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 

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y 

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Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

d

st-

