The Machpelah

time capsule,

to be opened

in 2062

Exhibit Honors Jews
In The Soviet Army
During WWII

L

Machpelah Cemetery marks centennial year with a time capsule.

I

Jackie Headapohl

Managing Editor

T

he world can change a lot in 50 years. Fifty years ago,
the Civil Rights battle was being fought, the U.S. had
yet to put a man on the moon, the average new house
cost $12,500, a gallon of gas cost 28 cents, and the idea of a
computer-phone seemed like science fiction.
Who knows what our world will look like in 2062?
One thing Paul Saville, general manager of Machpelah
Cemetery in Ferndale, hopes is that when the time capsule
buried in the front of the chapel on Dec. 17 is opened in 50
years, this cemetery "will look as good then as it does today:'
he said.
The Machpelah time capsule was buried in culmination of
the 100th anniversary year of the cemetery, founded in 1912
by David Oppenheim on land occupied by the Granger Mill,
the first manufacturing establishment in Ferndale, from 1869-
1876. Oppenheim's mission: to provide the Jewish community
a beautiful and peaceful place to honor the memory of their
deceased.
The time capsule, donated by Detroit Wilbert Vault Co. and
buried on the lawn in front of the chapel, contains descrip-
tions and photos of the property as it is today, a few issues of
the Jewish News, a list of key people buried on its grounds and
a coffee cup bearing the logo of its 100th anniversary. A stone
marker provided by the Monument Center in Ferndale, which
reads "2012-2062:' was placed on top of it, near a Sunset
Maple tree planted to commemorate Machpelah's 100th year.
"When the time capsule is opened, I hope people will
be excited and intrigued to see what the cemetery looked
like 50 years ago:' said Martina Murphy, office manager at
Machpelah. She placed a folder containing instructions to the
next generation on how and when to open the time capsule in
the cemetery's fireproof vault. "By the time it is opened:' she
added, "it's likely that the cemetery will be sold out:'
Currently, the cemetery has 400 unsold lots that are avail-
able and 2,700 lots in reserve. More than 16,500 people, dat-
ing to the early 1900s, are buried on its grounds.
The time capsule burial was the end to a year of improve-
ments at the cemetery. The old metal fences and concrete bar-
riers were replaced and refurbished with shiny new aluminum
fencing, memorial benches were added and a stone memorial
shaped like a book was installed near the chapel.
The book memorial honors founder David Oppenheim and
his son Royal, who took over management of the cemetery
and was known to walk its grounds well into his 80s to ensure
everything was maintained to his satisfaction.

14

December 27 • 2012

General manager Paul Saville and his son Paul place the
stone atop the time capsule.

The new book memorial at Machpelah

"If it weren't for our current board of directors and two
co-presidents, we would not have been able to do the neces-
sary things to keep this cemetery going for 100 more years
to come said Jerrold Bigelman, executive vice president and
general counsel at Machpelah. "We've tried to maintain the
cemetery the way Royal would have wanted it and, in 50 years,
when this time capsule is opened, we hope Royal's spirit is still
guiding the caretakers of this historic cemetery:'

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Ives of the Great Patriotic
War" is on display at
the Holocaust Memorial
Center Zekelman Family Campus
in Farmington Hills through Jan.
27. The exhibit details a largely
unknown chapter of Jewish his-
tory — the participation of 500,000
Soviet Jewish soldiers in World War
II in the fight against the Nazis. The
exhibit is in cooperation with the
Michigan Association of Russian
Speaking Jewry in America.
The exhibit features wartime
diary and letter excerpts, repro-
ductions of archival photographs
and documents, along with oral
testimonies from the soldiers. The
free-standing exhibit details the
overall story of Soviet Jewish par-
ticipation in the war and serves as
a commemoration to all the indi-
vidual soldiers who fought in what
is known in Russia as the "Great
Patriotic War:'
"While the victimization of
Jews during the Holocaust is well
known, the role of Jewish soldiers
serving in the Soviet Red Army is
virtually unknown:' said Stephen
M. Goldman, HMC executive direc-
tor. "These brave men fought in the
war's largest military force of 30
million soldiers that, unfortunately,
sustained the most losses. The
war survivors are now telling their
incredible stories 70 years later:'
Fifteen individual soldier pro-
files highlight moments from
the war through personal diaries
and letters, along with "then and
now" photos of each individual. In
addition, 100 "then and now"
portraits adorn other walls of the
exhibit. Photographs and post-
cards from the war zone bring to
life the horrors of war along with
soldiers' searches for family and
friends. Another exhibit wall cel-
ebrates the war's victory, with a
selection of postcards, letters and
photographs dated May 9, 1945,
announcing the end of the war.
The Blavatnik Archive
Foundation was founded in 2005 by
American industrialist and philan-
thropist Len Blavatnik. Its mission
is to discover, preserve and share a
broad range of ephemera and cap-
tured memories that contribute to a
better understanding of the Jewish
experience.
For information, go to www.
holocaustcenter.org or call (248)
553-2400.

❑

