metro Open Door from page 14 In 1963, Jewish Detroit had shrunk to 84,600. Jews had moved into suburbs such as Oak Park, Huntington Woods and Southfield. Clearly the onset of Jewish flight to the suburbs had preceded the 1967 racial disturbances. More Recent Studies CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK presents LAURIE BERKNER IN CONCERT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2013 11:00 a.m. TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE AT THESE LEVELS $118 VIP Premium Seating, Laurie Berkner gift package and a meet-and-greet with Laurie $54 Friends of Laurie Special seating and a meet-and-greet with Laurie $25 Intermediate Seating $18 Rear Seating CALL 248.357.5544 SPONSORED BY THE SANDRA DAVIS MEMORIAL FUND Ill - ‘ /,\ \1 CONGREGATION \, } SHAAREY ZEDEK / Generation to Generation 27375 Bell Road • Southfield, Michigan 48034 • www.shaareyzedek.org 1876480 16 November 14 • 2013 Let's fast forward to 1990 in our search. Another front-page story: "Population Study Finds 96,000 Detroit Area Jews." The study cited was undertaken be Steven Cohen and Jack Ukeles for the Jewish Federation. It found that 80 percent of the Jewish com- munity resided in Oakland County suburbs, with additional pockets in Grosse Pointe and western Wayne County suburbs. The story focused on how to keep the Jewish popula- tion stable in Southfield and Oak Park. There was no mention about the Jewish population of Detroit. The next "hit" in the archives comes in 2006, where stories in the June 8, 2006, and Nov. 16, 2006, editions talked about the findings of a 2005 demographic study. The number of Jews in Metro Detroit had dropped to 72,000, and it showed an aging population — 24 percent of Jewish Detroiters were age 65 or older. Only 7 percent were between 18 and 29. None of the research cited in these stories specifically identified Jewish population within Detroit city limits. A manual scan of esti- mated Jewish population by ZIP code showed fewer than 1,000 Jews living in Detroit, about 1.5 percent of the total Jewish population. Between that study and the launch of Federation's NEXTGen Detroit in 2012, Jewish business- man Dan Gilbert, CEO of Quicken Loans, relocated his company's headquarters to the city and began buying up buildings in Downtown with the intent to carve out a dynamic commercial/retail/residen- tial core that would attract young adults back to the city. A search of the JN digital archives from 2011 on shows numerous stories focusing on how Metro Detroit could become a mag- net for young adults, especially for those who moved away after col- lege. NEXTGen Detroit director Miryam Rosenzweig was quoted in the Aug. 23, 2012, issue as saying, "The future of the Jewish community is inextricably tied to the future of the Detroit area and, therefore, to all of Southeast Michigan." Currently, Detroit has become a destination for young adults, Jews and non-Jews alike. Data sug- gest that an increasing number of young Jews now live in the Campus Martius-Midtown area, serving as a core for future Jewish popula- tion growth in a city that has seen an exodus of Jews for almost 60 years. That is but one example of the history that is now at your finger- tips at www.djnfoundation.org . Holocaust history, the evolution of the State of Israel — Jewish thought on a myriad of topics is now just a search term away. And if you'd like an expert's help, you can buy four-hour blocks of expert research time on your spe- cific request. Often this is enough to collect a large quantity of his- torical data on your topic and have it collected, separated into another database and placed on a memory stick for you. Family Histories Perhaps even more exciting is that the personal histories of many Jewish Detroit families are now a few clicks away. Birth notices, b'nai mitzvah announcements, engage- ment and wedding announce- ments, and obituaries from the last 70 years are available in the JN digital archives. If you're looking to trace your family tree, pull up a chair, crack your knuckles and get started! For those of us who are not as computer-savvy, but would still like to search the archives for our families' histories, there is help available. The JN Foundation archivist, Mike Smith, and his team of experts can work to research your name, family members, events or entire family tree by pulling data and articles from our database for a fee starting at $250. In addition, a staff of creative experts can design and deliver a wide variety of products that allow your family history to be turned into a gift or a keepsake, if you so choose, providing a $50 credit toward the finished product, such as a beautiful and lasting hard- bound book with 20 pages. The cost is $150 (minus the $50 credit, final cost is $100). Other options include keepsake calendars with pictures and articles from your family, such as birth and wedding announcements and other family simchahs or yahrtzeits, all on the correct days. Picture books and digital ebooks are options as well.