32 | AUGUST 24 • 2023 

a Russian-speaking community. When 
he started participating in RAAD in the 
1990s, he met other Jewish members. 
The key connecting factor, he said, was 
Russian language and culture in a new 
country, not religious identity. 
In the 1990s, there was again a big 
swell in club attendance and membership, 
Voldman said. Especially when the newly 
arrived immigrants were living in small 
apartments, it was a treat in the summer 
to come out to Fish Lake and enjoy 
community and lake life.
Voldman is an active volunteer at Yad 
Ezra, helping to feed Jewish families 
and others in need in the Detroit area. 
Voldman and his wife have a cottage on 
the RAAD Fish Lake property. They are 
avid wild mushroom enthusiasts, which is 
an old Russian tradition, and every inch 
of their cabin is decorated with various 
mushroom art and knick-knacks. 
Thomas Mich, who was born in the 
United States, recalls growing up in 
Michigan and visiting his uncle’s cabin 
on the RAAD Fish Lake property. Asked 
if he remembers when Jews were first 
included in the association, he said, 
“Nobody was turned away. Everyone was 
welcomed with open arms.
” His family 
played a big role in the club over many 
years. 

Susanna Gnas, a RAAD board 
member, shared that her family is 
ethnically Armenian. Her parents, 
Valentina and Harry Gulgasian, 
immigrated to America in the 1950s after 
five years in labor camps. Her parents 
joined RAAD in the 1960s and owned 
one of the cottages. Susanna married her 
now-husband Glenn at RAAD’s former 
banquet hall that the organization owned 
in Detroit. She and her husband own 
one of the cottages on RAAD’s Fish Lake 
property and participate a great deal in 
the club’s activities.
The 100 Year Anniversary Party took 
place on Saturday, July 15. The menu 
included lots of old-country favorites, 
such as borscht, vinaigrette, pelmeni and 
piroshki, to name a few. There was live 
music, lake fun, volleyball, playground 
time and a raffle. A balalaika duo played 
traditional Russian music. 
The final picnic of the summer is 
scheduled for Aug. 26. The theme for 
the event is shashlik, which is another 
word for kebab and, at RAAD, it is 
prepared using traditional central Asian 
techniques. 

Learn more about and register for the August picnic 

here: https://raadfishlake.com/picnics. Connect with 

RAAD at raadboard@googlegroups.com.

OUR COMMUNITY

continued from page 31

Vlad Tovbin of 
Papa Vanya 
performs at the 
summer picnic.

Shirt designed for 
RAAD’s 100-year 
anniversary

