looking back

The Young Men’s Hebrew Association, established in the 1870s in New York for the mental, moral, social and physical improvement of
Jewish young men, opened in Detroit in in the mid- to late-1890s. Initially, members met in a rented house on Brush near Winder, in the
old Hastings Street area. The group moved its functions to the Hannah Schloss Recreation Building soon after it opened in 1903. Besides
athletics, the association invited speakers and held social events. Some accounts credit David Heineman with organizing Detroit’s YMHA. •

Pictured is the Young Men’s Hebrew Association Basketball Team, 1913: Hy Keidan, Sam Raskin, Dave Block, Al Foreman,
John Richards (coach), Lou Miller, Dave Curtis, Morely Robinson, Gus Neuman. Courtesy Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.

From the DJN

Davidson Digital Archive

T

he front page of the Nov. 20, 1942, issue of the JN had two
headlines that related to two big historical events. First,
the main headline, “Jewish Heroes Speed Axis Rout in
Africa,” spoke to the turning tide of World War II. By this time,
the war was beginning to favor the Allies, and Jewish men were
indeed doing their part fighting in Africa and in
the Soviet Union, and against the Japanese on
Guadalcanal Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The story on page 3 named some of the
Jewish serviceman and their actions in the
American invasion of North Africa. A small
item on page 4 also noted that the Soviet Union
gave medals to 15,000 Russian Jews for brav-
ery. And, Jews served in the U.S. Marine Corps
Mike Smith
during the six months it took the “Jarheads” to
Detroit Jewish News
remove the Japanese from Guadalcanal. This
Foundation Archivist
was the first of the Pacific Japanese strong-

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November 23 • 2017

jn

holds to fall as the Americans worked their way, island by island,
toward Japan itself and final victory in 1945.
The other front-page headline and photo marked a historic
event in Detroit. For the first time in the Jewish history of Detroit,
every rabbi in the city gathered to honor Dr. A. M. Hershman
before he took a sabbatical leave. Hershman had previously been
named “Rabbi for Life” at Shaarey Zedek in 1932. I’m sure the
rabbis wished Hershman well, but we don’t know what else was
discussed. Maybe the refreshments?
On the home front, an advertisement on page 6 encouraged
women to join the “Newer and Greater” health club at the Jewish
Community Center, with childcare provided. I always find it
interesting that, while the greatest conflict in history was raging
around the globe, the community carried on at home •

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

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