I TRAVEL I

Sentimental
Journey

A local travel agency has created a
weekend where the Andrews Sisters,
red lipstick and men in dapper hats
will be right in style.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

ineteen-forty: the
era of the Big
Bands, war
bonds, and Rosie
the Riveter, of
Betty Grable pin-ups, bright-
red nail polish, radio shows
and smooth, thin, black lines
drawn from the bottom of the
heel all the way to the top of
the leg to imitate seams on
nylon stockings.
Then came computers, oh-
so-mod hairstyles, microwave
ovens and now — Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Well, move over, Turtles.
Rosie the Riveter is back in
town.
July 13-15 in Toledo, Ohio,
ATS Timetravelers of Hun-
tington Woods will present a
Stardust Memories
Weekend where everything,
from the music to the
clothing to the big dance,
comes back to life as it
travels back to 1943.
ATS Tour Director Eddie
Jaye is in charge of the
event. He loves the 1940s.
ATS held its first

Eddie Jaye (second from left) in
1940 attire: "We love it when
people in their 50s and 60s
say 'That's just
how it was' "

Rosie the Riveters at an
ATS getaway.

Timetraveler weekend six
years ago. Agency President
Harry Moss came up with
the idea of making every-
thing old new again. He
decided to host weekends
that would seemingly bring
a past decade back to life.
Previous Timetraveler
weekends have focused on
1939, when the agency
recreated the premiere of
Gone With the Wind; an
Egyptian weekend, based on
the' theme of King Tut; and a
Great Gatsby 1922 weekend.
And where else could a
Frank Nitti look-alike be
found having a drink with
the mirror image of Eliot
Ness except at ATS's 1930s
Al Capone weekend?
Now Jaye and Moss have
their sights set on 1943. The
weekend will include a ball
with the Big Band sound, a
live USO entertainment
show, a U.S. bond drive,
trivia games and a film,
showing Bob Hope and other
stars making a pitch for war
bonds, which Jaye obtained
from a collector.
"We want to be as authen-
tic as possible," Jaye says.

Singing about a
sentimental journey and (below),
a newspaper guests receive on
the 1940s weekend.

"We just love it when people
in their 50s and 60s tell us,
`That's just how it was.' "
Jaye does research for the
weekend programs by study-
ing the clothing of the
decade, then sending sug-
gested dress and suit
designs, along with ap-
propriate hairstyles, to those
planning to attend a
Timetraveler event.
People love dressing up for
the weekends, Jaye says.
He's seen guests spend
thousands of dollars on
period clothing. Some par-
ticipants bring 10-12 dresses
or suits to wear over the
weekend.
In further search of
authenticity, Jaye uses only
typefaces of the decade on all
publications for the weekend
and hires a Hollywood make-
up artist to prepare the
entertainers.
While most of the per-
formers who will sing those
rousing versions of "Lullaby
of Birdland," or "I've Got a
Gal in Kalamazoo" or "I'm
Beginning To See the Light"
are young actors and ac-
tresses Jaye met through his
work as a stand-up come-
dian, it's not unusual for a
real, live 1940s talent to
make an appearance at one
of the weekends.
One performer, a veteran
star of the 1940s, came to a
Timetraveler weekend in an
outfit he wore while enter-
taining 50 years ago: a suit
covered with multi-colored
light bulbs that glowed
brightly in the dark.
Jaye also has prepared a
cassette of songs and
speeches he'll give all
guests. The tape includes
Frank Sinatra hits, FDR's
Pearl Harbor speech and
jokes by Jack Benny.
Jaye can't wait for the
reaction to the tape. "This is
a surprise," he says.

new identities and names.
The young woman became a
contessa who pretended to
support the Nazis, but in fact
was spying for the Allies.
The man was a lieutenant in
the Office of Special Ser-
vices.
Then Jaye found a real
Army chaplain — an act
almost as difficult as plann-
ing the rest of the entire
weekend, he says — to per-
form the ceremony. Because
Michigan law requires only
that one's real name appears
on the marriage certificate,
the lieutenant and contessa
were able to use their
assumed identities during
the ceremony.
Then it happened. "Just as
they got to the point of say-
ing the 'dearly beloveds,' the
murder occurred," Jaye
says.
Another 1940s weekend
event included a woman

"They're just going to 000h
and aaah when they see it."
As they've traveled
through the decades, Jaye
and Moss have seen it all.
Guests have come dressed as
FDR, Charlie Chaplin and
Walt Disney. A Mafia don's
daughter attended a 1930s-
style event.
Timetravelers weekends
regularly attract par-
ticipants from around the
United States — and
sometimes from around the
world. One guest flew in
from Australia though his
wife told him he was crazy to
spend the money when he
could have used it to buy her
jewelry.
Two guests wanted to get
married at a 1940s murder
mystery weekend.
Jaye and Moss were eager
to accommodate the couple.
They made them suspects in
the crime and gave them

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 95

