Southfield Manor Part II: The Dewan-Khana, The Bar, The Dining Room

Dewan-Khana Stars Uncle Joe Najor, Jameel Soulaqa, Yousif Nadhir, Yousif Dikho, Dr. Peter J Kalabat.

By Adhid Miri

In Part 2 of our discussion we continue with the story of Southfield Manor and cover more of its colorful story, traditions, heroes and folklore. We will cover the personalities that defined the Dewan-Khana, the Bar & Restaurant. Writing longer stories is necessary to cover this subject matter and publishing it in a series helps give more background and depth to the next story. This type of writing involves a lot more research to give readers a lengthy and informative article. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, “an article/speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

Ciam Adhid Miri Certificate #537

The “Club”, another name for Southfield Manor, was created 45 years ago as a community center and a venue for entertainment; generally, to create social ties and an ongoing sense of cohesion. It was designed to be a place for community celebrations of various occasions and traditions, where community members could meet each other regularly and socially. It was intended as a place that community members, and sometimes others, could stage private family functions or parties that were large gatherings, such as weddings, First Communions, funerals, and the like; a venue where politicians, officials. and leaders could invite the community to seek their opinions. support, or endorsement.

Southfield Manor grew in leaps and bounds expeditiously upon opening. In its first year, 1981, there were 496 members. Initial dues were $2,000, plus a $400 annual fee. In January 1982, membership dues increased to $2,500.

CIAAM Membership system started with number 101 (Richard and Nahla Abbo). By 2002, the membership number reached 1,328. Today, it is probably over 1,500. The author of this article is number 700.

Startup was rough initially with unanticipated internal growing pains and external challenges. The management structure, the menu items, and the beverage pricing were topics of much debate for the new board, class of 1981. The appropriateness of tipping and gratuity were additional issues of disagreement by some members, and servers complained about lack of tipping. In a clever resolve, the board lowered the prices and added a 16 percent automatic gratuity to all bills. Member self-discipline and respect for the wait-staff were also concerning to the board upon startup. Patrons required frequent reminders by the board that gratuity was indeed included in the tab, and that the serving girls were not part of the food and beverage menu!

Externally, the “wall of shame” posed an additional challenge to this early boards of directors. The wall was built to separate Southfield Manor from Mother of God Church (MOG). It was challenged by the Chaldean Iraqi Association of Michigan (CIAM) as being an illogical barrier. A hearing was held by the Board of Zoning Appeals in the city of Southfield on March 1, 1983 to review the association’s proposal to create an opening in the wall separating the club from MOG. After lengthy discussion and deliberation by the zoning board, the proposal was tabled till May 17, 1984, whereafter the decision was tabled again for 6 additional months to conduct a traffic study. Ultimately the opening was approved.

The club social scene was a pleasure to treasure. Over time, member activities and routines became a standard part of the legendary folklore. Tuesday night was a special night at Southfield Manor. It was the busiest night of the week. The club would be buzzing with activities, dinners, guests, committee meetings, and social events that filled the place with a wonderful atmosphere and warmth. Wednesday was a popular Bingo night, sponsored by the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC). They were a big hit that continued throughout the eighties and nineties. The $500 jackpots attracted significant attention. The weekends were packed with weddings, communions, graduations, and other festivities to round out the week’s events.

Each section within the Southfield Manor facility had a special story and scripted part of its history. A great deal of this historical detail is featured in this article. Unfortunately, much of the information and resources related to this history are fragmented and not easily obtained. Presently, in the digital age of current time, we are charged to collect, sort, digitize past documents and to preserve the archives before they are erased from memory.

The Dewan-Khana

This was a place and a ritual like no other. The regular folklorists gathered late afternoons and stayed as late as their curfews allowed. Most arrived in the early afternoons, before valet, parked their Cadillacs and Lincolns and walked to the club to join their lifelong friends. They repeated these gatherings Mondays through Saturday.

The Dewan-Khana was located immediately to the right of the entrance where free coffee, tea and laughter were served. It was a unique place where friends passed along old stories and shared recent history. Discussion topics of the day ranged from church news. the status of parish priests, the grocery business, politics, club affairs and gossip, with the ongoing Iraq-Iran war topping the list.

The Dewan-Khana heroes were members of a legendary and learned society, originally based in Telkepe and regrouped in Michigan. The folklorists were a wonderful mix of people, who devoted their discussions to the memory of various aspects of folklore and tradition, ballads, village tales, myths, legends, language, traditional songs and the intricate principles of the Khugga dance.

Humor and laughter were king and queen among the group and jokes were in abundance. Jameel Solaqa, with his unique comical delivery and relaxed style, was the undisputed star of the group. Amazingly, despite the fact that most of the participants (Dewan-Khanchiyya) were up in their platinum years, their speed and wit and promptitude were lightning and intact.

They gathered to share old stories about Iraq plus their new found experience in the USA. The cavalier stories as to happenings in Iraq were presumably believable; however, none were verifiable. There were hawks and doves among the group yet the majority of the class members were easygoing and peacemakers. Their story-telling with a sprinkle of laughter continued generally with minimal dispute and the group spirit was a gravitational magnet for few younger members that dared to orbit in this sacred galaxy.

The consortium changed with time as some anchors died. The principles were: Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim (usually attended the first and third Monday of the month), Joseph Nadhir, Uncle Joe Najor, Jameel Soulaqa, Manuel Meram, Yalda Saroki,