Where was this school???

**Ed Golick** · October-04-09, 10:27 AM

I found this 8x10 tucked in a 1936 Detroit Northern High School yearbook. Can anybody identify this school, or read what it says over the doorway?

**jcole** · October-04-09, 10:46 AM

Where's Jjaba? He'd know

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 11:12 AM

The picture looks to be 20s-early 30s from the clothing. I found there were at least eight Jewish schools in Detroit from 1917. The names are: the Yiddish Sholem Aleichem Institute [[house at 539 Kenilworth near Oakland, 1926, also two others on Dexter and Fenkell), Hayim Greenberg, and Farband Shule and the five IWO Communist-affiliated Hersh Leckert Schools. Also there was United Hebrew Schools at 609 E. Kirby. See pic here:

http://shtetlhood.com/Tushiyah_full.htm

Now if someone can read the name in the first post we might be able to tell which then where.

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 11:16 AM

Oh my, I think I found it, Shaarey Torah at 17750 Brush, from the same site I posted above:

http://shtetlhood.com/shaare~~~orah.htm

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-04-09, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

Oh my, I think I found it, Shaarey Torah at 17750 Brush, from the same site I posted above:

http://shtetlhood.com/shaare~~~orah.htm

Link is broken.

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 11:27 AM

http://tinyurl.com/ydnqpz6

I hope this one works.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-04-09, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

http://tinyurl.com/ydnqpz6

I hope this one works.

Bingo!

**Ray1936** · October-04-09, 12:48 PM

Nice work, Gaz.

**Ed Golick** · October-04-09, 01:44 PM

Amazing! And the building is still standing! Thanks!

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 02:01 PM

I was surprised how small it is, as the entrance makes it look like a much larger building. It was almost accidental how I stumbled on it. I was reviewing the history of Jews in Detroit looking for schools and found the United Hebrew Schools, and from there to the shtetlhood site. Several schools apparently graduated out of UHS, so I was sure that was the one, then just went sightseeing to look at the others, and there was that nameplate. Just like panning for gold!

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 02:09 PM

I just noticed some of the people are holding signs. Can you read them?

One of the kids is labeled "Jerry" so, a class pic? Maybe the sign can pinpoint the date.

**Andrew in Windsor** · October-04-09, 03:19 PM

http://shtetlhood.com/ is also one of Lowell's projects.

**Ed Golick** · October-04-09, 04:25 PM

"Jerry" is Jerome Heffman, the original owner of the yearbook. He's not listed as a Senior, must be an underclassman. You can't read the signs that the girls are holding in the original photo. I'd still like to know what it says over the doorway.

**Ray1936** · October-04-09, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Ed Golick

I'd still like to know what it says over the doorway.

Nothing to it. It says:

**48202** · October-04-09, 05:07 PM

Hebrew reads from right to left.
The part to the left of the period is Shaarey Torah.

**48202** · October-04-09, 06:12 PM

Reviewing Wikipedia's entry for ‘Hebrew Alphabet’, I think the first part [[right to left) is the letters Qof Alef Nun Gimel. These letters sound as C-Ah-N-G. Since it's followed by a period, I'm guessing that it's an abbreviation for the English word Congregation.

**Jimaz** · October-04-09, 06:20 PM

Did anyone notice why gazhekwe's original link failed? Those three letters were censored by the forum software. TinyURL to the rescue again!

**48202** · October-04-09, 06:55 PM

Please explain to the uninformed why those letters/characters would be censored.

Curious.

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 07:02 PM

Hmmm. Assuming Jerry went from Shaarey Torah to Northern for his high school years, then I would guess this was the graduating class from Shaarey Torah from 8th grade in 1932. I found in the Jewish history pages quite a few notables of that time who graduated from Northern. It said that the Jewish population was first centered east of Woodward downtown, then moved northward to between Grand Blvd and Hastings, both north and south of the Blvd. Shtetlhood.com comments on the temples from both of these locations. The site does look like a Lowell project, very nice. I suspect he would like to add this info on it. I found another note in the book that this temple was started in 1926, with visiting rabbis. That is only six years, so maybe not school, but studies of some kind. Bar/Bat Mitzvah maybe?

**48202** · October-04-09, 07:14 PM

gazhekwe,

Those kids could have been in public school. It could be a hebrew school class after public school and/or Saturdays.

**Jimaz** · October-04-09, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by 48202

Please explain to the uninformed why those letters/characters would be censored.

Curious.

I wouldn't know the reason for sure but if you sound them out, it sounds like "why tea."

I really don't care because it can be bypassed with TinyURL. It just seems to me that a censorbot should be designed to ignore character sequences within URLs. It's a PITA when it happens in a perfectly innocent URL and many people wouldn't know how to deal with it.

**gazhekwe** · October-04-09, 08:18 PM

How devious. Here I was just thinking it was too long. Thanks to Tiny indeed.

Yes, they could be in a regular after school class, like catechism. Jerry being in knee pants shows he is less than 13, I believe.

**48202** · October-04-09, 08:57 PM

Guess I was reading too much into the censored letters. Was imagining some connection to that other detroit website.

If the boys in the photo are twelve year old, then it was Bar Mitzvah classes.