Highlights in 120-Year History of American Jewish Centers
brew Association was organ-
ized in 1888 by the New York
YMHA (92nd St. Y) as a
ladies auxiliary.
The first swimming pool in
a YMHA, incorporated in the
new building of the Philadel-
phia Hebrew Education So-
ciety and which opened in
1891, was designed primarily
as a public bath.
CHRISALLE
MOMS.
The wave of immigration of
HAIR FASHIONS
The library of the 92nd St. Jews from Eastern Europe
Specialist.. in flair Tinting
Y in New York (now cele- found the YMHAs ready to
17190 Livernois,
brating the centennial year)
862-2337, 862-2338
was the nucleus of the Agui-
Irma McKenzie, prop.
lar Free Public Library,
which in turn became a part
Season's Greetinsz-.s
of the New York Public Li-
PEKIN PAVILION
brary.
(Continued from Page 67)
RESTAURANT
The first serious effort to
7437 East Jefferson, Detroit
coordinate the work of Jewish signatures to a petition to the
331-9262
824-2464
religious schools in New York government not to transform
Carry-Outs — Choice Liquor
City was the annual Hebrew their largest synagogue into
Beer and R ine
competitive examination a Workers' Club and that
sponsored by the 92nd Street they had set a goal of 60,000
Happy Holiday To All
Y for all children of Jewish signatures. The Soviet censor
let the cable through.
schools.
RED-WAY
Several days later I was in-
The first essay contests in
Jewish history and literature formed at the foreign com-
CARTAGE CO.
were conducted in 1876 and missariat that the synagogue
5100 E. NEVADA
1877 by the New York and was not as yet about to be-
FO 6-6000
come a club house. By that
Philadelphia Ys.
time
I had already spoken
The
first
YMHA
in
Boston,
New Year Greetings to All
organized in 1875, had as its with both Smidovich and
RYNNE CHINA CO.
headquarters a room in City Lunacharsky but I was not
Largest White China Dealers
in the Middlewest
Hall set aside for its use by at liberty to make public
Everything for China Painter
their assurances.
the mayor.
Imports from Fronce, Germany
On Aug. 2, I was in a posi-
and Japan
The
first
organization
to
be
LI 2-8700
tion to send to New York
222 W. 8 Mile
called
Young
Women's
He-
1 Blk. W. of John R, Hazel Pork
the following cable, which
then appeared in the Ameri-
can press:
A Very Healthy and Happy New Year
. "The demand on the part
to the Jewish Community
of Jewish Communists in
Moscow that the Great Choral
Synagogue there be turned
into a Workers' Club has been
TR 3-7770
■ rejected by the Soviet gov-
ernment. At the same time a
decision was made to con-
New Year Greetings to All
sider inadvisable any further
converting of synagogues
into clubs anywhere in the
country."
Thus the wave of convert-
ing synagogues into clubs
was halted, but synagogues
were liquidated in other ways.
Established 1890
In Smolensk the local Soviet
120 Mt. Elliott
259-2309 — 259-3910
had already decided to close
the synagogue there and use
the building for a club house,
Wishing You
but in Smidovich's office I
was shown specific instruc-
A Happy & Healthy New Year
tions to the Municipal Soviet
of Smolensk ordering the re-
David & Leonard Lowenstein
opening of the synagogue.
Characteristic of the atti-
tude of Lunacharsky was a
speech he delivered in Mos-
cow a short time later — on
Nov. 13 — at a celebration
of the 100th birthday of the
world-renowned great Rus-
sian writer, Lev Tolstoy.
Lunacharsky compared Tol-
stoy's liberal ideals with the
Pentateuch. "Just as Tolstoy
took the part of the peasants
against their enslavers, so
also did the Bible," Luna-
charsky told the large, festive
audience.
Such a reference to the
Bible in Moscow at that time
was particularly significant,
1599 East Warren
TE 1-7900
especially since the speaker
was no other than the Com-
missar of Culture.
By LIONEL KOPPMAN
This year marks the 120th
anniversary of the founding
of the first Jewish Commun-
ity Center in Baltimore. As
the JCC movement looks
ahead to its second 120 years,
here are some of the inter-
esting highl igh ts of its
Holiday Good Cheer
history:
Unlike other Jewish insti-
tutions which were imported
from Europe, the Jewish
Community Center (or YM
and YWHA) was born in
America.
The first professional em-
ployee of a YMHA was the
librarian, and the first Y fa-
cilities were mostly reading
Moscow Jewish
Leaders Gather
FIELD'S EMPLOYMENT
Amsterdam Press
Millard Press and
White Color Card Co.
Yellow Cab of Southfield
559-6789
Happy New Year to Our
Friends and Patrons
FRIGID FOOD
PRODUCTS, INC.
Wishing Our many Friends
and Customers A Very Happy
and Prosperous New Year
Diamonds are our Specialty. Any size and any shape.
I Appreciate the Confidence You Have Shown
WIDENBAUM JEWELRY
1025-1026 David Stott Bldg., 1150 Griswold
WO 3-5301
STAR-SPANGLED
SAVINGS
PLAN
68—Friday, Sept. 13, 1974
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
is today a flourishing Jewish performing arts than ever
respond to their needs to pre- community center movement before. Certainly one factor
serve their traditions and in Europe. In France, the in stimulating this interest in
cultural interests while be- Jewish community centers Jewish culture has been the
coming adjusted to their new were described as "an Amer- work of JWB.
land.
ican import served up with
After two earlier attempts, French spices."
New Year Greetings
the first permanent national
A part of the drama of Is-
Bagel
Restaurant
association of YMHAs and rael's birth, JWB has had a
Jewish Community Centers— link to the Jewish state ever
& Caterers
the Council of Young Men's since. Creation of the Jeru-
13928 Woodward
Hebrew and Kindred Associa- salem YMHA by JWB at the
Highland Park
867-0003
tions — was formed in 1913. behest of such leaders as Dr.
Among the organizers were Judah L. Magnes, and sup-
the major leaders of Ameri- port of the Y by American
Happy New Year
can Jewry—Dr. Cyrus Adler, JCCs have led to a national
Louis Marshall, Jacob Schiff, community center movement
Felix Warburg, Judge Julian in Israel.
Detroit's Only Exclusive
W. Mack, Professor Morris
Bedroom Store
More than 2,000 local Jew- ra
Loeb and Judge Samuel ish groups annually mark 5802 E. 8 Mile
TW 1 1720 ri
Greenbaum.
Next to Sofas, Inc..
Jewish Book Month and Jew-
On April 9, 1917 — three ish Music Month with the as-
days after the U.S. entered sistance, encouragement and
lie• ?ear Greetings
World War I—JWB was cre- materials provided by JWB's
From
ated to represent the Ameri- Jewish Book and Music
can Jewish community in Councils.
serving the religious, morale
More Jews are buying and
and welfare needs of Jews reading Jewish books, enjoy-
in the Armed Forces. Its first ing Jewish -music, and attend- 23535 Woodward, Ferndale
name: Jewish Board for Wel- ing programs of lectures and
fare Work. Many of the lead-
ers involved in its founding
NEW YEAR GREE'T'INGS
Best Wishes for a
were the same as helped
Happy New Year
OAKLAND WASTE
from the council of Ys.
MATERIAL CO.
JWB's experience in uniting
DAVIS IRON
Buyers of Waste Paper
Jewish groups — groups that
— Scrap Metal — Rags
rarely worked together before 1534 Gillet
WORKS, Inc.
TR 3-2575
— proved that Jewish unity
for constructive Jewish pur-
enr
Happy Nei(
poses was feasible. That, plus
New Year Greetings
the fact that YMHAs were
PASADENA KOSHER
already active in the work
MEAT AND
of JWB, led to a merger of
POULTRY MKT.
the council of YMHAs and
24721 Coolidge Hwy.
4238 E. Davison
JWB' in 1921.
Oak Park, Michigan
There was hesitation about
LI 3-8860
TW 2-0100
We Deliver
the choice of the name "Jew-
ish Welfare Board" which
hardly seemed an appropriate
Happy New Year to Our
New Year Wishes
label for a YMHA movement.
Friends and Patrons
JWB could claim only legal (I
grounds for the choice of the
name — the requirement to
Gowns for All Occasions
Southfield at 13 Mile Rd.
maintain the service to men 10909 Grand River WE 3-4636
646-8484
in uniform and to veterans 1530 Woodward WO 5-0922
in peace time.
The decision to merge the
two organizations rather than
New Year Greetings
to establish a totally new
structure could only be re-
garded as an act of states-
manship by JWB, a recogni-
tion of the value of preserving
the Y movement and its po
tential for enlarging its pur-
pose to better serve the needs
of the American Jewish com-
munity.
22060 W. 10 Mile Rd. at Lahser
The YMHAs, YWHAs and
Wish / 1/1 Their Friends a nd Customers
other groups had to be en-
A Haply, Health and Prosperous
couraged to join forces and
NEW YEAR
become broadly-based Jewish
community centers, a n d
JWB took the responsibility
Happy New Year to Our Friends and Patrons
of directing such efforts and
securing support of lay
leaders.
JWB expanded its purchas-
Kosher Meat & Poultry Market
ing service to enable indi-
LI 7-4121
vidual centers to buy small
26035 Coolidge
amounts of supplies at prices
allowed for quantity. purchas-
ing.
The Home Camp, now
known as Day Camp, was a
•
creation born of the Depres-
sion.
Representing American
• •••••••• •••4•••••••••••••••••••••••
Jewry on the U.S. Olympic ••
Committee, J W B opposed
W~1001WOM
U.S. participation in the 1936 IIIIIMMIIMMIDINIMOMWIEMMINIM
Olympic Games in Berlin be-
cause of the Nazis.
Destroyed by the Nazi Holo-
caust, European communities
Of
were helped to rebuild by
JWB and JDC through Louis
Kraft. JWB saw that a prim-
ary need was to create a
Wish Their Many Friends and Customers
feeling of community. This
inevitably spelled "Jewish
Community Center." As the
survivors themselves put it,
"(We need) a Jewish address
in the community."
Out of the ashes grew what
r
1111MINININ
BEDROOMS INC
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BESSENGER'S
I
Davison Auto Parts
AY'S BRIDAL SALON
Herman Jaffe
Photography
BLUE FLASH
CHEMICAL CO.
Boesky's of Southfield
-
COHEN & SON
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •
• •
Best Wishes For A
• •
Happy, Healthy New Year
• •
•
•
REPUBLIC
DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Jerry and Anita Silberman
Anita Handbag Studio
* 41 * 4** *
ihr lir
Ar
*
Sign
for
S.
IL
S. Servings Bonds,
New Freedom Shares
A Healthy & Joyous
New Year
111110111•11•1111111