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An art show at the JCC

"The Jewish community of Windsor remains
small but mighty. Generations have moved
and yet the bonds ... have remained strong ...”

— AMY SHAFRON

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

A family Chanukah
party in 2015

Event planning committee co-chairs are
Natalie Freed Newman (a West Bloomfield
resident married to a Detroit Jew) and
Bethe Jarcaig (a Jewish Detroiter married
to a Windsorite and living in Windsor).
Windsor resident Marc Katzman and
Aubrey Friedman of Toronto chair the
fundraising committee. Michael Dodick
and Sheryl Davies, who both grew up in
Windsor, head the hospitality committee.
The event’s outreach committee co-chairs
are Naomi Eisenberg of Toronto and
Richard Kamen of Windsor.
Whether from Ontario or Michigan, the
organizers felt the best time to get togeth-
er was the fall.
“Everyone agreed October was the per-
fect time to have our reunion,” Newman
noted. “Summer travel has ended, and it’s
right before the snowbirds travel south for
the winter.”

WINDSOR’S JEWISH HERITAGE

Katz points out the camaraderie of those
involved stems from a Jewish community
that has waxed and waned over the years,
but still exhibits a vibrancy he hopes will
continue to grow.
“The Jewish population has grown from
a few dozen families at the turn of the last
century to just under 3,000 people from
the 1930s to ’80s, to the present level of
around 1,500, which has held steady for
around 15 years,” he explained. “The origi-
nal immigrants of the late 19th century
took advantage of the comparative lack of
anti-Semitism and the opportunities avail-
able to them in Windsor, and many Jewish
families prospered here. Many of today’s
prominent businesses were started by
these immigrants and are still run by their
descendants.”
One of those families was that of Natalie
Freed Newman, whose grandfather Sam
founded Freeds in 1929, now Canada’s
largest men’s and ladies’ clothing store.
Newman, an event co-chair, noted the

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importance of the Detroit-Windsor Jewish
connection through several generations in
her family.
“My father, Gerald
Freed, a Windsor native,
met my mother, Mikie,
who lived in Detroit, at
a summer camp in the
1950s. She moved to
Windsor in 1957 and
traveled to Detroit to
visit family on a weekly
Natalie Freed
basis. I met my husband,
Newman
Billy, at Camp Walden
and easily made the transition to living in
Detroit once we were married. It was close
enough to home with all the great advan-
tages of living in the U.S.”
According to Amy Shafron, the idea for
the reunion had been circulating for years,
and at last is coming to fruition with the
cooperative work of everyone involved.
“The Jewish community of Windsor
remains small but mighty,” she said.
“Generations of
Windsorites have moved
and resettled elsewhere
in Canada and the U.S.,
and yet the bonds of
friendship coming out of
this warm Jewish com-
munity have remained
strong across the years
Amy Shafron
and across the miles,”
she said.
“I’m serving as co-
chair with my childhood friend Karen
Rosenbaum Moness. We knew we weren’t
alone with the special memories we have
from our childhoods in Windsor. We
thought once we got the ball rolling, oth-
ers would want to join in our excitement
to reconnect with family and friends. Sure
enough, many others are involved on plan-
ning committees, sharing photos in our
Facebook group and making travel plans
to reunite,” she added.

It’s apparent there certainly is no place
like home for these three, who summed
up their feelings in anticipation of the
reunion.
“It’s amazing to me that my memories
of Windsor, growing up in that Jewish
community, are so special,” Newman said.
“I’m just worried there won’t be enough
time to talk to and see everyone who
meant so much to me in my life there!”
Shafron agreed. “Whether you were
born in Windsor, lived there for a short
time, were raised there or moved there
more recently — whether you live there
today or haven’t been back since you
moved away years ago — your life was

impacted by the nurturing, loving com-
munity that embraced you. I can think
of no better theme than ‘there’s no place
like home.’ Coming back will be coming
home.”
Katz said, “Those words remind me
what a fun time I had growing up in
Windsor’s Jewish community. I have many
kind-hearted and sincere friends here, and
we all were well-prepared to go out into
the world with a confidence, warmth and
kindness I later learned is unique to the
character of Windsorites. No matter how
far we have ventured out into the world,
we can always come back to Windsor for
that amiable and welcoming feeling that’s
hard to find anywhere else!” •

details

The Windsor Reunion begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, with a Sponsors’ Pre-
Reception, then a Reunion Reception at 7:30 p.m. with dairy hors d’oeuvres. A dairy
dinner and dessert will follow at 8:30 p.m. All food will be provided by the WJCC
kosher kitchen. Attire is Saturday-night casual.
Also, an optional brunch at the WJCC’s Mazal Tov kosher restaurant will begin at
10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21.
Tickets are $75 per person for Saturday evening, and $100 per person for both
Saturday and Sunday activities. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the
WJCC at (519) 973-1772 or email info@jewishwindsor.org.

The Windsor Jewish
Community Centre