A new exhibit at the Detroit Historical Museum
tells the story of Jewish immigrant women.

SUZANNE CHESSLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Top:"Becoming„
Jewish Experience

cab Women: Clothing and the American
01920" will be on display at the Detroit
Historical Museum beginning Nov. 7.

Above: Joanne Grossman and project researcher Carla Reiter
unpack a flannel and lace dress.

obbe's Sheitel?"
to put this all together," said Joanne Gross-
So opened the New York man, manager of exhibition planning and
Times ad placed by the acting director of design at the Chicago
Chicago Historical Society.
Historical Society.
The purpose was to locate
"We contacted all of the synagogues in
a dramatic component for its traveling ex- the Chicago area, and we went to a vari-
hibition, "Becoming American Women: ety of museums around the country to fill
Clothing and the Jewish Immigrant Ex- in any gaps."
perience, 1880-1920." •
Grossman worked closely with curator
The sheitel (wig) eventually found Barbara Schreier, who also catalogued the
through that ad is among some 500 dis- information and photos for a book that cap-
play items coming to the Detroit Histori- tures and supplements what is shown at
cal Museum Nov. 7-March 23. The the museum. It will be available in Detroit.
authentic outfits, photos, diaries and rit-
'Part of the mission of the Chicago His-
ual objects were carefully selected to re- torical Society is to reach out to diverse
veal the changing values, moods and
communities, and we wanted to touch on
tensions of the times.
this particular community because the sto-
A companion photo display, "Becoming ry was so interesting," Grossman said.
American Women in Detroit," features
"All immigrants do share in a similar
nearly 100 pictures of this area's turn-of- story, but we chose the Jewish communi-
the-century Jewish immigrants.
ty because of the variety of reasons these
"We had a variety of outreach programs people left their homelands. Beyond eco-