small world

Party
Pages .

by Gabriella Ring

English or=
or Francais?

,

Tamarack counselor discovers cousin from France.

You've Been Spotted!

Ortonville

Our Party Pagem, photographers are looking for the best parties!

Watch for us!

Photos by Les Gor bac k

4,14er.

Sisters: Rachael, Isabel and Hannah Bradley at Hannah's bat mitzvah party

R

ewind to the summer of 2009.
Chelsey Eichler, then 17 and go-
ing into her senior year at Walled
Lake Western High School, was working
as a counselor in Fishman Village at Tam-
arack Camps in Ortonville. There she met
camper Lea Siegel, 9, of Lyon, France.
Throughout the session, Chelsey and
Lea felt a close bond greater than the aver-
age counselor-camper relationship. They
found out only after Lea hopped off that
green Tamarack bus after camp that the
two were distantly related.
At the bus stop, Chelsey met Lea's
grandmother, Joyce Siegel of Huntington Chelsey Eichler rediscovered her cousin
Woods. Chelsey asked Joyce if she knew Lea Siegel of France at Tamarack.
her grandmother, Faye Damraur of West
Bloomfield, who worked at Temple Eman-

uel-El in Oak Park. She did and the family connection emerged. It turns out
Chelsey's grandfather, Louis Damraur, and Lea's grandfather, Robert Siegel,
are cousins.

"I was so excited," Chelsey said. "She was one of my favorite campers."
Her mom, Jodi Eichler, shared Chelsey's feelings of excitement because
she knew of the relationship when she was younger.

Lea's father Eric Siegel, originally from Huntington Woods, moved to
France before Lea was born. He attended Tamarack as a kid.
Chelsey, now 18, and an incoming freshman at Michigan State University
in East Lansing, worked as a counselor in Shifman Village this summer where
she does not have Lea as a camper.

"I still saw her everyday and she came and hugged me," Chelsey said.
In May, Lea's grandmother, Joyce Siegel, passed away and the family came
to Michigan. Jodi Eichler had not seen her cousins in more
than 48 years.

Chelsey hopes to some day visit Lea in France. For now,
the girls can still see each other in person during summers
at Tamarack. ( }

Pearl Dorman, Hannah Bradley, Lauren Weinberger, Alexa Dresner and Hershel

Dorman

Gabriella Ring, 17, is a senior at Berkley High School.

teen2teen staff •

hotline: (248) 351-5144 • kcohen@thejewishnews.com

Reporters I Chaviva Bluth, Eryn Fox, Molly Goldmeier, Molly Grossman, Elizabeth Kirshner, Ruthie Lehmann, Avi Mendelson,

Avielle Movsas, Stephanie Schulman, Vona Isaacs (Akiva Hebrew Day School, Southfield); Gabriella Ring, Erica Sachse. Claire Sinai

(Berkley); Nechama Tawil (Beth Jacob, Oak Park); Teddi Cantor, Alexa Eisenberg, Rachel Gorosh, Emily Katz, Lauren Lewis,

Emily Schottenfels, Sara Smoler, Carly Sternberg, Rachael Vettese, Rachel Wein (Bloomfield Hills Andover); Abby Hyman (Bloomfield

Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood); Mad Cohen (Community, Ann Arbor); Emily Zussman (Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills); Adina Applebaum,

Rachel Brown, Tamar Brown, Carly Cykiert, Hillary Dorman, Polina Fradkin, Emily Goodman, Helene Glickman, Rachel Goutman, Jessica

Farmington Hills); Mayer Schneider (home schooled); Robert Axelrod (Huron, Ann Arbor); Rachel Berlin, Sam Gringlas, Elie Neuman, Nate

Strauss (North Farmington); Rob Pasick (Novi); Lily Grier, Liza Kohlenberg (Orchard Lake Middle, West Bloomfield); Laura Katsnelson,

Liz Nagle (Walled Lake Western); Ben Eilender, Jennifer Finkel, Bridget Labe, Heather Rosenbaum, Jeremy Sherman (West Bloomfield);

Mackenzie Cohen (West Bloomfield Walnut Creek) Photographers I Jessica Polk (Frankel), Colton Graub (Cranbrook-Kingswood )

supervising staff

Hannah Bradley and Pearl Dorman

Chief Operating Officer I F. Nevin Browett
Editorial Director I Robert Sklar
Executive Editor I Keri Guten Cohen

111 031V N

Academy, West Bloomfield); Rachel Hollander (Harrison, Farmington Hills); Daniel Chandross, Madeleine Gonte, Sara Weinfeld (Hillel,

f

Kahn, Rachel Klein, Atara Lakritz, Rachel Margolin, Andrew Milgrom, Blake Orman, Maddy Soltz, Samantha Zwick (Frankel Jewish

Creative Director I Deborah Schultz
IT Director I Deanna Spivey
Teen Consultant I Jon Layne

Jewish Renaissance Media — 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034

This section is sponsored by Party Layne°

Party Pages TM , You've been Spotted!"' and Partyrazzirm are trademarks of Party Layne'

TT4 teen2teen August 19 2010

LIM Jewish
Federation
of

Metropolitan Detroit

ALLIANCE FOR

JEWISH EDUCATION

Supported by a generous grant from
the Stephen H. Schulman Millennium Fund.
A Jewish Renaissance Media publication © 2010

DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS