Plasky family celebrates generations of togetherness at picnic

MAYER & SISSEL PLASKY…Ed Plasky's greatgrandparents settled in Philadelphia and later moved to Camden. Family.

It anchors us, enriches us, reminds us of where we've been and sometimes where we're going. In short, it's the taproot of our lives.

Just ask members of the Plasky family, which has deep roots in South Jersey, and celebrates them in a cousins' club that has been in existence since 1942.

Spunky, spirited 89-year-old Dorothy Singer was there from the start. And she loves to reminisce about the old days when a group of cousins who cared deeply about one another decided that while casual encounters were wonderful, more planned ones would ensure continuity.

That's when Singer, and several other Plaskys, decided on monthly cousins' club meetings with dinner for all at rotating homes. Not incidentally, when those gatherings began in 1942, it was also a way to collect news to send the cousins who were in World War II, along with care packages from the home front.

"I even met my husband Joseph through a cousin, Eddie Leonard, and he immediately became part of the Plasky family," recalls Dorothy.

The winning baseball team celebrates at the recent Plasky family reunion. Baseball is a tradition at Plasky family picnics. All ages get to play. Other South Jerseyites who go back to those original gatherings include matchmaker Ed Leonard, now 91 and living in Cherry Hill; Edith Gartzman, 89, also of Cherry Hill; Sylvia Smith, 88, of Voorhees; and Dorothy's sister Ruth Price, 86, of Cherry Hill. And these youngat heart old-timers still meet for lunch every Saturday at the Short Hills Deli in Cherry Hill.

But the larger cousins club and its long heritage is a special source of pride to the Plaskys.

"That was the generation that really began—and maintained— family ties," said Ed Plasky, who recently helped organize a modern-day and major Plasky family reunion for four generations held at the JCC Camps at Medford.

At 63, Plasky is one of the "kids" who cherish memories of reunions past that his own late father David helped organize a generation ago. "It was my parents' generation that began these picnics in Camden's Farnam Park because back then, families really, truly were connected, especially in Camden. It seemed that every generation migrated farther and farther away, but a core group still remains in South Jersey."

The richness of Jewish family life in Camden is fondly remembered by succeeding generations. Ed Plasky himself described "…a marvelous environment. Whatever street you walked down in East Camden, you knew you'd meet somebody you knew, and most likely, a relative. It was just a wonderful place to grow up."

The Plasky clan often celebrated the New Year together, and Chanukah, and always, a summer family picnic. There was even a family song, and copies of the family tree were updated and circulated.

As they continued to arrive through the generations, spouses were welcomed into the cousins' club, and nobody would miss the picnic—especially the spirited baseball games that brought out cheering sections, fierce but friendly competition, and lots of kibitzing from the sidelines.

By the 1960s, that initial, early Camden era was ending. But the Plaskys were still determined to continue their long tradition of gatherings, most especially the summer family picnic. And for a while, they succeeded. But as younger relatives grew up and, in some cases, scattered, the annual rite sometimes lapsed.

A major event was the 50th anniversary of the club at the old Cherry Hill Hyatt. The guest of honor that year was the late Esther Klein of Cherry Hill, then 97 years young and the only living child of Mayer and Sissel Plasky, progenitors of the clan.

After a hiatus of about six years, this June's Plasky family picnic brought together over 80 relatives who came from as near as Cherry Hill and as far away as Atlanta. The oldest guest was Sam Plasky, 94, of Maple Shade, accompanied by his "bride," Betty. The youngest was Ed Plasky's newest granddaughter, Juliet, who celebrated her first birthday the day after the June 7 picnic.

"It was absolutely wonderful to be together again," said Ed Plasky, a well-known CPA who had arranged to use technology to restore and show old movies from the 1940s. "It was so moving to see those who are no longer here, and to remember the way we were."

Ironically, Plasky's day began with one of those nightmares— his car was blocked by another after he attended a morning event at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, and he ultimately arrived at the reunion a couple of hours late.

"Just getting there was a triumph, but I made it in time for the baseball game. We call it the longest continuous game in history, and the good news is that a Plasky always wins…"

The best news, suggested Ed Plasky, is that the Plasky family still cares enough to come together, across area codes and zip codes, and right back to South Jersey where it all began.

"Roots matter," said this proud bearer of the name. "And memories matter more as the years go by. Most of all, family counts. That's something we all need to remember and honor." .