Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
I
went clubbing
this week.
No, I did not
abandon my
mask and hit the
dance floors in
local night clubs.
I’
m not much of
a dancer anyway
— ask my wife,
Pam. Instead, I went “club-
bing” in the William Davidson
Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History.
Recently, I wrote about the
Jewish Phoenix Club that
created the Redford Golf
Club (today’
s Franklin Hills
Golf Club) because most golf
clubs of the era discriminated
against Jews. In this respect,
Audrey Saperstein wrote to me
suggesting that the Great Lakes
Yacht Club had a good story.
The Great Lakes Yacht Club
— commonly known as the
“Jewish Yacht Club” — is cited
203 times in the Davidson
Archive and was the topic of
several feature stories. It began
much like the Redford Golf
Club: Jewish Detroiters decid-
ed to form their own boat club
after facing discrimination
when attempting to join other
boating clubs in Detroit.
They formed the Island Boat
Club on May 7, 1952. A year
later, it was renamed the Great
Lakes Yacht Club. Although
formed by Jews, and still a
largely Jewish organization, the
Yacht Club never discriminat-
ed against anyone who wished
to become a member.
The Yacht Club quickly
became a success. Less than
two years after its founding, a
story in the Jan. 19, 1954, issue
of the JN, “Community Sailors
Organize Yacht Club on Lake
St. Clair,” showed its plans for
a new clubhouse. The article
also discussed its three “club
cats;” that is, the boats the club
owned for member use. One
of them, the yawl Aventura,
was entered in the famous Port
Huron to Mackinaw race that
year.
The list of early members
was illustrious, with prominent
figures such as Judge Avern
Cohn and Irvin Yackness on
the roster. The first female
commodore (president in nau-
tical terms) was Eve Kommel
in 1983.
There are excellent stories
about the club in the historic
pages of the JN. For example,
“Smooth Sailing” was written
on the 50th anniversary of the
Yacht Club in the Aug. 6, 2002,
issue. “
Anchors Aweigh” in the
July 3, 2008 issue speaks to
the Yacht Club’
s efforts to raise
$35,000 to battle leukemia,
a good example of the club’
s
many charitable efforts. The
club’
s youth summer program
is featured in the Aug. 21,
1992, issue, and “Chai Flying”
in the Oct. 10, 1987, issue is
about the Yacht Club inspiring
an aeronautical club, the “Chai
Flyers.”
Sidebar — while “clubbing”
in the Archive, I also found
370 citations for another
“Great Lakes Club,” which
appears to have existed, c.
1930-1980. This social club
was much like the Phoenix
Club, and many Detroit Jews
were members.
The Great Lakes Club fea-
tured speakers, some famous
like Shimon Peres, hosted
many dinners and parties, and
was especially active during
WWII when it hosted USO
events at the Belcrest Hotel in
Detroit for American military
members.
The story of the Great Lakes
Yacht Club is indeed interest-
ing. Even if you do not sail, it
is good to know the important
role that the “Jewish” Yacht
Club and other social clubs
played in Jewish Detroit his-
tory.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for free
at www.djnfoundation.org.
Great Lakes Yacht Club
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
62 | AUGUST 27 • 2020