Page Six

THE JEWISH NEWS

Greatest

Friday, April 12, 1946

Job of His Career

Shapero Named Chairman
Of Detroit's $2,000,000
Allied Jewish Campaign

Civic Leader ..War Bond Super Salesman .. Appointed

To Direct Historic Emergency Fund Drive to Provide

Urgent Relief and Rehabilitation for Jewish Survivors

• Chairman of National Chain Stores'
Section of all U. S. Bond and •Stamp
campaigns.

• Member of board of Temple Beth El.

• Chairman of Michigan Chain Stores
Association.

• Member of Board of Detroit Com-
munity Fund.

• Member of Boy Scouts' board.

NATE S. SHAPERO

NATE S. SHAPERO, druggist,
civic leader, war bond .salesman, launches upon
the greatest job of his brilliant career.
To the million and a half survivors from
Nazism in Europe and to the 600,000 builders of
Zion, the nationally prominent head of one of the
country's greatest chain drug stores mow assumes
a new role:
As the messenger of mercy and good tidings and
as the Detroit leader under whose guidance a new
record is to be set by our community in giving relief
to the needy and in making it.possible for the home-
less to build a new life in Palestine.
Chosen for the greatest job that has ever
beckoned to a Detroit Jewish leader—the chair-.
manship of the Emergency $2,000,000 Allied Jew-
ish Campaign—Mr. Shapero will be, in his element
during the coming few weeks as he tosses his
energies into the task of keeping Detroit Jewry
on top among the benevolent Jewish communities
in America.
* * *
WHEN THE EMINENT English poet, Charles
Churchill (1731-1764), wrote to his famous con-
temporary, the artist W. Hogarth,
"By 'different methods different men excel,
But 'where is he who can do all things well?"
he jotted down lines which are especially applic-
able today to Detroit Jewry's greatest fund cam-
paign. The answer to his query is the newly-
chosen chief of our relief efforts: Nate S. Shapero.
So varied are Mr. Shapero's activities that
he no longer is referred to in terms of his pro-
fessional interests as druggist in which his life's
successes began. It is as civic leader of note, with
a national reputation, that he is recognized
throughout. the land.
Mr. Shapero was a leading factor in establish-
ing a record for Michigan as chairman of the
Wayne County Retailers' Division for the sale of
War Savings Bonds and Stamps and he is repeat-
ing his successes in other fields of public service,
made effective by his dynamic abilities.
A glance at some of his affiliations will in-
dicate his versatile interests. He is-
• President of Cunningham and Shapero Drug
Stores.
• President of the Board of Fire Commissioners
of Detroit.
• Former President of Chaim Weizmann Chemical
Research Foundation of Rehovoth, Palestine.
• Member of Board of Ferris Institute, Big Rapids,
Michigan.
• Member of board of governors of Jewish Welfare
Federation of Detroit which he previously served as
vice-president.
• Member of board of National Institute of Dis-
tribution, New York. _
• Member of Great Lakes Tide-Water Commis-
sion.
• Member of the board of Boys' Club of Detroit.
• Former president of National Association of
Chain Drug Stores, now chairman of the association's
executive board.
• Member of executive committee of Detroit
Round Table of Christians and Jews.

• Member of Board of Supervisors of
Wayne County.
• Former president of Michigan State
Welfare Commission.
• Chairman of board of Police and Fire
Pension Committee.

• Member of Advisory committee of the American
Jewish Committee.
• Member of Michigan Crippled Children's Cons-
mission.
." • Member of executive committee of American

Retatil Federation.
• Member of Allied Industry Committee.
• Member of Advisory Committee of Fact-finding
Committee for Detroit World's Fair.
*
THIS LIST can be multiplied three-fold in
terms of organizational affiliations, which include
the Zionist Organization, Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, Temple Beth El, practically every local
Jewish agency of importance and scores of state
and national movements.
Nate Shapero's versatility extends beyond his
public service. He is a good horseman—is partial
to Palamenos—and enjoys baseball, farming, golf-
ing and bridge.
In the field of farming lies an interesting
story. Ten years ago, Mr. Shapero acquired
Apple Crest Farm in Northville, Mich. Today,
this farm is the major pride of the family which
spends the winter in. the Palmer Woods section
(Strathcona Drive) and the summer at the Apple
Crest Farm.
Nate Shapero was born in Detroit, Sept. 27,
1892. His earliest drug store experiences were
acquired at the age of 12 as a soda-jerker in a
Liggett store. He played his way through Cass
High School as a violinist and earned enough
money to carry him through the Ferris Institute
of Big Rapids, Mich., where he was awarded his
Ph.B. degree. His career as chain drug store own-
er began at the age of 26 as proprietor of his
first apothecary's shop at Cass and Ledyard. He
labeled it "Economical No. 1." Later, his Eco-
nomical Drug Stores merged with Cunningham's.

TODAY, Mr. Shapero heads both the Cun-
ningham's and Shapero Stores, which number in
excess of 100 in Detroit. Cunningham's has

branches in 23 Michigan cities, in Cleveland, Cin-
cinnati, Toledo and Pittsburgh. In addition, Mr.
Shapero is chairman of the board of the 43 Marsh-
all Drug Stores in Cleveland.
These interests must not be assumed to be
purely of a commercial nature. Cunningham's,
under Shapero guidance, is an institution. It now
has its own laundry, manufactures its own ice
cream, has a complete photo finishing depart-
ment. There are more than 2,000 employes—and
the organization is in more than one sense a gov-
ernment unto itself.
Nate Shapero is not only a benefactor—he
is also a man of vision and knows the value of
building able management in his stores. Thus, he
annually awards scholarships to men 18 to 30
for four-year courses either at Wayne University
or the Detroit Institute of Technology. These
scholarships include tuition, all maintenance
costs, etc. The scholarships are given to those
who show aptitude in drug store operation and
are awarded upon taking examinations.

*

*

*

MR. SHAPERO was one of the first men in
the chain drug industry to rally behind the Gov-
ernment in the sale of War Bonds and Stamps.
He was named a national Dollar-a-Year-Man.
Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau and
other national officials have commended him high-
ly for his work, which included activities not
only in Michigan but also a tour of the West in
behalf of the U. S. Treasury Department. He has
delivered addresses for the campaign in Chicago,
Kansas City, Wichita, Houston, Dallas, Los
Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver and St. Louis.
In World War I, Nate Shapero served in the
Navy as a Chief Pharmacist's Mate.
Whatever he undertakes, he approaches seri-
ously. Take, as an instance, his membership on
the Board of Fire Commissioners. In his office
you will find lithographs on "The Life of a Fire-
man," made 90. years ago by N. Currier. In his
library there ai.e books on fire-fighting. When he
undertakes a job, he learns it thoroughly.
* * *
MR. SHAPERO was married to Ruth Bern-
stein on Jan. 27, 1924. They have two children—.
Raphael A., 20, and Marianne, 16. Their young
daughter takes after her father and is a good
"horse-woman," already having won a number of
ribbons and trophies.
There is this to be added as an interesting
sidelight on Nate-Shapero: his middle initial "S"
has a history. Basketball was his favorite sport
as a youngster. A Windsor team constantly beat
a Detroit group, four of whose players were
named "Sam." When Nate was asked to play
with the Detroiters in a crucial game against
the Border City boys, he, too, was labelled "Sam."
They won the game. Since then, the "S" has also
stood for success, as this personality sketch proves
conclusively.

Allied Jewish Campaign Brings Food and Health to Europe

With funds derived from the Allied Jewish Campaign, local fund-raising agency for the United
Jewish Appeal, numerous services are being administered to the surviving Jews in Europe. Dental
care is among the major health services provided by the Joint Distribution Committee. Jews in
Germany will eat matzoth for the first time since Hitlerism. Matzo ovens have been restored in
Berlin. Supplementary shipments of Passover foods have been sent to Europe via the JDC.

