Orange County Jewish Historical Society archivist Dalia Taft will present “1940-1980: The Jewish Community Comes Together,” at the March 9th, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society (OCHS), 7:30 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. This program is a follow-up to her December 2020 presentation before the Society, which spanned history from 1857 to 1940.
This second program follows the Orange County Jewish community from just before WWII through 1980, when the tiny population more than doubled in size and started to build up community organizations, synagogues, youth groups, and more. Ms. Taft will show how many of Orange County’s Jewish residents were, and continue to be, actively involved in local commerce, culture and politics while still maintaining their Jewish identities. The lecture includes a montage of old photos, period newspaper announcements and vintage advertisements.
Prior to attending this event, OCHS suggests also viewing the half-hour documentary, California Orange Jews: The Story of Jews in Orange County, by Josh Friedman and Dalia Taft of the Orange County Jewish Historical Society. It is available on Youtube. (See tinyurl.com/3rtyvkh6)

As archivist for the Orange County Jewish Historical Society, Taft is responsible for increasing the awareness of the role Jews have played in the development of Orange County from 1857, when the first Jew settled in Anaheim, to now. She maintains the Society’s archives and is constantly researching and digitizing the growing collection. She lectures regularly and writes a monthly column in JLife, Orange County’s monthly Jewish magazine, highlighting images from the society’s archives. She is also the author of the book Jewish Pioneers of Orange County, which she will be available to sign and sell at the end of her program at OCHS.