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