looking back

From the DJN
Davidson
Digital Archive

Here’s a look at dorm life at Shapero School of Nursing, which opened in 1956 as Michigan’s first experimental
school of practical nursing. It was associated with Sinai Hospital. The school was funded with a gift of $500,000
from Nate S. and Ruth B. Shapero and the Cunningham Drug Company Foundation. •

I

found an inter-
esting tidbit
in the JN from
March 27, 1998. In
that issue, a “new”
feature debuted — a
crossword puzzle
that featured clues
Mike Smith
related to Jewish cul-
Detroit Jewish News
ture and history. I like
Foundation Archivist
crossword puzzles
myself, and I found
this one to be very
good. Maybe not quite as hard as a
New York Times Sunday crossword —
the gold standard — which I have yet
to fully complete without dictionaries
and help!
Nevertheless, the puzzle in the JN
was very interesting; but to complete
this puzzle, one needs a good grasp of
Jewish phrases, events, religion and
history.
This also demonstrates another
nice feature of the Davidson Digital
Archives. Pages from the JN and Jewish
Chronicle can be downloaded and
printed. In this case, the archive pro-
vides crossword puzzle enthusiasts
with something unique.
This week, I also would like to let
you know that my future columns will
take on a different perspective. The
March 23 issue will mark the begin-
ning of a yearlong celebration of the
75th anniversary of the JN, which
began publishing in March 1942. Not
too many community newspapers,
certainly not many Jewish publica-
tions, have stood the test of time like
the JN. So, keep your eyes open for
special features in the JN and on the
Detroit Jewish News Foundation web-
site.
To do my part to celebrate, each
week until next March, I will offer
some history and insights from the
corresponding issue of the JN from 75
years ago. I hope you will find these
stories as fascinating as I do •

Want to learn more?
Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

62

March 16 • 2017

jn

Here, two nursing students hang out in their dorm, studying and listening to tunes on a
record player, 1967. Courtesy Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives (SH. 10)

Historic photos are curated by the
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.