Cleveland, OH – From my earliest childhood, I have memories of walking by the Fir Street cemetery,” recalls Judge Raymond L. Pianka of the Cleveland Municipal Housing Court.
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The second-oldest Jewish cemetery in Cleveland, Fir Street Cemetery was founded by the Liberty Aid and Hungarian Aid Societies. Hence, most of the Jews buried there are of Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish or Russian descent. The first burial probably took place in 1862. Three congregations n Hagidosh Hagadol Synagogue, Park Synagogue, and B’rith Abraham n buried their dead in Fir Street, which was also known as the Peach Street cemetery. The last burial there was in 1969.
It is a very old cemetery, and most of the families of the people buried there are gone,” he says. Headstones had fallen over or been pushed over. Neighbors wished it were better maintained, and there were occasional acts of vandalism.
Several months ago, Pianka raised the initial funding for renovations from a small family foundation. [cjn]
Shkoiach, Ben Noach!