a photographer. Sunday offered a
brunch and a buffet dinner with
a Jewish folk singer.
Throughout the weekend, a
video featured the reminiscences
of the surviving children, most in
their 80s, with highlights of the
old Jewish area in Detroit where
Benjamin Krause lived and
worked. More than 100 people
gathered from several states. "We
met people we never knew ex-
isted," Judy Goldwasser recalled.
"The reunion was fabulous. Peo-
ple who didn't know anyone
came to see whom they were re-
lated to. Some cousins hadn't been
in Detroit for 60 years but want-
ed to show their children their
roots."
The hardest part of planning a
reunion? "Keeping control of all
the opinions at the meetings,"
Mrs. Krause said smiling.
It is not always the older gen-
eration that longs to bond with rel-
atives. Last July, 15-year-old Joshua
Goldberg of West Bloomfield or-
ganized a meeting to plan this sum-
mer's Applebaum family reunion.
"We have a large family that is
spread apart, and I wanted to bring
it together," Joshua said.
"I used the phone book like a
detective and started tracking peo-
ple down."
His parents are helping with
plans, and paying his hefty phone
bills. Though the Aug. 11 reunion
plans are still incomplete, Joshua
shared the following advice, "The
more people you have on com-
mittees, the more opinions you
have. Fewer people get things
done."
He is also busy collecting in-
formation for the reunion histo-
ry book. Initial inquiries at
Machpelah Cemetery about de-
scendants of Hersh Applebaum
led him to Phillip Applebaum,
who is not related but shared re-
search he had done on Apple-
baum families.
An additional 400 people on his
family tree were discovered with
the help of Marlene Silverman of
Washington, D.C.. "She is the
head of the Suwalk-Lomza Inter-
est Group that traces families from
Russian Polish provinces," Joshua
said. "So far I have traced 1337
people."
Winnipeg, Canada, will be the
host city for the Lockshin family
reunion this August. "That's
where the family started," said
Neal Zalenko of Bloomfield Hills.
NIL Zalenko advised, "The most
common reason people don't at-
tend a reunion is because they
can't afford it. Be sensitive to the
lowest common denominator and
make it affordable. Negotiate the
lowest hotel rates."
The year 1997 will be the 70th
reunion of the Meyer Molly Aus-
lander Family Club. Though the
local family has gathered through
the years for monthly meetings,
seders, a Chanukah party and
yearly dinner dance, a weekend
celebration is planned every five
years for family members all over
the country.
The first Gottesman family re-
union, planned 21 years ago by
Nancy Gottesman, is now re-
peated every three years in rotat-
ing host cities. Warren Kifferstein
and John Gottesman are already
planning the 1997 reunion that
will be held in the summer at the
Grand Traverse Resort in north-
ern Michigan. "It's a wonderful
tradition," said Warren Kifferstein.
"We started in Michigan and have
been to New York, Florida, Cali-
fornia and Idaho."
Plans for the '97 reunion in-
clude hot-air balloon rides, sailing
and a visit to Interlochen. "Each
reunion takes on a personality of
its own," Mr. Kifferstein said. "It's
a forum for people to get togeth-
er and have fun. It does take some
work, but it's really a labor of
love." ❑
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