MICHIGAN JEWISH HISTORY - Jewish Historical Society of Michigan

MICHIGAN JEWISH HISTORY
1946
These guests of the Manley Resort in St. Joseph all came from Chicago.
During the war years, guests often got together and put on talent shows using
the front porch as the stage. Donations would be collected from the audience
and given to the Red Cross. (Courtesy Jane Granzow Miles)
This game was so foreign to me with the strange writing on the tiles. I found
it quite fascinating…There was always the Sunday afternoon cruise on (the
boat) the City of Grand Rapids. Some kids went to the summer recreation
programs at Kiwanis Park.”
Michiana
Until the Supreme Court ruled against restrictive covenants in 1948,
many communities used them to avoid the sale of land or homes to African
Americans or Jews. Michiana, which bordered Indiana, attracted Jewish
residents because, unlike other communities up and down the coast of
Lake Michigan, the Long Beach Development Company did not prohibit
the sale of land to Jews. The Long Beach Development Company began
subdividing and building on 600 acres (which included acreage in both
Indiana and Michigan) in the 1920s. Chicagoans eager to escape the city
heat and congestion paid $1,000 for a lot with a summer cottage. They
relished the opportunity to enjoy the cool waters of Lake Michigan, the
balmy breezes and the wooded seclusion.
Benton Harbor and Sodus
Another Jewish resort community became established on Fair Avenue
in Benton Harbor, in a neighborhood where full-time Jewish residents and
farmers lived. The neighborhood had two synagogues: Ohava Sholom,
established in 1911 on Seeley Street and Highland Avenue, and Temple
Beth-El, which in 1934 began using an eight-room house at 284 Fair Avenue
as a meeting place.
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