34 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2019
W
hat better way to
mark a birthday
than by kicking
up your heels on an all-girls
trip? On Sept. 3, a group of 13
friends did just that, heading to
Stratford, Ontario, to celebrate
not just any birthday, but their
milestone 80th birthday.
What makes this trip
extra special for the freshly
minted octogenarians is that
they’
re that unique breed of
lifelong childhood friends.
In the 1940s, they attended
Hampton Elementary School
in Detroit together; they grad-
uated from Mumford High
school in Detroit in 1957.
All active community mem-
bers, Penny Blumenstein,
Doreen Hermelin, Linda
Klein, Bluma Schechter, Judy
Rosenberg, Lois Rubin and
Margie Krasnick still live in
Metro Detroit, while others
are flying in to join the fes-
tivities from farther afield —
Susan Meretsky and Maureen
Schwartzberg from Windsor,
Ellen Warshaw from Texas,
Seema Boesky from New York,
Roz Lax from Chicago and
Connie Lapin from California.
This is not their first trip
together. About 10 years after
graduation, Boesky invited her
friends to her New York home
for a weekend. They had such
a wonderful time, they made
sure to repeat the experience
every 10 years. The friends
have gone on memorable hik-
ing, horseback riding and spa
trips to Mexico, the Berkshires
and Aspen.
“It’
s all wonderful,” Krasnick
said. “It’
s a delightful thing we
keep doing; and now here we
are at this big birthday and we’
re
still going. It’
s very exciting!”
She pointed out that no
friendship can compare to one
with someone you’
ve known
since you were 7 or 8 years
old. They’
ve been through so
much together, shared family
celebrations, suffered losses.
The entire group feels
very fortunate to have such
a vibrant group of childhood
friendships. Lax said, “Our
time together throughout the
years has been a gift … of new
stories of the present and fun
stories from our past. Time is
very special, and this group
knows how to celebrate it!”
A week before the scheduled
trip, the women were delirious
with excitement and prepared
for a fantastic time. The itin-
erary was organized as a labor
of love by Schwartzberg, who
is an independent travel con-
sultant. While hammering
out the details of the trip,
she began all her group cor-
respondence with “Dearest
Girlfriends,” a sentiment the
feisty ladies enjoyed so much,
they had matching T-shirts
made that read “Dearest
Girlfriends” — all in Mumford
school colors, of course.
A hired bus took the group
to Stratford. On Wednesday,
they started off with brunch
and a performance of The
Front Page at the Festival
Theatre, followed by their
much-anticipated celebratory
birthday dinner at the Bruce
Hotel. On Thursday, they
enjoyed a theater tour, lunch
and dinner reservations and a
performance of Billy Elliot.
Every day’
s a treat with
these women and, still, they’
re
looking ahead and planning
more fun. What’
s in the cards
for their 90th birthday cele-
bration? Kraznick said, “We’
ll
be talking about that, for
sure. We’
ll probably want to
go to the moon by then, who
knows? My girlfriends and I
don’
t stop — it’
s great!”
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
‘
Dearest girlfriends’
celebrate
80th birthday with big trip.
These longtime
friends get ready
for their trip to
Stratford.
Jews in the D
DERRICK MARTINEZ
BIRMINGHAM STREET ART FAIR
In Downtown Birmingham’s Shain Park
Common Ground’s 45th Annual
Produced
i
n
associ
ati
on
wi
th
Featured artwork: “Letting Go” by Chuck Wimmer
BirminghamStreetArtFair.com
September 14 & 15, 2019
Saturday, September 14, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, September 15, 10am - 5pm
150 Jury Selected Artists
Free Admission Plus...
Children’s Art Activities
Live Entertainment
Delicious Food Vendors
Silent Art Auction
to Benefit Common Ground!
BFFs Forever
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER