68 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 J
N
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at thejewishnews.com
F
eb. 14 was Valentine’s Day. Time to
send your valentine a card, candy
and/or flowers … or maybe jewelry, if
your valentine has been really, really sweet!
The origins of Valentine’s Day can be
found over 1,000 years ago in a Christian
feast in celebration of St. Valentine. Once
Hallmark and other American entrepre-
neurs, and those in the United Kingdom and
Europe, decided to transform
the day into a secular holiday
in the 19th century (and sell
billions of dollars of greet-
ing cards, candy, flowers and
assorted trinkets), Valentine’s
Day has been a yearly celebra-
tion.
In the last century, many
American Jews have jumped on the
Valentine’s Day bandwagon. Proof of this
is easily found in the William Davidson
Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History.
Over 1,000 pages mention the holiday in
love stories and advertisements, especially
for the mainstay Valentine’s Day gift —
chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
It is good to keep in mind that, before
celebrating Valentine’s Day, one needs to
have a valentine worthy of one’s attention
and affection. First things first! In this
respect, historically, the JN has given Jewish
Detroiters plenty of help meeting their spe-
cial others.
For 20 years, before digital dating became
the dominant medium for bringing single
persons together, the JN published personal
advertisements. The JN “People Connector
— Voice Connector” page ran from 1986-
2006. Not only did the JN print your person-
al ad (30 words more or less, TWO WEEKS
FREE), it also served as a secure clearing
house for responses to ads. This was the
Voice Connector part of the operation. An
ad from May 24, 1991, will explain.
If the stories I found in the Archive are
any indication, the People Connector was a
big success. See “Mission of Love: JN per-
sonal ad leads to a honey-
moon in Israel” for the story
of Helane and Joe Samet
with a fine wedding photo
(March 5, 1999), or the July
25, 1997, issue with photos
of Esther and Frank Rosner
as well as Nancy and Danny
Cohen, who all met through
the People Connector.
Perhaps the highest
achievement for the People
Connector was bringing
Jennifer and Bert Green
together (Sept. 8, 2005). She is a U-M
alumna and he graduated from MSU!
The JN also helped with video dating.
An article from the Jan. 29, 1988, issue
asks: “Is DTV — dating by television —
the matchmaking wave of the future?”
Toby Chudnow of West Bloomfield
noted the need for dating services for
seniors. In response, the JN launched
the “JN Love Connection” (Aug.
14, 2014). Unfortunately, it never
blossomed: digital dating was on its way to
becoming the primary medium where sin-
gles meet.
Nationally, JDate.com is now the premier
online dating site for Jewish singles, and it
evolved to feature various age categories.
JN Contributing Editor David Sachs met
his love, Freda Arlow, on JDate while both
were in their 60s. The couple had a love-
ly and very meaningful wedding in their
ancestral homeland at the Krakow, Poland,
JCC. David wrote about their unique cere-
mony in the Dec. 24, 2020, JN.
Although the JN is no longer publishing
the People Connector, we are still interest-
ed in what happens after dating. In 2023,
the JN launched a popular series, “How
We Met.” It seems that our readers still like
great love stories.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available
for free at thejewishnews.com.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
Matchmaker, Matchmaker!