Southfield Manor: The History, The Story and The Farewell

By Adhid Miri

Part One: The History 

Community clubs, cultural centers and associations have played a significant part in the life of many local communities, yet relatively little has been written about their history and practice. Leadership, history, geography, and socio-economic factors are traditionally used to explain the success of a community and its well-being. In this piece we examine the vision, the development, and the ideas that led to start the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan and the advancement of Southfield Manor.

Building a community home requires conviction, commitment, generosity, and investment. It demands the community peer into its history, discover future needs and then plan to meet them. It requires community leaders exercising their power rather than delegating to others, and prioritizing what is in the best interest of that community.

There are several ways leaders do that in order to grow institutions within an emerging community, which subsequently influence the way a community may be strengthened. For the early Chaldean pioneers, building community centers was a vision powerfully extolled by many who sought to unify the community, create institutions for future development, and establish a local framework for the integration of churches, associations, women and youth groups.

To learn the history of the first home for the community association, one needs to travel back in time to when a historic meeting occurred. On April 24, 1943 at Danish Hall in Detroit, the attendees gathered agreed to form the Chaldean Iraqi Association (CIA).

The new association started with 60 members paying $35 each; membership doubled within the first two years. A draft of the constitution and bylaws was circulated and approved. Articles of incorporation were filed with the State of Michigan by the new group president, Salim Sarafa.

A great deal was written about Southfield Manor during its colorful 35-year history. The association was celebrated in publications like Al-Mashriq, the Chaldean Detroit Times, Al-Ruwad and Al-Muntada magazines, and other media outlets.

Two excellent books by Jacob Bacall, Chaldeans in Detroit (2014) and Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (2018), both offer wealth of information and historic pictures. A significant amount of the book’s details are included in this article with the authors’ kind permission.

According to the author Jacob Bacall, on August 31, 1965, articles of incorporation were filed to start a nonprofit organization and the word “Michigan” was added to the original entity. The new name became the Chaldean Iraqi Association of Michigan (CIAM). The name was amended in June 28, 2000 and the word “American” was added. The association became known as the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (CIAAM).

A major step forward had occurred earlier in 1964 when the pastor of Mother of God Church on Hamilton Street and Glynn Court in Detroit, George Garmo, finalized the purchase of 10.3 acres on Berg Road in Southfield for $50,000.

Father Garmo spearheaded the efforts to carve a piece of land to build the long-awaited Chaldean club and cultural center. This idea was initially rejected by the Catholic Archbishop of Detroit and it took increased pressure from influential community leaders and strong support from Father Garmo to finalize a deal, under the condition that the property would return to the seller if CIAM decided not to build the proposed club.

The CIAM board of directors purchased a three-acre site from the Archdiocese of Detroit on November 28, 1968, for $19,500. About an acre had been purchased earlier from private owners who lived in Ohio, Norman and Jennie Bennett, on April 29, 1967, for $16,500. CIAM now owned four acres of land.

There were other challenges to overcome and needing resolution. The newly acquired property had access from Berg Road only, hence any future club would be land-locked. The ramp on the northwest side leading to the old house was considered part of Telegraph Road and the city of Southfield denied access beyond the old house; however, engineers Sabah Summa and Michael Nalu were able to solve the issue with the aid of a second survey that found an additional two feet that were missed in the first survey of the lot. The ramp width was now acceptable, and access to the new club building was approved.

By late 1977, CIAM had accumulated a total of around $600,000 in the bank, and the four acres of land was owned free and clear of any debt. It was time to move forward with the dream of building a Chaldean social club and community center.

Michael Nalu was hired to design the facility. He was later joined by another Chaldean architect, Michael Sitto, who worked closely with Jonna Construction Company. Many others were involved in the construction of the new club. Community National Bank financed the project with a $2 million loan.

After a few months, plans were ready for the final blessing of the CIAM board. Michael George expressed concern about the plans and believed that the facility was too small; the kitchen would not function as needed. While everyone on the board liked his ideas, they stated, “We do not have the money to build a club this size.” Michael George’s answer was very simple: “Don’t worry, I will take care of that.”

Soon new plans were underway, and a loan of $2 million was approved by Community National Bank of Pontiac, with the condition of a personal guaranty of two diehard club members and advocates. Michael George and Manuel Meram stepped in and signed the note. A contract was signed with Jonna Construction Company in the spring of 1979 for a total of $895,000 plus any construction change orders, furniture fixtures, equipment, and out-of-pocket expenses.

Construction began in 1979, but as construction of the new club was underway in 1980, a financial crisis surfaced due to construction overruns resulting from change orders. The need to raise more money was on everybody’s mind. The availability of an Iraqi government grant at the time was circulated, and the temptation had some club members considering accepting it. But the mood was somewhat sour and skeptical; opinions were divided on what to do. Was the Iraqi government seeking political influence through its local agents? Is it correct to accept the offer? Who was right? Who was wrong? No clear answers were available in the minds of many.

An opposing group including Dr. Noori Mansour, Cal Abbo, Ralph Ayar, Louis Stephen, Gorgies Naggara and Adnan Gabbara made the rounds, knocking on the door of every Chaldean store owner to raise money to resume construction. They succeeded in collecting a considerable amount of cash. Cal Abbo was first to pledge $10,000. The group collected $27,000 but the totals did not tilt the scale away from the Iraqi government grant.

June 5, 1980 was a decisive day. Mike George, with his business-minded approach, was a proponent of the grant idea stating, “Let us get the money now and we can return it later.” A vote by CIAM members was 69-59 in favor of receiving the Iraqi government’s pledge and the $150,000 was accepted. The first sum of $100,000 was received; the second amount of $50,000 was conditional, to be handed over when a club delegation visited Baghdad.

Again, the group of six members moved to action. A decision was made on June 5, 1980 to support the club, collect as much money as possible and divert the delegation from traveling to Iraq. $110,000 was collected within a week and was offered to CIAM board of directors. The intervention was successful and the trip to Baghdad never occurred.

The new additions were done by architect Victor Saroki, and Southfield Manor with the additional library, activity room, storage room and parking lot additions officially opened on May 31, 1981, at 25626 Telegraph Road in Southfield. The telephone number was 248-352-9020.

In October 1981, the general membership voted the first board of directors, and the election committee, chaired by accountant Georgis Garmo, announced 10 winners. Seven candidates with the highest vote totals would serve for two years, and the other three members would form a reserve board.

The first board of directors at the new Southfield Manor in (1981-1983) were Joseph Nadhir, Bernie Garmo, George Najor; Najib Karmo, Salim Sarafa, Manuel Meram, Michael J. George, Badie Bodiya, Ralph Ayar, and Cal Abbo. Samir Ajemmi was the first General Manager (1981-1987).

On June 21, 1982 a change of status was made. Southfield Manor had operated as a non-profit social club for more than a year; its status was amended to become for-profit corporation. Sometime later the association name was changed to Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (CIAAM).

In the late eighties, the board of directors was overwhelmed by the pressure of the club’s day-to-day operations and its absentee-owner style of operation. After much discussion, it was agreed at a general membership meeting to hire a management company to run the banquet hall and member restaurant. The board believed this would cut costs and increase profitability to meet mortgage debt and build a reserve for future remodeling and renovation.

Oak Management was given the contract. It went well for a while, but in the end, members complained of poor service and lower quality food. Oak Management was dismissed, and the club went back to square one. After another unsuccessful experience with a second management company, HDS, the decision was made to tweak the in-house operation of the club.  

Membership growth, demographic shifts, economic strength, generational changes and future outlook sparked a new way of thinking, a grander vision for a much larger facility and community home.

Sharkey George, an avid golfer, was first to learn that the Shenandoah property was up for sale. He promptly informed and convinced his brother, Mike George, to pursue the purchase of the  147-acre property for future generations. Mike, reluctant at first, quickly embraced the idea and had the vision and conviction to advocate the concept of purchasing the premier property.

The idea was attractive but expensive. Again, there was a major split in supporting this futuristic vision and soon debates started at club corridors, corners and tables. There were two schools of thought within CIAAM members. The first school supported staying at the Manor and feared the new facility may split the unity of the membership and would not be affordable. On the other end, new generational members insisted that a new facility was needed and that we must forge forward towards the future.

The issue was put onto a general membership agenda for a membership vote. In the discussion leading to the final vote, there were strong opposing voices present as well as invisible descending resistance by some members. On that important evening, Mike George was among the packed crowd witnessing the wobbling decision making atmosphere, he remained calm and had a plan. Standing near the back of the hall, he stepped in and said, “People of the club - If you do not buy it, I will.” The mood changed immediately, and the membership voted to approve the purchase of Shenandoah Country Club.

On April 3, 1989 the membership of CIAAM authorized the board of directors to negotiate the purchase of Shenandoah Country Club. The new property was acquired for $4.2 Million.

Funds were needed to reconstruct the Shenandoah facility. Accordingly, the board of directors asked President Jacob Bacall in 2003 to head a special advisory committee to sell Southfield Manor. The committee was composed of Jamal Shallal, Faisal Arabo, Nabby Yono, Francis Boji, Karim Toma, Shamil Halabu, and Raad Kathawa. Landmark Brokerage Services, spearheaded by CIAAM member John Kello, handled the sale. After several bids were received, the board of directors decided to sell the Manor to a non-competing business. The building was sold to Comcast in 2005 for $3,582,000. Furniture, fixtures, and equipment were sold at auction.

In June 2006, Comcast became the owner of the former Chaldean club. The curtains finally fell and a ‘farewell’ was said to Southfield Manor. Construction of Shenandoah Country Club was in full swing, and the time had come to say ‘goodbye’ to a facility that served the community for a quarter century.

The last board of directors serving at Southfield Manor in 2004 was Adhid Miri, Jacob Bacall, Isam Yaldo, Raad Kathawa, Shakib Halabu, Hanna Shina, Tony Antone, Michael Khami and Walid Habboo.

Saying ‘farewell’ to the old establishment was not easy. Southfield Manor was the site of more than 10,000 events and served the community well for 25 years. It had seen numerous social, political, and religious functions, such as weddings, engagements, funerals, and communion parties.

Remembering the pioneers that came before us is an honor and a duty. The pioneer tradition anchors the community’s identity to another age, in order to inform our own generation. At Southfield Manor, they built a monument with determination and bridged two dramatically different generations. Their legacy remains relevant to today’s needs. Their vision continues to shape the membership and our identity in the twenty-first century.

With their passing, the pioneer era may have faded from living memory, some found fame, many did not – but all left an imprint. The recognition of services and the placement of a photo of Michael George at Shenandoah Country Club is perfect and well-deserved. I would like to see a wall of recognition for many other serving pioneers in our current club facility.

Future generations of Chaldeans have the responsibility of carrying the torch. My hope is that they remain faithful guardians to their heritage and formidable custodians of the community’s new home in Shenandoah Country Club.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Jacob Bacall, Sabah Summa, Nabby Yono, Hanna Shina, & Adil Bacall for their contribution.