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The colorful facade' of
Mumford High Chool
in:northwest Detroit.
Class of '61 plans an emotional
farewell at the old blue building.
Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer
T
he high school and college
reunion "season" is at a fevered
pitch, and the alumni of Detroit's
Mumford High School feel they have the
edge in historic significance.
The Class of 1961 will hold its 50th anni-
versary reunion Saturday, Aug. 27, at Troy's
Somerset Inn, less than a month before
current Mumford students begin the final
year at the school at the corner of Wyoming
Avenue and Thatcher Street in northwest
Detroit. That building will be torn down
next summer, and classes will resume at
a new $50.3 million Mumford High now
being built on the old football field nearby.
The alumni are aware that their celebra-
tion will be the last 50-year reunion while
the old school is still standing. A "last hur-
rah" Sunday brunch, catered by the Matt
Prentice Restaurant Group, will be held in
the school's cafeteria to give the graduates
a last look inside.
"We're happy to be part of that historic
milestone in Mumford's history," said Bob
Dovitz of West Bloomfield, reunion chairman.
Named for Samuel C. Mumford, a
Detroit Edison Co. treasurer and 22-year
Detroit Board of Education member, the
school was completed in 1949, after sev-
eral post-World War II delays. It opened
with a mostly Jewish student body of 428
and 12 faculty members.
The class committee is pretty seri-
8
July 28 • 2011
ous about the reunion, and they've put
together a sophisticated planning effort,
including several layers of committee
members and a website — with a closely
guarded password — that has received
more than 12,000 hits so far. The group
has been holding well-attended meetings
with strict agendas at Hadassah House in
West Bloomfield.
Committee members credit Arnold
Collens of Waterford with developing the
technological aspects of the reunion pro-
cess, mainly the website, that have allowed
greater participation by the alumni and
"rekindled the inclusive spirit of the '61
class',' Collens said.
The website includes popular music of
the 1960s, profiles of the alumni, e-mails
between them, and pictures and notes
about the elementary "feeder" schools that
sent students to Mumford.
"As excitement builds around the
reunion, we have been averaging about 70
website visits per day, and there are untold
emails and phone calls between class-
mates who had lost touch with each other
over the years:' Collens said. "People are
reconnecting, and that old spirit is being
rekindled.
"The fabric that wove us together as we
attended elementary and intermediate
schools, then Mumford, is now at the core
of our collective being. Mumford, through
competition, good, clean fun and uniquely
built friendships, truly prepared us to be
productive in life?'
Class Enthusiasm
"We had a lot of good, clean fun in the old
days at Mumford; we were a close-knit,
all-inclusive group, and now we're taking
this reunion task very seriously to make
sure it goes well',' said Carol Ross Plotnik,
subcommittee chairperson of venues.
There were 900 graduates in the 1961 class,
and committee members feel 400-500 will
attend. That's been the turnout at each of the
10-year Mumford '61 reunions. A tribute is
planned for 108 deceased classmates.
The 1961 class has a spate of "famous"
graduates who usually don't attend
reunions. Grads include movie and TV
producer Jerry Bruckheimer; physician,
author and philanthropist Larry Brilliant;
and author David Rives.
"Our class had a unique community of
graduates; we had a lot of enthusiasm and
togetherness that developed into intimate
friendships',' said Doug Hoffman of West
Bloomfield, who is subcommittee chairman
of memorabilia. "And many zany things
happened back then that we all remember."
The grads recall a science teacher who
sometimes stood on her desk and threw
chalk at unruly students. Another teacher
punished them by forcing them to take
brisk walks with the teacher around the
school early in the morning.
"Our gym teacher was the varsity football
coach, and I don't think he liked basketball
too well:' said Hoffman. "He made us play
basketball without dribbling;
we kept banging into each
other like a football game."
Committee members
talk fondly about the time
they spent at their elemen-
tary "feeder" schools —
Hampton, Pasteur, Bagley,
Winship, Vernor, Vandenberg,
McDowell, Winterhalter and
Higginbotham, plus Post
Intermediate. They recall
the school newspaper, the
Mumford Mercury, and sev-
eral championship Mumford
Mustang sports teams. They
describe the fun-filled "old
spirit" days at restaurants
and "hangouts" like Darbys,
Fredson's, Billy's, Grunt's, Cupid's Bow,
Robin Hood, Zukin's and others.
"But now we're down to serious business
with this reunion to make it a success',' said
Plotnik.
Other reunion officers are Susie
Karabelnick of Huntington Woods, cor-
responding secretary, and Peppy Pont Levy
of West Bloomfield, recording secretary.
Other subcommittee chairpersons are Joel
Schavrien of West Bloomfield, entertain-
ment; Harry Gornbein of West Bloomfield,
publicity; Jan Goldman Brody of Southfield
and Richard Cavalier of Oak Park, souvenir
book; and Edie Morris Hoffman of West
Bloomfield, decorations.
A $50 Million
Mumford?
Many high schools and elementary
schools in the Detroit Public Schools
system are closing, but the Mumford
High School Mustangs are march-
ing forward - right into a brand new
$50.3 million facility next door to
the old building.
It will open in the fall of 2012,
after students finish their last
semester in the old school, and the
62-year-old building is demolished.
The new school will have a colorful
exterior, almost 240,000 square feet
and be able to hold 1,500 students.
It's one of 18 new construction
sites created by a $500 million
Proposal S construction bond issue
approved by Detroit voters in 2009.
There will be seven new buildings,
including two other high schools,
and 11 renovations.
"We felt the demographics were
excellent to build a new Mumford
High in that section of the city,"
said DPS spokesman Steve Wasko.
"It'll be a great place for a new
school - and the project is on time
and on budget."
Class of 1961 committee members
Carol Plotnik, Edie Hoffman and Henry
Gornbein check out their class gradua-
tion photo in the school hallway.
The 50th Anniversary Reunion o
the Mumford High School Class of
1961 will begin at 7 p.m. Saturda
Aug. 27, at the Somerset Inn, 2601
W. Big Beaver in Troy. Cost is $85
per person, including strolling sup-
per, non-alcoholic beverages, valet
parking and souvenir book (cash bar
available). Brunch at 10 a.m. Sunday
at the school is $20 per person.
Information: Carol Ross Plotnik,
(248) 763-8048 or visit
www.mumford61.com .