r0 Portraits Of Survivors from page 8 Gammas and Gamma Girls at a member's wedding in the early 1950s. Brothers Forever Wayne fraternity marks 75th anniversary. Bill Carroll Contributing Writer B Photographer Monni Must holds her first book on Holocaust survivors. with her husband Jerry, are the pre- senting sponsors for the exhibit. "It is imperative that what happened is never, ever forgotten. We hold a special space in our hearts for their stren and incredible journey" Norris, whose family hails from Finland, had relatives who helped save Jews and get them to safety. Voices of Survivors By this month, Must will have pho- tographed, interviewed and recorded 350 survivors around the world. Audio clips of the survivors' voices and snip- pets of their stories will accompany the 50 portraits that are part of this exhibit. It is the gallery's first experi- ence using guide-by-cell technology in an exhibit to present audio to viewers. "I can't tell you how many survivors we've met who had never spoken to anyone, including their family, about what they experienced and witnessed," says Must. "This project gives me purpose, it keeps me connected to my daughter, and it allows me to help oth- ers be remembered forever. "For survivors, not only from the Holocaust, but any survivor, even par- ents who survive the death of a child, there is always a piece missing. After you tell your story to someone else, there is relief, even with the tears:' Must's creative collaborator, Linda Schlesinger, is grateful for the experi- 10 September 1 2011 ences she and Must have had together on this journey. "We are two friends who came together six years ago, drawn to a proj- ect because of a tragedy so painful I never believed Monni would come out the other side says Schlesinger. "This journey has taken us thou- sands of miles. Doors opened where most thought we would not be able to walk in. We created magic with a force of Miya Must pushing us forward;' she says. "The power of two women, commit- ted to the journey of survivors, is stron- ger than most friendships. The trea- sures in life are not the riches we pos- sess, it's that lone photograph, clutched in a hand or hidden under a bunk, of a family that most never saw again:" Must's Holocaust survivor portraits will be published in a series of books titled Living Witnesses 2, with accom- panying profiles written by her daugh- ter Sabrina, who also co-authored the first book. A Dime and A Penny Foundation seeks to aid people in other ways, too, including through Heartfelt, a program where Must photographs Neonatal Intensive Care Unit babies before they are taken off life-support, giving their parents the only living image of their precious child. She also helps fami- lies find photographic opportunities before a relative enters hospice care. erol Robinson lived in France for many years and was a member of the French Nuclear Commission. Sol Weller worked on the secret Manhattan Project that created America's first atomic bomb. Sheldon Ellison worked on the Apollo Moon Mission program. Aviator Ben Fingeroot helped establish Israel's Air Force. Ben Paolucci is now the Detroit Pistons' team doctor. Martin Abel helped found the Shul-Chabad Lubavitch in West Bloomfield. Seymour Gretchko was superintendent of the West Bloomfield School District. Their exploits and others will be remembered when members of Gamma Kappa Chi (GKC), the former, mostly Jewish fraternity at Wayne (State) University, gather for brunch Sunday, Sept. 4, at the Fiddler Restaurant in West Bloomfield for the group's 75th anniver- sary reunion. GKC members bonded strongly in the late 1930s, '40s and '50s when they com- prised more than 100 active members a year, the largest fraternity on the Wayne campus. Many Jewish students had bypassed two national Jewish frats to join GKC, which merged with Tau Epsilon Pi, a new, mostly Jewish fraternity in 1958. The GKC alumni are mostly retired and range in age from 70-90. Many still meet for lunch every week, either in Detroit- area restaurants or in Florida — and never miss an anniversary milestone. "It's shaping up to be another great anniversary celebration',' enthused Harvey Miller of West Bloomfield, a retired furniture sales rep, who has been planning the event almost since the 70th anniversary bash that drew 156 people. "There'll be plenty of time for our broth- ers and the surviving wives of other brothers to reminisce." Allen Halper of West Bloomfield, Miller's co-planner, figures about 100 will attend Sept. 4. GKC has a base of 250 members worldwide, and several are coming in from around the United States. Halper, a retired Highland Park teacher and school administrator, writes a monthly email newsletter to keep alumni apprised of upcoming events, simchahs and members' illnesses. He's planning a memorabilia room, with a continuous video, old photos and clip- pings, and a memorial to deceased members. GKC was known as the frat of "jocks and docs," boasting a large membership of athletes and medical students. The "jocks" annually dominated intramural sports competition on campus, often outdoing and gaining more notoriety than Wayne's woeful varsity teams. The alumni say they're proud to have been pioneers on many fronts. "It wasn't well known at the time, but fraternities and sororities usually were restricted to one religion:' recalled Miller. "We were the first frat to break the barrier and go inter-denominational." When the nation began observing Brotherhood Week in the 1940s, the Gammas introduced the celebration by inviting a little-known African-American singer, Nat "King" Cole, to sing and speak. Sidney Zirulnik, 91, of Huntington Woods, a retired property manager, was in the group of 15 who founded GKC in 1936. "We decided not to join the national Jewish fraternities because they were a bit too elite for us," he reflected. "We all had jobs and worked our way through college. And, of course, the dues were less. The Depression was still in full force and didn't end until the nation got into World War II. "Some members, like me, finished school first and entered the military. Others quit school right away, went to war, and returned to graduate in the mid-1940s. We lost a few great guys in the war. But the rest of us kept the frater- nity going until 1958. "It's hard to believe 75 years have gone by." The reunion of Wayne U. fraternity Gamma Kappa Chi begins at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 4, at the Fiddler Restaurant, 6676 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield. $25 per person. Information: Allen Halper, (248) 682-4986.