jews d

in
the

75th Anniversary

Congrats

From A Reader And A Writer

M

Alan Muskovitz

Contributing Writer

e, in the 75th anniversary edition of
our beloved Jewish News? Really? Talk
about “fake news.” Needless to say, I
was humbled and flattered upon receiving the
invitation to contribute to this momentous jour-
nalistic milestone.
However, my participation has created some
angst. Am I now obligated to buy the newspaper
a gift? A 75th anniversary is known as a dia-
mond anniversary, but I’m afraid the best I can
do is cubic zirconia, which frankly has always
sounded more like the name of a baseball player
the Tigers would draft than a piece of imitation
jewelry.
I’ve been proud to be part of the Jewish News

family of contributing writers for the last six
years. But the Jewish News has been a part of
my family far longer, at least since May 6, 1949,
according to a search of the wonderful Detroit
Jewish News Foundation (DJNF) archives. That’s
where I found my brother Hal’s birth announce-
ment.
I searched for all of my siblings’ birth
announcements, but Hal’s, and mine for that
matter (March 11, 1955, issue), were the only
ones published in the Jewish News. The birth
announcements for my two other older sib-
lings, Sharon and Mel, ended up in the Jewish
Chronicle on May 21, 1943, and June 28, 1946,
respectively. (They must have been running a

special.)
The Chronicle was the Jewish News’ friendly
competition until the two papers merged in
July 1951. Their issues are archived on the DJNF
website as well, including the first edition, which
was chiseled into stone tablets.
Back in the day, JN birth announcements were
more like today’s tweets — short and to the
point. Hal’s read simply: “To Mr. and Mrs. David
Muskovitz (Florence Sharow) of Wisconsin
Avenue, a son, Harold Bruce.”
Not to take anything away from that joyous
news, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take this
opportunity to offer a few corrections nearly
seven decades later. I don’t know who submit-

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July 18 • 2017

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