JULY 6 • 2023 | 17

“It was a family. That’s what 
kept us going. Caring for 
everybody and supporting one 
another, in good times and in 
bad; it was just a very special 
place,” Victor said. “It kept us 
young, kept us healthy and 
kept exercise and yiddishkeit 
together.” 
Victor, who started her day 
at the health club four to five 
times a week, said it was the 
loss of community that was 
felt the most dearly. 
“There was a time if you 
were Jewish, the Jewish center 
was the only place you want-
ed to be,” Victor said. “That 
changed along with society 
and the culture changing. But 
we, as a group, continue to 
fight to keep in touch with 
each other, we have get-to-
gethers, we have lunches, we 
take some of the older mem-
bers out for lunch and take 
them places, just because we 
need that community, and 
they need us.” 
The JCC closed the health 
club in September 2020. 
The decision was made due 
to a mixture of financial, 
philosophical, political and 
practical reasons, all in differ-
ent ways exacerbated by the 
COVID-19 pandemic. This 
came only five years after the 
JCC closed its satellite Oak 
Park location, including space 
used for its own health club.
Brian D. Siegel, CEO of 
the JCC, told the JN after the 
closing that the health club’s 
membership had seen a 50% 
decline in the last decade — a 
crucial part of that decline 
being a drop in Jewish mem-
bership. 
“We owe a very firm debt 
of gratitude to our mem-
bers,” Siegel told the JN in 
September 2020. “We have 
great respect for the historic 
nature of this operation. No 

decision was made flippantly 
and without great diligence. 
We look forward to a very 
bright future but mourn the 
loss of a program and the loss 
of community for the mem-
bers who made the health club 
their home.”

AN EVOLVING JCC 
Mort Plotnick, still involved 
with the JCC as executive 
director emeritus, attended 
and spoke at the reunion. 
Plotnik thanked everyone for 
their support over the years 
and noted the center contin-
ues to provide significant ser-
vices to many families, partic-
ularly younger families, such 
as JFamily, the day camps, the 
JCC Maccabi Games in 2024 

and much more. 
“The reality is we evolve 
over time; life evolves. As 
much as I miss it and I miss 
these people, all of these peo-
ple have different lifestyles 
than they did 20 years ago,” 
Plotnick said. “Do we as a 
group miss the camaraderie 
and wonderful experiences 
we had in the context of the 
health club? There’s no ques-
tion about it. There’s a strong 
synergy and connection with 
all these people and this has 
been a great opportunity for 

us to get together, reminisce 
and talk about old times.” 
Legendary JCC teachers 
Sandie Landau and Barbara 
Cantor, who touched the lives 
of generations of families and 
helped raise generations of 
children (including the chil-
dren of many at the reunion) 
in their 50-year careers, were 
also in attendance. 
Landau frequented the 
health club at least five times a 
week at one point and said the 
reunion brought a lot of joyful 
tears. 
“I said we should’ve all been 
wearing towels because that’s 
how we all know each other,” 
Landau joked. 
“It’s a dream,” Cantor said of 
the reunion. “It’s going back in 

time. It’s been so many years, 
and it feels like yesterday.” 
Richard Stoler of Bloomfield 
Township frequented the 
health club for close to 40 
years. 
“You had no worries there 
about any antisemitism or 
anything else. It was a relax-
ing atmosphere, and more 
than anything else, it kept the 
Jewish community together,” 
Stoler said. “Because of the 
closing, I think we’ve lost the 
continuity and that feeling of 
togetherness to a great extent.”

Stoler noted there was a 
major overlap in health club 
members also taking advan-
tage of the many offerings of 
the JCC as a whole. 
Judy Yunas of West 
Bloomfield frequented the 
health club for over 40 years.
“Today represented the best 
day ever,” Yunas said, holding 
back tears. “We’re all at dif-
ferent places now, and we all 
miss each other.” 
Monni Must says the pan-
demic isolated and separated 
everyone, and then the cen-
ter closing was like a dou-
ble-whammy, leading many 
people to feel lost. 
“People have such a need to 
reconnect with their old lives 
and with one another,” Must 
said. “These are people that 
were really entwined with one 
another, from not only their 
friendships but their lifestyles 
to their socializing. The center 
was all-encompassing. 
“I think it did everybody’s 
heart well,” Must said of the 
reunion. “It brought every-
body back together. There’s a 
thirst for reconnection.” 
Must is open to organizing 
a yearly reunion after this one 
proved to be a success. 
“The people who worked 
the event, from my servers 
to the people who drove the 
shuttle bus, were astounded by 
how warm, friendly and grate-
ful everybody was here,” Must 
said. “
And that’s how it was at 
the center.” 

For those who did not 
know about the reunion 
and would like to par-
ticipate in another one 
in the future, contact 
Monni via email: 
naturallymonni@aol.
com.

Former JCC Health Club members enjoyed the day at the Must home 
in Sylvan Lake.

