BETHLEHEM — Members of the Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation are working to establish a North Country Jewish cultural center within the congregation's synagogue. The cultural center will be established as part of the synagogue's Abe Goldstone Library.

The BHC, currently celebrating its 92nd year, is located farther north than any other synagogue in New Hampshire. The building is a former Episcopal church that was converted into a synagogue in 1920.

BHC members including Moocho Salomon, Eileen and Sid Regen, Gail Robinson and Martin Kessel are collecting funds for and planning the project. It will consist of displays of “a collection of historic and contemporary artifacts of North Country Jewish life,” according to a statement written by Salomon, Robinson and Eileen Regen.

The current focus of the project is to build cabinets to house the artifacts being donated by BHC members.

“We have some very precious items,” said Eileen Regen, the recording secretary on the BHC's board.

Regen added that the congregation is also encouraging other North Country Jewish residents to come forward with their own memories and artifacts.

BHC members and their spiritual leader, Cantor Marlena Fuerstman, hope that the displays will add to the already impressive collection of texts in the Abe Goldstone Library.

“We have a fabulous collection,” said Regen.

The library, which includes a children's section, also holds a collection of Yiddish literature. These Yiddish books, which sit protected inside a glass display case, include a first-edition Yiddish translation of the classic American book “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” The edition is fully illustrated.

According to Regen, there is “still a good deal of wall space for more books and cabinets to show old artifacts from North Country Jewish residents.”

The first artifacts that will be displayed in the library will include a family heritage quilt sewn by Salomon.

According to Salomon, the fabrics making up the quilt include linens and hand towels from her mother-in-law, Johanna Salomon. These are some of the items that were salvaged when Johanna and her family escaped from Nazi Germany in 1938.

“I wanted to bind everything together so that the stories would not disappear and this is when the idea of a heritage quilt was born,” Salomon wrote. “The evening gloves that my mother-in-law wore to dances when she was a young lady form the focal point of the quilt.”

Other artifacts displayed in the cultural center will include a collection of 12 models, each standing 24 inches tall, created by costume-design artist and former BHC member Esther Kamerling. The models showcase clothing worn by Jewish women during the Diaspora, the time of Jewish exile from Roman Judea in the sixth century B.C.E.

While the BHC is a place of worship for secular Jews, the town of Bethlehem is also a popular summer destination for Orthodox Jews. Although the two groups do not worship together, they often interact within the small community of Bethlehem. Those working on the cultural center hope that it will appeal to secular as well as Orthodox Jews from around the region and around the country.

The BHC is still in the beginning stages of fundraising, with $1,000 donated by Moocho and Dan Salomon in memory of Dan's mother, Johanna, and another $1,000 donated by Gail Robinson and Martin Kessel in memory of Robinson's parents, Justin and Evelyne Robinson.

“We are in the beginning planning stage,” said Regen. “The synagogue is working on a shoestring as all others are.”

The BHC plans to continue to fundraise during the congregation's annual Yiddish Weekend, which will take place Aug. 17-19. During the summer months the BHC holds a culture series with films and performances at Bethlehem's Colonial Theater, culminating with a performance by Grammy-winning Yiddish band The Klezmatics on Aug. 18.

Those interested in donating funds or sharing artifacts may contact the BHC at 869-5465 or visit bethlehemsynagogue.org.

For more information on the BHC Summer/Fall Culture Series, contact the synagogue or the Colonial Theatre at 869-3422.