Stolbun/Workmen's Circle collection

According to its website, The Workmen’s Circle is “a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism.” Founded in 1900, the institution was originally meant to present a united front and root traditional values in the new world for Jewish immigrants facing “exploitative labor practices, blighted and overcrowded tenements, ethnic rivalries [and an] unfamiliar new culture.” Though its focus has shifted somewhat in the century of involvement in the Jewish Community, the Workmen’s Circle holds true to the values that originally brought the members together: “Jewish community, the promotion of an enlightened Jewish culture, and social justice.” Today, the Circle “[works] fiercely to remain a bulwark in the fight for the dignity and economic rights of immigrants, fairness in labor practices, decent health care for all Americans.”

A long-standing member of the Workmen’s Circle, Edith Winograd Stolbun was born in Houston, one of nine children of Ida and Max Winograd. She married her husband Bernard on Sept. 8, 1946, and together they raised three children. During her time, she volunteered as a driver for the Lighthouse for the Blind, and various other community programs, including the Jewish Welfare Board’s war-time program. She had a close connection to United States veterans, having lost in combat one of the two brothers who served in World War II.