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.