I

n the 1930s, it was Northern High School. 
In the ’40s and early ’50s, it was Central. 
And in the 1950s and most of the ’60s, it 
was Mumford, that beautiful blue and burgun-
dy building on Wyoming. Afterward, it would 
be Oak Park High, in southeast Michigan’s ver-
sion of Levittown. 
We came from Hampton, MacDowell, 
Schultz, Vernor, Bagley, Post and Pasteur. 
We grew up in Palmer Woods, Sherwood 
Forest, Green Acres, the University District, 
Marygrove, Bagley and other neighborhoods. 
Some were from wealthy homes; others 
were not.
When I was at Mumford, 75% of us were 
Jewish. On the High Holidays, 100% of us 
were. Did you know that the school boundaries 
were gerrymandered to send as many Jewish 
students as possible to Mumford? We were 
segregated. 
We shopped on Livernois and Seven Mile, 
the Avenue of Fashion. Marty Furst, Junior 
Gentlemen, Ranier’s Bakery, B Siegel, Kresge 
and Cunningham’s. 
You could get lox and other goodies at 
House of Foods until midnight Saturday and 
bagels and your Sunday paper next door at 
New York Bagel even later. 
We ate at Billy’s, Lou’s Finer and Sol’s. At 
Larco’s, the Chinese Village Inn and Maria’s 
Pizzeria. At Zukin’s, Robin Hood Grill, and 
dare I mention Checker Barbecue? And of 
course, the granddaddy of them all, Darby’s. 
We avoided Cupids. Our place was Fredson’s. 
In the neighborhood, we had Adas Shalom, 
Ahvas Achim, Beth Aaron, Beth Abraham, 
and Temple Israel, plus a number of small 

For many in our 
community, Mumford 
was where we went 
to high school.

Mumford 
Memories

MEL CHINITZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

OUR COMMUNITY
ESSAY

16 | AUGUST 1 • 2024 
J
N

Mel and 
Karol Chinitz

