FRANKLIN

Population: 2937
Square miles: 2.7
Incorporated as a village: 1953
Claims to fame: Franklin Cider Mill,
Franklin Village Center, Musk on the
Green

BLOOMFIELD

HILLS

Population: 3,900
Square miles: 4.9
Became a city: 1890
•
Claims to fame: Cranbrook
Educational Community, called "five
square miles of money" by the Detroit
Free Press Magazine in 1993
Jewiih institutions:
Birmingham Bloomfield Chai Center

BLOOMFIELD

TOWNSHIP

Population: 44,000
Square miles: 25
Became a township: 1827
Claims to fame: First township estab-
lished in Oakland County, beautiful
houses and lakes
Jewish institutions: Max M. Fisher
Building, Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, Temple Beth El,
.Congregation Chaye Olam

BIRMINGHAM

FAMILY-FRIENDLY

Franklin living feeds the spiritual, practical and visual.

s a child living in Southfield,
Karen Alpiner spent many sum-
mers in the Village of Franklin.
"We used to hang out at my morn's sis-
ter's house," she says. "I've always
seen Franklin as a family community."
Today the Alpiners live in Franklin
and have made their own sizable con-
tribution to keeping Franklin family-
friendly. Karen, her husband, Neal,
and their five children — Brett, 15;
Sean, 13; Kallie, 12; Brendan, 9; and
Kyra, 6 — have lived just off Inkster
Road for nine years.
Karen is a member of the board of
governors of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, chairs the
Federation's Chai campaign and serves
as a co-chair of the national United
Jewish Communities' Young
Leadership Cabinet. Her passion for
Jewish education has led to involve-
ment in a variety of local community
efforts as well as the Jewish
Theological Seminary.
"We moved to be closer to the
Jewish community," Karen says of the
decision to move from Birmingham.
"We needed a larger home, and want-
ed to keep the kids in the Birmingham
school district. Franklin met our
needs."

A

Population: 19,280
Square miles: 4.8
Became a city: 1836
Claims to fame: Downtown shopping
district, Townsend Hotel, Community
House

Favorite Community
Hangout:

"We like the downtown area. I shop at
the Market Basket grocery and we like
to use the local businesses, which are
very convenient," Karen says. "In the
winter, the kids love to go sledding on
the 'Hill' downtown."

14 •

2004 2005 Community Directory

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F. •

The Alpiners, from left, Neal; Kyra, 6; Kallie, 12;
Sean, 13; Brendan, 9; Karen; and Brett, 15, play
in their front yard in Franklin.

They also liked that Franklin had
the feeling of living in the country
while having great access to other
areas.
Their location comes in handy in
another way, too, when inviting guests
for Shabbat. "We like to open our
home on Shabbat," Neal adds. "There
is always a meal here.
"Also, you get an appreciation of
nature; the senses are a little bit more
full," says Neal, who is a specialist in
pediatric and adult neuro-rehabilitation
at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.
He likes the scenery on the way to
any of the four synagogues his family
is affiliated with: Sara Tugman Bais
Chabad Torah Center on Maple Road,
Ohel Moed Shomrey Emunah on
Farmington Road, Congregation
Shaarey Zedek-B'nai Israel on Walnut
Lake Road and Young Israel of Oak
Park.
Franklin suits Brendan just fine, too.
"We don't have to hear the neigh-
bors, and we have a big area to play,"
he explains about his house and yard.
A student at Hillel Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit, he says, "I like
living close to school, and I have a lot
of friends who live really close."
Both Karen and Neal express some
amazement at the new
houses going up in
Franklin. Large homes
are torn down to build
more modern, even
larger homes. But the
reinvestment in the vil-
lage underscores the
attachment of those
who live there and pro-
vides the stability that
has kept Franklin one
of the most beautiful
and desirable areas to
live in metro-Detroit.

-- Don Cohen

