In the early 1950s, America was changing. In those postwar years, many families were moving to the suburbs, television was becoming increasingly popular, and in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, a friendship among 14 high school students was taking shape.
More than seven decades later, that friendship — whose members have experienced many of life’s triumphs and hardships together — is still thriving.
Last month, the surviving 11 members gathered at Northfield’s U Dawg U to celebrate Janice Eisenman’s 90th birthday as well as the noteworthy longevity of their friendship. Today, every member of the group is either 88, 89 or 90 years old.
“We connected, we have each other’s back and sometimes we disagree with each other and sometimes we didn’t even like each other, but we stuck together,” Eisenman told the crowd of well-wishers. “It has just worked for whatever reason.”
She spoke before a standing-room-only crowd that included the 11 remaining members along with several generations of family and friends.
Besides Eisenman, the group includes Phyllis Markus, Sue Steiner, Lee Blum, Helene Gerstein, Lois Yaffe, Judy Abelson, Bobbie Rubin, Robbie Friedland, Alice Schindel and Elyce Metzner. Three other longtime members — Lainie Rotman, Ruthie Wander and Merrill Yalowitz — have died.
While some of the women first met in elementary school, the full group came together through high school sororities in the early 1950s. Most attended Hyde Park High School, while others went to South Shore High School or the now-closed Faulkner School.
The friendship endured over the years, helped by the fact that most of the women remained in the region. Today, they live in North Shore suburbs including Wilmette, Highland Park and Evanston.
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“We have all been fortunate enough to stay in the same area,” Eisenman said. “No one lives far away. Everyone lives in the Chicagoland area, which makes it very easy to stay connected.”
After high school, the friends built careers and raised families.
One distinctive feature of the group is that nearly all pursued professional careers at a time when many women were likely to become homemakers. Their careers included psychology, social work, counseling, education, special education and behavioral therapy, with members earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
“That was rather unusual in those days that women went on to do that,” Yaffe said.
Over the past 70-plus years, every member of the group married and raised children. They now have grandchildren, and some have great-grandchildren. Along the way, some have divorced, others have been widowed and all have experienced life’s disappointments, but they have remained close.
“Most everybody knows about each other’s families, not only their kids but also extended family,” Markus said. “You know about those people, and it deepens the understanding when someone is talking about something that happened in the family, good or bad. I think that knowledge adds to the cohesiveness because you understand and know those people as well.”
About 40 years ago, the friendship took on another dimension when the women began traveling together. Their trips have included New York City, the Hudson River Valley, Boston and the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency.
In a fitting full-circle moment, the group plans to visit the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, just a half-mile from Hyde Park High School. later this year.
Although some members now face health challenges that often come with approaching age 90, they continue to gather regularly for monthly lunches at a Glenview restaurant.
“We look out for each other, such as when someone doesn’t feel well,” Yaffe said. “It’s that kind of thing.”
They even found a way to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Markus said the group met every Saturday morning on Zoom, although there was a learning curve.
“It took a long time to get on,” she said with a laugh. “The whole Zoom thing wasn’t easy.”
Today, the women continue their monthly lunches, while smaller groups meet to play cards or attend local theater productions. Some still drive themselves to the gatherings.
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Their June 20 celebration at U Dawg U reflected the group’s unpretentious nature. Members laughed, reminisced and looked through a book filled with photographs and stories documenting more than 70 years of friendship while sharing a meal of hot dogs and other fast food.
“They wanted to be together, and they don’t need a big fancy restaurant to enjoy each other’s company,” said Peter Friedman, Eisenman’s son, who organized along with his sister, Jackie Stein, and Friedman’s wife, Lisa Acker, and brother, Glenn Friedman.
As they remain in touch, the women take great pride in the durability of their friendship.
“It has been an unbelievably supportive group for one another through all these years,” Yaffe said. “Everybody cares about each other, and everybody is involved in each other’s lives to the point that we are always there for each other.”