looking back

Launched in 1954 by Joe Cornell, a Cass Technical High School
graduate, the Cornell Dance Studio went on to provide dance and
etiquette lessons to thousands of young Detroit-area boys and girls,
men and women. Cornell sold the business in 1991, but Joe Cornell

Entertainment continued under the ownership of Steve Jasgur until
2015, when the company was acquired by Star Trax Event Productions,
which still hosts the Joe Cornell Experience dance and etiquette classes
for pre-teens prior to their bar and bat mitzvahs. •

This advertisement for Cornell Dance Studio was printed in the 1958 Mumford High School Yearbook, one of
the many yearbooks contained within the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan’s Yearbook Collection.

From the DJN

Davidson Digital Archive

T

he Jan. 15, 1943, issue of the JN had various stories of
interest beyond the usual news of World War II. The
first story that caught my eye was on page 3: “Plundered
Women Drive Off Nazi Soldiers without Booty.” The Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, citing “reliable reports,” related the story
of Jewish women in the small Polish town of Lublinetz who
attacked German soldiers who had plun-
dered their property, forcing them to flee in
panic. Talk about women supporting the war
effort! This was just one of several stories of
increased resistance to the German occupa-
tion of Europe in 1943 as Allied forces began to
incrementally pressure the Nazis.
As usual, the inside pages of the JN had a
variety of interesting reports. There was a brief
Mike Smith
item on the growth of Tel Aviv. Founded in
Detroit Jewish News
1909 on 150 dunams of land (about 40 acres),
Foundation Archivist
in 1943, the city had grown to more than 6,500

54

January 18 • 2018

jn

dunams and 200,000 inhabitants. And the mayor of Tel Aviv
predicted the city would soon double in size.
In relation to Palestine, there was also a lengthy story about
Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, who was celebrating his 50th birthday.
Silver was one of the most prominent American Zionists. He
was a leading voice for the establishment of Israel, eventually
testifying before the United Nations as well as rallying support
for the new state from American Jews.
Finally, I’ll mention two small but most important items. One
was a story about the Shaarey Zedek Library, which opened in
1935, as a reading room for the Detroit Jewish community. Of
course, as a historian and archivist, I applaud any effort to sup-
port libraries and reading. And, two, I sure wish I could still buy
dress shoes from Berke’s Boot Shop on Washington Avenue in
Detroit for $7.45! •

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.