William Davidson Part II with Dorothy Gerson
Interviewed by Sharon Alterman
August 2, 2006
William Davidson Institute
William Davidson Part II with Dorothy Gerson
Video 00:30:04
William Davidson Part II with Dorothy Gerson
Audio 00:30:04
Abstract
In this second interview with William Davidson, he goes into more detail about his grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He talks about a recently found letter from Henrietta Szold to his mother about her time at Davidson’s grandparents’ home where she stayed for a few days and where the formation of the Detroit chapter of Hadassah was formed.
Davidson further discusses his family’s trip to Palestine to meet family members in the village his grandparents were from. He mentions that John Aaron was able to go back after World War II but there were no Jewish people left in the village.
He mentions his own first trip to Israel in 1949 with his cousin, Jonathan Orr as well as his businesses there over the years. He says that his grandparents came to Detroit in about 1908 or 1909. Later, his grandfather sent his Aunt Mary to law school just to make sure that his other son did the same.
At this point in the interview, Davidson’s sister Dorothy Gerson speaks more in depth about her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. She discusses how important family closeness was growing up.
History of Narrator
A native of Detroit, Michigan, William Davidson received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1947 and his Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University in 1949. He was admitted to practice before the Michigan Supreme Court in 1949.
William Davidson was Chairman, President and CEO of Guardian Industries Corp., located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Started in1932, the company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and fabricators of flat glass products for the commercial and residential construction industries, a leading supplier of vehicle glass and exterior plastic and metal trim systems to the global automotive industry, one of the largest manufacturers of fiberglass insulation, and the largest distributor of building materials (excluding forest products) in North America.
Davidson became the managing partner of the Detroit Pistons Basketball Club in 1974 and was the majority owner of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which included The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Ice Palace (Tampa, FL), and the Tampa Bay Lightning (National Hockey League), the Detroit Shock (Women’s National Basketball Association) and DTE Music Theater, a world-class entertainment venue, as well as management of Meadow Brook Theatre.
Davidson made substantial endowments to education, cultural and community programs including the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Business School, the Davidson Institute of Science Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Karmanos Cancer Institute and Children’s Research Center of Michigan, the Davidson Archaeological Park in Jerusalem, Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to serving as President of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, he also co-created Federation’s Hermelin-Davidson Center for Congregational Excellence.
Davidson died on March 13, 2009 at the age of 86.
Transcript
Important Subjects
Important Names
Credit as: © Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives. William Davidson Oral History Interview, August 2, 2006.