JCC as the social mecca for teens during the 1950s and 1960s

Summer Canteen reunion sparks memories

Ellen Goldstein is sitting. L-R: Joan Friedman, Janie Bernstein, Shelley Weinberg, Barbara Stein, Marsha Chernick, Lynda Sandperil. On the far right is Judy Weiner White. /FacebookWhat happens when you listen to the oldies station? Do memories from your teenage years of rocking to the Beatles and swaying to the Shirelles come flooding back? Do you, by any chance, reminisce about the Saturday night dances you attended at Providence’s JCC? First relationships, first kisses, first three-hour conversations that fly by in five minutes – for many, it all started during the Summer Canteen.

In the late ’50s and throughout most of the ’60s, Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts teenagers looked forward to these evenings filled with music, friends and romance. Though they attended various youth clubs in the building throughout the year, the center was mostly quiet during the summer. The canteen was a welcome distraction from the scheduled days of school, as well as a reprieve from boredom during the long, lazy days of vacation.

Unlike B’nai B’rith Youth and the Councilettes, the dances weren’t burdened by structure and provided an opportunity to take it easy, have fun and enjoy the carefree environment in the company of friends. While JCC clubs such as ballet and modern dance were exciting, they weren’t as freeing as those Saturday evenings when young people let loose and displayed their moves, unguarded by instructors.

Mark Rechter, along with several others, was inspired to organize a reunion (held on Aug. 24 at the Dwares JCC) after reading Esta Rabinowitz Avedisian’s article about the Summer Canteen in September of 2012 (“Fifty years of friendship add up to a lifetime of memories”). Rechter was excited about the return of The Ghost Riders and Jerry Chorney, who provided musical entertainment back in the day. Once again, the “kids” were grooving to their tunes.

Rechter says that the draw of the canteen was the chance to meet Jewish teens from other locations. The draw of the reunion was the possibility to reconnect with old pals. Jeffrey M. Feldman says, “The Summer Canteen in the 1960s was a center of activity on summer nights. It was a fun, sometimes noisy, occasionally romantic and always safe place to be. Even 40 years later, the warm memories of hanging out at the JCC during the summer, rock ‘n’ roll playing in the background, linger strongly.” 

While the canteen was the place to be in the summer, JCC’s youth programming offered numerous activities for teens to engage in throughout the year. The one common element was Charlotte (Goldenberg) Penn, the director of youth services who facilitated not only the clubs, but also the lasting friendships. Robert Sherwin says that, thanks to Penn, “a lot of us are still in touch with each other.” For him, the center was “a place we could all go hang out after school and share ideas.”

Michael Schwartz, who, like his friend Sherwin, was a recipient of the I.S. Low Memorial Youth Award (given to students who showed leadership potential), also says that many of his friends are people he met at the JCC during his high school days. “The times spent at the Center Youth Counsel and at AZA [Aleph Zadek Aleph – a fraternity component of BBYO] meetings held at the JCC are memories that I will continue to cherish for the rest of my life.”

Penn, who began overseeing the teenagers as a volunteer in 1962 and was hired two years later as director of youth programming – a position she held until 1972, says that she wanted to make the center a safe place for teens, “a place every Jewish mother will be happy to send her daughter.” Insisting that all the “kids,” as she still calls them, address her as “Charlotte,” Penn succeeded not only in creating “a clean, well-lighted place” for them to frequent, but also in fostering a welcoming atmosphere. She recalls that, by the end of her first summer at the JCC, more than 300 teens attended each dance.

Penn fondly reminisces that she was known as “the mother who approves of everything.” Her accepting attitude might be one of the reasons why some teens rebelled when she asked for parents to chaperone the dances. Penn credits the parents for their dedication to their children, as well as for their help at the center. She says that the parents were grateful that their children had a place to go to “feel important” because “we gave [the teens] credit for what they did.” While dances, skit nights, trips to Mt. Snow, Washington, D.C., and The American Shakespeare Theatre were fun for the teens, Penn thoroughly enjoyed them as well. She recalls, “We really had good times, and I had the best time of all because I loved those kids.”

IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.