I Metro Dec. 1, 1955 What was going on in Detroit on the day of Rosa Parks' historic civil rights . stand. Irwin Cohen Special to the Jewish News F fifty years ago, the first day of December fell on a Thursday; same as this year. Dec. 1, 1955, became a his- toric date because of seamstress Rosa Parks' stand by refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white , man. Over the course of time, Mrs. Parks would live, die and be buried in Detroit. The bus she boarded that day is now perma- nently on display in what was, 50 years ago, our area's most.segre- gated suburb — Dearborn. What was Thursday, Dec. 1, 1995, like in Detroit? Fifty years ago, Detroit was a place to live, hot a place to leave. were still getting used to new surroundings in the recently opened City County Building on Woodward and Jefferson. From an upper floor window, Mayor Albert E. Cobo could see the rap- idly developing Civic Center. The area that would eventually become Cobo Hall and Convention Arena was cleared, with construction slated to start in April. - 0 r — 0 CD 0 0 co wvicAtir ♦ 113 St ia• • IrL4 , Jewish Activity Detroit's Jewish center of shop :- ping and houses of worship were still in the Dexter section. However, the area was bleeding families as northwest Detroit, Huntington Woods, Oak Park • and Southfield were becoming the desired destinations. that day did not make ,any of Detroit's three dailies in the following days. That's because striking typesetters shut down Detroit's papers after the morning editions went to press on Dec. 1. December 1 2005 0 0 tit The courageous stand taken by Rosa Parks It was a city, according to a 1954 Wayne County population study, that had 2 million inhabitants. Sonny Eliot was on the air that day, forecasting a sunny day with temperatures in the 30s. Downtown was buzzing with shoppers looking for holiday gifts and gawking at the bright decorations. Hudson's, Kern's, Crowley's and surrounding stores had cash registers humming. Policemen were stationed on Woodward and some of the side streets, making sure the throngs of bag-bearing shoppers crossed safely. City and county employees . During the previous week, congregations Beth Shalom and B'nai David had groundbreaking ceremonies and Temple Emanu- El's excavation .was proceeding rapidly at suburban sites. Bar mitzvah boys George Benison, Dennis Collins, Larry Docks, Michael Gordon, Howard Kaplan, Marvin Rosenblatt, Barry Tanner and Ronald Weitzman were pol- ishing up for their big day in var- ious Detroit synagogues. The Book Fair, a three-day event, would open in three days at the Jewish Community Center on Davison west of Dexter. On • Monroe Street in downtown Detroit was aglow in this photo taken more than 40 years ago.. on WWJ at 8:30. behalf of the Israel Bondsdrive, For those who wanted to see a Abba Hushi, mayor of Haifa, and movie in the neighborhood, the Sidor Belarsky, world-famous basso soloist, appeared in person Studio•Theater at Livernois and Davison boasted having the first at Beth Aaron Synagogue on motion picture in English pro- Wyoming in an event sponsored duced in Israel: Hill 24 Doesn't by the Zionist Council, the Answer, starring Haya Harrarit Landsmanshaften Council and and Edward Mulhare. The Avalon other organizations. Temple Beth El, which pur- . on Linwood and Davison offered Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To chased a 22.5 acre tract at James Catch A Thief The Dexter had Couzens and 9 1/7 Mile in William Holden and Jennifer- Southfield Township in 1952, Love Is A Many -Jones in decided to remain at its Splendored Thing. Further north- Woodward and Gladstone loca- west, on Seven Mile and Meyers, tion. During the three-year peri- the Royal carried Mister Roberts, od that the Reform congregation starring Henry Fonda and James held the suburban property, membership increased by 183 to - Cagney. Football fans were still talking 1,707 families. about the Lions' 53-14 drubbing of the Chicago Bears at Briggs Around The Community Stadium four days earlier. Fans werelooking forward to the team Families that loved to stay put and loved The Lone Ranger loved playing again in three-days at • Thursdays. The television version Chicago's Wrigley Field. Hockey -fans were worried about the of the program starring Clayton fourth-place Red Wings' losing Moore aired at 7:30 on Channel record. 7, the fifth season in the 'same Local baseball fans were look- time slot. The national radio ver- ing forward to spring training sion, originating from Detroit the and wondering if Al Kaline, the last three decades, starring Brace 20-year-old batting. champ, could Beemer as the masked man, was duplicate his great season. The Tigers were readying contracts to send to 40"players on their major league roster. The players ranged from Alabama to Texas and all , had one thing in-common — they were all white. The courageolis stand taken by Rosa Parks that day did not make any of Detroit's three dailies in the following days. That's • because striking typesetters shut down Detroit's papers after the morning editions went to press on Dec. 1. The strike lasted 46 days_ and reporters from the three dailies started a newspaper from scratch and called it the Detroit Reporter. The slimmed-down - paper printed 300,000 copies on a daily basis during the - strike, but had no coverage of Rosa Parks and the happenings in Montgomery. When the regular papers returned and had capsule news highlights of events of the past 46 days, there was no mention of Rosa Parks and the events that would make Thursday, Dec. 1, 1955, so historic. 1-1 41