Members and friends of the East Brunswick chapter of Hadassah explored historic Roosevelt on June 17, learning how Roosevelt was created through Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal to house Jewish artisans and garment workers who had lived in the overcrowded slums of New York City. The utopian plan included a central city, surrounded by modest homes with farms and factories on the outskirts. Roosevelt’s public school housed the 12-foot by 45-foot mural created by artist Ben Shahn, which depicted the immigrant experience and inspired by the Exodus. Of special interest was the graveyard with unique tombstones.
