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Page 4 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN July-August 2012 Happening From page 3 Roswell Road. She claims that was her only choice, since Knotty Pines was not available. Unfortunately, says Emilie, she had to leave out some of the 288 cousins on the H. Mendel side of the family. Goldberg’s couldn’t accommodate quite that many. One of her favorite cousins, Howard Mendel, a wonderful professional photographer (and available for hire), took great photographs during the evening. Goldberg’s did its usual great job, and co-owner Howard Aaron went so far as to fly in miniature hot dogs all the way from New York City, where apparently they know how to do them just right. Howard also provided lots of comfort foods from the ‘50s. There were deviled eggs, Lipton onion soup dip in the world’s largest pumpernickel loaf, pimento cheese spread, Cheetos, and even Goldberg’s homemade potato chips, along with several delicious vegetarian dishes for folks like me. And guests lined up to get their pictures taken with the life-size replicas of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Buddy Holly. Rock Around the Clock DJ Brian Durio had guests dancing the jitterbug, and vintage autos were parked at the curb. JoJo (we still call him that, since we have been buddies for 67 years) brought his ‘87 Alfa Romeo, and retired Coca-Cola marketing exec Marc Hamburger drove one of his favorite old cars, a 1964 Mercedes convertible. Lots of women wore poodle skirts. Joe wore an Elvis shirt and a Davy Crockett hat, and Emilie wore a great ‘50s wig and saddle oxfords. The couple both wore their actual dog tags. Perhaps the most authentic ‘50s outfit was worn by David Herckis— blue jeans and a white T-shirt. I wore my favorite seersucker suit, with an original ketchup stain from 1956. After all these decades, Joe is still the same nice, sweet, humble person he has always been, despite having been a tennis and wrestling champ, and the smartest person we knew growing up—he even won the Joe Haas (left), Emilie Posner Haas, and Reg Regenstein (photos: Howard Mendel) Bible study award at Westminster his senior year—not bad for a nice Jewish boy! Joe Haas with Elvis EMILY MOSES ROCKS. Congratulations to the lovely and talented Emily Moses, who just graduated magna cum laude from Miami University of Ohio, where she received the outstanding student award in the School of Fine Arts. Among her many activities, she regularly conducted holiday services at the local Hillel chapter. She will continue her studies in fine arts at The University of Colorado in Boulder, concentrating on opera, at which the diva excels, having a beautiful voice. Emily is the daughter of Graham (a f o r m e r Emily Moses Atlantan) and Sam Massell Ellen Moses, who now live in St. Louis. For this info, we are indebted to Emily’s proud grandmom, Rita Moses, our aunt, who is involved in many activities in the community but always has time to kvell over her kids and grandkids. GEN. SCHWARTZ, COL. JACOBS REC- OGNIZED. Two of our great military heroes were recognized at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead recently, where the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation held its second annual Atlanta event. The evening featured the presentation of the Patriot Award to General Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, with the ceremony hosted by Medal of Honor recipient and CFPF Board Member Colonel Jack Jacobs. The foundation provides free college education for any child who has lost a parent during military combat or training. General Schwartz is the first Jewish chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, and Jacobs is the only Jewish soldier still alive to receive the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. We honor and thank these distinguished military leaders for their service to our country and for being proud role models to our community. FATHERS OF THE YEAR. Craig Kaufman, president, Kaufman Realty, and Randy Kessler, partner, KS Family Law, were honored at the InterContinental Hotel’s recent American Diabetes Father of the Year Awards Dinner, which recognizes “fathers” who portray and epitomize family, citizenship, charity, civility, and responsibility in their everyday lives. Fathers-of-the-year Craig Kaufman (left) and Randy Kessler SAM MASSELL TO BE HONORED AGAIN. “Buckhead Mayor” Sam Massell has won yet another much deserved honor for his leadership and vision. On October 4, the president of the Buckhead Coalition and former Atlanta mayor is to be the Council for Quality Growth’s 2012 Four P i l l a r Honoree at a celebration at The Georgia World Congress Center. For more info on tickets and sponsorship opportunities, contact JH@Councilforqualitygrowth.org. ZBT ALUM JIM SUMMERS. James P. (Jim) Summers does a great job organizing alumni activities for ZBT fraters in our area and helping them stay in touch. Thirty or so brothers meet regularly for lunch (and occasional dinners), bonding, net- Jim Summers working, schmoozing, complaining, and kibitzing. Under the leadership of Jim (Marshall University ‘70), James Weinberg (Tulane University ‘83), and Faron Lewitt (University of Alabama ‘97), the Zeta Beta Tau Atlanta Area Alumni Association (ZBTAAAA) has developed into one of the frat’s most active chapters. Jim says, “Brothers attending the ZBTAAAA lunch gatherings have spanned generations and regions: Sam Massell (University of Georgia ‘48), Mort Weiss (University of Southern California ‘48), Hank Klausman (University of Illinois ‘62), Bruce Weinstein (University of Alabama ‘70), Howard Fleisig (Georgia Tech ‘72), Mark Kaplan (University of South Florida ‘72), Keith Bailey (University of Georgia ‘79), Chuck Pollack (The George Washington University ‘84), Doug Bodner (Georgia Tech ‘87), Steven Wiebe (Seton Hall University ‘09), Adam Diamond (University of Alabama ‘10), and Joshua Styles (Georgia Tech ‘11). Two Atlanta-area alumni brothers received special recognition at the 2011 ZBT International Convention, at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead—Steve Selig (University of Georgia ‘65) was named Man of the Year, which is presented to a brother who exemplifies the teachings of ZBT and the commitment to better the communities in which we live, and Jay Davis (University of Georgia ‘70) received the Heritage Award, which recognizes a member of the Jewish community who especially distinguishes himself or herself in a communal, philanthropic, artistic, or professional endeavor. To get involved, e-mail Jim at jsummers@zbtnational.org. HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR GEORGE DYNIN. Former University of Georgia teacher George Dynin, of Athens, is mentioned in the new comprehensive publication of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos—1933-45, Volume II, Ghettos in German-Occupied Eastern Europe. The entry on Horodyszcze, in Eastern Poland, relates how, in 1942, George, “a Jewish teenager living outside the ghetto and pretending to be a Pole, learned from his mother, who worked as a translator in the mayor’s office,” about the Germans’ plans to kill the residents of the local ghetto, with the help of the local police. “He twice passed the information to the Jews, but very few managed to escape...in time.” What is not mentioned is that George could have been killed each time he passed on the information to his people. He is now looking for a publisher for his book, Aryan Papers, which has a foreword by renowned British historian and Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert, and is filled with other amazing stories of heroism, terror, cruelty, close calls, mass murder, and miraculous escapes. We hope some publisher will snap the book up and give it the promotion it deserves. TWO NEW HOLOCAUST BOOKS. British writer Colin Rushton has two great newly released books on the Holocaust, Beyond the Gates of Hell and Spectator in Hell: A British Soldier’s Story of Imprisonment in Auschwitz, (Pelican Publishing). Beyond the Gates of Hell tells the heartbreaking story of twelve-year-old
July-August 2012 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 5 Mayer Herszkowicz who, in 1940, was separated from his family and began a fiveyear, 1,500-mile “marathon of miseries.” He was transported by cattle truck and forced marches from his home in Sieradz, Poland, to nine labor camps, surviving eighteen months in Auschwitz and fortytwo inspections by the notorious Dr. Joseph Mengele. Spectator in Hell tells of the death camps from the point of view of a British POW, Arthur Dodd, a Royal Army Service Corps driver captured in 1942, who spent fourteen months interned in a facility at Auschwitz. Rushton documents life in the camp, where the British prisoners were treated quite differently from the other inmates but nevertheless experienced everyday horrors of their own. Dodd repeatedly risked his life to help Jewish prisoners, sabotage industrial facilities, and help plan a mass escape, and his story makes a fascinating read. SUMMER SCHOOL FOR SENIORS. Class is now in session at PALS’ six weeks of Monday Lunch ‘N Learn courses, through July 30. PALS features great classes on such subjects as World War I, thriving in retirement, Mah Jongg, estate planning, films, bridge, gardening, chess, new and local authors, and other fascinating and useful topics. Perimeter Adult Learning and Services (PALS), Inc., is for folks 50 and older in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Norcross, and neighboring areas of Metropolitan Atlanta. The summer classes are being held at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30327. PALS says that “no senior is excluded from classes due to inability to pay...and tuition is FREE for anyone over 90.” And even though the summer session is well underway, you can sign up to attend a single class. To register and for more info, call 770- 698-0801, or visit www.palsonline.org. ENTERTAINING CAKEMAKER SYLVIA WEINSTOCK. Photographer Denis Reggie, bridal gown designer Anne Barge, Paces Papers founder Jackie Garson Howard, florist Robert Long, and caterer Dennis Dean hosted a gathering at Denis Reggie’s home for famous cakemaker Sylvia Weinstock while she was in Atlanta. Sylvia is widely known as “the Leonardo da Vinci of cakes” and the “Queen of Wedding Cakes,” since she makes cakes for the ultra rich and famous—the most lavish costing $50,000 or more. Helping entertain Sylvia were such notables as events planner Barbara Roos and Brian Ettelman, director of catering at InterContinental Buckhead. Julie Bauman (from left), Sylvia Weinstock, Martha Jo Katz, and Lila Hertz AMAZING STORY OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVAL. There are rave reviews for the brand new musical, By Wheel and By Wing, at the Act3 Playhouse, the delightful community theater right in the heart of Sandy Springs. An amazing, incredible Holocaust survival story about the family of Helen and Stan Kasten, it was produced as a result of a chance encounter on an airplane. It was first put in writing by Helen’s maternal grandmother, Bubbe Esther Parnes, when she arrived in America after the war. It recounts how Esther, her husband, Samuel, and their seven children fled their native Polish town of Skalat, in 1941, spending five years fleeing and hiding from the Germans. Miraculously, all of the nine Parneses were able to stay together and survive, eventually coming to the United States, where they were joyously reunited with Samuel’s brother and Esther’s brother and two sisters. A few years ago, on a flight to Atlanta, Helen’s aunt, Jeanie Wechsler, found herself sitting next to Patti Mactis, the cofounder and artistic director of Act 3. Jeanie told the story to Patti, who was so taken with the incredible tale of survival, she helped arrange for Act3 to feature it as a musical. For info and tickets, check www.act3productions.org. The Playhouse is located at 6285-R Roswell Road, in Sandy Springs Plaza.
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