Hadassah Magazine first published “The Jewish Traveler: Atlantic City” in the June/July 2011 issue. Written by frequent magazine contributor Rahel Musleah, that travel feature proved to be one of our most popular to focus on a domestic destination. Beyond childhood memories of summers spent “down the shore,” many readers were particularly taken with one photo that accompanied the text. It was a Hadassah image from the organization’s 1937, 25th-anniversary convention, held in Atlantic City.

The image, shared below, features several Hadassah leaders whose identities I was unable to fit into the caption. What followed was the richest inundation of letters I have ever received as Hadassah Magazine‘s travel editor. Many readers wrote to me with the belief that their mother/aunt/grandmother was among the group of proud Zionist women strolling along the boardwalk. In some cases, the letter writers were correct.

Fast-forward 10 years later, till today, when Hadassah Magazine has selected the novel Florence Adler Swims Forever as a One Book, One Hadassah selection. Written by Rachel Beanland, the National Jewish Book Award winner is set in that same 1930s-era Atlantic City and begins with a shocking tragedy that results in three generations of a Jewish family grappling with heartbreak, romance and the weight of family secrets. There is little doubt that Beanland’s atmospheric recreation of Atlantic City’s hey day will feel familiar to generations of Hadassah members who either grew up summering there or were raised by women who lovingly recalled those halcyon days.

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If all this reminiscing has left you longing to explore old-time Atlantic City, then please join us on June 10 at 7 p.m., when Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein will interview Rachel Beanland. The event is free and open to all—please register here.

And before the event, please make sure to read our review of Florence Adler Swims Forever, which was touted as “the perfect summer read” and one of the best books of 2020 by USA TODAY. 

 

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In my original photo research 10 years ago for that travel story—which has now been updated as Atlantic City reopens to travelers post-Covid—I assembled several vintage images from the Hadassah Archives, including the image of the women on the boardwalk. I share all of them with you here. My hope is that this photographic look back to the 1920s-1950s—when Hadassah held several conventions in Atlantic City, taking advantage of the grand hotels, kosher catering options and bracing sea air—engenders the same warm, reflective response from our readers as the original story.

Anyone recognize someone?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If all this reminiscing has left you longing to explore old-time Atlantic City, then please join us on June 10 at 7 p.m., when Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein will interview Rachel Beanland. The event is free and open to all—please register here.