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A Slice Of History
Portland, Ore./JTA
everal Hadassah women were partly responsi-
ble for a culinary phenomenon whose inven-
tor died this week.
Now celebrating its 54th anniversary, the Bundt
pan was the brainchild of members of the
Minneapolis chapter of Hadassah, who, in 1950,
approached aluminum manufacturer H. David
Dalquist with the idea for the cake pan.
Mr. Dalquist died Jan. 2, 2005, at age 86.
Fifty-four years ago, many of Minneapolis' active
Hadassah members "were young housewives with a
lot of kids running around," said Fannie Schanfield,
87, a lifelong Minneapolis resident who joined
Hadassah in 1935.
Schanfield said cooking and baking were at that
time a big part of her life and of the lives of her
peers.
In fact, she recalled in a 2002 phone interview
from her Minneapolis home, the Hadassah women
were in the midst of learning how to prepare a "light
and fluffy" sponge cake when a fellow member
decided that she wanted to bake the heavier cakes
she remembered from her native Germany.
Schanfield said Rose Joshua, then in her early 30s,
announced, "The Germans are used to heavy cakes."
ROBERT S. BINDER, 64, of
Franklin, died Jan. 8, 2005. He was a
real estate developer.
Mr. Binder is survived by his wife,
Suzanne Binder; daughters and son-in-
law, Deborah and
Eric Miller of
West Bloomfield,
Julie Binder; sons
and daughter-in-
law, Fred and Joy
Binder of Troy,
Jeffrey Binder;
grandchildren,
Andrew and
Matthew Miller;
Binder
brother and sister-
in-law, Burton and Jeanne Binder; sis-
ter, Geraldine Binder of Southfield; sis-
ter-in-law, Ida Lucas; brother-in-law,
Marilyn Berman. He was the dear
brother of the late Melvin Binder.
Interment at Beth El Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made to the
Tsunami Relief Fund, do Jewish
Federation of Metro Detroit, 6735
Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI
48302 or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
RUBY BINDER, 86, of Boca Raton,
Fla., died Jan. 5, 2005. Since 1951, he
And it takes a heavy pan to turn out heavy cakes.
But no such pans were to be found in the United
States.
So Joshua brought her heavy iron pan to Dalquist,
chairman, owner and founder of Northland
Aluminum, which sells the Nordic Ware line of bak-
ing pans, and asked if he could fashion a similar one
for her.
Dalquist, who said he was working with an alu-
minum foundry at the time, set to making a mold
of the kind of heavy, curvaceous pan Joshua had in
mind. It was the first time he'd ever been
approached to make a pan, he said in a 2002 inter-
view.
The Hadassah women liked Dalquist's creation; so
much so that his company started out making sever-
al hundred. It then began marketing the pans to
major department stores, and Dalquist brought the
seconds to the Jewish women.
"I personally delivered the pans — 300 or 400 I
think — to them," Dalquist said.
The Hadassah women turned around and sold the
pans they didn't keep for themselves for between $7
and $10 each. Schanfield said the Bundt pans —
originally spelled Bund, German for "people" --
were a source of funds for Hadassah for many years.
was the owner of
Fordson Cleaners
in Dearborn.
Mr. Binder is
survived by his
wife, Ruth Binder;
daughters and
sons-in-law, Rona
Milbauer Levit
and Jerry Levit,
Binder
Loree and Edward
Reynolds; grand-
children, Dana Partrich, Jordann
Milbauer, Brooke Milbauer. He was the
loving father of the late Bruce Binder;
dear brother of the late Rose Nieman.
Interment at Adat Shalom Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
the Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box
4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
HARRY BLAU, 87, of West
Bloomfield, died Jan. 6, 2005.
He is survived by his beloved wife,
Lee Blau; sons and daughter-in-law,
Irving and Judith Blau of West
Bloomfield, Jeffrey Blau of Denver,
Colo.; daughter, Wendy Blau of Pungo,
Va.; grandchildren, Ali (David) Glass,
Lindsay (David) Rubin, Lainie Blau,
Zoey (Marcello) Zamarripa, Ethan
"I can't think of any Hadassah members who did-
n't have a Bundt pan," said Schanfield, president in
1967 of the organization's local chapter, which
remains very active.
And although the Bundt didn't catch on in
national circles until more than a decade after its
initial manufacture, eventually it became much
sought-after.
"Bundt was our first success," Dalquist said.
In the 1960s, Dalquist caught the attention of the
president of the Pillsbury food company, who agreed
that his company would make a cake mix suited
especially to the Bundt pan.
And in 1966, the top-prize winner in the Pillsbury
Grand National Bake-Off used a Bundt pan, accord-
ing to Nordic Ware.
The pan also was featured in promotional photo-
graphs in high-profile magazines such as Better
Homes 6- Gardens and Good Housekeeping, which
added to its legitimacy.
"Bundt has become a household word and Nordic
Ware is in its sixth printing of a recipe book with
over 300 ideas for using the pans," according to
company literature. "With more than 45 million in
use, the Bundt pan remains the most popular baking
mold in America!" ❑
Blau; great-grandchildren, Jordyn,
Mack, Isaiah, Talia, Leo, Francesca,
Paulina and Brent. ,
Interment at
Beth El Memorial
Park Cemetery.
Contributions
may be made to
St. Johns Hospice,
37650 Garfield
Ave., Clinton
Twp., MI 48036;
American
Diabetes
Blau
Association, 30300
Telegraph Road, Suite 117, Bingham
Farms, MI 48025; or to a charity of
one's choice. Arrangements by Dorfman
Chapel.
HARVEY CHAFFKIN, 64, of
Commerce Township, died Jan. 9,
2005. He was a furniture manufactur-
er's representative.
Mr. Chaffkin is survived by his wife,
Barrie Chaffin; daughters and sons-in-
law, Randi Debra and Sam Simko, Dr.
Cindy Hope and Michael Ader; son,
Andrew Chaffkin; grandchildren, Ian
Seth Bensman, Carly Ann Simko, Ally
Sunshine Atler, Lexi Joy Atler, Alyssa
Erin Simko; brother and sister-in-law,
Gary and Jackie Chaffkin; sister, Linda
Beth Ogden; brother and sister-in-law,
Nathan and Deborah Zimmerman.
Interment at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to the Epilepsy Foundation of
Michigan, 20300 Civic Ctr. Dr., #250,
Southfield, MI 48076; or to any chil-
dren's charity. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
LORRAINE COHN, 81, of
Southfield, died Jan. 3, 2005. She was
an active chairman of B'nai B'rith blood
drive, a member of Hadassah and a
member of
Temple Israel and
the Temple
Treasures.
Mrs. Cohn is
survived by her
husband of 59
years, Henry J.
Cohn; son and
daughter-in-law,
William Howard
Cohn
and Charlene
Cohn of Tennessee; daughter and son-
in-law, Nancy and Rick Rosenthal of
Farmington Hills; son-in-law, Allan
Huss; grandchildren, Keith Cohn,
OBITS
on page 86
Jig
1/13
2005
85