Clockwise from top: Dr. Alfred and Sandra Sherman of Bloomfield Hills in front a mosaic that survived the Hechtman II fire.; Sally Orley of Bloomfield Hills cuts the

official ribbon, as her husband, Graham, and JSL Executive Director Marsha Goldsmith Kamin look on; Joanne Robinson and Sharon Fleishman of West Bloomfield

hang the mezuzah at the entrance to Hechtman II while Hannah Moss of Huntington Woods and Pearlena Bodzin of Southfield admire their work.

vor Martin Lowenberg to the outside door
of the building. After a brief welcome by
Carol Rosenberg, a JSL executive direc-
tor, a ribbon was cut by Sally Orley of
Bloomfield Hills. Hechtman Apartments
are named for her parents, Lillian and
Samuel Hechtman. A painting of the
couple, rescued from the fire, hangs in the
building's lobby.

Coming Home
Ella Baker, 85, admits she's a wanderer.
"I wandered the world until I got here
she said, glancing at a cloth depiction of
a man wandering with a knapsack over
his shoulder on the wall of her first-floor
Hechtman II apartment.
She's also a double survivor. "I came
out the ashes twice," she said, referencing
her survival of the Holocaust and of the
2008 Hechtman II fire. She returned to the
same apartment she'd been in since 1999,

the one on a corner where she had built a
garden of more than 900 plants that made
passersby slow down to admire it.
She has slowed down a bit herself
because of recent health issues, but she
hopes to replant. "Where there's a will,
there's a way',' she said with her character-
istic positive attitude. Baker spent much of
her life as a volunteer and activist.
Baker, who was born in Czechoslovakia
and lived in the young State of Israel after
World War II, was visiting her daughter in
England when the fire hit. A staff member
called her and let her know what had hap-
pened.
"There was smoke damage, but I
thought I'd be all right:' Baker said. "When
I returned, I was really in shock and didn't
realize the seriousness of the situation. I
went straight to a friend's house. I was not
really coherent."
After a few weeks and with help from

Hechtman staff, she moved to another
senior residence in a nearby suburb and
stayed there for two years while Hechtman
II was being rebuilt.
"I considered staying there, but I had to
look at what makes my life better," Baker
said. "Human and Jewish values. These
apartments were built by a caring Jewish
community to lessen the trauma for an
aging population. I see how people are val-
ued as precious human beings. I will not
be a number. I know I belong here."
Baker is one of only 10 former
Hechtman II residents to return. Some
have moved to other cities; some stayed
where they moved after the fire preferring
not to make another move at their age;
and some have died.
"My mother and mother-in-law were
in the fire',' said State Rep. Shelley Taub,
R-Bloomfield Hills, who was sitting with
members of the West Bloomfield Fire

Department at the annual meeting. "These
guys carried them out, but neither are still
living."
Others, like new resident Eleanor Marx,
are happy for the opportunity to move
into a sparkling new apartment. Marx
chose one on the first floor with a door to
a small outdoor patio and plenty of grass
— perfect for her dog, Lucky.
Hechtman II has 96 apartments; 32 are
occupied with 11 in process.

Miracle Mural
Shortly after the fire, a fence was erected
around the building for security. It was
surrounded by 1,000 feet of white vinyl.
An idea emerged to have community
members decorate the fence to cheer the
residents and take their minds off the fire
and ongoing construction.

From The Ashes on page 14

July 1 . 2010

13