102 | MAY 28 • 2020
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
Mazel Tov, Class of 2020
U
nfortunately, this
year because of
COVID-19, our high
school and college students
will experience a graduation
without formal, in-person
ceremonies. As yet, we just
can’
t risk gath-
ering in large
numbers to see
our students get
their diplomas,
hear the keynote
speeches and see
the new grad-
uates toss their
mortarboards
into the air. Of course, there
will be innovative virtual
celebrations and it should be
very interesting to see how
these develop.
You can, however, always
count on the JN’
s annual “Cap
& Gown” issue to make it a
celebration. This has been a
tradition in the Detroit Jewish
Community since the 1980s.
We also searched for infor-
mation on graduations of the
past in the William Davidson
Digital Archive of Detroit
Jewish History. The term
“high school graduations”
was cited more than 1,500
times. One can also search for
“Cap & Gown,” “Graduation,”
“Valedictorian, or other relat-
ed search words.
While extensive coverage
of high school graduations
did not occur until the 1960s,
there are some interesting
stories from earlier years
in the Archive. The earliest
mention of a graduation was
in the Aug. 25, 1916, issue
of the Jewish Chronicle. This
article is actually a wedding
announcement for Lillian
Goodman, who had just mar-
ried Emery Monash, but it
cites Goodman as the young-
est high school graduate in
Detroit in 1911.
In 1917, there was a story
about Ivor Kahn graduat-
ing from Highland Park
High School. Kahn was that
school’
s first Jewish valedicto-
rian — and quite the athlete
as well as an accomplished
scholar.
In general, announcements
of high school graduations in
the early years of the Chronicle
and JN are usually brief items
about graduating classes in
weekly news listings such as
“Congregational Activities”
or “Society News.” In the
June 18, 197,1 issue of the JN,
there is a small section titled
“Youth on the Move,” which
features the names of four
high students who graduated
with distinction.
The current Cap & Gown
issue began in the 1980s as a
section highlighting “Smart
Kids,” most of whom had
their names submitted by
their guidance counselors or
principals. The issue evolved
to include all students with
a 3.5 or better grade average.
Although Cap & Gown issues
were initially devoted to grad-
uating high school students,
they soon included notes
from families that congratu-
lated their college graduates,
as well as congratulatory
advertisements from
various colleges.
After a few years,
publisher Arthur
Horwitz decided that
the Cap & Gown issue
should be open to any
and all Jewish high
school students from
the region. This made
the special issue
what it is today — a
community-wide
high school graduation
“yearbook” that celebrates all
of our graduates.
With the cancellation
of graduation ceremonies
this year, our Cap & Gown
issue takes on added
significance. We
hope Cap & Gown
2020 is a feel-good
moment for our
entire community.
Congratulations to
all our graduates!
Mazel Tov!
SPECIAL NOTE:
Yael Eichhorn, the
2020 Detroit Jewish
News Foundation
Summer Intern, assist-
ed with research for
this Looking Back. Yael is in
her second year at Michigan
State, majoring in religious
studies with a minor in
Jewish studies.
Want to learn more? Go to the
DJN Foundation archives, available
for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
ory
e
y
e
n
ll
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
d
st-