How This Began
On the memorial wall at Kol Ami Synagogue (formerly Temple Emanu-El) in Tucson, there are many names. One name has held my attention for years: Frank Wolf. His name is perhaps the oldest one on the wall. Yet when I asked around, no one could tell me anything about Frank Wolf. We have no idea who he was, what he did, where he came from, what he loved, or what he believed. Frank Wolf died in 1896, fourteen years before the synagogue’s creation. Upon further investigation, it turns out that he might never have even lived in Tucson, let alone Arizona. Yet, here he is, a part of the Tucson community.
Frank Wolf’s name has survived, but his story has not.
From this profound realization, I created The Frank Wolf Project. Frank Wolf is not alone. In every Jewish community and in every family, there are people whose lives are ordinary – perhaps extraordinary. Their lives are full of history, humor, loss, resilience, wisdom, and love. There are people whose stories are at risk of disappearing simply because no one has asked to hear them.
I am asking for your voice and your story.
What I Do
A Recorded Conversation
Right now, The Frank Wolf Project is a simple, personal effort to preserve the oral histories of Jewish community members across Tucson. I sit with people, ask questions, listen, and record.
After some time together, you and I are both left with a recorded conversation and maybe a chance to see a few photographs or artifacts, but what we have done together is begun to document your life.
Please Tell Me About
-
Where you grew up, and what that world looked like
-
Your family, where they came from, what they went through
-
Your Jewish life: the traditions, the holidays, the memories
-
The moments that shaped who you are
-
What you most want the next generation to know
There is no wrong answer, and there are no stories too small. The details that seem ordinary to you (the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the shul you walked to as a child, what you used to do for fun in the summer, the job you worked when you first arrived in Arizona, what you hope people most remember you for) are exactly the pieces that history forgets, and exactly the details I want to preserve.
What Happens to Your Story
I will record and transcribe your interview. Then, I will keep it in a private digital archive and treat it with the care and respect it deserves. I will ask you to sign a simple consent form that gives you control over how your story is used, including the option to keep it private, share it only within the Tucson Jewish community, transfer it to a formal archive at a later date, or allow it to be used in future publications.
I will never share or publish without your written permission.
The Bigger Dream
Over time I hope to grow this into something more formal: an independent non-profit organization dedicated to Jewish memory preservation that can partner with Jewish communities near and far.
Among the things I eventually hope to create:
-
A lasting digital archive of oral histories from Jewish community members
-
Children’s books drawn from real community stories, so the next generation can meet the people who came before them
-
A replicable model that other synagogues and Jewish organizations can adopt
My hope for that future depends on what I begin to build today. Every conversation I record, every story I preserve, is a brick in that foundation. More than a century ago, Frank Wolf lived for 42 years, and all that currently remains is his name on a wall. In a hundred years from now, when neither of us are here, I am asking to help you be more than a name on a wall like Frank Wolf. I am asking that you share your voice and share your story, to give life to your legacy beyond your immediate family, so that you may continue to live from generation to generation, l’dor v’dor.
