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of those wonderful antique 
road shows. We have prayer 
books, dishes, pots and pans, 
tablecloths, kiddish cups, 
Judaica, photographs and 
interesting papers among our 
items. 
“I love that it is truly a 
community exhibit that 
would not be possible 
without the support of 
23 organizations and 350 
individuals.”
There is a trunk to 
showcase what families 
brought with them 
individually when they came 
to America.
Catherine Cangany, 
executive director of JHSM, 
has been involved 
with all aspects 
of collection 
and display, and 
she remembers 
helping to 
dislodge and 
place a 1925 stove 
kept in a woman’s 
basement.
“Ninety percent of what 
is on display is from the 

community, not things that 
were in archives but things 
people had in their homes,” 
said Cangany, who has seen 
the many pieces, learned 
the stories connected to the 
pieces and helped with the 
writing of the display sections 
that explain the backgrounds 
of the items on loan.
“It was really fun to see 
what people had. The Bass 
family, for instance, has 
loaned all kinds of artifacts 
and papers related to the 
former Yiddish theater 
known as the Peoples 
Theatre, part of their heritage. 
“Susan Barr’s family are 
Boeskys, and she has a photo 
which is probably the original 
Boesky restaurant location 
on Farnsworth. In the 
background of that photo is a 
big tile sign that says ‘Boesky 
Brothers.’”
Cangany also tells of 
display materials from 
the first mikvah in an 
unearthed Detroit bathhouse 
and a 61-key piano from 
an integrated nightclub. 

The piano was believed 
to be at the cross-cultural 
start segment of Motown 
recordings. 

THE COMPLETE STORY
Jeannie Weiner, president 
of JHSM, has 
what she calls 
interesting and 
amazing stories 
that go along 
with the exhibit, 
and one is the 
way monetary 
contributions were donated 
to support what her 
organization is doing. 
“We raised $200,000 in 
a very short time,” Weiner 
said, recalling the help of 
the community at large 
and organizations such as 
Michigan Humanities and the 
Jewish Women’s Foundation.
“I’m so proud of what we 
accomplished,” Weiner said. 
“This is the first time ever 
an organization has created 
an exhibit on history from 
this time frame and included 
African American scholars 

to tell the complete story of 
the street from the height of 
its Jewish population to the 
conclusion of the destruction 
of the street.
“This is an ongoing story 
with African Americans and 
urban renewal in Detroit. 
There are many communal 
intersections exposed in this 
exhibit, such as Black/Jewish, 
Jews and antisemitism and 
various traditions within the 
Jewish community.”
Rebecca Salminen Witt, 
chief marketing officer for 
the museum, has 
been working 
with the Jewish 
Historical Society 
of Michigan to 
bring this exhibit 
to the public. The 
society is placing 
their materials 
in the Community Gallery, 
which has 1,500 square feet of 
space on the second floor.
“We pick partners from 
around the region and work 
with them to tell their stories 
in a museum-specific way,” 

Catherine 
Cangany

Jeannie 
Weiner

Rebecca 
Salminen 
Witt

Special Events 

Sunday, May 5
Scrap-enger Hunt 1-3 p.m.
Lecture – Kosher Meat Riot 
2:30-4 p.m.

Thursday, May 16 
Lecture – Black Bottom & 
I-375 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 20
Yiddish Film Uncle Moses 
6:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 30
Shopping for Shabbat 
1-3 p.m.

Sunday, June 30 
Lecture – Schlussel 
Bathhouse Archaeology 
2:30-4 p.m.

Thursday, July 11
Panel — Immigration Past 
& Present 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 14 
Closing Reception & 
Klezmer Concert 5 p.m. 
(This closing event will 
be at Breakers Covenant 
Church International, 8801 
Woodward, formerly Temple 
Beth El.)

COURTESY MICHELLE LEVINE MILLMAN

Sam and Tillie 
Brooks’ candy 
store, Hastings 
Street, c 1925.

COURTESY WALTER P. REUTHER LIBRARY, 
ARCHIVES OF LABOR AND URBAN AFFAIRS, 
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

