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BETH OLEM

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10

I

Birnbaum, is buried at Beth Olem. He
While names on about 200 of the
died at age 29 in 1910.
graves can't be identified because the
"I've spent two years investigating
tombstones are weather-beaten and
this.
I obtained a death certificate from
illegible, the Jewish Historical Society
Lansing and learned he died of typhoid
(JHS) and the Institute for Retired
fever in Harper Hospital. But I can't
Professionals (IRP) collaborated in the
locate his grave because it must be one
early 1990s to develop an alphabetized
of those illegible stones — yet I'm not
computer list of most of the graves.
sure how his name got on the list. The
This was later added to a Michigan
whole thing is a real mystery
Cemetery Index, a listing of
to me."
all Jewish graves in the state.
Leonard Baruch
Winer wants to put up a
Milton Marwil, 90, of
prays before
new
stone for him, "but I
West Bloomfield, a JHS
entering
can't pinpoint the exact bur-
board member, enlisted the
the historic
ial spot. We still may deci-
assistance of seven members
cemetery grounds.
pher the stone, but at least
of the IRP. They spent several
I'm pretty sure he's there."
days walking through the
The affinity of the Jewish
cemetery, charting the stones and
Genealogical Society of Michigan
recording the names, many of them in
(JGSM) with Beth Olem is a natural.
Hebrew:Their findings were com-
There's
plenty of family history at the
bined with some existing records to
cemetery. Pam Gordon of Orchard
provide the updated listing.
Lake, a past president of the society,
"The task was a bit difficult because
has nine family members buried at
a number of the stones were decayed
Beth Olem. She made that determina-
and faded, but we got the job done as
tion after studying and checking for
best as we could," said Marwil, a
more than 10 years.
retired bookstore owner. His five assis-
"One way to try and read the illegi-
tants were Sheldon Kaplan, Maurice
ble
stones is to take photos of them,
Shapiro, Harvey Lipsitt, Sidney
then look, because sometimes the
Krause, Dr. Oscar Schwartz and the
writing becomes clearer in the photo,"
late Louis Greenberg and the late
she said. "Another trick is to squirt
Joseph Ostrovich.
shaving cream on the stone's wording
"We would do our work, then go to
because that seems to outline the let-
one of those great Hamtramck restau-
ters better and makes the stone more
rants for lunch," Marwil recalled.
readable.
The JHS gets permission from GM
"Visiting the cemetery is a strange
and Clover Hill at least once annually to
experience," she said. "It's like a rain
bus relatives to Beth Olem to visit the
scene out of the old play Our Town.
graves. On these trips, some younger
The place was full of high weeds and
people trace the wording of a stone onto
generally unkempt until Shaarey
paper to show to elderly relatives who
Zedek took over. They've kept it in
are unable to make the journey.
beautiful condition.
"Beth Olem is a treasure trove of
Finding Family
Detroit Jewish history and genealogy,"
Gordon said. "It's just a remarkable
Melba Winer of West Bloomfield took
place . . . every Jewish nerson should
one of those trips and used the index
visit it,
to determine that her uncle, Jerimiah

