Bridging The Distance

Ruthan Brodsky

I

Special to the Jewish News

The Detroit-
Chicago Jewish
family
connection.

Above: At Abby Pont's

January bat mitzvah:
Back row, Shel Winkelman,

Rissa Winkelman, Sheila, Eddie,

Janet and Herb Pont. Front row, Ryan,
Abby and Jolie Pont.

C 1 6

celebrate! I

March 2010

unday visits to Bubble and Zadie are no longer
part of the family routine for a number of young
J ewish families in Chicago simply because Bubbie
and Zadie live in the Detroit area.
If you are of baby boomer age, recall the last time you
attended a wedding and sat at a table with four other cou-
ples who were also boomers. I will guess that at least one of
those couples, and more likely two, had a child living in the
Chicago area.
Long-distance parenting and grandparenting has taken on
new meaning for Detroit's Jewish community. We say, "Oh well,
Chicago's not too far." As a result, I-94 gets a lot more traffic
for Jewish holiday and family celebrations.
Dr. Eddie Pont of Oak Park, Ill., just north of Chicago,
completed his residency in pediatrics in the Chicago area
and settled in Illinois. The son of Janet and Herb Pont of
Southfield, Eddie married Sheila Winkelman, daughter of
Rissa and Sheldon Winkelman of Bingham Farms. Eddie and
Sheila have two children.
"We are so fortunate," says Janet, "because both grand-
parents live in Detroit and it's been so easy for us to plan
the Jewish holidays with the Winkelmans. For instance,
the children may come to our home for Rosh Hashanah

and attend services with us at Shaarey Zedek. They spend
Passover at the Winkelmans'. During the year, we both try to
go in [to Chicago] for special occasions, like piano recitals.
What makes this all the more meaningful to me is that I was
Sheila's nursery school teacher at Shaarey Zedek."
The Winkelmans are intent on staying close to their grand-
children and being an integral part of their lives despite
their busy volunteer schedule, travels and the miles between
Chicago and Detroit.
"When they were younger, we attended their birthdays,"
says Rissa. "It's more difficult now because they're involved
in so many activities even though they're only 8 and 12. It
takes a lot of effort to establish a good relationship with your
grandchildren when they don't live near you, but that's the
decision we made.
"I always try to make myself available when the family
needs me. For example, these past few months, I traveled to
Chicago more frequently, helping Sheila plan Abby's bat mitz-
vah. Shel and I especially enjoy the time when our families
spend time together each summer in our home up north."
Detroit parents helped produce a generation of ultra-busy

continued on page C18