West Colfax

Mrs. Channah Milstein, wears a traditional kerchief or tichel headcovering in a head and shoulders formal portrait. She was a member of the ''Glazierlach'' clan of Denver, Colorado's west side Orthodox Jewish Community. The family had been glaziers in Brest-Litovsk and in Denver the family became known as the ''glassies.'' Channah Milstein was known for her personal commitment to charity in Denver's west-side East European immigrant Jewish community as she urged residents to contribute to her collections of food, clothing, and money for the needy.  Read more »

Anna Hillkowitz in a formal pose is wearing eyeglasses, a necklace, and a large hat. Anna Hillkowitz was born in Russia, the daughter of Rabbi Elias and Rebecca Hillkowitz and sister of Dr. Philip Hillkowitz, longtime president of the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS.) Anna entered library school after high school graduation and took a position as a librarian with the Denver public library. Highly active in the Denver Jewish community, she took a leave of absence from her job in 1907 to work as a successful traveling fund-raiser for the JCRS.  Read more »

Rabbi Elias Hillkowitz was considered the dean of Denver's early west-side Orthodox Jewish rabbis. He was an early supporter of the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS), where his son, Dr. Philip Hillkowitz, served as president from 1904 to 1948. Rabbi Hillkowitz suggested the JCRS motto from the Talmud: ''He who saves one life saves the world.''

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Founders of the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, circa 1907. From left to right: Jennie Kantrowitz, Mollie Lifshutz, Bessie Willens, Mary Augenblich, Fannie Lorber, and Sadie Francis. Although the women were Eastern Europeans, they had adopted the American style of dress, as evidenced by their oversize hats.

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Miriam Milstein sits at a table with a tapestry behind her. Mrs. Milstein's husband was Shul Baer Milstein, an early leader in Denver, Colorado's west side Orthodox Jewish community, and Congregations Zera Abraham. She is wearing a sheitel (wig), worn by some Eastern European women after marriage.

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Shul Baer Milstein, wearing a yarmulka and smoking a long pipe, sits at a table with an open Talmud in front of him. A tapestry hangs on the wall behind his chair. Milstein, who immigrated from Russia, was an early leader in Denver's west side Orthodox Jewish community and in Congregation Zera Abraham. He was also a patriarch of the Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located in Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. He was a peddler and later opened his own kosher butcher shop.  Read more »

William R. Blumenthal, fundraiser, stands (at left) with 37 children on the playground of the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver near 19th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in Denver, Colorado. Children pictured include Dan Justman, Sara Appel, Fred Vean, Fanny Barret, Doris Greenstein, Joey Barret, Mildred Vean, Rachel Passman, and Benny Passman.  Read more »

A group of girls learn to sew during a class at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver. The National Home for Jewish Children at Denver's history began in 1907 as the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, which was a refuge for lower-income children whose parents were being treated for tuberculosis, or had passed away from tuberculosis. In 1928 the institution changed names to the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver.  Read more »

A group of children sit in front of the Denver Sheltering Home at 19th Street and Julian Street in Denver, Colorado. The Sheltering Home began as a home for the children of tuberculosis patients who came to the sanatoriums in Denver. The Denver Sheltering Home later became the National Asthma Center. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1914. The 36 children living in the home at the time were taken in by neighborhood families until a new building could be erected.  Read more »

Sammy and Irving Israel milk a tuberculin-tested cow. The boys were summertime volunteers in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

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