20 | JULY 28 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
T
wo years ago, Oak Park
High School alumni
were planning a 60th
reunion but the pandemic
intervened, and the special cele-
bration was canceled. However,
the determined group perse-
vered and now a 60+2 reunion
is planned for Aug. 12-14 with
an added celebration of their
80th birthdays.
“It will be a whole weekend of
memories and a chance to see
what’s happening in Downtown
Detroit,
” says reunion commit-
tee co-chair Penny Fishman
Brode.
The class of 1960 had about
250 members and was the
fourth graduating class of Oak
Park High School. At that time,
the building was much smaller
and there was no swimming
pool.
The reunion is expected to
include about 50 alumni partic-
ipants as well as some spouses.
“COVID is keeping some peo-
ple from coming, and others
have serious illnesses. About
71 individuals from the class of
1960 have died,
” Brode says.
Alumni are traveling from
California and Florida for the
reunion. The group previously
had 50th and 55th reunions.
A committee of 12 has
planned this year’s celebration,
which includes a barbecue at
a park in Oak Park on Friday
night, Aug. 12; a luncheon at
Bay Pointe Country Club on
Saturday; and a special tour and
lunch at the Detroit Institute of
Arts (DIA) on Sunday. Then the
group will take the Q-Line from
the museum to Downtown for a
special tour of the city.
Key reunion planners include
Brode, Stan Dorfman and
Elaine Margolis Lippitt. Alumni
who want to join the fun can
contact Brode at pbrode@twmi.
rr.com.
Alumni will also be celebrating
80th birthdays.
Oak Park High
Alumni Plan
60+2 Reunion
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Reunion co-chairs
Penny Fishman
Brode, Stan Dorfman
and Elaine Margolis
Lippitt
C
lass reunions evoke a mix of
emotions — happiness at seeing
old friends and reminiscing
about high school, amazement at changes
over the years, and sadness at the empty
seats of alumni no longer able to attend.
On Aug. 7, about 30 graduates of the
Central High School Class of 1952 will
gather for an afternoon of camaraderie,
enjoying the close connections
maintained over 70 years. Gloria
Feinberg, one of the organizers, points
out that 70th reunions are rare.
The original class had about 210 to
220 students. “We liked the smallness.
It was like a family. Some were blue
collar of modest means, and some were
well-heeled. Nobody seemed to notice a
difference. There was not that major of a
class distinction,” says Feinberg, who had
a business career as a boutique owner and
wardrobe consultant.
Classmates Fritzi Roth, Marilyn
Rosner Markel, Gloria Meer and Barbara
Weindling Coden are also working on the
reunion.
“There were many very renowned
graduates. Central was known for people
who went into big things. Getting into the
University of Michigan wasn’t an issue,”
Feinberg adds.
Roth, who worked at Desilu Production
Studios, notes that many graduates
became doctors and dentists, teachers
and nurses, as well as prominent
businesspeople. They include the late
Robert Sosnick and Guy Barron, who was
class president, as well as Robert Marans,
Ph.D., an emeritus professor at the
University of Michigan’s Taubman College
of Architecture and Urban Design.
“It was a phenomenal class of
phenomenal people. Each story is
different and remarkable,” Roth says.
STAYING IN TOUCH
The student body “was predominantly
The tight-knit class of 1952 is “like a family.”
Central High’s 70th Reunion
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Carl and Barbara Levin flank Benny
Wasserman at Central High’s 65th
reunion.
continued on page 21