A

bout 30 years ago, the late Harriet 
Rich reached out to Jerry Naftaly, 
the former mayor of Oak Park, 
to help put together Oak Park’s very own 
Monopoly-like game, Oak Park Opoly.
At the time Naftaly loved the idea but 
said he couldn’t commit to the project. She 
continued to remind him about the game 
by sending him cards. 
“I had a full-time job as a stockbroker, 
mayoral duties and was taking care of my 
mother who was in her late 70s at the time,
” 
Naftaly said. “Skip forward 30 plus years 
later, I came across one of Harriet Rich’s 
cards and felt it was time to create Oak Park 
Opoly.
”
Naftaly created Oak Park Opoly to pay 
tribute to businesses, people and activities 
he enjoyed while growing up, knowing he 
shared these experiences and memories of 
cool stores with thousands of others.

After a few phone calls and public calls 
on Facebook, Naftaly was able to compile 
everything he needed to fill the spaces on 
the board.
“I didn’t tell the community what I was 
doing at first. I asked everyone for their top 
three places and memories throughout Oak 
Park and in less than three weeks I filled the 
40 spaces on the board.
”
Naftaly was able to bring this game to life 
with the help of the community. Hagopian 
Cleaning Services in Oak Park was one of 
the first businesses to reach out and be part 
of the game.
“
Another one of the places on the board 
is Primo’s Pizza. Family-owned for nearly 
a half-century from 1968, owner Mike 
Soave says he’s glad to be part of the great 
memories of the people and businesses in 
Oak Park and honored to be included in the 
game as a tribute to the Primo’s tradition of 

great food and service,
” Naftaly said.
The game itself couldn’t be like the real 
Monopoly (trademarked) game so Naftaly 
got creative creating “Fate” and “Oak Park” 
cards instead of “chance” and “community 
chest” cards.
“I created the three Fate spaces as the 
Golden Bowl, Hoa-Kow and King Lim’s 
Garden restaurants, and placed little fortune 
cookies on their spaces,
” Naftaly said. 
Naftaly said he tried to include as many 
places as he could.
“I was able to pay tribute to more places 
and names on the main 40 spots on the 
board, plus 100 names in the middle sec-
tion of the main board, including several 
former mayors, Dr. Maurice Sugar, the 
dentist, and Dr. Seymour Smelsey, the foot 
doctor. The 16 action cards and the seven 
denominations of money include places like 
the ice arena, swimming pool, library, com-
munity center, Detroit Bank and Trust, and 
American Savings.
”
People throughout the community have 
been raving about the new game. 
“Oak Park Opoly has opened a flood of 
fabulous memories from my childhood,
” 
Sharon Landau Levine said. “Oak Park was 
a utopic place to have grown up and create 
a lifetime of friends and memories. A few 
Oak Park Opoly memories that jump out 

Give the Gift of 
Oak Park Memories

52 | DECEMBER 8 • 2022 

GIFT GUIDE

Former mayor of Oak Park’s Oak Park Opoly 
pays tribute to the city.

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jerry Naftaly, former 
mayor of Oak Park, 
poses with Wendy 
Shepherd (daughter of 
the late, former mayor 
David H. Shepherd) in 
front of Oak Park City 
Hall with his board 
game.

