LIFESTYLES
WHAT'S
HAPPENING AT
WASHINGTON SQUARE PLAZA
Fourth & Washington in Downtown Royal Oak
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Fashion Show in conjunction with The Willow Tree every
Monday from 12:30 - I :30 p.m. at Les Auteurs featuring
shoes and accessories now through October 9.
SHOETIQUE
543-0470
. the
willow
542-2350
PROFILE
A women's clothing store with all the clothes you love to
love for anyone—anytime—anywhere.
Clara Collens Golden Oldie
Tearoom modeling every Monday from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
at Les Auteurs restaurant featuring our new and exciting
fashions.
CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
September 14-16 The Royal Oak Grand National
Mystery Discount Sale. Don't miss it! Save 10% to 50%.
Local Columnist
September 9 - October 7 "The Expressive Teapot . '
Ceramic Teapots by 65 American and Canadian Artists
September 9 Opening Reception — 6:30 - 10:00 p.m.
September 12 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., September 22 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
The Expressive Teapot". talk by Paul Kotula.
GALLERY
September 19 - October 24 "PreColumbian Art: The Lost
Cities and Lost People of Ancient Mexico''. a six part slide
lecture by Professor Michael J. Farrell. 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
542-4880
September 10: R-H Factor
September 11: Bugs Beddow
September 17: Bobby Lewis and The Cracker Jack Band
September 18: Alexander Zonjic
September 24: Regular Boys
542-1990
September 25: Alexander Zonjic
WASHINGTON SQUARE PLAZA WELCOMES
"WRITE
IMPRESSIONS"
-A specialty card and stationary store offering calligra-
phy. custom ordered invitations, die-cut cards and
invitations and hand crafted jewelry.
LES AUTEURS
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541-1234
544-2887
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MUSIC THEATRE
546-7610
FOR LEASING INFORMATION
BIERI, PONT & RASSLER
ASSOCIATES, INC.
626-6300
Heating and
Air Conditioning
24 HOUR EMERGENCY DISPATCH
Serving the Tr!-County Area
RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL
Specializing in Preventive Maintenance
FREE ESTIMATES • 642.4555 • 335.4555
FURNACE CLEANING
10% DISCOUNT
ON ALL
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SPECIAL
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Expires 9/15/89 JN
WITH COUPON
10 point check
WITH THIS COUPON. EXPIRES 9/15/89 JN
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WITH PURCHASE OF 90% EFFICIENT FURNACE
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STATE FARM INSURANCE
MARILYN J. GOLD-AGENCY
"I believe in personalized service"
• AUTO • HEALTH
• HOME • COMMERCIAL
• LIFE • IRAs '4, BUSINESS
STATE FARM
WV)
INSURANCI,
94
353.1400
25160 Lahser Rd. • Suite 130 • Southfield, MI
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
NAME: Clara Collens
AGE: 88 "I'm beyond 88. I will be 89 in
December."
OCCUPATION: A teacher in the English
language department at the Jewish
Community Center's JPM branch.
RESIDENCE: Southfield
FAMILY: Widow of William S. Collens.
Two children: Joanna Berger of West
Bloomfield, who is the director of
English language at the JCC, and
Richard Collens, a cardiologist in New
York. One sister, Stephanie Goldin lives
in Lawrence, N.Y., while her other
sister, Miriam Spelke resides in Laguna
Hills, Calif. Five grandchildren and a
great granddaughter.
EDUCATION: She was graduated from the
Juillard School of Music.
ORGANIZATIONS: ORT, Hadassah,
Detroit Committee for Soviet Jewry,
Common Cause, the Gray Panthers and
the American Civil Liberties Union.
FAVORITE BOOK: A Tale of Two Cities by
Charles Dickens. Oscar Wilde by Frank
Harris and Beethoven: The Creator by
Romain Rolland.
HOBBIES: Scrabble, chamber music,
teaching herself Russian and playing
pool.
LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: She has
many goals while teaching Russian
students to speak English. "Once the
fundamentals have been established in
learning a language, my desirable
accomplishment is to have the students
elicit critical thinking." Collens is proud
when the students argue among
themselves about the preferred
expressions.
PHILOSOPHY: "Life can be cruel. It can
be sordid. On the positive side, it can be
jubilant. It can be what you make of it.
I think you have to approach life
without thiking about retirement . . . I'd
like to be able to further the cause of
the free world . . . Life is a challenge."
BACKGROUND: Clara Lerner Collens was
born in New York. Her parents, Parent
and Yetta Lerner, were from the
southwestern portion of the border of
Russia, Romania and Austria, where
they left to escape the pogroms.
Collens first lived in New York's
lower East Side. Her father was a
charter member of the Workman's
Circle in the Bronx and a friend of
Abraham Kahn, the editor of the
Yiddish newspaper, the Forward. At
that time, her father was a book
salesman for the Grolier's Society.
During her first school years, her
father became part of the Jewish
Agricultural Society that established
immigrants in Connecticut. But when
their tobacco farm failed, the family
moved to Hartford. There she began
violin studies because her parents were
music lovers.
Her family moved back to New York
when her father developed malaria. She
studied at the Julliard School of Music
and later worked there. Collens became
a professional violinist, touring with
pianist Maurice Nadell and Cantor
Yossel Rosenblatt.
In 1929, the American Society for
Cultural Relations with Russia was
established, and the society requested
Collens to select contemporary Russian
music for a film, Ten Thousand Miles
Through Russia with a Camera. After
the stock market crash, the program
dissolved and Collens never went to
Russia and never learned Russian. She
relfects upon the fact that the Russian
language is now an important part of
her life.
In 1930, she married physician
William Collens. He was a forerunner
in the research of cholesterol and heart
disease. "I think I was a frustrated
doctor, because I devoted half of my
energies to his research. My allegiance
was divided between medicine and
music."
When her husband died, she moved tc
the Lincoln Center area in Manhattan.
She volunteered for the New York
Philharmonic Society. During a wind
storm 12 years ago, she was knocked
down and injured her hand, making it
impossible for her to play the violin.
She moved to Southfield and was one
of the first residents in the Franklin
Club Apartments, where she is now
president of the resident club.
This year Collens received the 1989
Detroit Heritage Golden Oldie Award.