The Jewish Century

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CATHY SHAFRAN
Special to the Jewish News

Wk.

0 el Rose Alvin celebrated her
00th birthday recently. So did
organized Judaism in metro
Detroit.
Alvin — sharp, funny and vital in
an interview Sunday in her modest Southfield apart-
ment — reviewed the rich tapestry of her life, recall-
ing that it was always important to her that it be a
Jewish life. At the personal level, it was the same goal
that the organizations and agencies pursued.
Despite the common objective, Alvin says that
her life path rarely intersected with that of orga-
nized Jewry. But one merely needs to compare
their histories to see that the story of this daughter
of immigrant parents and the story of the Jewish
community over the past 10 decades are inextrica-
bly intertwined. The person and the community
alike strove to maintain their Jewishness over a
century filled with struggles and successes.

In the kitchen, Alvin proudly displays the candlesticks she lights
each Friday night, the same candlesticks that her grandmother in
Lithuania used well over 100 years ago.
Her walls are lined with pictures of her parents and grandparents in
Lithuania, the patriarchs of the family sporting yarmulkes. Nearby, on
the same wall, is her award from B'nai B'rith recognizing 50 years of
volunteer efforts for this Jewish service organization. A framed letter
from U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy thanks her for her concern about the
plight of Soviet Jews.
To Alvin, these are merely milestones in her personal life. But set
against the backdrop of the history of organized Judaism, there is an obvi-
ous tie that unites them. Here is a look at how their stories intertwine:

6/11
1999

18 Detroit Jewish News

In 18 9 9, United Jewish Charities (now the United
Jewish Foundation), was created, the "birth" of
organized Jewish philanthropy in Detroit. UJC united
charitable oroups, widened the scope of social services
and served asa communal clearinghouse. Today, UJF
is the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's
banking/real estate arm.
She was born Mabel Newman on April 16, 1899,
to Jewish Lithuanian immigrants Fannie and
Abraham Newman, living in Utica, N.Y As far back
as she can remember, Judaism was a constant.
"I was raised in a Jewish life," she reflects. "We did-
n't ride on Saturday; there were no lights on Saturday;
we went to bed in the dark on Friday and we wouldn't
light a light till a star came out in heaven."

In the early 1900s, the Anti-Defamation League was
foundedfollowing. the polo
. ant display of anti-Semitism
and lynching of businessman Leo Frank in Georgia.
The young Mabel Newman remembers the per-
sonal pains of anti-Semitism.
When she was 7, her father moved the family to
a small town outside of Cooperstown, N.Y.
"We were the only Jewish family," she recalled.
"We moved to the town with five children.
"The older people were very nice to us, but the
younger element, they were terrible, always calling us
names,and pulling out our stoop on the front porch.
My mother got very nervous and she got sick over it."

In the 1910s, female-led Jewish social organizations
such as B'nai Brith and Hadassah were being orga-
nized and grew in popularity and membership.
Alvin's father realized it was time for his now-
teenage children to move back to Utica, N.Y., after
years of living in predominately non-Jewish cities.
"My sister was 18 and my father said it was about
time to go back to Utica," said Alvin. "He wanted
her to mingle with Jewish boys. He wanted us to get
back into the Jewish life.

Cathy Shafran is a Peelance writer in Clarkston.

