Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

A Summer Mainstay
T

he summer is winding down. It’
s 
been an unusual season for most 
of us, with fewer trips Up North 
and more staycations. It seems a long 
time ago — but it has only been a little 
over year — since the July 
11, 2019, issue of JN had 
an excellent feature story, 
“Charlevoix the Beautiful,” 
by Jennifer Lovy.
Lovy made the point 
that Charlevoix, in the 
northwest part of the state 
on the shores of Lake 
Michigan, has been a 
summer destination for generations of 
Detroit Jews. A search in the William 
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History certainly supports this 
conclusion. A search for “Charlevoix” 
in the Archive showed 3,577 pages that 
mentioned this name. To be sure, some 
pages referred to Charlevoix Street 
in Detroit, but the bulk of the pages 
had stories or advertisements about 
Charlevoix, the summer vacation spot. 
I found announcements from the 
1920s and 1930s in the Jewish Chronicle’
s 
“
Activities in Society” columns (the 
“social media” of the day) that noted 
who was visiting who in Charlevoix 
to stories of Camp Sea-Gull on Lake 
Charlevoix with its song: “North, south 
and east and west, our camp has always 
been the best” (June 8, 2017, JN). 
One can also find lots of advertise-
ments for resorts in Charlevoix, like 
the Hilltop Hotel, the Tower Hotel and 
Bern’
s Guest House with “Kosher Style 
Cooking” (Bern’
s ad is a little confus-
ing — is it kosher or just sort of like 
kosher?). Speaking of food, Danny 
Raskin’
s columns over the years often 
included readers’
 mini-reviews of 
restaurants in and near Charlevoix and 
other stores in the area.

Yes, Charlevoix had something for 
everybody, including gangs of hood-
lums that attacked Jews … Wait a min-
ute? What’
s this? Gangs attacking Jews 
in Charlevoix, such a vacation paradise? 
This is a story I had never heard 
before, but as I was conducting research 
for a recent “Looking Back” on VJ 
day, I saw a headline on the front 
page on the Aug. 31, 1945, issue 
of the Chronicle: “Charlevoix Acts 
to Curb Attacks Against Jews.” The 
report was about tensions between 
local young men and boys and the 
Jewish vacationers that summer. The 
culminating event was an attack on 
Jewish youth at the beach on Aug. 23. 
The story notes that the authorities 
in Charlevoix were appalled and acted 
swiftly. Police patrols were beefed up 
and a citizens’
 committee was formed 
to deal with the issue, which includ-
ed a rabbi from Hillel at Ohio State 
University, the director of the Detroit 
Jewish Community Council and other 
prominent people. Rabbi Leo Franklin 
of Temple Beth El also consulted with 
the mayor of Charlevoix.
In the end, as reported in the Sept. 
14, 1945, issue of the JN, 10 young 
men from Charlevoix pled guilty to 
disturbing the peace and assaulting 
the “Detroiters,” and were given a 
year’
s probation. By this time, the 
Jewish vacationers had returned to the 
city and school, and the incident was 
over. 
While we have — sad to say — wit-
nessed a recent rise in antisemtism, 
Charlevoix has only grown as a great 
destination for Jewish vacationers. 
Hoodlums no longer attack Jews in 
“Charlevoix the Beautiful” today. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free at 
www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

46 | SEPTEMBER 10 • 2020 

26 July 18 • 2019
jn

on the cover/travel
arts&life

A

sk Michiganders what they 
most frequently associate with a 
Michigan summer and likely the 
answer will be an Up North vacation. Ask a 
Jewish Detroiter and the answer could very 
well be time spent in Charlevoix. 
The number of Jewish visitors, especially 
those who own property in Charlevoix, is 
so significant that it’s nearly impossible to 
spend a summer weekend in this pictur-
esque town without seeing a familiar face. 
And Charlevoix, unlike any other vacation 
destination in the state, is a getaway loca-
tion that transcends the memories of gener-
ations of local families. 
Those who spent time there when they 
were young now bring their children and 
even grandchildren to this charming city 
known and loved for its pristine beaches, 
quaint downtown, memorable drawbridge 
and iconic red lighthouse. 
“This is where we always went on vaca-
tion to spend quality time together as a 
family,” recalled Glenn Wachler, originally 
from West Bloomfield but now a perma-
nent Charlevoix resident. 
Wachler, 54, thinks back with fondness to 
his childhood, recalling time he spent with 
his family, particularly his dad. Together 
they would fish, search for Petoskey stones 
and watch the sun set over Lake Michigan. 
Wanting to create similar memories for his 

children, he and his wife, Ellen, along with 
their three kids, spent many summers in 
Charlevoix and moved there 13 years ago.
Despite what was once a seven-hour 
drive, Jewish families have been vacation-
ing in Charlevoix for at least 100 years. In 
1916, the year the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
was founded, the paper’s community gossip 
page began mentioning it as a travel desti-
nation. 
Wachler’s father, Jeff, 91, started going 
to Charlevoix in 1932. Eventually, he pur-
chased a condominium there. His father 
(Glenn’s grandfather) also owned property 
in this northern Michigan town. Glenn still 
finds it amusing that at one time his grand-
father rented an apartment in Detroit but 
owned a home in Charlevoix. 
There was a period in the city’s history 
where openly anti-Semitic sentiments, such 
as deed restrictions in a few neighborhoods, 
were hard to ignore. However, Jews were 
not deterred from vacationing or owning 
homes in Charlevoix. 
Rick Berman, a Charlevoix aficionado, 
has a postcard from a now-defunct hotel 
that says: “Having a great time, beautiful 
hotel. They do not allow Jews or dogs.” It’s 
one of approximately 1,500 postcards in his 
collection from the city and surrounding 
areas. These days, blatant displays of dis-
crimination are gone.

Up North getaway has attracted 
Detroiters for generations — here’
s why. 

Charlevoix
the Beautiful

JENNIFER LOVY

JENNIFER LOVY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOP TO BOTTOM: Todd and Jennifer Kroll with their 

daughters, Marlee and Lilley, Charlevoix Apple Fest; Paul 

Hooberman with his granddaughters, 2010, Kilwin’
s tour.

COURTESY KROLL FAMILY
COURTESY HOOBERMAN FAMILY

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