The largest gift collection the Temple Judea Museum has ever received arrived last week, delivered in a very large truck by Debra Gussman and her husband, Samuel “Farfel” Duckworth.  It was Debra’s mom, Florence (Flo) Korostoff Gussman (1930 – 2024) who assembled this fascinating collection of Noah, his Ark, and his animals. 

We are just starting to process the hundreds of objects in this gift. Some of it will become part of the pre-school. Some of it will become part of our children’s library. Much of it will join the museum’s permanent collection. And some of it will be shared with our community. 

For some background and context: One of the long-time treasures of the Temple Judea Museum (TJM) collection is the pewter Noah’s Ark by Israeli artist, Frank Meisler, which holds pride of place in the museum’s Judaica showcase in the Fineshriber Lobby. Noah, his ark, and his animals are a favorite subject of artists both Jewish and Christian, naive and learned. Any worthwhile folk-art museum will include Noah et al in many different media and formats. I have long wanted to bring other iterations of the Noah’s Ark genre into the museum collection as the subject is one of the most popular and most visual of all bible stories. 

So, you can imagine my delight when I was approached by Gail Korostoff, KleinLife Program Director which meets in our building, who told me of a very large family collection of Noah’s Arks that needed a home. Sight unseen, without knowing more of the story, I told Gail that the Temple Judea Museum would be happy to welcome Noah and his entourage into the TJM family.

I am still learning about Gail’s aunt, Flo Korostoff Gussman. I know that she was born in Philadelphia to a hard-working, close-knit immigrant family. Flo’s family was very supportive of the growing Jewish community in Palestine. Her mother, Sonya, was very active in the Zionist Movement and was among the founders of Pioneer Women, (now Na’amat) an organization that supported women and children’s institutions in what was then Palestine. Flo herself was a member of Habonim and spent her summers at Labor Zionist camps. 

After marrying Obby and raising three kids, Flo completed her college degree and became a teacher, a counselor, and a master teacher in the Cheltenham School system. It was much later, in retirement in Virginia that Flo started making toys out of wood. Not many women take up jigsaw carving in their 70’s! First, she made a huge Noah’s Ark for her grandsons with a pair of animals for every letter of the alphabet. (That heirloom stayed with the Gussman family.) Then she made an elaborate wooden circus where all the toys did tricks. She made amazing groggers for Purim. But it was only after her beloved husband died in 2008 that Flo began collecting in earnest. It was then that her Noah’s Ark collection grew to amazing numbers with her own creations, purchased items and gifts from friends and family.

While we celebrate Flo Korostoff Gussman’s talent and achievement and welcome her collection into the Temple Judea Museum family, we share the sadness of her family at her passing.