COURTESY OF THE RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN ARCHIVES OF TEMPLE BETH EL, BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI.
Looking Back
The first youth group at Temple Beth El was named the Young People’s Society and one of its early members
was famous architect Albert Kahn, pictured here sitting second on the left. The photos is circa 1880s.
From the DJN Foundation Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
M
Mike Smith
Detroit Jewish
News Foundation
Archivist
70
y good friend and fellow historian Arnie
Collens told me about a recent conversa-
tion he had with his sister, Linda Schaar,
who lives in Mevaseret Zion, Israel. She asked Arnie
what happened to their mother’s (Dorothy Collens)
prize cookbook? It seems the cookbook in question
was no ordinary work from Betty Crocker. It was
Treasured Recipes, a unique product of the Temple
Israel Sisterhood, published in 1947 and still in use
today. So, of course, I thought, what can I find in the
Davidson Digital Archive?
Treasured Recipes is quite the book. Like many
community cookbooks, there are recipes from the
women of Temple Israel, including from Arnie’s
grandmother Besse Siden. However, there are also
recipes from famous people of the era: “Kaedgere”
(also known as kedgeree — a fish, rice, hard-boiled
egg casserole with curry) from Eleanor Roosevelt;
“Washington, D.C.,+ Pumpkin Pie” from Bessie
Truman (Harry Truman’s wife); “California Potato
Pancakes” from Fanny Brice; and “Ida’s Meatloaf ”
October 4 • 2018
jn
from Eddie Cantor.
Although I could not find an article in the
Davidson Digital Archive that reported on the devel-
opment and publication of Treasured Recipes, I did
find some interesting pieces. First, in 1947, the JN
reprinted a number of selections from the cookbook
weekly. For example, you’ll see “Menu Suggestions
for Holiday Meals” in the Sept. 12, 1947, issue of
the JN. Another most interesting use of Treasured
Recipes can be found in Annabel Cohen’s excellent
article, “History of Jewish Food,” in the 75th anni-
versary issue of the JN from July 18, 2018.
And, by the way, Arnie assured me he has person-
ally tested many of the Treasured Recipes. Of course,
as an honorable fellow, he felt it was his duty to test
and retest the results of the recipes, to make sure
he was relating accurate information. Arnie reports
they are indeed tasty — and to be treasured. ■
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archive, avail-
able for free at www.djnfoundation.org.