50 YEARS AGO...
Leaders Appeal
To Detroit Jews
This column will be a week-
ly feature during The Jewish
News' anniversary year, look-
ing at The Jewish News of to-
day's date 50 years ago.
SY MANELLO
Special to The Jewish News
ith the War Chest
Drive still uppermost
in most minds, the
paper devoted space to mes-
sages from such national
leaders as Dr. Abba Hillel
Silver, Dr. J. B. Wise and
William Rosenwald. In ad-
dition, two inside pages were
devoted to a message to aid
in figuring how much one
could give as well as re-
minders of all the service or-
ganizations that would be
served by donations. It end-
ed with the reminder that
"together we can win!"
The news reports from
Europe continued to be
grim. A report from Norway
revealed that almost half of
the Jewish population there
had been imprisoned or in-
terned. Jews in unoccupied
France were being fettered
when arrested for shipment
to concentration camps.
More than 30,000 Yugosla-
vian Jews had been mur-
dered in Serbia.
There were several mile-
stones of note in the Detroit
area. As B'nai B'rith marked
its 100th year of service, Pis-
gah Lodge made plans to ini-
tiate new members; Isadore
Starr, chairman of the mem-
bership drive, urged the
committee to "see to it that
every male Jew in the city is
given an opportunity to join
B'nai B'rith." In Ann Arbor,
national, state and local
leaders gathered for the ded-
ication of the new Hillel
building; Dr. Abram L.
Sachar was the principal
speaker.
There were other speak-
ers of prominence in the
area at this time. Archduke
Otto of Austria was sched-
uled to speak at Detroit
Town Hall at the Fisher
Theater; Anne O'Hare Mc-
Cormick, New York Times
correspondent, was also to
W
speak in that series; Isaac
Frank, writer and lecturer,
gave a talk on William But-
ler Yeats at the Detroit Pub-
lic Library.
Just as we are worried to-
day about furthering Jew-
ish education and solving
the problems faced by our
religious schools, in 1942
Adele Mondry wrote about
the pressing need to train
our youth about their her-
itage; she revealed that only
30 percent of children were
receiving a Jewish educa-
tion.
Some young people who
were demonstrating the
strength of their Jewish
training were leading Ju
nior Congregation services
at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek. Charles Kramer act-
ed as cantor; Robert Kasle
was ba'al koreh; Miriam
Bernstein summarized the
Torah portion; Esther Sklar
reviewed the Haftorah.
The adult community was
not without its representa-
tive "names in the news."
Phil Cantor was elected na-
tional committeeman at the
convention of Jewish War
Veterans; Aaron Rosenberg,
Sam Weisman and Julius
Wagman represented De-
troit at a banquet in New
York honoring Albert Ein-
stein; Gamma Kappa Chi
fraternity at Wayne Uni-
versity honored Harry We-
berman and Paul Miller.
Did you know that in
1942: one 25-cent war
stamp could buy a dozen
bandages for the Army; a
box of Wheaties, breakfast
of champions, could be got-
ten for 10 cents; a better-
health-through-diet book
was available for only 98
cents; and Sam's Cut Rate
offered a chance to purchase
a baby carriage for $13.98.
Those were the days!
Bar mitzvahs set for this
weekend, 50 years ago,
were those for Marshall
Glen Fisher and Martin
Jack Bolhower. Just start-
ing out their lives were
Leslie Yale Gutterman,
Jean Shirley Heller, Susan
Phyllis Rubin and Richard
David. Baron. ❑
From Five Cigars To Israel:
Lou Berry's 90th Is Marked
LESLEY PEARL S A WR ER
S
standing outside the
David Stott Building
in Detroit 50 years
ago, Louis Berry was
approached by a man com-
plimenting the smell of his
cigar.
The man asked Mr. Berry
how many cigars he smoked
each day. Mr. Berry replied,
"Five." He asked how much
they cost. Sixty cents was
the answer. He asked how
many years Mr. Berry had
been smoking. Twenty-five.
"With all the money you
have spent on cigars you
could own this building by
now," the man said.
"I do own it," Mr. Berry
replied.
On his recent 90th birth-
day, Technion-Israel In-
stitute of Technology
celebrated Mr. Berry and his
achievements. He wasn't
always a wealthy name
about town though.
Mr. Berry arrived in
Detroit from Liverpool,
England, in 1922. He came
to the United States to work
and to bring his mother and
five siblings to the new land.
A relative introduced him to
peddling linens — a job
which did not please Mr.
Berry.
He pounded the pavement
of the wholesale district in-
stead — landing a job sweep-
ing floors, opening boxes and
moving inventory for $7 a
week. Within six months he
was promoted to the position
of salesman. Mr. Berry was
paid strictly on commission,
working 12 hours a day,
seven days a week.
Mr. Berry was top
salesman for the company
two years later.
He weathered the Depres-
sion, saved some money and
brought his family over from
England. In the midst of the
Depression he invested in a
coal company. It was,
perhaps, not his wisest busi-
ness deal as the apartment
houses which bought the
coal never paid their bills on
time.
"I figured if they (the
apartment building owners)
could make money that way,
so could I," Mr. Berry said.
With $500 he entered the
realm of real estate, buying
an apartment building off
12th Street in Detroit. Prop-
Lou Berry:
Another milestone.
erty was cheap due to the
numerous foreclosures at the
time.
The Palmetto was Mr.
Berry's next endeavor.
Driving down John R to
Jefferson every day, Mr.
Berry envisioned the
building of this edifice at
John R and Hancock. It was
to be the largest apart-
ment/hotel in Michigan with
560 rooms. But the project
went bankrupt.
Mr. Berry leased the
building in April of 1939
with a $1,000 deposit on his
$10,000 investment. His
payments were $1,500 a
month. By June of that year
he could not afford the
payments. By August, he
defaulted the lease.
"I thought that was the
end of Lou Berry's career in
real estate," Mr. Berry said.
World War II brought new
business to Detroit, produc-
ing weapons and equipment.
Realizing the potential, Mr.
Berry contacted the receiver
of his lease and convinced
him to allow Mr. Berry to
rent the apartments of the
Palmetto. He turned over all
the rental receipts until the
lease was up to date.
Mr. Berry lowered rents
and by the spring of 1940,
the Palmetto boasted 100
percent occupancy and
$10,000 a month in profits.
In 1942, only 40 years old,
Mr. Berry was a millionaire.
"At least on paper," he
laughed.
Mr. Berry's success allow-
ed him to buy other estab- '-
lishments. He had a special
interest in the Fisk Building
in New York in 1944.
Forty-five stories high and
almost 1 million square feet, (
the Fisk Building cost $5 1/2
million — a steal, Mr. Berry
said. And one of the tenants
there would change his life. I
In 1947 the United Jewish
Appeal occupied an office in
Mr. Berry's Fisk Building. It
was aiming to raise $100
million that year — a stretch
from the $25 million it had
collected previously.
UJA maintained a small
space in the Fisk Building
and required more for their rj
lofty efforts. The building
was at 100 percent occupan-
cy. UJA called the Jewish
Federation in Detroit hoping
to locate the owner of the
building.
Mr. Berry met with mem- r
hers of UJA on his next
to New York. He was sympa- cz!
thetic to the causes and
problems, but was more
dazzled by the people in-
volved.
Space was soon found in
the Fisk Building to expand
UJA chose 20
leaders throughout
the country to
visit displaced
persons camps in
Europe and travel
on to Palestine.
UJA's operation with Mr. c
Berry's help.
Soon after, UJA chose 20
leaders throughout the
country to visit displaced
persons camps in Europe
and travel on to Palestine.
Mr. Berry was invited.
"I was very doubtful of the
possibility of the State of
Israel in view of the fact it
was surrounded by opposing
Arab nations," Mr. Berry
said. "What chance could it
have?"
Mr. Berry joined the trip, c>
jumping at the opportunity
to see if he would be throw-
ing away his hard-earned
dollars in supporting Israel.
He called his friend Joseph
Holtzman to see if he would