Consecration Class of 1951 at Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth. Standing on the far left is Rabbi Milton Rosenbaum holding the Torah. Standing in the back is first-grade teacher Amelia Rosenstein. The consecration ushers children into their religious school studies.

Photograph of Rabbi Ralph Mecklenburger of Beth-El Congregation with his wife, Ann, and Rabbi Sidney Zimelman of Congregation Ahavath Sholom Congregation with his wife, Vivian.

Photograph of Rabbi Ralph Mecklenburger, his wife Ann, with Stan and Marcia Kurtz and Nobel Peace Laureate Ellie Wiesel in 2001 at Gates of Chai lecture series, Texas Christian University.

Rabbi Ralph D. Mecklenburger, spiritual leader at Beth-El Congregation,the Reform synagogue in Fort Worth.

Portrait of Rabbi Robert Schur, Beth-El Congregation, Fort Worth, taken around 1970.

Bishop John J. Cassata, first Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth, and Rabbi Robert Schur together at the Beth-El Congregation in the 1970s.

Portrait of Rabbi Robert Shur and his wife, Rolly Shur, of Beth-El Congregation, taken around 1960.

Painting of the first rabbi of Beth-El Congregation, Rabbi Solomon Philo (1842-1923). Hired on probation for $100 a month, he served the congregation for its first four months, from September through December of 1902. In the painting, he is a bearded man with white hair and waxed mustache studying from a book on a table in front of him. He wears a dark suit with a bow tie and black skull cap. There are two rings on his fingers and he is leaning on the table.

Photograph of the Gernsbacher Cafe Supply Company, located at 1011 Houston Street in Fort Worth around the year 1950. The building is three stories tall, the cafe supply is on the ground floor, with what look to be apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors. There is a truck with "Gernsbacher Cafe Supplies" printed on the driver's door. Several people are standing outside the store looking at the camera.

Henry and Julia Faulk Gernsbacher (1859-1935) pose for their 50th wedding anniversary photo in 1930. Henry Gernsbacher (1858-1936), a kitchen-supply merchant, was the founder of Fort Worth's Beth-El Congregation. The couple had six sons. Their family business remained in operation until the end of the century.

Two photographs of Rabbi Ralph Meckleburger entertaining children during the Holiday of Succot in 2007, outdoors at Beth-El Congregation, 4900 Briarhaven Rd. The succah, or tabernacle, is built outdoors. Page from a thank you letter to the rabbi. " Thank you! 2007 Dear Rabbi Mecklenburger, Thank you for helping us celebrate Sukkot. We all loved the story you told and enjoyed swaying to the songs you played. Todah, Rachel Yaacobi on behalf of Lil Goldman's students and staff."

Students of the Beth-El Congregation celebrate the Holiday of Succot around 1949-1950. They built a succah, a tabernacle or booth covered with seasonal greens and fruits, on the altar of the synagogue at 207 W. Broadway Ave., Fort Worth.

Portrait of the Carb family, a founding family of Beth-El Congregation. Clockwise, from left, Isadore Carb(1852-1915), and his children Meredith Carb, David Carb, and Gladys Carb.

Children dressed up for Purim at the Beth-El Congregation around 1948. Standing: La Rue Glickman, Sandra Rashti, Realene Mehl, Sue Goldstein, Dorothy Prager, Sonya Sandler, Esther Rosenthal Kneeling: Rabbi Milton Rosenbaum, Don Herman, Morton Meyerson, Jay Weinstein

Large gathering of people in the hall of the Hebrew Institute for the Purim masquerade ball.

Children celebrating the holidays of Succot and Simchat Torah in the main sanctuary of the Beth-El Congregation, 207 W. Broadway, taken in the late 1920s or mid-1930s. This rare photo is among the few that show the original interior of the temple sanctuary, which featured a choir loft and a pipe organ.

Exterior photograph of the facade of the Beth-El Congregation synagogue at 207 W. Broadway Avenue in Fort Worth. The building was restored after a fire. The congregation occupied the building from 1920 until 2000. It is still standing.

Photograph of the "Presentation" party for Jewish Debutantes in 1951 in the Venetian Ballroom of the Blackstone Hotel, Fort Worth. The women are arrayed on a staircase in two rows. They are holding bouquets of flowers and wearing formal gowns. There is a palm frond potted plant at the bottom of the stairs. The women from left to right on the back row: Barbara Walensky (Zale), Esther Rosenthal, Gloria Laves, La Rue Glickman (Glazer), Sandra Rashti, Jayne Meyers (Eisen), Sonja Sandler (Stenzler), Sandra Miron (Freed), Yvonne Greene (Lewis). The women from left to right on the front row: Dorothy Prager, Sara Rashti, Realene "Bootsie" Mehl (Coggan), Sandra Zaetler.

Photograph of the "Presentation" party for Jewish Debutantes of 1949 at the Beth-El Congregation's social hall at 207 W. Broadway in Fort Worth. The women are arranged in a curve away from the photographer and are holding bouquets of flowers and wearing formal ball gowns. The women from left to right: Charlotte Sue Louis (Alterman), Ruth Hendelman (Berkowitz), Marilyn Caughy (Raff), Harriet Friedson, Sara Kantrovich (Carr), Katherine Spiegel, Bessie Rutlader (Gaines), Rhoda Cohen (Schultz), Mary Sankary (Herman), Ellen Sankary (Smith), Idelle Engelberg (Luskey), Margie Weisblatt (Goone), Adele Nathan (Friedman).

Photograph of the "Presentation" party for Fort Worth's Jewish Debutantes on November 24, 1956 in the Venetian Ballroom of the Blackstone Hotel. The women in the front row, holding bouquets of flowers, wear floor-length gowns, while men standing behind are wearing tuxedos. They are standing on a stage with curtains hanging behind them. The back row of men from left to right: Nolan Glazer, David Samson, Phillip Hurwitz, Willard Glazer, Irving Rosenthal, Mitchell Victor, and Joseph Shanblum. The front row of women from left to right: Charlotte Miller (Mehl), Eleanor Klotzman (Gachman), Bertha Samson (Shanblum), Annette Bockstein (Taylor), Shirley Ginsburg (Anton), Betty Jo Dresher (Silberstein), Louise Klar (Lipschitz).

Photograph of the cake celebrating Beth-El Congregation's fiftieth anniversary, from 1902 to 1952. The cake is shaped like a book, a popular cake design in the 1950s. The left side of the cake reads "Fiftieth Anniversary" and the right reads "Beth-El Congregation 1902 - 1952."

Six men in suits dig shovels into dirt at the groundbreaking of the Dan Danciger Jewish Community Center in 1964. The name tag of the man second from the left reads "Jake Feldman" and the man third from the left has a name tag which says "Louis Bockstein," the other men are unknown. The sign in the background reads: "Dan Danciger Jewish Community Center Cadenhead Construction Co. Inc. General Contractor Wyatt C. Hedrick Architect - Engineer Sub-Contractors" The names below "Sub-Contractors" are obscured by the men in the foreground.

Exterior photograph of Congregation Ahavath Sholom and the Hebrew Institute in the 800 block of Taylor Street in Fort Worth. The building on the right with the arched windows is the synagogue of Congregation Ahavath Sholom, which was constructed in 1906. Next door is the Hebrew Institute, constructed in 1910. From 1910 until 1951 the Hebrew Institute served as a place for Hebrew School classes and meetings. It also had a gymnasium and a banquet hall. There are two "For Lease" signs on the front of the building. Adhered to the front of the photograph is a typed piece of paper which says "By 1950, downtown skyscrapers dwarfed Ahavath Sholom Synagogue and the Hebrew Institute at 819 Taylor Street." In 1951, Ahavath Sholom sold the downtown properties to the Danciger family. The synagogue was razed to create a parking lot. The Hebrew Institute was renamed the Danciger Building and converted into office space. The Federal Building now occupies this stretch of Taylor Street.

Exterior photograph of the Hebrew Institute to Congregation Ahavath Sholom in the 800 block Taylor Street in Fort Worth. From 1910 until 1951 the building served as a place for Hebrew School classes and meetings, it also functioned as a gym. There are two "For Lease" signs on the front of the building.