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Lillian Bilsky Freiman (1885 – November 2, 1940), nicknamed The Poppy Lady, was a Jewish-Canadian
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, and
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
. In 2008, she was designated a
Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) () are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the ...
by the
Canadian Government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...
for being "a gifted organizer and philanthropist who worked to improve the health and welfare of her fellow citizens."Canadian government
/ref>


Early life

In 1885, Lillian Freiman was born at
Mattawa, Ontario Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. The first Europeans to pass through this area were Étienne Brûlé and Samuel de Champlain. History In 1610, Étienne Br ...
to Pauline Reich, a homemaker, and Moses Bilsky, who was a Jewish-Canadian merchant and community leader, thought to have been the first Jewish settler in Ottawa. Her family was of Russian-Lithuanian descent. She was the fifth of eleven children. Her sister Lucy would go on to marry Allan Bronfman, one of the founders of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, the liquor distiller and marketer.


Career


World War I

When the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
broke out, Freiman set up 30 sewing machines in her home and organized
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
sewing circles to send blankets and clothing to the soldiers overseas. This sewing circle would become a Disraeli Chapter of the Daughters of the Empire. In addition, she co-founded The Great War Veterans Association, which would become the
Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...
. The Association, by 1919, became the largest veterans' organization in Canada. Later, she was the first woman to become an honorary life member of the Royal Canadian Legion. In 1919, the Vetcraft Shops, which employed returning servicemen to make furniture and toys, was created with Freiman's influence. When
John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing th ...
's poem ''
In Flanders Fields "In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend ...
'' became famous, many campaigns were introduced to have the poppy adopted as a symbol of remembrance and a means of raising funds for veterans. In 1921, Freiman crafted the first Canadian poppies in her living room. In 1923, the Vetcraft Shops took over the poppy making. She was a member of the National Poppy Advisory Committee and chaired Ottawa’s annual poppy campaign nearly every year until her death.


Post-war activities

In 1918, she was summoned by the mayor of Ottawa to organize a 1500-volunteer relief effort. The project gained national attention. With media support, she launched a campaign disseminating not only progress reports but also information designed to help prevent the spread of the influenza. In 1921, she assisted between 146 and 151 Jewish war orphans from
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
to emigrate to Canada. Among them was a 12-year-old orphan named Gladys Rozovsky was adopted by Freiman and her husband. Freiman was the founder of the Canadian Hadassah - a woman's Zionist Organization. She accomplished this by raising money for the Helping Hand Fund of Hadassah, by traveling acrossing Canada, and securing about $200,000 from 120,000 Jews, most of them recent immigrants. She would head the organization for twenty-one years, from 1919-1940. By 1925, under her leadership, membership of the Hadassah was at 4,500 women in 68 chapters. Beyond this, she had been involved with leadership roles in the Ottawa Welfare Bureau, the Protestant Infants Home, the Canadian Institute for the Blind, the Red Cross Society, the Amputations Association of Great War Veterans of Canada, the Salvation Army, the Big Sisters’ Association, the YMCA, the Joan of Arc Society. She was also involved with the
Girl Guides Association Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association in the United Kingdom, previously named The Girl Guides Association, which was formed in 1910. It is the original Girl Guides organisation in the world and, in 1928, became a founding m ...
, the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Association, the Ladies Auxiliary of
Adath Jeshurun Congregation Adath Jeshurun Congregation (also Adath Jeshurun Synagogue) is a Conservative synagogue located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, in the United States, with about 1,200 members. Founded in 1884, it is a founding member of the United Synagogue of Ameri ...
and the Ladies Auxiliary of B'nai B'rith. In 1934, she chaired the
United Palestine Appeal United Israel Appeal (UIA), a subsidiary of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), is a link between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel. An independent legal entity with 501(c)(3) charity status, and a Board of Direc ...
.


Awards and accolades

In 1934, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire, becoming the first Jewish Canadian to receive the honour. The aware was presented to her by King George V on New Year’s Day. The
Bytown Museum The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River, just below Parliament Hill. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest remai ...
hosted an exhibit on Freiman’s life. The Moshav Havatselet HaSharon in Israel's Emeq Hefer, land purchased by the Jewish National Fund with contributions by Canadians including the Freiman family, is named for her. In 1924, delegates at the Canadian National Convention named a school after her. In 1930, the publication ''Women of Canada'' dubbed Freiman as "Mother of the Jewish People of Canada". In 1935, Canadian Hadassah dedicated the year to Freiman as tribute to her fiftieth birthday.


Personal life

In 1903, she married prominent businessman A. J. Freiman, who owned the major department store "Freiman’s Department Store" on Rideau Street. It was one of only two Jewish department stores in Canada. The couple had three children, Dorothy (Alexandor, 1906–1986), Lawrence (1909–1986), and Queene Esther (Luxenberg, 1912–1997), and one adopted daughter.


Death

On November 2, 1940, she died aged 55, due to failing health. Her funeral was attended by Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
, Ottawa Mayor Stanley Lewis, and a Royal Canadian Legion honour guard. In 1957, her Victorian-style mansion on 149 Somerset Street West in Ottawa was converted to the home of the Ottawa Army Officer's Mess. On December 29, 1941, a tablet was unveiled by Major-General L.F. LaFleche, Associate Deputy Minister of National War Services at Trafalgar House that was inscribed:


See also

*
Persons of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) () are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on t ...
*
Moina Michael Moina Belle Michael (August 15, 1869 – May 10, 1944) was an American professor and humanitarian who conceived the idea of using Papaver rhoeas, poppies as a Remembrance poppy, symbol of remembrance for those who served in World War I. Early li ...


Works on Lillian Freiman


Figler, Bernard. ''Lillian and Archie Freiman: biographies'' Montreal, 1961. Print

Freiman
at
Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...
JWA * Merna Forster ''100 More Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces.'' Dundurn, 2012,
google books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
pp 154 squ


References


External links


Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freiman, Lillian Bilsky 1885 births 1940 deaths Canadian Zionists Canadian Jews Canadian philanthropists Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Mattawa, Ontario Canadian people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century Canadian philanthropists