“Friends, friends, friends,
We will always be,
Whether in fair or dark stormy
weather,
BBYO will keep us together …”
That song rings true for the boys in Nordaunian AZA #22, its alumni, former Matzo Ball queens and candidates and hundreds of former BBYOers now spread across the country. The song brings back extra special memories this year as Nordaunian’s Matzo Ball celebrates its 80th anniversary.
The annual dance will take place Saturday, May 16, at the Overland Park Convention Center. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}The dance itself begins at 8:30 p.m.; pre-dance activities for Nordaunian members and candidates begin at 6 p.m.
No matter what has changed over the years two things have stayed constant: The boys have planned a dance for their peers featuring girls who are vying for the title of Queen Nordau. Twelve girls will vie for the title this year.
One thing that has changed over the years is that both Jewish and non-Jewish teens now attend the dance.
“I was a member of Nordaunian AZA and served as the event co-chair for the 46th annual Matzo Ball Dance in 1981,” said Fred Bodker, who has two daughters, Mallory and Ellie, who have been Matzo Ball candidates. “Back then, our audience was primarily BBYO, and it was one of the highlights of the year. We routinely held the dance in the Cumonow Social Hall at Congregation Beth Shalom on Wornall.”
“We felt the importance of the tradition then,” said Jeff Mann, who was a member from 1977-1981. “We didn’t go to proms. We did our Matzo Ball dance. It was a great event.”
Currently the local KC BBYO Council — which is comprised of Nordaunian and AZA #2 for the boys and B’not Lev and Saadia for the girls — has 214 members, 42 of which belong to Nordaunian. For the past several years the dance has been held at the Overland Park Convention Center. Approximately 700 people — 600 teens and 100 adults — are expected to attend this year according to Daniel Shafton, who is planning the dance along with Aleck Bratt, Joel Gutovitz, Sam Matsil and Jordan Wohl.
Representing the current generation of teens, Daniel describes the dance as “an incredible fundraiser/dance that brings the whole community together and raises a lot of money for local and national charities.” After expenses, he said the chapter expects to net about $10,000 this year.
That’s much more than was raised in the early years.
“Way back in the day, if we raised $200 that was a lot of money. We marvel at how much they raise today,” noted Harold Koch, who was a member of Nordaunian in the early 1950s.
The money is primarily raised through ticket sales and corporate sponsorships. The girls and boys sell tickets to the event, but the sales method has changed over the years. Jeff Mann, the youngest of three brothers, all members of Nordaunian, who participated from 1977-81, explained in the mid-1970s Phil Mann came up with the idea of putting tickets into books and selling them as sponsorships.
“Before that, we used to sell just one ticket at the time,” Jeff Mann said. “The idea was to go to a business and say, ‘Hey, would you like to be a sponsor? If you buy one book of tickets, you are mentioned here. If you buy five books of tickets you get … That’s when they started getting a little more sophisticated getting the corporate community to buy tickets.”
At one time the money raised by the dance went to Nordaunian. Over the years other local BBYO chapters began benefitting from the profits as did BBYO charities. On top of that, Nordaunian members and the candidates now choose two additional beneficiaries. This year the boys chose to donate money to reStart, a shelter that provides housing and supportive services to help homeless men, women, youth and families move toward independence.
The candidates chose to donate money to Spoffard, a leading provider of preventative and therapeutic treatment services for children ages 4 to 12 who are suffering the effects of physical or sexual abuse, neglect or early onset mental illness.
The candidates
Dr. Edward Haith, a member of Nordaunian in the 1940s, notes that Ruth Greenbaum became the first Matzo Ball Hostess, before the title was changed to queen.
“The dance was the event of the year for AZA Chapter 22. It was awaited for with great anticipation,” he said.
Today queen candidates are selected by the boys through an interview process in December. In the months leading to the dance, they sell tickets and attend Nordaunian chapter events as the boys’ guests.
As part of today’s queen selection process, all 12 girls are rated by the guys. But only the top three fundraisers along with the No. 1 ticket seller are eligible to win. Those rankings are combined with the boys ranking to choose the queen.
“We don’t know who these four people are when we vote on all 12,” Daniel said.
Queens were not always elected with the boys’ input. That began during the time Roger Klein was an adviser. Prior to that it was based on ticket sales, sometimes with the input of the Patricia Stevens modeling agency. The winner was not always one of the boys’ favorites with this method, so Klein — who originally became an adviser in 1972 — devised a formula that included ticket sales, boys’ rankings and modeling agency rankings. Klein was Nordaunian’s adviser for eight years and then served again in that role for a couple of years in the early ‘90s.
For most of the candidates and queens, Matzo Ball is a meaningful experience. Meryl Engle, the 75th Annual Matzo Ball Queen, said the experience allowed her to be a Jewish role model.
“From my philanthropic efforts involved with Matzo Ball I learned that I can do anything I put my mind to. I also gained a lot of self-confidence from the experience. Being crowned Matzo Ball Queen was the closest I’ll ever get to being a princess, but the charming young men of Nordaunian made me feel like a queen,” Engle said.
Myra Nearenberg, the 1979 queen, remembers it was a big deal to go to Matzo Ball.
“My whole family was there — my aunts and my uncles, grandparents.”
She said the experience taught her to give back to the community. That’s something she continues as she works in her family’s business, Natalie M., a store that features elegant designer clothing for women. Each year the store holds fashion shows where the models raise money for their schools.
“Matzo Ball did teach me how to promote the future of others,” Nearenberg said.
Its significance then and now
As the current members of Nordaunian plan dances in the 21st century, they find people have fond memories of Matzo Balls past.
“When we talk about Matzo Ball with family and friends within the Jewish community, it always seems to bring out a sense of joy in everyone,” Daniel said. “They see this dance that has been going on for 80 years and I think it reassures them that the Jewish community is still there. From a business standpoint it always impresses me how the local businesses in Kansas City are so willing to help out such a good cause. Their ability to donate has definitely helped keep the dance going for all these years.”
As part of the 75th anniversary, a big Nordaunian reunion took place, bringing men of all ages together from all over the country.
“We regaled each other with all kinds of stories, some that should never be in print, but were very funny at the time,” Koch said.
Since that evening, many have stayed in regular contact.
“We meet for breakfast at Jerry’s Café on the first Wednesday of every month. Owner Jerry Naster is a Nordaunian alum,” Koch said. “We have a big age range and the one thing that ties us all together, besides being Jews, is that we are AZA 22.”
Daniel said Matzo Ball is probably the coolest thing about being in Nordaunian and BBYO.
In fact Annie Rifkin, regional director of the Kansas City Council, said Nordaunian was recently recognized at BBYO International Convention for how much they have collectively raised in the history of Matzo Ball.
“Matzo Ball is very unique. There aren’t really other communities that have something like this,” Rifkin said.
Bodker said the 80th anniversary is significant because it is important to maintain some continuity to the previous generations of BBYOers.
“The role it plays in 2015 is to provide a communitywide event to raise money for BBYO and outside charities and to have fun. The proceeds help support chapter programming throughout the year. For both the candidates and the dance chairmen, it serves a lesson in leadership and responsibility. For the sponsoring chapter, it develops teamwork and unity. In our day, all the profits were given back to BBYO. It’s wonderful that the dance has been so successful that now a portion of the money can be donated to the larger community,” Bodker said.
Daniel and the other members are happy to be carrying on the Matzo Ball tradition.
“It’s a sense of legacy that we are passing on and I know that it benefits the community. It’s also an incredible process to meet the girls and see them mature and help raise money.”{/mprestriction}