As early as the 1860s, Jews have been a part of Cape Ann’s diverse economy. One of the first Jewish residents of Gloucester, Samuel H. Emanuel, started the S.H. Emanuel & Co Millinery Shop in 1868 after he and his wife Delia immigrated from Germany. Another early resident, Solomon Hochberger, opened a dry goods shop in Lanesville in 1875. Hochberger later started a junk business with fellow Jewish resident David Heineman in 1887. Jews from the initial waves of Jewish immigration in the first half of the 20th century made their lives as peddlers, tailors, and cobblers as well as owners of dry goods shops, junk businesses, bakeries, grocery stores, clothing stores, hotels, and summer camps. Many of these businesses, such as Harry Goldman’s clothing store (est. 1896), Joseph Bloomberg’s clothing store (est. around 1900), Louis and Leah Pett’s grocery store (est. mid 1920s), Bennie Schred’s Star Remnant Store (est. 1909), Samuel Feldman’s grocery store (est. late 1920s), and Bob Kramer’s haberdashery (est. 1948) became fixtures of the Jewish community. Jewish-owned bakeries, grocery stores, and restaurants were especially important when it came to Jews trying to keep kosher on Cape Ann. Unlike larger Jewish communities on the North Shore that were closer to Boston, access to kosher meat was difficult. Feldman’s grocery store was one of the few places on Cape Ann where Jews could find kosher meat. 

Because Cape Ann was a summer destination for many Jewish families, Jewish owned hotels and summer camps were also important fixtures of the community. Due to antisemitism, Jewish guests were excluded from staying at certain hotels. Jews were also excluded from joining groups like the YMCA and private yacht, golf, and tennis clubs and were restricted from joining summer events held by these groups such as tennis and golf lessons and competitions, dinners, and parties. Because of this, Jewish-owned hotels and summer camps, such as the Moorland Hotel purchased by Meyer Jasper in 1940, the Hawthorne Inn owned by Max Arnold, the Magnolia Manor and Magnolia Lodge owned by Saul Feldman, the Oceanside Hotel owned by Pearl and Ralph Snyder in the 1950s, and Camp Annisquam founded by Abraham Resnick in 1923, were important businesses for both the summer and year-round Jewish community on Cape Ann. ■

Abraham Resnick immigrated from Russia to Boston in 1911. As a teenager, Abraham attended the Civic Service House of Boston’s summer camp that was run in West Gloucester. He liked the camp so much that he bought the land and founded Camp Annisquam at Little River and Stanwood Point in 1923. The camp was a place for families, couples, and young people to go on vacation. The Resnicks also operated a sailing camp for boys for 20 years. 

The camp had a substantial kitchen to feed its guests and was also a place where Jews could get kosher meals. Abram would organize activities for guests such as tours of the area and hiking and fishing trips. On weekends, the camp would hire a band and host dinners and dances. According to Abram’s son Jeff, his father faced discrimination in the beginning when he was trying to get a loan from the bank to start the camp. Jeff explains that because the camp was known as “the Jewish camp” locally, campers would at times experience antisemitism when it came to beach privileges and passes. Campers would be denied entrance to certain beaches in the area. However, Camp Annisquam continued to be a fixture of the community and even saw well-known members of the Cape Ann artist community like sculptor George Aarons and his wife, Gertrude, painter Harold Rotenberg, and painters William Meyerowitz and Theresa Bernstein. ■   

There had been devastating fires in Gloucester before. In 1830 and 1864, fires destroyed much of the downtown. But this was the 21st century, and fires like this were not supposed to happen. The fear was that, if the fire spread beyond the Temple, the Sawyer Free Library would be next. Luckily, the fire was contained. “We almost lost downtown tonight,” Mayor John Bell told firefighters. ■

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