Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire to Be Commemorated Tomorrow (Tuesday)
Hebrew Free Burial Association to mark 100th yahrzeit with ceremony where 22 are buried
NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire later in March, the Hebrew Free Burial Association will tomorrow (Tuesday) host a memorial ceremony at the gravesites of the 22 victims it buried in the wake of the tragedy. Tomorrow's ceremony, at 10:00 a.m. at Mount Richmond Cemetery, 420 Clarke Ave on Staten Island will coincide with the 100th yahrzeit of the fire victims - the Jewish calendar anniversary of the day the victims died.
The Hebrew Free Burial Association was established in the 1880s to provide Jewish burial rites and a final resting place for indigent Jews. Since its inception, the organization has buried more than 60,000 people in New York, and today continues to bury an average of 300 people per year. It is the largest free burial society outside of Israel. Its services are integral to poor Jews and their families. An article about HFBA and the fire appeared in yesterday's NY Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/02/27/2011-02-27_unloved_unclaimed_but_not_forgotten.html.
On March 25, 1911, 146 people died in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in Greenwich Village, and on March 25, 2011, New York will further remember that day with a series of events and exhibits. Most of the victims were young, underpaid, immigrant women who worked long hours in unhealthy, unsafe conditions. The fire led to major changes in workplace labor and fire safety laws.
The Hebrew Free Burial Association's short graveside ceremony tomorrow, March 1 will be led by Mount Richmond Cemetery Rabbi Shmuel Plafker, the burial association's chaplain. HFBA Executive Director Amy Koplow also will share reflections on her organization's role in tens of thousands of funerals over the past more than 120 years. The event is open to the press and public and coverage is invited.
WHO: Amy Koplow, Executive Director, Hebrew Free Burial Association
Rabbi Shmuel Plafker, Cemetery Chaplain, Hebrew Free Burial Association and Mount Richmond Cemetery
WHAT: Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire on the 100th yahrzeit/anniversary of the fire (Jewish calendar)
WHEN: 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 1, 2011
WHERE: Mount Richmond Cemetery
420 Clarke Ave.
Staten Island, NY
The Hebrew Free Burial Association is the only agency in the greater New York metropolitan area dedicated to assuring that every Jew, regardless of financial means or religious affiliation, receives a dignified, traditional Jewish funeral and burial. More information is available at www.hebrewfreeburial.org.
SOURCE Hebrew Free Burial Association
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