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 am &At e/46 (i n bgbo .s 541-1234 544-2887 yl 4 k... 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 SERVICE CALLS SPECIAL $38 Expires 9/15/89 JN WITH COUPON 10 point check WITH THIS COUPON. EXPIRES 9/15/89 JN ONE MONTH FREE GAS FOR 89/90 HEATING SEASON WITH PURCHASE OF 90% EFFICIENT FURNACE WITH COUPON EXPIRES 9/15/89 JN 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.