Descriptive
Summary Vexler, Esther, 1918-
Esther Vexler Papers
1950-20081964-1980Materials are in English.
MS 81
3.5 linear feet (7 Boxes) + 2
oversize folders
University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Esther Vexler, a
native of San Antonio, is a yoga instructor and community volunteer. Esther
Vexler did volunteer work with Jewish charities and was the first female
president of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. She also worked with the
League of Women Voters and the Child Guidance Clinic, amongst
others. Includes correspondence, memoranda, advertisements, clippings,
newsletters, and reports; also included are meeting
minutes, agendas, organizational lists, coursework, and Vexler's master's thesis.
Biographical Note Esther
Vexler, a native of San Antonio, is a yoga instructor, and community volunteer.
Vexler was born Esther Scharlack in 1918 and was the youngest of eight
children. She graduated from Jefferson High School in 1936 and studied modern
dance at Mills College before graduating from the University of California at
Berkeley with a degree in English. She returned to San Antonio where she met
and married Harold Vexler. They had three children: two sons and a daughter.
Esther Vexler did volunteer work with Jewish charities and was the first
female president of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. She also worked with
the League of Women Voters and the Child Guidance Clinic. In 1963, John F.
Kennedy invited her to Washington, D.C. to attend a meeting on civil rights and
women’s roles. The next year she was named a Headliner in the San Antonio
Express-News. In 1972, Vexler received her
master's degree in urban studies from Trinity University and became the
executive director of the Community Housing Development.
In her later
years, Vexler has focused more on yoga. Teaching yoga since 1968, she is a
Founding Partner at San Antonio Yoga Synergy studio. She teaches yoga classes
for senior citizens at the Association for Learning in Retirement. In 2007,
Vexler’s former students established the Esther Vexler School of Yoga in her
honor.
Sources:
Fisher,
Mary M.
A Woman of Position. San Antonio
Express-News, undated.
Texas Yoga Retreat, Presenters 2007. Texas
Yoga. Accessed May 12, 2008 from
http://www.texasyoga.com/presenters2007.htm#EstherVexler.
Scope and Content
Note The collection spans the years 1950 through 2008 (with the bulk
of the materials dating 1960-1980). Most of the material covers her role as a
volunteer but also documents her personal life and interest in yoga and
well-being. The collection is divided into four series: Health and Well-being Collection, Volunteer Work, Education and
Teaching, and Personal Files.
The Health and
Well-being series document Esther Vexler's interests with organizations
related to mental health as well as physical health. The series is comprised of
advertisements, clippings, articles, correspondence, memoranda, newsletters,
and reports.
The Volunteer Work series
documents the organizations in which Esther Vexler has been actively involved,
including the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, the Association of Learning in
Retirement, and the National Council of Jewish Women. The series is comprised
of meeting minutes, agendas, and committee lists from the various organizations
with which she has worked.
The Education and
Teaching series includes material on yoga
classes and seminars taught by Esther Vexler, as well as coursework completed by Vexler.
The Personal Files series contains biographical material on
Esther Vexler, a book written by Vexler entitled Missing You: Letters of
Remembrance, correspondence, including assorted cards and invitations,
newspaper and magazine articles, and material related to her family. Also
included are clippings related to Esther Vexler, her family, and the
community.
Organization of
Collection - Series 1. Health and Well-being
- Series 2. Volunteer Work
- Series 3. Education and Teaching
- Series 4. Personal Files
Access Restrictions
This collection is housed at UTSA's Main Campus and must be accessed via the John Peace Library Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use the Collections Request Form.
Usage
Restrictions Permission to publish materials from the collection must
be obtained from University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Esther Vexler
Papers, MS 81, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
Acquisition Information Received as a gift from Esther Vexler,
1997-2008 (Acc. 1997-033, 1999-012, 2001-042, 2008-042).
Processing Information
Processed by Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, May 2008, June 2008, and
November 2008.
Related
Material Related collections available at the University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections include
the
National Council of Jewish Women, San Antonio
Section Records (MS 50) .
Index Terms Personal Names
Vexler, Esther, 1918-
Organizations
Association of Learning in Retirement (San Antonio, Tex.)
Child Guidance Clinic (San Antonio, Tex.)
Jewish Federation of San Antonio
(San Antonio, Tex.)League of Women Voters (San Antonio,
Tex.) Subjects
Jewish women--Texas--San
Antonio.Jews--Texas--San
Antonio.Women--Child advocacy--Texas--San Antonio.
Women--Civil rights--Texas--San Antonio.Women
political activists--Texas.Yoga.
Locations
San Antonio (Tex.)--History--20th
century.
Genres/Formats Correspondence.
Memorandums.Clippings.
Greeting cards.Minutes.
Reports.
Agendas.
Newsletters.Advertisements.
Invitations.
Local Subjects
Activism/Activists
Healthcare/Health Issues
Jewish Organizations
Women
Detailed Description of the Collection
1. Health and Well-being, 1956-2008 and undated
Materials document Esther Vexler's
activities in organizations related to health and mental health. The series is comprised of advertisements, clippings, articles,
correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, and reports.
Arranged alphabetically.
1 1
Advertisements, undated
1 2
Clippings and articles,1970 and
undated 1 3
Correspondence and memorandums,1965-1970 and
undated 1 4
Newsletters,June 1970
1 5 Reports,1964 and
undated 31-2
Assorted mental health organizations,1956-2008 and
undated
2. Volunteer Work,1958-2008
The Volunteer Work series documents the organizations in which
Esther Vexler has been actively involved. The series is comprised of meeting
minutes, agendas, and committee lists from the various organizations with which
she has worked.
National Council of Jewish Women, 1963-1965, 2000, and
undated 18Jewish Social Service Federation,June 1965111
Public Affairs,1963-1965 and
undated112
Correspondence,1963-1964 and
undated113Fact
sheet - National Council of Jewish Women,
1964-1965
114
Minutes,1964-1965
115
Newsletter (Houston),
1963
116
Notes, undated
117
Outreach material,1964-1965 and
undated118
Report on Houston section,March 16,
1964119
Rummage sale,1964
120
Texas Historical Commission,2000 and
undated127National Council of Jewish Women conference planning,1958-1969128Jewish organizations,1958-200721-3Jewish organizations,1970-2007Other organizations,1958-2008 and undated 1 6
Community Welfare Council,1964-1965
1
7 Economic Opportunity Act of
1964, November 12-13, 1964
1 9
League of Women Voters of the United States,
1964-1965
1 10
National Association of Housing and Development Officials,
October 26, 1964
1 21
Texas Social Welfare Association, 1965 and
undated 122Texas
United Community Services Inc., undated
123
Woman's Pavilion for HemisFair,
1968
124
Certificates, 1958-2002 and
undated125
Correspondence,1966-2008 and
undated12690th
bithday donation acknowledgements,
2007-2008
24
KLRN,1977 and 2003-200825San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame
nomination,1987-2000
26
Urban Development,1970-1971, 2004-2005, and
undated27
Youth/Education related,1960-1972, 1988, and
undated28
Assorted organizations,1965-1990, 2001-2008, and
undated
3. Education and Teaching,1962-2008 and
undatedIncludes written
material from classes attended by Vexler and her master's thesis, as well as material on
yoga classes and seminars taught by Esther Vexler.
Arranged in two subseries: Education and Teaching and Yoga Classes and Seminars.
Coursework,1962-1971, 1994, and
undated33
Thesis,1972
34
Written assignments,1970-1971 and
undated35Other
course material,1962-1963, 1994, and
undated
Yoga classes and seminars, 1978-1996, 2008, and
undated36
University of Texas at San Antonio,1978-1988 and
undated37Our
Lady of the Lake University,
1981-1982
38
Rio Caliente Yoga retreat,1980-2006 and
undated41Yoga,
1988-2004 and undated
42
Yoga classes, general,1973-1980, 2007-2008, and
undated
4. Personal Files,1950-2008 and
undatedSeries contains biographical material on
Esther Vexler, a book written by Vexler entitled Missing You: Letters of
Remembrance, correspondence, including assorted cards and invitations,
newspaper and magazine articles, and material related to her family. Also
included are clippings related to Esther Vexler, her family, and the
community.
Biographical, 2008
and undated
43
Book: Missing You: Letters of
Remembrance,2008
44
Biographies,
undated
Correspondence,1960-2008 and
undated45
Letters,1965-2008 and
undated46
Personal invitations,1989-2006 and
undated47
Assorted correspondence,2006-2008 and
undated48Cards,
general,2008 and undated
49Family related material,
1960-2006 and undated
410
Assorted material,1950, 1977-2007, and
undated51-2
Assorted magazines and news articles,1962-2004 and
undated
Clippings,
1960s-2000s
53
For Sister Bonifice: No JCHS,
1960s-1990s
54
1970s-1990s and undated
55
1990s-2000s and undated
61-8
1960s-1990s and undated
Map Drawer 11OM1Newspaper articles, 1966-1974
and 2003Map
Drawer 11OM2Rice University, 1912-1962, A Houston Chronical Special
Supplement,
1962Unprocessed materials 7Addition of July 2012 (Acc. 2012-035)Personal correspondence, newsclippings, datebooks and assorted materials.