Tell Your Story
By Jan Durecki, Archivist

As Temple Beth El’s archivist, I frequently attempt to convince congregants to share their life stories either through the donation of family documents and photographs, or by taking part in an oral history interview. The most frequent response to my request is: “I don’t have anything interesting to tell.” Of course, I heartily disagree with that sentiment, and would like to offer two examples that demonstrate the importance of chronicling your life - history. The first involves a missed opportunity, and the second is a personal reminiscence.

During the Archives’ War Collection Exhibit a congregant pointed to a photograph of Lieutenant Raymond Zussman and stated that she thought he had won a Purple Heart during the Second World War. While selecting images for the display, no other materials concerning Lt. Zussman were found in the War Collection files. However in online research conducted after the exhibit’s conclusion, I found that Lt. Zussman had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions against the enemy in Nory le Bourg, France. It appears that at the time his photograph was donated to the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives supporting evidence of his heroism was not included. The Jewish Community Center is currently displaying his Congressional Medal of Honor as part of their Michigan Jewish Veterans’ Display. Unfortunately, an opportunity to commemorate his heroism during the War Collection exhibit was unwittingly omitted. This tale is offered to demonstrate the importance of telling a factual and complete life-story.

The second example involves my late grandmother. After one hundred and five years of life she passed away in late March, 2006. The week before her demise, I promised to assume her role as the custodian of the family’s historical documents. Among her bibles, letters, and photographs, I found a handwritten journal she had begun sometime during the 1990s. In it she wrote of her childhood on a North Carolina farm, moving to the “big city” of Greensboro to begin her first job, meeting and marrying my grandfather, and raising her young family during the Depression. Her words have given me a clearer understanding of the woman I loved. While her activities are not on a parallel with Lieutenant Zussman’s, they are none the less a rich source of social history. Admittedly these two examples cover a broad historical continuum. The first details a soldier’s heroism during World War II and the second, daily life in early, twentieth century America. However what is significant is that each personalizes the context of their times.

Sooner than we would like to think, 2006 will be referred to as “the good old days.” Your descendents, and the members of the greater Jewish community, will value the complete and accurate telling of your life story. Schedule an oral history interview, or donate your family’s scrapbooks, letters and photographs to the Archives. You may also wish to participate in an inter-generational project that the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives and the Religious School will offer this fall. Utilizing joint activities such as the compilation of family trees, it is designed to assist Jewish families in tracing their lineage. The Archives is ready to preserve your memoirs for posterity, however, you must take the first step and tell that story.

War Exhibit a Great Success
With Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller as background accompaniment, on May 21, 2006, the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives displayed selected artifacts, photographs, and documents from its War Collection. Religious school students joined in a “scavenger hunt,” and answered a list of questions such as “How do you earn a Bronze Star?” and “What did the residents of Charleston complain about during the blockade of their harbor?” Their teachers then used those answers to explain the contributions of the Jewish men and women of the American Armed Forces to the war effort. Many of the adult congregants shared their reminiscences about the loss of loved ones in the military, and the hardships caused by rationing. Thank you to everyone who attended this meaningful display.

Wayne State Intern
Miriam Kelman, a graduate student from Wayne State University’s Library and Information Science Program, is fulfilling her practicum (internship) in Archival Management in the Temple Archives. She completed her undergraduate work at Wayne State where she majored in History with a minor in Business Administration. Miriam returned to Michigan after working in California’s Silicon Valley, and has a background in technical support and program management.