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Descendants of the seven Robbins siblings from the Ukrainian shtetl of Dinovitz gathered
recently for a family reunion.

Common Bonds

Robbins family descendants gather to share
facts, lore and memories.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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July 12 • 2018

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or a perfect family reunion, just
add rain.
A wet early June weekend
spent at Tamarack Camps’ Butzel
Retreat Center in Ortonville pro-
vided the perfect backdrop for 50
descendants of “Kalman the Red”
Rabinowitz (Robinson), ranging in
age from 4 to 82, to stay inside, look
at old family photos and celebrate a
century and four generations of liv-
ing in America.
Ed Gold of Bloomfield Hills, one of
four surviving children of the seven
original Robinson siblings (Isadore,
Esther, Rose, Hilda, Max, Mollie and
Samuel), coordinated the weekend
after reaching out to family for nearly
two years. In the first generation of
Americans, Gold had 20 first cousins
who mainly settled in Detroit and
Philadelphia.
Gold met his goal of making sure
there was at least one descendent of
each of the seven siblings attending
the reunion.
Part of Gold’s happiest childhood
memories were spending holidays
and family simchahs with 20 first
cousins. He is hopeful that with new
and rekindled relationships with kin,
the next generation of cousins can
establish a similar bond.
“I had great memories as a kid
spending summers with extended
family in Philadelphia,” Gold said.
“We’d stay in rooming houses in
Atlantic City and walk along the
boardwalk, and sometimes we’d take
trips to New York City. No one stayed

The Gold family, 1946: Morris and Hilda Gold
with sons Kalman (standing) and Ed.

in hotels; there would always be a
place to stay with family.”
To learn how they were all con-
nected, the 50 relatives in attendance
started the weekend by filling out
a nametag with an extra line: “My
Robinson is …”
But the family name was not always
so generic. Like many who entered
the United States through Ellis Island,
they changed their names. In Europe,
the family name was Rabinowitz. But
to finance their passage to America,
they needed a sponsor. That sponsor
was a clothing manufacturer by the
last name of Robinson. Therefore, the
family dropped the Rabinowitz of the
Old Country and began their life in

continued on page 26