten Commandments. This picture shows the twelve, 14-year-old girls in the Confirmation class wearing white dresses, holding flowers and certificates rolled up like scrolls. The students are seated in two rows and are identified as: Row 1: Lena Shosid (Cooles), Fannie Herman, unidentified, Hannah Byrens, Bess Lipshitz (Cohen), unidentified Row 2: Sarah Shosid (Bloomberg), unidentified, unidentified, Leah Goldstein (Gerson), unidentified, unidentified An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of June 3, 1921, named each confirmand and also listed Dorothy Cohen, Rose Weinstein, Bertha Mosier, Ida Mosier, Edna Lipshy, and Esther Ablon. Each confirmand addressed the congregation. They completed a course of study in Jewish history, religion and literature.

Photograph of the 1928 Ahavath Sholom confirmation class standing on the altar (called a bimah) of the synagogue located downtown in the 800 block of Taylor Street in Fort Worth, Texas. From left to right, the confirmands are: Rebecca Luskey, Cecile Bodzy, Martha Daiches, Mrs. Abraham Bengis (teacher), Rabbi Abraham Bengis, Esther Klimist, Sally Kruger, Sarah Garston. Behind the confirmands is a replica of the Ten Commandments which rests above the curtained ark, which houses the Torah scrolls. In front of the dais is a seven-branched menorah.

Bill for $125 in annual dues for the Ahavath Sholom Congregation, in Fort Worth, Texas. The dues statement is for congregation member, B. Max Mehl.

Typed letter from B. Max Mehl to the Ahavath Sholom Congregation. In the letter, Mehl responds to a dues statement sent to him from the congregation. The letter is requesting a corrected dues statement due to the congregation overcharging Mehl. The stationery includes a colored illustration at the top of the page that says, "Importer of and Dealer in Rare Coins, Medals, and Paper Money of all Countries and Periods"

Photograph of the 1932 Ahavath Sholom confirmation class standing around the altar (called a bimah) of the synagogue located at 823 Taylor Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The members of the photograph, from left to right, are: Top row: Sylvia Engler (Roberts), Jesonda Gilbert (Fox), Sadye May Carshon (Garsek), Bessie Resnick, Lillian Rose Rabinowitz (Rosenthal), Rebecca Laves, Pearl Paul, Gussie Kruger, Dorothy Dworkin (Glazer), Sarah Weisblatt (Kragen), Rhoda Kershner. Bottom row: Jennie Moses (Winkler)(teacher), Rabbi Philip Graubart.

Photograph of the 1940 Ahavath Sholom confirmation class standing around the altar of the synagogue located downtown on Taylor Street in Fort Worth, Texas. From left to right, the members of the photograph are: Front row: Bertha Haller, Gloria Sheinberg (Swann). Back row: Rabbi Philip Graubart, Margie Cohen (Levingston), Dorothy Bergman, Jennie Moses (Winkler)(teacher), Dorothy Cohen, Shirley Garston (Cohen), Annie Kaplan, Betty Daiches (Sher).

Photograph of Lieutenant Alvin Rubin, an Air Force pilot from Fort Worth, Texas. He is pictured from the chest up, wearing his uniform. Rubin was killed in an plane crash over Dakar, French Africa on March 15, 1944. A graduate of Paschal High, he was a past chapter president of AZA, the B'nai B'rith youth group for boys. Fort Worth's Rubin-Gilbert AZA chapter is named after him and Pvt. Harold Gilbert, who also died in the war.

A letter from General George C. Marshall, the United States Army Chief of Staff, expressing his condolences for the death of an unidentified soldier. The text reads: "General Marshall extends his deep sympathy in your bereavement. Your son fought valiantly in a supreme hour of his country's need. His memory will live in the grateful heart of our nation."

Photostat of a telegram from the United States Secretary of War to Mrs. Rose H. Gilbert, expressing his condolences for the death of her son, Private Harold Gilbert.

Handwritten minutes for the Ladies Cemetery Society commenting on the death of Private Harold Gilbert, the son of the society's recording secretary, Rose Gilbert. The text notes: “The absence of the secretary ...who had the misfortune of losing her son, Harold, Dec. 25, 1944, in the European Theater of the war, made the meeting a sad one; each and every one of the members present were in tears.” On the second page of the minutes, the group’s long-time president Mrs. Becky Goldstein recalls how she and Mrs. Gilbert used to “go out to collect dues at 25 cents each. Mrs. Gilbert furnished the horse and buggy.”

Photostatic copy of a typed letter from the United States Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, to Max Gilbert. The letter awards Gilbert's son, Harold Gilbert with a Purple Heart for his service, and it expresses Stimson's condolences for the death of Harold Gilbert.

Two photostat copies of a typed letter from William J. Voelker Jr. to Mrs. Max Gilbert, mother of Private Harold Gilbert. The letter describes the attack that killed Harold Gilbert, and discusses the details of Gilbert's burial in Normandy, France on on Dec. 27, 1944.

Typed letter to the family of Private Harold Gilbert from a fellow soldier named Harry Goldstein, sent from Marseilles. The letter describes the sinking of a troop transport ship, Dec. 25, 1944, in which in which Gilbert was killed.

Flyer announcing a community memorial service to be held at the Ahavath Sholom Synagogue in Fort Worth, Texas. The memorial service was in memory of local soldiers "fallen in battle," and was officiated by Rabbi Samuel Soskin and Rabbi Charles Blumenthal. The soldiers remembered were: Richard Burt, Harold Gilbert, Alvin Rubin and Walter C. Sanders.

Photograph of the 1946 Ahavath Sholom confirmation class standing around the altar (called a bimah) of the synagogue located downtown in the 800 block of Taylor Street in Fort Worth, Texas. From left to right, the members of the photograph are: Front Row: Rabbi Charles Blumenthal. Middle Row: Bessie Rutlader, Roselle Cooles, Ruth Spigel, Mary Sankary, Ruth Hendelman, Marilyn Coughey, Margie Weisblatt, Pearl Sankary. Back Row: Marshall Hillman, Sammy Hoffman, Sherwin Rubin.

Typed letter from Amon Carter and his son, Amon Carter Jr. to "a Gold Star Mother." Gold Star Mothers is a support organization formed for mothers who lost a son or daughter in World War II. The letter expresses condolences and comfort to Rose Gilbert and was accompanied by a gift basket of grapefruits, as noted in the letter.

Photograph of the second synagogue of Beth-El Congregation, Fort Worth's Reform Jewish house of worship. The photo appears to have been taken in 1948 after the temple was refurbished due to a 1946 fire that gutted the interior. The red-brick building, at 207 W. Broadway Ave., has two-stories plus a basement with a social hall and kitchen. The building's facade has a frieze above the entry with a quote from Psalms ("Give Ear, O Lord, Unto My Prayer") as well as two menorahs above the frieze. There are also stained-glass windows around the entrance and along the length of the building. A handwritten note on the back of the photo says, "Exterior 2nd Temple. 207 W. Broadway."

Flyer promoting "Family Night at La Grave Field" with the Fort Worth Cats, a minor league baseball team from Fort Worth, Texas. The flyer is promoting a game between the Cats and a team in Houston, Texas. There is an illustration of a baseball player holding a bat.

Photograph of the 1952 Ahavath Sholom confirmation class standing near the altar (called a bimah) at the synagogue at 1600 W. Myrtle Street, Fort Worth, Texas. There are six young men wearing black robes in the picture and four young women wearing white robes. From left to right, the confirmands pictured are: Front row: Patsy Ansel, Saradel Applebaum (Baker), Diane Solomon (Oberstein), Estaline Tuck (Gilbert). Back row: Burton Rakoover, Tommy Weitzman, Bernard "Bubba" Rubin, Rabbi Isadore Garsek, Jack Lichtman, Marty Bloomberg.