Jewish Histories in Multiethnic Boyle Heights

Abraham Maymudes

Born in Poland, Abraham Maymudes (1901-1989) emigrated to New York in 1920, where he worked as a furrier and studied at the Arbeter Ring (Workers Circle) Teacher’s Seminary. After teaching at a Yiddish school in Cleveland, he and his wife moved to Boyle Heights in 1933 to lead the Jewish People’s Fraternal Order’s (JPFO) three Yiddish schools in the neighborhood. Maymudes was elected secretary of the JPFO, operating its low-cost insurance program for its 250 members, leading its massive war bonds drive during World War II, and running the local office of the Morgn Frayhayt (Morning Freedom), a Communist Yiddish daily. Maymudes retired from his post with the JPFO after the war, but continued his work with the paper, serving as national editor from 1959 to 1963. The photographs above come from Maymudes' personal collection and were donated to the Los Angeles Public Library by his son, August (z"l).

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