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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
The collection is open to research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marvin Blecher Oral History Interview, Ms1998-017, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Marvin Blecher Oral History Interview was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1998.
The processing and description of the Marvin Blecher Oral History Interview commenced and was completed in November, 2023.
The Lord Reading Club was established at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) to serve as a campus Jewish denominational organization, hosting weekly services and other activities. As stated in the 1934 Bugle , the club's purpose was "the promotion of understanding between various denominations and the Jewish students." The club hosted member-conducted religious services, and members studied "current events, Jewish literature and culture, along with student problems." The club became more formalized with the growth of the campus Jewish community and became affiliated with B'nai B'rith Hillel, taking the name Hillel in 1952. Dr. Marvin Blecher, a professor of physics at Virginia Tech from 1968 to 2010, served as Hillel's faculty advisor from 1973 to 1993.
This collection consists of a single audiocassette tape containing an oral history interview conducted by Virginia Tech student Christina Roemer with Marvin Blecher--a Virginia Tech professor of physics and Hillel at Virginia Tech faculty advisor--and Freda Blecher of Blacksburg, Virginia. The 45-minute interview, conducted in 1998, focuses on the Blechers' involvement in Blacksburg's Jewish community, the Hillel student organization at Virginia Tech (particularly from the perspective of a faculty advisor), and other Jewish communities in the region. Included are brief comments on the early history of the Blacksburg Jewish Community Center, anti-semitism, and the student protest movements of the 1960s.
The guide to the Marvin Blecher Oral History Interview by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
This collection had been originally cataloged as the Marvin Blecher Audiocassette Tape. During the course of processing in 2023, the Marvin Blecher Oral History Interview was determined to be a more appropriate title for the collection.