Jews -- New Mexico -- Social life and customs

The collection contains materials intentionally assembled by Beck Archives that are associated with Jewish communities in the western United States and Mexico. The material is related to various towns in Colorado, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Congregation Albert was established in 1897 by Alfred Grunsfeld, Henry N. Jaffa and Berthold Apitz. The naming rights were auctioned off and the Grunsfeld family, for $250, chose to name the synagogue after Alfred's late father, Albert Grunsfeld. The first building was dedicated in 1900, the second building was dedicated in 1951 and the third in 1984. The collection contains histories of the congregation and dedication journals from 1951 and 1984.

The booklets are the product of the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society's Jewish Pioneer Oral History Video Archive Project, conducted in partnership with the Department of History and the Center for Regional Studies at the University of New Mexico. The booklets are composed of recollections of the family members. The "Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico" (2003) is an exhibit catalogue from an exhibit at the Museum of New Mexico.