Mazel Toy!
Celia Paskovitz
gets a birthday
wish from
roommate
Dorothy
Vranich.
LINDA BACHRACK
Special to The Jewish News
C
elia Schwartzberg was
entering grade school in
New York City when
the century last turned.
Today, at age 105, Celia
Schwartzberg Paskovitz may have
the rare opportunity of experi-
encing the dawn of yet another
century. And she'll likely greet
the new millennium with a song.
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is one of
her early-morning favorites.
Friends and family helped
Celia celebrate her birthday
March 15 at Lakeland Center in
Southfield. Her granddaughter
Amy Lindstrom and great-grand-
son Benjamin Lindstrom from
Lansing joined Celia for birthday
cake and ice cream. They remi-
nisced about Thanksgiving din-
ners with the spirited elder
stateswoman of the family.
"Celia's chopped liver was out
of this world," said Amy, "and
her [beef] tongue was delicious,
4/2
1999
44 Detroit Jewish News
too, as long as you didn't look at
it to closely."
"Celia still has her sense of
humor," said roommate Dorothy
Vranich, 85. "If she doesn't like
what you say, she looks at you
and says, 'Pooh.' Sometimes she
jokes and says, T11 throw you out
of the window.'"
At the birthday party, Celia
dressed up in a red dress and
wore her jewels — a beaded
bracelet, long white necklace and
colorful ponytail holder. When
she belted out the birthday song,
she seemed more girl than great-
grandma.
The staff at Lakeland marvels
over her energy and willingness
to participate in activities. It
seems she loves bingo, sing-
alongs and exercises. She also
paints pictures and makes craft
projects. Until recently, she even
helped with some office tasks,
including counting and sorting
supplies.
Celia was born in New York
City. The daughter of Russian
immigrants, she was one of 10
children, none of whom survive.
The family moved to Grand
Rapids, where they owned a
leather business. There, she met
Harry Paskovitz, a tailor from
Lithuania, and they were married
in 1926.
Neither Celia nor Harry knew
the actual days when they were
born, but Harry's birthday was
listed with the army as March 15,
1894. Celia wanted to celebrate
her birthday on the same day as
Harry, so she adopted March 15
also. In 1928, Celia and Harry
had a son, Jerry, their only child.
The Paskovitz family settled in
Wyandotte, where, according to
Jerry, there was a need for a good
tailor. Harry's Clothes Shop
thrived for some 40 years and
Celia worked in the store along-
side her husband.
"Wyandotte had about 20-30
Jewish families when I was grow-
ing up," said Jerry, "just enough
to afford a rabbi. I was bar mitz-
vahed there and my parents were
active in B'nai B'rith and the
Jewish War Veterans. There was ,---/
also a larger congregation in
River Rouge." Jerry obtained his
master's in business from the
University of Michigan and
worked at Ford Motor Company
for 34 years.
Jerry says his mom was an
independent woman, traveling to
Miami alone to vacation when
Harry couldn't leave the shop. In
fact, after Harry died in 1981,
Celia lived alone in her Oak Park
apartment until 1991. "She said
she didn't want to go somewhere
where all the people were old,"
Jerry remembers, and at that
point she was 97."
As she savored every last bite
of birthday cake, Celia suddenly
burst into song, livening up the
celebration. "Daisy, daisy," she
sang loud and clear, "give me
your answer true. And you'll look
sweet upon the seat of a bicycle
built for two."
The twinkle in her eyes mir-
rored the song in Celia's heart. 1 I