Mina Lopato foundation stone returned after 18 years

Mina Lopato Nursery school in Greenside has reclaimed its foundation stone after 18 years.

The stone, which has been at the Emmarentia Shul in Komatie Street, near the school’s original premises, is now back at the school’s present home at the Greenside Shul.

This reunion was spurred on by a call from Rebbetzin Wendy Richard of the Emmarentia Shul, who is also a former teacher at Mina Lopato, contacting Mina Lopato principal Marissa Koffler to ask if she wanted the foundation stone for the school.

“I jumped at the opportunity to get it back,” says Koffler. “It’s really meaningful to have it back at the nursery school. The foundation stone is part of the rich history of Mina Lopato, and connects the nursery school to its roots.”

So, on Thursday, 22 August, a bakkie went to the site of the Emmarentia Shul to collect the foundation stone. With the help of six burly men, the heavy foundation stone made the short journey, 2.5km from Emmarentia to Greenside.

“We still need to find a proper place to put the original stone, and we’re hoping to have some kind of ceremony when we officially place it,” says Koffler.

The foundation stone was laid at the original location of Emmarentia Shul on Barry Herzog Avenue by Isaac Lopato back in February 1961. The ceremony was attended by more than 100 of the shul’s congregants.

Lopato was a well-known benefactor at the time who had established multiple institutions of Torah learning. He had a burning desire to start a nursery school in memory of his late wife Mina, who had died during the Holocaust.

Mina Lopato Nursery School opened its doors on Sunday, 26 February 1961, and is still open today, albeit in a different location. The school moved from Emmarentia to Greenside in 2006.

Earlier this month, Emmarentia Shul, which subsequently moved to the corner of Kei Road and Komatie Street in Emmarentia in 2008, had a deconsecration ceremony in which the shul closed its doors after serving the north-western Jewish community of Johannesburg since the 1950s. Emmarentia Shul has since merged with the Victory Park Shul.