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Michael Dederer
(1905-1995) built the Seattle Fur Exchange into one of the foremost fur
auctions in the country and an international presence in the industry.
Born in Canada, Dederer moved with his family to Montana in 1914.
Working at a department store while still in high school, Dederer had
developed an interest in the fur trade. Shortly after moving to Seattle
in 1922, he joined the newly formed Seattle Fur Exchange. Starting out
as a janitor, Dederer worked his way up the organizational ladder and
was named treasurer and general manager in 1936, and president in 1939.
Dederer retired as Fur Exchange president in 1975, but remained a
director until 1986.
Dederer also devoted his energies to public service. He served as
president of the Board of Regents of Washington State University and
Pacific Lutheran University, and as president of the Seattle Chamber of
Commerce, Community Chest and United Good Neighbor Fund (now United
Way), YMCA, Rotary Club of Seattle, Seattle Foundation, Seattle
Goodwill, and the Rainier Club. He also served on the boards of the
Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pacific Science Center Foundation, Washington
Children’s Home Society, Boy Scouts of America, and World Affairs
Council. The Seattle-King County Association of Realtors named Michael
Dederer First Citizen of 1960 for his civic service and leadership.
This interview is part of the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection.
Don Schmechel, who was a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation
board, began this project with Seattle Public Library in 1984, with the
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) brought on board as a partner in
early 1985. Schmechel himself worked to raise the funding for the
project, and volunteered his time to manage the project, and to conduct
interviews along with a crew of volunteers. Originally titled the
Videotaping Historic Figures (VHF) Program, the project interviewed 91
people, and MOHAI holds the interviews for 32 of these individuals.The
interviews conducted with these Seattle civic, business and cultural
leaders in 1985 are valuable first-hand accounts that provide insight
into developments taking place in the mid-twentieth century.
Digitization of this videotape material has been made possible in part
by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human
endeavor.
Part 1
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_1
Part 2
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_2
Part 3
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_3
Part 4
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_4
Part 5
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_5
Part 6
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_6
Part 7
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_7
Part 8
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_8
Part 9
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_9
Part 10
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_10
Part 11
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_11
Part 12
https://archive.org/details/1985.135.7_12 |
