50 Tears Ago
A peek back at Detroit on Labor Day, 1955.
Sights and Sounds
IRWIN COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
T
he origins of Labor Day go back
well over a hundred years.
Detroit celebrated Labor Day
like no other city. Well-attended parades
led by big-name national politicians and
a Tigers double-header headlined
September's first Monday over the years.
Somehow, over the course of time,
however, Labor Day lost its special feel-
ing and now seems like just another
Sunday. Let's turn the clock back 50
years and see what we were doing on
Labor Day in 1955.
Most of us who were around then
lived in Detroit's west side Dexter sec-
tion, with the area north of Six Mile
Road gaining steadily and some pioneer-
ing new homes in Oak Park. The latter
suburban community had one congrega-
tion in its own building in 1955 —
Young Israel of Oak Woods on Coolidge
north of Oak Park Boulevard.
Congregation Emanu-El was meeting
in a school in Huntington Woods and
scheduled its cornerstone-laying ceremo-
ny on 10 Mile Road in Oak Park in
October, neighboring the planned
Jewish Center.
Congregation Beth Shalom, south
Oakland County's only Conservative
congregation, planned its groundbreak-
ing on Lincoln in December after using
a hall on 12 Mile, near Coolidge, for the
High Holidays.
Northwest Detroit had far fewer syna-
gogues than the Dexter area. But the
signs of growth could be seen on the
area's main streets. Congregation Beth
Aaron proudly enlarged its building on
Wyoming south of Curtis, while
Congregation Beth Abraham relocated
to its new building on Seven Mile and
Greenlawn. The 250 families belonging
to Congregation Ahavas Achim were
pleased that their synagogue on Schaefer,
north of Seven Mile, was nearing com-
pletion and would house them for the
1955 High Holiday services.
High Water Mark
According to the U.S. Bureau of Census,
Detroit's 1950 population was
1,849,568, a gain of 246,116 over the
previous decade. A Wayne County pop-
ulation 'study claimed Detroit reached 2
tti
Aerial of Campus Martius area, showing, clockwise from right rear, Crowley's, Sam's,
Kern's and Hudson's.
million inhabitants in 1954, highest in
at the 1955 minimum wage of a dollar
the city's history before losing people to
an hour.
the suburbs.
Labor Day 1955 was the fourth time
Oak Park claimed 9,000 of its 28,000 Harry Truman spent the first Monday in
citizens were Jewish In 1955. As more
September in Detroit. He came to town
Jews eyed the suburbs, some
in 1944 as a vice-presiden-
went downtown on Sept. 5,
tial candidate; he returned
1955, to soak in Labor Day
four years later to kick off
happenings.
his campaign for president and returned
The Lodge was the only expressway
in 1953 after leaving the presidency.
going to and from downtown, and
Truman promised the 1955 Labor
Wyoming was where it started and
Day throng that the 1956 Democratic
ended. If you headed downtown with
presidential candidate — unnamed at
the car radio on, the tunes most likely to the time — "will be a good man, and he
be heard were the five that topped
will be a friend of labor."
Detroit's music charts at the time: "Rock
Many in the crowd that heard
Around the Clock," by Bill Haley & the Truman in front of the old City Hall on
Comets was number one. Ranked sec-
Woodward and Michigan became part
and through five were: "The Yellow
of the crowd of almost 39,000 at the
Rose of Texas," "Love is a Many
Tigers doubleheader. The Tigers split the
Splendored Thing," "Autumn Leaves"
twin bill with the White Sox, but it was-
and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "16 Tons."
nit a particularly good day for Al Kaline.
As you milled around downtown with The 20-year-old star rightfielder only
the other 50,000 spectators trying to get managed one hit in six tries, dropping
a good spot to watch the 60,000 parade his league-leading batting average to
participants led by former President
.348. Rookie pitcher Jim Bunning,
Harry Truman, fliers were being handed brought up from the minor leagues ear-
out by several men. The flier turned out her in the season, warmed up in the
to be an advertisement from an
bullpen but didn't see action. Press-box-
Oldsmobile dealer with a picture of a
ers considered Bunning the most intelli-
two-door Olds 88 model that could be
gent of all the Tigers players and loved
had for $2,316.88. The handers-out
to talk politics with the tall, skinny
were probably hired by the Olds dealer
pitcher from Kentucky.
COMMENTARY
For those who stayed home, there was
the Tigers on radio, great music led by
Paul Winter on WXYZ, plenty of soap
operas on WW/J. There were only three
television stations in Detroit at the time
and one with limited hours across the
river in Windsor.
Noontime offered laughs with Soupy
Sales on Channel 7. Ding-Dong School
for the younger set on Channel 4 and
the national program Ladies Day on
Channel 2. There was something for all
ages on the tube that Monday afternoon
— soap operas, quiz shows, variety with
comedy and music led by Pinky Lee.
There were our daily wooden friends,
Kukla and 011ie with Fran, Howdy
Doody, Mr. Bluster, Dilly Dally, Flub-a-
Dub, anchored by Buffalo Bob. We
could follow the Little Rascals or western
adventure with Guy Madison as Wild
Bill Hickock and Andy Devine as his
comical sidekick.
If you wanted to see a real western tel-
evision star, all you had to do was go to
the Michigan State Fair as Duncan
Renaldo in his Cisco Kid garb was part
of the program at the Grandstand.
Fess Parker as Davy Crockett appeared
on the big screen at the Avalon on
Linwood, along with Anthony Quinn in
The Magncent Matador. The Dexter
featured Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air
Command and The Golden Slipper with
Leslie Caron. The Mercury was showing
Tony Curtis in All American and Joe E.
Brown in Beware of Spooks.
It was a good day in Detroit that first
Monday in September in 1955. The
temperature never rose above 80 degrees
beneath a blue sky. However, it wasn't a
good day In Los Angeles as temperatures
soared above 100 degrees for the fifth
straight day.
We felt sorry for Los Angeles then.
After all, Detroit had more people,
Major League Baseball, three daily news-
papers and a thriving downtown with
skyscrapers. Los Angeles was just an
overgrown small town that was too
spread out with Minor League Baseball
and only one building over 20 stories.
The story of Detroit over the last 50
years is not a happy one. Another sad
story is what happened to our three
daily newspapers. Unfortunately, only
the obituary page has improved over the
last 50 years.
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