Eighty - Somethings

Jewish Federation
Apartments again
recognizes
eight outstanding
individuals over
the age of 80.

KRISTA HUSA Photographer

WALTER FIELD

inety-six-year-old Walter Field
of Bloomfield Hills speculates
that he may be the oldest per-
son operating a Web site.
The site (www.dorledor.org ), main-
tained with technical assistance from
Field's daughter, highlights the achieve-
ments of Jews in world history. Among
the pages on the site are a set of quotes
about Jews, a list of Jewish Nobel laure-
ates, and several of Field's own poems on
Jewish accomplishments. The first 300 vis-
itors to the site will
receive free copies of
his book, A People's
Epic, a versified his-
tory of the Jews.
While the corn-
puter venture is
new, Field's passion
for teaching Jewish
history is not.
Founder of the
Commission for
The Dissemination
of Jewry's Role in
Human Advance-
ment, which runs
educational adver-
tisements in Jewish
newspapers, Field
"has always had the
burning desire to
highlight to Jews, especially the young,
some of the positive aspects of being Jew-
ish," he said.
A member of Shaarey Zedek for 60
years, Field has served on its board and,

N

ive years ago, a tradition started that still holds strong
F today.
Jewish Federation Apartments, home to nearly 700

older adults, decided to recognize the achievements of peo-
le in and outside of its five residences. The criteria: a ded-
ication to community and to the perpetuation of Jewish
identity. All are nominated by members of the general
community.
At a luncheon Sunday at the Hechtman Apartments in
West Bloomfield, this year's honorees each will receive a
blown-glass dreidl that sits on a wood base that bears his
or her name. Sponsors of the event are DMC/Sinai, Med-
Max and The Jewish News.
These are this year's honorees:

together with wife Lea, established the
synagogue's cultural commission, which
brings in speakers and cultural events of
interest to the Jewish community.
Field has written two other books, The
Horse's Tale and Symphony of Threes.
Born in the German town of Dobryzn-
Golub, Field came to North America in
1919, settling briefly in Canada and
Chicago before moving to Detroit in
1924. In 1931, Field started his own corn-
pany, Mac-O-Lac Paint Manufacturing,
which he sold to an Ohio company in the
1970s.
He and his wife have two children,
four grandchildren and nine great-grand-
children.
— Julie Wiener

Center, but tired of the drive out to West
Bloomfield.
"I started working at JARC every day
helping with the fund-raiser," she said.
"Now, working two days a week is nice."

EDITH WYNIANT

t 83, Edith Wyman is still
working. Otherwise, she said,
she'd be "a little old lady."
"I need to keep being
active," Wyman said. "If I keep busy, and
time goes by, I can accomplish something
that helps others, or at least keeps me
pleasant so my family won't disown me."
Wyman attributes her attitude toward
work to her father.
"My dad instilled the idea of working
and not sitting on my butt, and it's paid
off," she said. "I'm lucky I had the
upbringing I did."
Wyman, of Oak Park, volunteers once
a week for Jewish Association for Resi-
dential Care and Yad Ezra. She used to
volunteer at the Holocaust Memorial

A

Wyman worked as a receptionist at Sinai
Hospital's emergency and walk-in clinic
from 1975-86, and worked as a teacher's
aide and then a "lunch lady" at Workmen's
Circle nursery school at the age of 72.
She was surprised to get the call that
notified her of the "Eight over Eighty"
honor.
"I was so surprised, because people give
a lot more time than I do," Wyman said.
"I don't even know who nominated me."
— Lonny Goldsmith

4/24
1998

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