Editor, community activist.
Born in Russia on 13 December 1885, he came to Canada in 1911 and resided in Saskatchewan for seven years before moving to Winnipeg. He was editor of the Jewish-English weekly newspaper The Israelite Press from 1920 to his death. He was a founder of the I. L. Peretz Folk School and the Canadian Jewish Congress, and Western Canadian Educational Chairman of the Congress. He and wife Sarah Spiwack (1891-1963) had three children: Miriam Marissa Selchen (1928-2005, wife of Harold Irving Dorn), Alex Selchen, and Joe Selchen. He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 29 November 1960 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Selchen House (239 Cathedral Avenue, Winnipeg)
“Congratulations,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 December 1939, page 4.
“S. M. Selchen, veteran editor,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 November 1960, page 168.
Obituary [Sarah Selchen], Winnipeg Tribune, 12 January 1963, page 34.
Canada Voter Lists, 1935-1980, Ancestry.
Miriam Marissa Dorn, Geni.
Simon Mordecai “Mark” Selchen, FindAGrave.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 March 2026
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