Ferndale 1918-1943 25 Years of Progress

Ferndale, 1918-1943 : 25 years of progress.
[Ferndale, Mich.] : Harvey S. Jacobs, c1943.
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WMVALE
1918 - im
25 1/eaU
Bantky Historical
Library
Un!versitv of Michigan
TO the young men and women who
have left Ferndale to serve their coun-
try in two World Wars; to those loyal citi-
zens at home, daily making unselfish sacri-
fices to win this war, and to the American
tradition of free enterprise upon which the
nation grew and upon which it must build
for the future, this book is dedicated.
Copyright, 1 Ml

HarAay S. Jocobt, PM!ihmr: C. L. Thomptou, Edrror; OamAo Farmar Thomptou, Metopropoor
EVEN in new America the celebration of the twenty-
fifth anniversary of the founding of a City is unique.
Most Cities and Towns have enjoyed a much longer his-
tory. But OUR CITY of Ferndale is NEW. In twenty-five
short years we have grown to full stature.
On the following pages of this book, the reader will
discover the story of this startling and decidedly amazing
growth. Every loyal citizen will thrill with pride at this
narrative of our unparalleled development. Keep this
book, not only as a portrayal of what has happened but,
also, as a challenge to keep our civic pride at a high level
for the years to come.
Finally, let us on this twenty-fifth anniversary dedi-
cate ourselves again to the American way of life. Let us
here and now resolve that the City of Ferndale, twenty-
five years hence, shall continue to be a monument to the
vitality and inherent courage and faith of the American
principles of life and government.
&U W. 3*
S^ûUtjg^

MAYOR OF FERNDALE
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
February 12, 1943
My dear Mayor Forsythe:
The President asks me to extend
hearty greetings to the community of Ferndale
on the happy occasion of the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the founding of the city. He
hopes that the celebration will be an out-
standing success and that all of the fine
things accomplished during the last quarter
of a century will be the forerunner of greater
achievements in the years that lie ahead.
Very sincerely yours,
SgitZf^3j33
STEPHEN EARLY
Secretary to the President
Honorable Carl W. Forsythe,
Mayor of Ferndale,

Ferndale, Michigan.
INDEX
Ferndale Progress
Ferndale At War
HistoryA Quarter Century
Ferndale Area Map
Ethyl Corporation
DeVlieg Machine Company
11
16
17
19
Turner Gauge Grinding Company 21
Civilian Defense 24
Reichhold Chemicals Inc. 27
The Forging and Casting Corp. 29
Ferndale Churches 32
Approved Manufacturing Company 33
A A Gage Company 35
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines, Inc. 36
Schools of Ferndale 37
Syncro Devices, Inc. 41

Wabeek State Bank 43
Triangle Engineering Company 44
C. M. Smillie Company 45
Fastcut Tool Company 47
Ardmore Hospital 48
Kraetke Tool Company, Inc. 49
Police Department 51
N. A. Wood worth Company 53
Siegel & Caldwell Pattern Works 56
Standard Plumbing Supply Co. 56
Earl A. Thompson Manufacturing Co. 57
Eclipse Counterbore Company 59
Fire Department 61
Steel & Tubes Division 63
Ferndale Theatre 64
Hodges Auto Sales, Inc. 65
Associated Tool and Gear Engineering 66
Pratt-Wright Machine Products Co. 66
Library 67
Ferndale Buildings 69
Nu-Engineering Company, Inc. 70
Views of Old Ferndale 71
Easley Engineering & Manufacturing
Company 72
Bousfield and Company 72
Punch Press Repair Corporation 73
The Wesson Company 75
Tilt-A-Door Corporation 76
Excelda Manufacturing Company 77
Kaltz Fuel & Supply, Inc. 78
DeRay Tool Company 79
Ferndale Gage Company 79
Bennett Woodcraft 79
Studios of Stuart A. Friedrich 80
Suprex Gage Company" 80
Homes in Ferndale 81
Cunningham Drug Stores, Inc. 82
Central Appliance & Furniture Co. 82
Grand Rapids Outfitting Company 82
State Packing House Market 83
Fern-Wood Chevrolet, Inc. 83
Rienacker Industries 84
Consumers Power Company 84
Board of Commerce 85
McCaul Lumber and Coal Co. 87
S & C Coffee Car 87
Neisner Bros. Inc. 88
FERNDALE
1918
1943*
Population
1,600
31,000
Number of Families
396
6,574
Assessed Valuation
$2,500,000
$18,368,850
Tax Rate
$10.00
$18.80
Bonded Debt
$1,535,152
Area, Square Miles
2.6
3.9
Annual Budget
$25,000

$343,082
Number of Schools
School Membership
319
5,532
School Valuation
$140,000
$2,678,000
Churches
16
Stores and Businesses
317
Manufacturing Plants
69
Clubs and Organizations
75
Building Permits, Homes
989t
Home Building Cost
$4,193,078t
Building Permits, Factories
26t
Factory Building Cost
$5l6,475t
Total Miles of Streets
50.9
77.6
Miles of Paved Streets
1.6
44.5
Miles of Sewers
75.8
Miles of Water Mains
73.6
Miles of Gas Mains
65
Telephones in Service
FERNDALE AT WAR
1918
im
FERNDALE1918a quiet little vil-
lage of 1,600 residents who had left
Detroit to build their own homes "in the
country."
That was Ferndale 25 years ago, the
second year for the United States in
World War I.
There were no factories here manufac-
turing war materials but there was plenty
of activity. There were Liberty Loan
drives and other fund-raising campaigns,
the women and school children of the
village were knitting for the men in
service, making bandages, hospital gar-
ments and other articles.
From the village, 85
men had marched off to
war, five of whom did not
return.
Though removed from

the rush and roar of
feverish war production,
Ferndale residents
yielded to no others in
patriotic spirit. It was the
first community in the
country to reach its quota
in the Patriotic Fund
Drive by the Red Cross.
For this achievement
Oakland County awarded
the village an American
flag, which was presented
with appropriate cere-
monies on June 8, 1918.
A roll of houor for rha FarpuaU mau aup
Momau iu tarA!a, at 9 Mila apu Woop-
Marp, arapap qy tha Farpuala V.F.W,
FERNDALE 1943 a grim, deter-
mined city of more than 31,000 peo-
ple, whose 'round-the-clock labors bow
to none for patriotic accomplishments.
That is Ferndale today, the second
year for the United States in World
War II.
There are many factories producing
materials for war. In most of them the
race of machines never ebbs. Twenty-
four hours a day, seven days a week, the
weapons needed for war flow as thou-
sands of men and women keep the ma-
chines rolling at a relentless pace.
From the city about 1,000 men and
women have donned the
uniform in military serv-
ice. Many women who
knitted and sewed 25
years ago are doing the
same thing again while
their sons and daughters
are either in the service,
in the war factories, or
busy in the many home
front services.
Once again Ferndale
heads the patriotism pa-
rade in home front efforts.
Farupala't Traatnry AMarp qauaur. Wayor Carl W. Fortytha, autar, apu Frauk N. Isbay, right, >hairmau
for Wih!gau War Bopu talat, holp!ug flag as Thomat H. Ealapu, Farupala >ha!rmau, look ou.
1918
Ferndale was one of the first to go
"over the top" in the Liberty Loan drive
that year. Pioneers recall the circum-
stances with many a chuckle. The village
justice of the peace, Frank Hooley, was
chairman of the loan drive and a good
campaigner.
One day the late U. S. Senator, James
Couzens, then mayor-elect of Detroit,
was charged with speeding on Wood-
ward Avenue. Justice Hooley found him
guilty. The "fine" was that the late sena-
tor subscribe, in Ferndale, to $2,000 in
Liberty Bonds. Mr. Couzens complied
and this subscription, coupled with those
of the villagers, put Ferndale over the
top.
This has been a brief summary of part
of Ferndale's place in the war of 25 years
ago, a pleasant little community which

backed up the men away at war with one
of the most patriotic demonstrations of
that war period.
im
in the United States now proudly flies
here.
The well-known "Bull's-eye" flag,
awarded to those firms which have 90
percent of their employees subscribing,
by payroll deduction, to at least 10 per-
cent of their income in War Bonds, flies
from a greater percentage of Ferndale
flagstaff.s than any other city. For this
a national honor!
Ferndale's activity doesn't end there,
however, for school students have been
large purchasers of war stamps, hun-
dreds of volunteers have donated blood
to the Red Cross, scrap and salvage col-
lections have been the envy of neighbor-
ing communities, the civilian defense or-
ganization is one of the best, and every
patriotic job finds ready volunteers to
win this war.
10
HISTORY
A qny Snpuay aftarnoou at WooMparp apu !Nau Wila Roap E0 yaar ago.
FERNDALE city of home-loving,
home-owning Americans a vital
artery feeding Detroit, the heart of the
world's war arsenal, this year is observ-
ing its twenty-fifth anniversary.
Though it was 25 years ago that Fern-
dale was incorporated as a village, the
real history of the city dates back more
than a century ago.
It was in 1821 that Jabez White built
a tavern along what the Indian guides
called Saginaw Trail. That was Ferndale,
though it had no name. It was known,
though, to those hardy settlers who ven-
tured from Detroit to establish home-
steads in Oakland County. These settle-
ments later became known as Pontiac,
Birmingham and Bloomfield.
Long before these travelers reached
their destinations they sought food and
lodging at White's tavern. The Saginaw

Trail was a winding track leading
through the swamps and forests to a
ridge at the county line. The trail turned
west from about Seven Mile Road and
was the only route north, as the troops
at the fort in Detroit had not yet com-
pleted building roads leading from De-
troit to the outposts.
As the weary travelers neared the
county line they saw the welcome candle
burning in White's tavern window as a
cheery beacon guiding them to a night's
lodging.
11
Lookiug uorth ou WooMparp to Blaiau lop.
Thus the first building in Ferndale was
this tavern, located on Eight Mile Road,
west of Pinecrest, 122 years ago. Today
on the same site is the world's greatest
fuel research laboratories.
Ferndale has traveled a long distance
since then. For generation after genera-
tion it was farming country, with great
areas of almost swampland and sand,
overgrown with ferns, from which it
took its name. There are several versions
as to how Ferndale acquired the name.
The most popular is that an electric com-
pany lineman stringing some wires here,
was unable to learn the name of the
countryside to include in his report. In
looking around from atop his pole he
saw the sea of ferns and decided on
"Ferndale." There are some who will
dispute this, but many historians vouch
for its authenticity.
Shortly after the turn of the century,

farmers began settling here, endeavoring
to make the reluctant sandy and swamp-
like soil yield crops. Quickly the years
slipped by. As Detroiters came out this
way looking for homesites the farmers
subdivided their acreage and sold lots
"out in the country."
In 1917 a group of citizens decided it
was time that Ferndale
break away from Royal
Oak Township and have
its own government. A
charter commission was
elected in December,
1917, with Elbert J.
Chase as chairman. Four
public meetings were
held so residents could at-
tend and have a voice in
the type of government
and the framing of the
charter. It was finally de-
cided, but only after some exciting gath-
erings.
April 1, 1918, was set as the date for
election of village officers of the new
village, and Lovell G. Turnbull became
first president. Thus this book commem-
orates, almost to the day, the birth of the
Village of Ferndale.
Ferndale was quiet and peaceful in
those days. Life moved easily and leis-
urely, for World War I had not yet
brought this country into hostilities.
About 400 families lived here, having
ventured from the bustling industrial life
Wat !Nua Wil Roap Mith tra>kt for "piuky" liua.
12
Lookiug from uorthMt oruar of WooMparp, Cautral thool iu qa>kgronpu.
of Detroit. They were hardy souls, too,
for there was only well water, there was
no gas for cooking, all streets were sand
and dirt, except the narrow Woodward
strip; less than half the homes had elec-
tric lights and there were but four tele-
phones in the entire village.
There were but two churches and
three schools. Local shopping was limited
to six stores, mail came on the R.F.D.
route from Highland Park and the boxes
were strung at Woodward Avenue and
Nine Mile Road. There was one fireman
and one policeman.
Residents of that era recall many amus-
ing incidents. There was one about the
only "public" telephone, located in the
office of Justice Hooley, who had his own
"pay station" arrangement. He kept the
top drawer of his desk locked and in the
desk top had cut a slot through which
coins could be dropped.

Shopping presented a problem, and it
wasn't a traffic problem. It was burrs,
sand and dust. Many donned old cloth-
ing before venturing across the fields to
the Woodward shopping section. Many
women walked to Royal Oak stores, re-
turning pushing a loaded perambulator.
Once incorporated, Ferndale's first
commission embarked on
a program of public im-
provements after voting
to spend $25,000 in its
first year. The next two
years Ferndale increased
its population -to about
2,600 and the assessed
valuation of property
jumped from $2,500,000
to $8,350,000. The tax
rate leaped from $10.00
to $18.80, and the police
department rose from one
officer to five.
Though the village was growing,
transportation for residents employed in
Detroit was a problem, being restricted
to the interurban line connecting De-
troit and Pontiac. On summer days com-
muters south of Nine Mile Road could
stand on their porches and see the De-
troit-bound car rounding the turn into
Woodward Avenue from Royal Oak and
saunter leisurely to the stop.
But in winter it was different. There
was a shelter at Nine Mile Road and
Woodward and one day the "community,
commuter" bonfire idea was born. There-
after, each morning a commuter would
leave home carrying a stick or two of
wood as his contribution to the bonfire
while the group huddled in the shelter
awaiting the interurban.
During this period of the early '20s
agitation was begun for a wider street.
First Village President Turnbull is cred-
ited with having conceived the idea, for at
that time there was only an 18-foot strip
Part of moparu WooMpard apu !Nau Wila Roap hoppiug >autar,
bounced out of the ruts into the stately
trees.
As a result of this campaign, Governor
Groesbeck's interest was aroused and he
pushed the idea. There was dancing in
the streets here the night of August 4,
1924, to celebrate the pouring of the first
concrete at Woodward and Eight Mile
Road. The governor was here, too, and
it was a great event as Ferndale brought
about the "World's Greatest Highway."
It was the first concrete-paved super
highway in the United States.
During the period of building and
completing Wider Woodward, Ferndale
passed through a period of phenomenal
growth. Real estate prices boomed from
$20 a front foot to $200, hundreds of
new homes were erected, and Ferndale
in 1927 became a city, having outgrown
its swaddling village clothes. At this time
two annexations were completed. The

population exceeded 14,000, there were
142 retail stores, nine schools, seven
churches, 28 men on the police force and
13 in the fire department. The assessed
valuation of property was nearly twice
the 1920 figure of $8,350,000, the bonded
debt had been increased tenfold in seven
years, and the tax rate was $19.70, or
more than it was in 1942.
Through the development period of
the 1920s, when Ferndale was riding the
crest, it was due for a blow. The Ford
Motor Company moved from Highland
Park to River Rouge, and many hun-
dreds of families disposed of their homes
to follow the company. A general policy
of readjustment set in, but new families,
engaged in more diversified lines of busi-
ness, acquired the properties of the de-
parting families. When the nation was
14
Traff! jam at WooMparp apu N!ua
M!la, look!ug tonth.
WooMparp apu 9-M!la !" 19l9 Mhila
npar-h!ghway wot qa!"g qn!lt.
struck by the business depression of the
early 1930s, Ferndale went through a
period of realignment, inflated realty
values were written down, assessments
were made on a scientific basis, and the
city began building on a firm foundation
under the leadership of far-sighted and
aggressive city management.
Since that time the story of Ferndale
shows a steady and stable growth. As the
nation grew nearer to war, Ferndale at-
tracted many light manufacturing indus-
tries, and today there are more than
three-score. The city's population exceeds
31,000 and there are about 7,000 homes,
of which 75 percent are occupied by their
owners.
This, briefly, has been the story of
Ferndale, through 25 years and two wars,

a community of peace-loving Americans
going "all-out" every day to win this
war and secure a just peace the world
so eagerly desires.
15

9L
ETHYL
WHEN the half-dozen men charged
with Ethyl research duties were
housed in a converted garage in Yonkers,
N. Y., some years ago, Charles Ketter-
ing, god-father of the anti-knock idea,
said:
"Research is a state of mind."
It is a good remark to recall when you
visit the new Ethyl Corporation Labora-
tories on Eight Mile Road in Ferndale.
For the excellence of planning, the clean,
efficient design of the test rooms and
equipment might lead you to think that
this thoroughly-organized plant might
run itself.
The new buildings at Eight Mile Road,
Ferndale, and the apparatus installed in
them have been designed and constructed
because the demands and opportunities
for Ethyl research called for better tools
than were available before and because
the rewards for successful completion of

only a reasonable part of projected re-
search work promised to justify the cost
of building the more efficient workshop
required. The new laboratories opened
17
just in time to enlist. Nearing comple-
tion when the United States entered the
war, the 26-acre plant designed for re-
search in civilian transportation was of-
fered immediately to the government for
solution of the problems of military fuels
and engines.
All of the Ethyl Corporation's research
personnel and facilities, formerly located
in Detroit, are now in the laboratories
in Ferndale, with the five units of the
plant devoted to the Engineering, Chem-
ical, Aeronautical, Gasoline Testing and
Technical Service Departments.
Service facilities include an auditorium
and library; machine, carpenter and elec-
trical shops; forge and paint rooms; blue
print, photostat and photographic sec-
tions.
Single-cylinder engine research can be
conducted on 29 motors, most of which
are used for studies on deposits, wear of
parts, or other projects requiring long

operation. Two standard C F R engines
are located in individual rooms for stud-
ies requiring isolation. Knock ratings on
experimental fuels are made on engines
in another room. In two other rooms,
C F R engines are mounted so that they
may be connected either to induction
motors or to direct current dynamome-
ters. This arrangement allows them to
be run at either variable or constant
speed, as needed for special studies of
pre-ignition, combustion chamber de-
sign, ignition-timing, flame-propagation,
research on fuels and anti-knock com-
pounds.
The Dynamometer Section has 16
dynamometers with power absorption ca-
pacities ranging from 75 to 700 horse-
power as well as two chassis dynamome-
ters in temperature-controlled rooms.
Control panels of all these engines were
designed and assembled in the laboratory
shops, and incorporate improved provi-
sions for the precise manual and auto-
matic control of the variables of engine
operation. There is also equipment for
testing the resistance and minimum pri-
mary firing current of spark plugs, as
well as indicators for oil pressure, fuel,
and air consumption and air fuel ratio.
Control of throttle opening and ignition
timing is accomplished through hydraulic
devices operated from the panel board.
To adapt dynamometer test conditions
to variations of speed and load encoun-
tered in normal road operation, specially
designed equipment has been provided.
These speed-load control units may be
connected to any dynamometer so that
the speed and load of the engine will be
varied throughout the duration of a test
to reproduce the exact conditions experi-
enced in operating a truck or passenger
car over any given section of the test road
selected. The record of actual road con-
ditions experienced is recorded on a tape
by holes and in the control unit this tape
VeVLIEG
JbeVlief Machine 3omfxnuf,
win nmiijiuiti
FREE enterprise is an avenue of op-
portunity open to all, in the opinion
of C. B. DeVlieg, president and founder
of the DeVlieg Machine Company, one
of Ferndale's industries whose products
are shipped all over the world.
Free enterprise permits those with am-
bition and ability a freedom of action to
develop products, adds Mr. DeVlieg, at
the same time cautioning that freedom
of enterprise does not guarantee success.
"The road is open to those with a cre-
ative desire to do things," he says. "But
the road is hard. It not only requires a
certain amount of genius, but fortitude
and character. It is just like raising a
flower. First the seed is planted, then care-
fully tended and nursed along until the
first shoot pushes through the soil. Then
the stem grows, a bud appears and finally

it blossoms.
"It is the same with business and in-
dustry under our American way of life.
One just doesn't say: 'I am going to have
a factory,' and then proceed to have one.
It takes long years of hard work, experi-
ence, headaches and heartaches before
that individual has his factory. Often he
doesn't reach his goal. There are many
hazards and risks. The mortality rate is
19
high. Trade reports show that only 15
per cent of new businesses survive their
first year. It is only those with fortitude
and character, plus the essential ingredi-
ents of imagination, ambition and abil-
ity, who are successful.
C. B. DeVlieg
"Ferndale is fortunate in having been
selected as the business address of men
who, venturing up the avenue of freedom
of enterprise, have found success, but
only after having used their ambition and
ability to develop products and provide
opportunities for others to join them.
"I refer in particular to two of the
city's best examples of what freedom of
enterprise has made possible, N. A.
Woodworth and Earl A. Thompson,
whose genius and hard work have trans-
formed their dreams and ambitions into
realities.
"Freedom of enterprise did not guar-
antee them success when they chose the

line of work which appealed to them as
the one in which they would be most
likely to succeed. They are but two of
many Ferndale examples of what free-
dom of enterprise, freedom of action to
develop products without restraint and
interference, means to us here.
"The same is true of those employed
in our Ferndale industries. Freedom of
enterprise permits a man to decide in
what Ferndale industry he thinks he will
be most successful. He is free to choose
his employer, just as he is free to decide
if he wants to farm or enter any profes-
sion. There should be no restrictions upon
his decision.
"Ferndale industries, in providing resi-
dents of the city with an opportunity to
join them, have been led into becoming
something of public benefactors, though
they would be the last to admit it. Our
industries here have a responsibility to
the community today and recognize it.
"Just as they visioned and worked to
make possible the organizations they
have today, they are planning for the
post-war period. Our industries know
that returning soldiers and the workers
at present employed in the war indus-
tries must have peace-time jobs. They
know this must be done if industry and
the worker are to enjoy a free society.
No hurdles or barriers should be placed
in the avenue of free enterprise. It should
be kept clear to permit creators a free-
dom of action to carry on and develop
products and provide work.
"Our industrial leaders are aware that
civilian production must be stepped up
to keep pace with the disemployment of
war workers and demobilization of the
armed forces. They are now engaged in
practical planning, studying plant re-
conversion, changes in processes, product
development, sources of supply and mar-
keting facilities. The industries must
have the right answers when peace comes
TURNER
BOYHOOD and schoolday dreams
that some day they all would be in
business together have come true for the
Turner family of Ferndale.
Today the Turner brothers own and
operate Turner Gauge Grinding Com-
pany, one of the largest firms in its field
in this section. The majority of their em-
ployees reside in the Ferndale area.
In addition to their contribution to
the industrial growth of the city, the
Turner family also is active in Ferndale
community and civic life.
Though the Turner brothers, Robert
N., Charles R., Frank W., Cort B., and
William J., had planned and discussed
their future while still attending school,
it required years of preparation, study
and hard work before the day arrived
when they could launch their venture.
Their decision to attempt to establish
their own business is another demonstra-

tion of our democratic freedom of enter-
prise which permitted the Turner broth-
ers to select the business in which they
thought they could be the most success-
ful. They realized the risks and hazards
which confronted them. But they were
eager to take the step. Ferndale can be
thankful and proud that they were suc-
21
Robrt N. TnnMr
cessful, for the Turner organization has
been a tremendous asset to the city's in-
dustrial and civic life and its patriotic
activities.
The background of the Turner broth-
ers in the grinding business goes back 22
years when Robert Turner entered the
Ford Trade
School, not only
to learn his trade
but to earn a liv-
ing. From 1921,
when Robert en-
tered the school,
until 1935, when
the last brother
completed his
training and was
graduated, there
was a Turner brother at the school. They
are grateful for the opportunities af-
forded them by the school to prepare

themselves for the future.
While the boys were preparing for
their future business careers they talked
and planned for that day when they could
establish their own company. That day
dawned in April, 1939, when they
started "on their
own" at 430 W.
Eight Mile Road.
But there were
but four of the
brothers there to
open the busi-
ness so long in
the planning.
William J. had
joined the U. S.
Navy. On May 7,
1942, the family received word that
William was missing in action in the
Coral Sea battle. While the news was a
tremendous shock to the family it served
only to spur the brothers on to greater
Frauk W. Tnmai
production and intensified action in the
war effort.
The Eight Mile Road plant was small
as the Turners had but one machine and
all worked after they had completed a
day's work in another plant, when they
first started the grinding business. Three
months later they embarked upon pro-
duction of gauges. The business grew as
their products continued to gain wider
recognition in the trade and expansion
of its manufacturing facilities was neces-
sary. They ob-
tained a site at
2625 Hilton Rd.
and erected a
building. In a
short time an ad-
dition was need-
ed, and then an-
other. Today they
have a handsome
two - story brick
production after the war. "We like Fern-
dale as a place to work and a place to
live. We have a number of Lincoln High
School graduates employed and more
than half of our organization lives in the
Ferndale area.
We have an 'in-
plant' training
program, super-
vised by the Fern-
dale Board of
Education, which
is helping our
workers improve
themselves, in-
creasing their
skill and their
earning capacity."
The Turner company has not confined
its productive efforts to producing equip-
ment needed for war. No company has
been a more enthusiastic supporter of the
many additional demands placed upon

everyone for all-out efforts. It was one of
the first to respond to the call by the Red
Cross for blood donors. Workers were
Cort I. Tnruar
given time off to contribute their blood.
Since the first call the Turner company
has responded twice more to the plea for
blood donations.
It is proud of its Bulls-eye flag, for
every one of its employees is subscribing
10 percent, or more, to the purchase of
war bonds. War activity has reached
into the Turner brothers' homes as well,
for their wives are all actively engaged
in volunteer Red
Cross work.
Though busy
day and night
with his com-
pany in war
work and active
in all efforts to
further the na-
tion's ever-in-
creasing demands
Robert Turner
still finds time to devote his attention to
Ferndale civic activities, serving as vice-
president of the Board of Commerce and
as a member of the Rotary Club.
Will!am r. Tnruar
FERNDALE CHURCHES
Ferndale has 16 churches within the city
limits. They are: Church of God, Church of Naza-
rene, Drayton Ave. Presbyterian Church, Fellow-
ship Baptist Church, Ferndale Church of Christ,
Ferndale Gospel Center, Ferndale Gospel Hall, Fern-
dale Evangelical Church, First Baptist Church, First
Church of Christ Scientist, First Methodist Church,
Free Methodist Church, St. James Catholic Church,
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Seventh Day Adven-
tists, Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church.
FERNDALE RECREATION
A year-around schedule of recreational activi-
ties is maintained in Ferndale under the direction
of David C. (Bud) Brown, city recreational chief.
There are six Softball diamonds, one large ball dia-
mi UAH PEFENSE
7<4e Jfome fyiont
IN measuring civilian defense activi-
ties, Ferndale, the nation's first
"Bull's Eye" city, yields to no municipal-
ity in enthusiasm and support of this vital
cog in the nation's war machine.
Nearly 2,000 men and women, or ap-
proximately eight percent of the entire
population of the city, are engaged in one
or more of the many branches of activity
that the civilian defense organization di-
rects.
The Ferndale group has been acknowl-
edged as one of the best-equipped, best
drilled and trained civilian defense units
in the entire state. The members have
been schooled, certified and graduated
from the many courses established by
the Michigan Council of Civilian De-
fense. Many of the courses require long
hours of instruction and study under the
supervision of registered Red Cross in-

structors and other specialists before the
trainee is properly trained and prepared
to cope with an emergency.
Under the guidance and direction of
its commander, Maurice F. Cole, named
to the post by Mayor Carl W. Forsythe,
co-ordinator, the Ferndale force has been
built into one of most outstanding and
effective civilian defense units in Michi-
gan. Commander Cole, in addition to
taking active charge of the local aggre-
gation of volunteer groups, also is co-
ordinator for the civilian defense pro-
24
x %, -*V^j
It J. &
4 35?
ill
BPf fP -^ rl
B1 Wr<
JB-3JI
1 H
- 1 MHI| D
Gronp of Farndale Homa Onarpt Whata Wamqarth!p Totalt E50
gram in Pleasant Ridge, Hazel Park, Oak
Park and Royal Oak Township.
There are many units comprising the
Ferndale protective organization, among
them auxiliary police, auxiliary firemen,
rescue squads, decontamination squads,
medical squad, hospital squad, messen-
gers, motor corps, stretcher bearers, air
raid wardens, fire watchers, nurses' aides,
and a demolition squad. Technical ad-
visers supervise blackouts and buildings,

public utility, road repair and mainte-
nance of roads.
The Ferndale group has established
five field hospitals, a base hospital has
been supplied with auxiliary fire-fight-
ing equipment, official helmets, stretch-
ers, and first-aid kits.
The spirit of co-operation and mutual
assistance reflected in the organization it-
self has gone far beyond the civilian de-
fense enthusiasts. They have organized
their neighbors in individual blocks and
nearby streets, and have developed a sin-
cere spirit of co-operation.
As a result of the local civilian defense
council's activities a new community
spirit has been engendered. It has helped
to generate a feeling of friendliness and
neighborliness. The usual reluctance of
neighbors to mingle, so evident among
residents of large cities, has been dis-
solved through the "get-together and co-
operate" philosophy created by these
volunteers for protection in emergencies,
who, without design, have been ambas-
sadors of a new and firm community
spirit.
In the years to come this will be recog-
nized as a major milestone in Ferndale's
march to greatness.
25

-ra4rOflbpa*U MUI|lp
UaI|IAp Ui |aUad |Or|UO3
-trouop poo|q <Or3 pag jo
1uor ah uioj aAinxa putnpu
RCI
(leickltoM GUemuxuU, 9hjz.
THE nerve center of a world-wide
producing organization, Reichhold
Chemicals, Inc., is located in Ferndale.
Under the direction of its founder,
Henry Reichhold, who also is chairman
of the board of directors, Reichhold
Chemicals located in Ferndale in 1925
and went into production. Its original
plant was small and almost secluded on
Woodward Heights Boulevard, but now
the factory spreads over 13 acres in one
of Ferndale's most desirable industrial
sites. Today that original building
wouldn't fill a corner of the company's
modern research laboratories.
Expansion and growth of the Reich-
hold organization were steady. Today it
operates modern subsidiary plants in
Elizabeth, N. J., Brooklyn, N. Y., Tus-
caloosa, Ala., San Francisco, Calif., Liver-
pool, England, and Sydney, Australia.

Company representatives and warehouses
distribute Reichhold products in every
principal city in the Western Hemi-
sphere.
Synthetic resins were greatly responsi-
ble for Reich hold's rapid development,
and today the company is the largest pro-
ducer of surface coating resins in the
world. The average person cannot ap-
27
predate the important part the industry
has played in everyday life in the past
and how important the business is des-
tined to be in the future. Few realize how
vital resin production is to the war effort.
Millions of pounds of synthetic resins
were consumed annually before the war,
and today the government is placing
additional demands on the suppliers of
this product.
Synthetic resins are most widely used
by the paint and varnish industry.
Twenty years ago, many manufacturers
scoffed at the possibility of ever finding
it advantageous to use synthetics exten-
sively.
Some considered with absurdity the
idea that an "imitation" could ever hope
to successfully compete with, or more
than partially replace, the inexhaustible
supply of natural resin yielded by na-
ture. That was when it took a week to
paint an automobile, days to dry a coat

of wall paint, and floor varnish was much
too temperamental.
Today, thanks to the development of
synthetics, better all-around surface coat-
ings are available to the public for every
conceivable purpose.
The government's race for armament
presented additional problems to the
resin manufacturer that never could have
been considered, much less developed, if
it were not for his knowledge of syn-
thetics. Protective coatings had to be pro-
duced, and in a hurry, for the Army and
Navy with which they could combat ele-
ments never before considered in the
realm of man.
Imagine the elasticity of a paint that
today is used on our fighting planes from
sub-zero temperatures of the stratosphere
to the blazing heat of the tropics. Imag-
ine the size of the paint shop which would
be required to paint the bombers flowing
from Willow Run if synthetics were not
employed to produce a better finish that
thoroughly dries in a few minutes.
Planes, tanks, guns, boats, trucks, every-
thing that requires a protective coating
in our Armed Forces, can be grateful to
synthetic resins.
Ferndale is proud of the role that
Reichhold Chemicals has played in the
manufacturing and developing of this
vital material.
Several of the raw materials used in
the manufacturing of resins are produced
in the Ferndale plant. There is a com-
plete glycerine distillery which produces
much of the glycerine used in resins. The
same distillery also produces dynamite
glycerine which, when formulated with
other materials, yields TNT.
An oil refinery for the purification of
vegetable fats and oils is located within
the walls of the Ferndale plant. Soya, co-
coanut and linseed oils are treated in this
unit before being formulated into resins.
On November 27, 1942, less than one
FCC
*7Ue %otof4Uf and Gadfauj, Go*fUtoaUo*i
A Snqipiary of Allaghauy Lnplnm Sual Corporallou
ii
in
^P^^llllll,
*m
ap*
--
Nitrl->att-irou >autrifngal atl!ug ma>hine-t
IONG a fixture in Ferndale, a pioneer

4 in fact, among the city's important
metal-working industries, the Forging
and Casting Corporation shipped its first
completed product from the original
plant on Jarvis Avenue in September,
1929.
Even in today's age of industrial mir-
acles, the speed with which this new en-
terprise was developed from an idea into
a substantial going concern would excite
wonder. Incorporated in June, 1929, by
Kenneth L. Clark, Thomas A. Moorman
and a small group of their forward-look-
ing business friends, construction of the
plant was started the following month.
Installation of equipment was com-
menced before the buildings were com-
pleted, and actual manufacturing opera-
tions were under way September 15.
From the beginning, direction of sales
of the company's various products has
been in the able hands of Kenneth L.
Clark, FCC president. Starting in the face
of the greatest financial depression in his-
tory with a few customers, chiefly auto-
mobile manufacturers, FCC has been in-
creasingly successful, until, long before
World War II began, its products were
a stand-by in a wide variety of industries
29
Part of FCC Plaut iu 1646
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
Canada to the Gulf.
Prominent among The Forging and
Casting Corporation's products are FCC
cast-to-shape air hardening and oil hard-
ening tool steels.
In making dies for the blanking out
and forming of metal parts, and in the
manufacture of cams, bushings, gauges
and the like, the old method was to start
with a solid block of tool steel and cut it
into the desired shape by machining and
grinding. This was an expensive opera-
tion, not only from the standpoint of
the machining cost, but also in waste of
cut-away material. By the FCC method,
molten steel is. poured
into a mold having the
shape of the finished
piece, and so closely ap-
proximately its finished
size, that no more than

an eighth-inch of steel has
to be machined or ground
from any surface.
Although the cast-to-
shape principle is not ex-
clusive with The Forging
and Casting Corporation,
this organization prob-
ably has the advantage of
the most varied experi-
ence in the field, the most
sustained research and
modern equipment.
It will be obvious to
the reader how FCC cast-
to-shape tool steel pro-
vides important savings
in time and material.
Another FCC operation,
the forging division is a
never-ending source of
wonder to the layman
and, for that matter, to the experienced
metal worker as well. Here, teams of
highly-skilled, powerful men, working
together in perfect co-ordination, shape
hot billets of high-speed and tool steel
under mighty steam hammers, some of
them capable of striking 5,000-pound
blows. Yet so delicately can these blows
be controlled that expert FCC hammer-
drivers have been known to demonstrate
their prowess by dropping a hammer to
the level of a watch resting on the anvil
without breaking the crystal. And so
skillful do the hammer crews become in
their teamwork that, by utilizing tricks
of the trade, such as rebound of the ham-
jffifi
Origiual Plaut iu 16E6
30
mer, they are able, jointly, to manhandle
billets weighing 2,000 pounds or more.
The forging of cutting-tool blanks,
such as milling cutters, dies and parts at
FCC, accomplishes more than mere shap-
ing of the billet. It is actually a kneading
process that compresses and rearranges
the grain of the steel so that the forged
piece will have the desired degree of
hardness or strength after heat treating.
FCC is noted throughout the steel in-
dustry for the excellence of its smooth-
hammered forgings.
And what about The Forging and
Casting Corporation's place in the war
production period?
When discussion of our national de-
fense program first started, Mr. Clark, a
World War I flier, recognized that The
Forging and Casting Corporation, with
its special manufacturing techniques and
products, was in an ideal position to
serve importantly in any plan of muni-

tions-building our government might
undertake. He lost no time in bringing
this fact to the attention of the proper
authorities. As a result, FCC products be-
gan almost immediately to be diverted
from peacetime manufacturing to war
production. For almost two years now,
every pound of FCC forgings, castings
and electrically-welded composite steel
has gone into the making of strategically-
important cutting tools, dies or parts for
the manufacture of planes, tanks, guns,
submarines, shells and other munitions.
Censorship and space limitations will
not permit discussion of certain new war-
time developments that have resulted
from FCC's constant research. Some of
these have brought about almost unbe-
lievable savings in time and materials.
But FCC's remarkable story would not
be complete without some mention of
W.lpiug Waka Spark. Fly
Nitri-cast-iron, the development of which
is a tribute to the foresightedness and
stick-to-it-ive-ness of FCC's management.
Some seven years ago the alloy, a
French discovery containing chromium,
aluminum, molybdenum and iron, and
capable through special treatment of ac-
quiring a surface as hard as an emerald,
came to FCC's attention. The manage-
ment visualized great possibilities in its
use as liners for internal combustion en-
gines, pump cylinders, valve guides and
numerous other parts subjected to exces-
sive surface wear.
Farly experiments were discouraging.
Even in France, manufacturing tech-
niques had not been sufficiently devel-
oped to assure consistent results. Thou-
ands of dollars were spent by FCC in re-
search, tests and experiments. Still re-
sults were unsatisfactory. Time and
again, after unaccountable failures, FCC
was at the point of calling a halt to fur-
ther experiments. But something, Mr.
Clark says, always urged them to try

Draytou A*a. Pruqytar!au
Fint M.ihop.lt
32
APPROVED
CaMra Stndy of Variety of Mahiua S>raM Produ>t!
FERNDALE has won wide recognition
as being the home of one of the out-
standing leaders in the screw machine
products industry.
With more than 25 years of training
and experience in the business, from sell-
ing to manufacturing, Asa W. Bonner
has climbed the ladder in his chosen field
and won for himself, and indirectly his
home city, considerable renown.
Today he is serving as a national di-
rector of the Screw Machine Products
Association and is also the president of
the Michigan Division of the national
body. Ten years ago Mr. Bonner traveled
all over the country for the former NRA
as chief of field operations of the screw
machine products industry. He directed
compliance with the codes governing the
industry and made them work.
Although in constant touch with the

screw machine products industry, Mr.
Bonner has branched into other activi-
ties. He is founder of Approved Manu-
facturing Company here in Ferndale, as
well as Approved Engineering, and is
vice-president and general manager of
M. B. Fetcher Company of Detroit, one
of the oldest manufacturers of screw ma-
chine products in this section.
Mr. Bonner's career in the industry
dates back to 1921 when he joined the
33
Fetcher firm, and for three years he filled
successfully many positions with the com-
pany. He left there to go with C. M. Mil-
ler Company of Wayne, where he stayed
until 1927. Then Mr. Bonner went with
McLaren Screw Products Company,
where he remained until 1930 when he
Asa W. Bonner
joined the Detroit Screw Works. In 1932
he returned to the McLaren Company
and remained until 1934.
Mr. Bonner's activities and success in
the industry in the meantime had already
drawn attention to his ability. NRA was
in need of an executive of proven ability
and in its search for a qualified and re-
spected figure, asked Mr. Bonner to fill
the vital and difficult post. Mr. Bonner
accepted and made the codes of the in-
dustry work.
The following year Mr. Bonner made
his home in Ferndale and in 1937 he
established his own manufacturing busi-

ness in Detroit. In June, 1939, Mr. Bon-
ner, who was "sold" on Ferndale by the
present mayor, Carl W. Forsythe, and
Jay Gibbs, city manager, moved his busi-
ness here.
The Ferndale companies, both the
manufacturing division and the engineer-
ing unit, were highly successful and Mr.
Bonner, who was gaining prominence as
a leading figure in the screw machine
products industry, won the plaudits not
only of his business associates but his
Ferndale friends and neighbors as well.
Long before Pearl Harbor all of the
industries with which Mr. Bonner is con-
nected began making preparations for
conversion. When the demands were
made, all three civilian operations were
put aside for the duration but they will
be taken off the shelves and put into ac-
tion when conditions permit.
Mr. Bonner's counsel and advice are
constantly sought when problems con-
front the screw machine products indus-
try. He has been forced to devote much
time conferring with the industry chief-
tains and leading figures, aiding the wel-
fare of the industry and its part in the
war program.
Mr. Bonner's entire time is devoted to
his several interests and with his execu-
tives and aides, operations continue at a
maximum efficiency. His four brothers,
Thomas R., Rayburn, Ben V. and Harry
W., are all partners in the Approved
Manufacturing Company, located in
Ferndale at 650 Troy Avenue, East. The
Approved Engineering division opera-
tions are handled with the assistance of
a partner, F. M. Erbecker, and William
L. Smelt. The M. B. Fetcher Company,
where Mr. Bonner first went to work 22
years ago, is headed by M. B. Fetcher,
president, and C. R. Fetcher as treasurer.
Mr. Bonner is vice-president and general
manager.
While this account of a prominent
AA GAGE COMPAM
The most modern equipment and fa-
cilities for the production of gage blocks
to be found anywhere in the world are
right here in Ferndale.
AA Gage Company, now busy filling
the needs of companies producing for
war at its new plant at 350 Fair Avenue,
is building and planning for the future
here.
The company has installed the most
modern constant temperating rooms of
any plant in the country, say its execu-
tives. These rooms are electrically heated
and cooled, with thermostats holding the
temperature within a half-degree range
at all times. The rooms are soundproofed,
the air is filtered, there is no dust nor vi-
bration. The walls are in-
sulated and sealed and
the doors are of double
thickness. All these pre-
cautions are necessary to

insure accuracy in check-
ing and finishing gage
blocks.
These gage blocks,
which are in use in Eng-
land and Russia and all
over this country, are
made to a tolerance of a
millionth of an inch. In fact, one of the
company founders, Bernard Schabot, says
they can split a millionth if the customer
orders it.
AA Gage is one of two or three com-
panies in the world with a machine for
hard chrome plating gage blocks, adding
years to a block's length of service. This
is a new development by the firm in the
gage block industry. Another partner,
Arvid V. Lundgren, has created a new
checking comparator, a device for check-
ing the accuracy of gage blocks. Other
partners in the firm are Oliver Laszlo and
George Kuriluk. Another new product
is a pano-precision marking machine,
which places identification marks on
blocks and all types of gages.
AA Gage looks forward to a long and
successful future in Ferndale.
APPROVED
(Cout!uued from
imagination, ambition and ability to suc-
ceed. Thirteen long years of study and
night school after working through the
day, serving his apprenticeship as a ma-
chine operator in a Detroit factory, are
samples of the barriers he hurdled along
the road.
Mr. Bonner is frankly appreciative of
page 34)
those who befriended him and who had
confidence in him, giving him the oppor-
tunity to display his enterprise and ini-
tiative.
That is why Ferndale is proud to have
the distinction of being the home of Mr.
Bonner, "Ace" to his friends and an
"Ace" in the industry.
GREYHOUND
Wodaru Comfortaql Coahes SarAa Farpuala
FROM sluggish, truck-like buses to the
sleek, comfortable coaches now op-
erating, is the transition in motorbus
travel Ferndale folk have experienced in
a brief 10-year period.
In 1933, only 63 trips were made
daily to Detroit, and the service was pro-
vided by vehicles which would be archaic
by today's standards. Buses today make
194 trips daily to the Motor City, and
bus patrons are able to return home at
a time to suit their convenience. The
same number of trips are made to Royal
Oak, a division point, where buses are
routed to Clawson, Birmingham and
Pontiac.
Ferndale, now on the main route of
Greyhound Lines, the world's largest bus
system, knows, too, the development of
highway transportation by motorbus.
The "Morning Star" and "Evening

Star," the first
buses, were owned
by the Star Motor
Coach Line, later
absorbed by Peo-
ples Motor Coach
Co., which, in turn,
became the prop-
erty of Eastern
Michigan Motor-
buses.
Th. Olp "Moruiug Star"
Two years ago the Eastern Michigan
company became a unit of Greyhound
Lines and interurban buses operate as
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines, Inc., while
the new suburban buses bear the Grey-
hound Suburban insignia.
Manferd Burleigh, of Clarkston, a na-
tive of Michigan, is president and gen-
eral manager, and P. L. Radcliffe, of De-
troit, is general traffic manager of Great
Lakes Greyhound Lines, Inc.
36
SCHOOLS
a/ Qe*daL
WHILE Ferndale this year is observ-
ing its 25 th anniversary, the his-
tory of its schools actually dates back to
the 1880s and beyond, when a school-
house was erected at what now is Pine-
crest and Maplehurst Avenues.
In every sense a rural school system in
the 1918 era, when Ferndale was being
pioneered and settled, the city's school
system has long since discarded its swad-
dling clothes to emerge as a full-blown
metropolitan educational organization.
The Ferndale Board of Education
through the last quarter-century has
operated with vision and foresight, de-
veloping a long-range program of pro-
viding educational facilities for its future
citizens.
In 1918, when Ferndale was incorpo-
rated as a village, there were but three
schools here with a total enrollment of

319 students. Eighteen of them were high
school students who were sent elsewhere
and their tuition paid as there was no
high school at the time. During that year
the school authorities purchased about
three acres at West Nine Mile Road and
Livernois Avenue as a high school site.
A temporary building was erected.
This structure, though officially the high
37
school, might also be described as the
first city hall. The minutes of the school
board show that on July 27, 1918, the
village commission asked permission to
hold meetings there.
Edgar F. aown
As the village population continued to
swell, residents of the fast-expanding
northeast section asked for a school in
that area. In 1919 the school board voted
to spend $15,000 for a school in the
northeast section, which became the
Harding School. The board also set aside
$100,000 for the construction of the Lin-
coln High School in that year.
Perhaps the most graphic example of
the growth of the city's educational sys-
tem can be obtained from a report of the
graduation exercises of the high school in
June, 1919, which were held in the Bap-
tist Chapel. William Paul, then village
treasurer, presented to the high school
graduating "class"Miss Catherine Ren-

tona diploma. Miss Renton then be-
came the first and only member of the
Class of '19. Since then, 3,535 students
have received diplomas from Lincoln
High School.
In the same year John Andrews re-
signed as superintendent of schools and
was succeeded by William E. Harris. For
the next six years Ferndale grew rapidly.
The population soared from approxi-
mately 2,500 to more than 14,000 as the
migration of Detroit families soared to
unexpected heights. School membership
blossomed from 600 students to more
than 2,900. It was necessary to erect three
more schools to fill the demands made
upon the school authorities for addi-
tional facilities.
In 1925, the present school superin-
tendent, Edgar F. Down, was persuaded
to relinquish his post as principal of
Francis E. Willard School since 1912, and
assume the post as school head here. Mr.
Down had heard quite a bit about Fern-
dale years before from Lovell G. Turn-
bull, first village president, who was in
the butter and egg business and included
among his customers Mr. Down.
In addition to his school duties in
Highland Park, Mr. Down served as
mayor of the city from 1920 to 1924.
This year he is observing his forty-third
year as an educator.
From 1925 to 1927, when Ferndale
blossomed into full stature as a city, the
valuation of its school properties rose
from $906,000 to $1,877,000, under the
direction of Mr. Down and the school
board. When the widening of Eight Mile
Road got under way in 1927, the Ridge-
wood School building and a portion of
the land was sold to the state for $63,000.
This sum was used to erect the Taft
School.
Two years later a gymnasium and a
16-unit junior high school addition was
made to the Coolidge School and a six-
W!lou
Cool!pga
was recognized, and from 1925 to 1930
the total was raised from one to six.
The school system was not exempt
from the many problems which beset the
business world between 1932 and 1940,
but the school board, due to some bond
refunding and some additional funds,
was able to build the present high school
gymnasium and remodel the building.
The gymnasium has been extremely pop-
ular with Ferndale residents and, though
it was not built as an auditorium, it can
accommodate an audience of more than
2,000 persons.
The Ferndale school district extends
beyond the city's limits as a result of three
annexations. The first took place in 1920
and included an area bounded by Ten

39
Wath!ugtou
Graut
Mile Road, Wyoming Avenue, Nine Mile
Road and Scotia Road, with the excep-
tion of 75 acres. A few years later a north-
east area was absorbed into the system.
The final annexation was in 1942 when
a triangular area bounded by Eight Mile
Road, the Grand Trunk Railroad and
Hilton Road was taken into the district.
Throughout the years the residents of
Ferndale have been fortunate in having
at the head of their school system indi-
viduals capable of operating the schools
at the peak of efficiency. The present
board is composed of the following:
President, Dr. William E. Jahsman; sec-
retary, Mrs. Elizabeth Beasley; treasurer,
Dr. M. L. Richards; Dr. W. Ray Smittle;
P. T. Sawyer, and Cyril Meng.
ST. JAMES SCHOOL
KEEPING in step with the growth
of Ferndale, St. James Parochial

School, under the able leadership of the
Rev. Father James E. O'Brien, has grown
and expanded through the years since it
was first established 20 years ago.
The school opened with an enrollment
of about 350 students and, as it grew in
stature, additional grades were added
and classrooms increased. In 1925 a sec-
ond addition was finished and a complete
school plant was in operation. Five years
later, high school grades were added.
Some idea of the growth of the school
can be had by comparing the first high
school graduating class of eight with the
85 graduates in 1941. As the school in-
creased in size the teaching force was ex-
panded to the point where 26 instructors
are now required. School enrollment now
is 650 in the grade school and 275 high
school students.
40
SYNCRO
Holpiug Syu>ro' "BnII'-ay." flog ora, lft to right: Hoqort D. Apuroaa, Liant. Com. Harry 0. K!pka, WayU A.
Apuraa*, Liant, (jg) Woyuarp R. Apuraaa apu Gaorga E. LaMit.
THE name of Ferndale has been
spread around the world by Syncro
Devices, Inc., whose products long have
been favorites of home workshop hobby-
ists and model airplane fans.
Today the company is engaged in pro-
ducing many essential parts for Army
and Navy planes, guns, tanks and sub-
marines as well as machine tools.
When the victory and peace are won,
Syncro once more will resume production
of jigsaws and other products which
have won for it far-flung fame. Though
engaged in war production these days,
syncro, like the scores of Ferndale in-
dustries now working at top speed to
produce the materials of war, is making
plans for the day when it may resume
production for civilian markets.
While Syncro jigsaws and other prod-

ucts are known throughout this country,
its foreign business has proved one of
the company's greatest markets among
hobbyists and home workshop devotees.
England, Australia and South America
always have been Syncro fans, but its
largest volume of foreign business has
come from Johannesburg, South Africa,
41
where jigsaws, before the war, were most
popular.
Syncro Devices was established in De-
troit in 1932, but has been located in
Ferndale since the fall of 1940. The pres-
ent firm is the consolidation of two com-
panies, now united here in the company's
modern, attractive plant at 3265 Ber-
muda Avenue.
Syncro Devices is another example of
the institution of free enterprise which
permits all Americans to enter that field
of activity which they may select. The
three Andreae brothers, descended from
a long line of manufacturers, in 1938
saw in the growing home workshop and
hobby industry a field which attracted
their particular talents. Accordingly they
acquired an interest in Syncro Devices,
then owned by Clifford Rogers.
The brothers, Hobart D., Wayne A.
and Maynard R., by adding model air-
plane motors, hobby items and games to

the firm's products, increased its produc-
tion from a seasonal business to a year-
round operation.
Two years later, in October, 1940, the
Andreae brothers organized Welco Pre-
cision Products of Detroit with George
E. Lewis, formerly with P. R. Mallory
Co. and Commerce Pattern Foundry &
Machine Co. The two companies were
operated by the Andreae brothers. In the
fall of that year Syncro Devices purchased
the Ferndale property, erected a modern
one-story building and moved here. In
July, 1941, an addition was erected and
the Welco company moved here.
On January 1, 1942, the two compa-
nies merged as Syncro Devices, Inc., with
Hobart Andreae as president, Wayne An-
dreae as treasurer and George Lewis as
vice-president. The third brother, May-
nard Andreae, is on leave of absence as
a lieutenant (jg) in the U. S. Navy.
Syncro Devices has taken a prominent
position in Ferndale's industrial life. It
is looking to the day when it can return
to the production of jigsaws and other
hobby items as well as machine tools, to
which its operations have been converted.
The company employs a high percentage
of Ferndale residents.
When the war ends, the name of Fern-
dale once more will be carried 'round the
globe by Syncro's famed products.
42
WABEEK
WaUek State Rank
THE Ferndale office of the Wabeek
State Bank of Detroit was opened
December 1, 1934, in response to a peti-
tion signed by Ferndale business men and
residents of this community to the Wa-
beek Bank of Birmingham.
This occurred a year after the tempo-
rary closing of all banks throughout the
nation. Ferndale at the time was without
the services of a local bank.
The building at 141 West Nine Mile
Road, which houses the Ferndale office,
was purchased by Wa-
beek at that time and
when the bank opened
there were five employ-
ees. The Ferndale office
has had a steady growth
since that time, accord-
ing to George B. Judson,
president of Wabeek, and

it was necessary to en-
large the quarters in Feb-
ruary, 1942.
This expansion of the
quarters, due to increased
business, doubled the size of the lobby
and increased the tellers' cages from five
to 12, the actual enlargement consisting
of a 36-foot-deep extension of the build-
ing at the rear. Other additions included a
new vault.
There are now 17 employees in this of-
fice, headed by Louis N. Williams as
manager. Mr. Williams took the place of
Charles D. White, who was manager
from 1938 until early in 1942, when he
joined the armed forces.
The main banking office of Wabeek is
in the Fisher building, while other offices
in Detroit are in the Ford building and
at 7443 West McNichols. The Birming-
ham office is in the Wabeek building in
Birmingham.
FCC
(Coatiaued
before our national defense program
started, success came at last. And what
success!
Now, Nitri-cast-iron, centrifugally
cast, is on a 24-hour-a-day schedule at
FCC and every piece of it is going into
strategically-important parts that can't
be described here for obvious reasons.
from page 31)
But this product, made in America only
by The Forging and Casting Corporation
this exclusive product of Ferndaleis
doing a most important job for the armed
forces of the United Nations in every
part of the globe. Ferndale is proud to be
known as the home of The Forging and
Casting Corporation.
43
TRIAHGLE
A FRIENDSHIP born in Flint when
they were associated with A. C.
Spark Plug Division of General Motors
Corporation ripened into a successful
Ferndale business enterprise with the
formation of Triangle Engineering Com-
pany by E. P. Saunders and George L.
Atherholt, Sr.
The company was established here in
September, 1940, locating in the Medical
Building. In July, 1941, increased vol-
ume of business necessitated building a
modern, one-story stone, brick and glass
building at 400 East Nine Mile Road.
Both Mr. Saunders and Mr. Atherholt
have had many years of experience in
tool engineering, the latter having spent
about 30 years in the business, 20 years
with General Motors in various divisions.
Mr. Saunders was with General Electric
before going to Flint in 1923 to join Gen-
eral Motors.

The company has been active in the
designing and processing of tools for the
automotive industry's conversion into the
armament program, serving plants man-
ufacturing machine guns, gun turrets,
aircraft armament, tanks and aircraft.
Designing of special tools for war pro-
ducers has been another activity of Tri-
angle. Though now engaged in war pro-
duction activities the company is also en-
gaged in post-war planning so that it will
be ready to carry on its tool engineering
operations in Ferndale after the war and
peace are won.
44
SMILLIE
Q. Af. Smillie Ga.
SIXTY-THREE years ago, C. M. Smil-
lie, St., a precision toolmaker, ar-
rived in Detroit from his native Montreal.
He went to work as superintendent for
a Detroit manufacturer.
Ten years later, in 1890, Mr. Smillie
decided to start his own tool manufac-
turing business, becoming the first tool
shop in Detroit.
Today, after 53 years, the name of
Smillie is symbolic of quality and crafts-
manship in the industry, known through-
out the world where precision tools and
parts are used.
Today the firm of C. M. Smillie Com-
pany is a Ferndale institution. The
founder of the business, 83 years of age,
still is active in management of the com-
pany's affairs. He visits the plant at 1100
Woodward Heights Boulevard regularly,
where his son, C. M. Smillie, Jr., man-

ages the business. Executives and work-
ers alike look forward to the visits of
the founder of the firm, for they know
his advice and suggestions will help solve
any problems confronting them.
When the elder Mr. Smillie first
reached Detroit he went to work for a
Detroit manufacturer. He had pride in
his work and had set a goal for himself
45
to make the finest product he could
and some day start his own business. He
knew that freedom of enterprise permit-
ted him to choose his own business. He
also knew that it did not guarantee he
would succeed.
In 1890, Mr. Smillie started his own
tool-making shop at 130 West Larned
C. M. Smillie, Sr.
Street. He manufactured special tools,
taps and die heads for the lubricator in-
dustry. The business and organization
grew and in 1900 larger quarters at 520
East Larned Street were obtained.
In the meantime his son was preparing
to enter the tool-making business. Like
his father, who learned his trade as a
youth in Montreal, the younger Smillie
in 1914 began serving his apprenticeship
in Detroit tool rooms by working after
school, Saturdays and during summer
vacations.
His career was interrupted in 1917

when he joined the Army as a Balloon
Corps Observer, serving 15 months over-
seas. After his discharge he returned to
school and work. After three years at
the University of Michigan he transferred
to the University of Detroit, where he
won his B.M.E. degree in 1923.
He started his industrial career by tak-
ing a position at Ternstedt Manufactur-
ing Company as methods engineer. In
1926 he transferred to become superin-
tendent of manufacture of instruments
for AC Spark Plug in Flint. Having had
21 years' training in modern production
operations, which emphasized the grow-
ing need of precision work, he was pre-
pared to relieve his father of some of his
duties. In 1935 he became sales manager
and gradually the elder Mr. Smillie re-
linquished more of the active operation
of the business to his son. Today he is
active manager.
The Smillie Company had grown
through the years until further expansion
was necessary and father and son sought
a new location for the business. They
chose Ferndale because of more ideal
working conditions, light and fresh air
and Ferndale was close to the labor and
material supply.
In 1942, the company moved into its
new plant, which covers over 22,000
square feet of floor space and is com-
pletely equipped with modern precision
machinery, set up according to the latest
standards of working efficiency and
health.
The company does its own tool engi-
neering of parts under rigid standards of
inspection and has won considerable in-
dustrial fame for the inauguration of the
Smillie Precision Award. The Smillie
Company was the first of its kind to award
its employees a citation in the form of a
company pin for meritorious war pro-
duction.
The Smillie plant also flies the Treas-
FASTCUT
Qadud loot C.
THOUGH engaged today in "around-
the-clock" war production, Fastcut
Tool Company eagerly awaits the day
when peace-time operations can be re-
sumed.
The company, whose products have
won for it nation-wide fame, is one of
the younger members of Ferndale's ever-
broadening industrial community, but
one which has attained high ranking for
its progressiveness.
Fastcut Tool Company transferred its
operations from Detroit to Ferndale in
March, 1942, moving into a new brick
building at 2525 Hilton Road. Six
months later, in September, it was nec-
essary for the company to erect an addi-
tion to the original structure. Fastcut re-
cently acquired an additional building
adjoining its present plant.
On the drawing boards today are plans

for still a larger building which the com-
pany needs, not only for its present war
production activities, but which it will
require for its post-war business, which
is expected will reach substantial heights.
Fastcut Tool manufactures a line of
combined drills, countersinks and keyset
cutters, which are in heavy demand to-
day, both from plants engaged in produc-
47
ing the arms of war, and from jobbers
and distributors all over the country.
The company was organized originally
in Detroit by Harry Purdy and Philip
Ash, a partnership, doing business as
Fastcut Tool Company. They foresaw the
ever-increasing demand for tools and
realized that the scarcity would seriously
hamper the war effort. Both Mr. Purdy
and Mr. Ash have had 17 years' experi-
ence in the tool manufacturing industry.
Fully aware that the American way of
life, which guarantees freedom of enter-
prise, but does not insure success and
that the number who succeed is limited,
they embarked upon their manufacturing
program.
"We chose the line of activity in which
we thought we would be most likely to
succeed and one in which we felt we
would be making a valuable contribu-
tion to 'the war effort," says Mr. Purdy.
"That is the true meaning of freedom of

enterprise in a democracy."
The new company's products met with
instant success and in a short time the
need for expansion arose. The company
looked for a new site, and after consider-
ing many possible locations, selected
Ferndale. Purchase of the property and
erection of the building followed. The
entire organization followed the firm
here.
Discussing the company's operations,
Mr. Purdy says that additional facilities
are needed now, but it is unlikely that
Fastcut will be able to build another ad-
dition because of present conditions.
But when peace-time operations are
resumed, Fastcut will be among the first
to re-convert its production facilities to
fit the demands of civilian markets. Plans
have been prepared, not only for larger
quarters, but for new and improved
products. The company is keeping abreast
of the changing conditions which will
greet resumption of post-war manufac-
turing, and is taking every step which
can be taken now, so it will be ready to
re-enter normal peace-time operations
without delay.
"Preparing now for the time when in-
dustry must be ready to take the lead for
the climb back to normal business activi-
ties is one way of maintaining the free-
dom of enterprise which democracy
guarantees us," say Mr. Purdy and Mr.
Ash.
AKD MORE HOSPITAL
Emergency industrial hospital service
now is a reality in Ferndale at the Ard-
more Hospital, a private institution at
814 West Nine Mile Road, directed by
Miss Eva E. Clemenshaw, superintendent.
This was brought about by the Board of
Commerce Industrial Division, which ob-
tained priorities for the construction of
an addition now equipped to handle
emergency cases from Ferndale industries.
KRAETKE
THE 3 5-year-old tradition of the
Kraetke name in the early life of the
automobile industry is being maintained
here in Ferndale by the son of one of the
men who founded the original company
in 1908.
The Kraetke Tool Company, Inc., of
380 Fair Avenue, manufacturers of
gauges, jigs, fixtures and special machin-
ery, today is producing equipment for
many firms which did business with the
original company nearly two-score years
ago.
That the same high quality of crafts-
manship has been maintained through
the years is demonstrated by the fact that
three of Kraetke's principal customers
Cadillac Motor Car Company, Ford Mo-
tor Company, and Hudson Motor Com-
panythrough peace and war, have
maintained continuous business relations
with Kraetke.

Thirty-five years ago, when the com-
pany was known as Kraetke Brothers,
Inc., having been organized in Detroit
by three brothers, Ernest M., William L.
and Richard, the first customer was Cad-
illac. Through the years up to World
49
War I the company supplied gauges, jigs,
fixtures and special machinery needed by
Cadillac to manufacture automobiles.
When Cadillac began producing war
materials in 1917-1918, Kraetke supplied
much of the vital equipment needed.
When hostilities ceased, the business re-
lationship was resumed for civilian pro-
duction. Again in this war the company
is turning out the equipment needed by
Cadillac and other producers of war ma-
terial, but the company is looking to the
day when again it can build the machin-
ery needed to turn out products for auto-
mobiles and other civilian needs.
The present company started opera-
tions in the quarters used by its prede-
cessor on East Grand Boulevard, Detroit.
The original firm began business on Jef-
ferson Avenue.
In March, 1940, the remaining brother,
William, decided to retire and dispose of
the business. Ernest F. Kraetke, son of

Ernest M. Kraetke, one of the founders,
had followed his father into the business
and was secretary of the company. The
original business had been made possible
by our American democracy which guar-
antees freedom of enterprise and eco-
nomic liberty, and the younger Kraetke
knew that our way of life permitted him
to choose his field of activity.
Accordingly, a new company was or-
ganized, which purchased some of the
original firm's equipment and business.
Ernest K. became president and treasurer
of the present company. Paul Blicharz,
who was with the old Kraetke firm, is
vice president, and Miss Jean Reddie is
secretary. A number of the older em-
ployees are stockholders.
Thus the established name of Kraetke
in the industry was maintained and is
being carried on. The new organization's
business grew and, as the demand for its
products broadened, it became necessary
to seek additional space.
Seeking more ideal conditions but still
anxious to locate near their customers,
the company selected Ferndale as their
new home. They acquired the present
site and erected a modern one-story brick
and concrete building, one of the most
attractive in the city. The company moved
here in June, 1942. Its entire organiza-
tion transferred with it, as many of them
had been with the firm for years. When
building conditions permit, it is expected
that a large number will make their
homes in Ferndale. Since the original
building was completed, an addition has
been erected, with the result that the floor
space is more than double that of the
Detroit location.
When the company was formed many
craftsmen who had been with Kraetke
more than 10 years became stockholders
in the new firm. That Kraetke employees
are veterans of many years' experience
is no better demonstrated than by Albert
POLICE
FERNDALE has grown up in the last
25 years and keeping pace with its
development has been the Ferndale po-
lice department.
A quarter-century ago, when Fern-
dale was a quiet little village of about
1,600 persons who had settled here to be
"out in the country," there was but one
police officerWilliam H. (Rube) Mills.
In those days, and until 1925, when
it was widened to become the world's
greatest highway, Woodward Avenue
was but a narrow single thoroughfare 18
feet wide.
Sunday traffic jams provided consid-
erable entertainment for the villagers,
though it must be said that Sunday driv-
ersdusters and gogglesdid not relish
their experience. Often it was two or
three hours before a Sunday touring
party could pass through the village.
Some of the more impatient often ven-

tured off the strip of pavement into a
ditch beside the road in an attempt to
pass the line of waiting cars. The results
usually were disastrous as tow cars in
those days were rare as sub-zero winter
mornings.
As the city's population mounted with
the influx of settlers from Detroit, the
51
police department increased to a force of
five men in 1920, when George W. Smith
became chief. Headquarters was located
on the same site as today but the build-
ing was scarcely larger than the lobby in
today's present quarters.
Chief Roy Butcher
In 1927, when Ferndale was incorpo-
rated as a city and Roy Reynolds became
police chief, a period of expansion fol-
lowed. The headquarters building was
enlarged and the force increased to 28
men. Its equipment was expanded from
the single all-purpose touring car and
two motorcycles to three autos and three
motorcycles.
During 1934, when radio-equipped
cars were being installed by all metro-
politan police departments, Ferndale was
among the leaders in taking part in the
development. The department, then
headed by Chief C. J. Barnett, equipped
four cars with one-way radios. Four

years later all cars had two-way radios
as standard equipment.
Further expansion of the department's
quarters took place in 1940 under Chief
Carl L. Dick, who had been named to
head the department five years pre-
viously. The force by that time had
grown to 24 officers.
While the size of the force was grow-
ing, its reputation for efficiency of its
members was receiving wide recognition.
Many .officers were studying and taking
training in all phases of crime preven-
tion and detection to keep abreast of the
new developments in police work, ac-
cording to Sergeant William E. Evily, de-
partment secretary and "historian" of
the force. Crimes of violence are rare
in Ferndale, the principal reason that the
members of the force pride themselves in
living up to the traditions of their ca-
reers and being real police officers.
In June, 1940, Chief Dick died and
Captain Roy Butcher was appointed head
of the department. Chief Butcher has
been a member of the Ferndale police
department 17 years, having begun his
career as patrolman in 1926. In 1927,
when Chief Reynolds was department
head, Butcher was promoted to sergeant.
Two years later he wore lieutenant's
stripes and in 1933 he was elevated to a
captaincy, the position he held until tak-
ing charge of the department.
The police roster today is made up of
28 officers and its equipment includes six
scout cars. Headquarters is located in
the handsome two-story brick building
on East Nine Mile Road.
52
WOODWORM
Small Sa>t!on of Lappiug Dapartmaut
ONE of Ferndale's outstanding in-
dustries and one of the most im-
portant sources of precision aircraft en-
gine parts in the entire country is the N.
A. Woodworth Company.
Less than three years old, the company
has been acclaimed publicly by the U. S.
Army Air Forces for its sound manage-
ment and production programs and has
received the Army-Navy "E" and Bull's
Eye Flags. When the first unit of the
plant was opened in May, 1940, there
were 25 employees, and while its em-
ployee personnel today is cloaked in
secrecy because of wartime restrictions,
it may be said that there are now many
thousands of men and women carrying
on a 24-hour-a-day and seven-days-a-
week schedule.
Mr. N. A. Woodworth, who founded
the Ex-Cell-O Corporation in 1919 and

built it into one of the principal precision
parts producers in the country, retired in
1937. However, he returned to the indus-
trial field two years later when he ac-
quired the Par Tool Company in Detroit.
By the end of 1939 Mr. Woodworth
realized the necessity for a rapid growth
of the aircraft industry to meet with
President Roosevelt's analysis of the na-
53
tion's requirements. He disposed of heavy
machine tool building equipment and
facilities, and in May, 1940, moved into
the first unit of the Ferndale plant.
In its rapid growth since then the com-
WnlripU Groo*iug Oparat!ou
pany has expanded three times, now
having four large adjoining buildings.
Three are devoted to the production of
precision aircraft engine parts and the
third to heat treating and plating. These
plants are models of design and contain
the latest equipment.
Among the more than 120 precision
war parts which the company makes are
knuckle pins, valve tappets, valve tappet
sockets and adjusting screws, and bearing
containers. These are said to require as
exacting machine work as that required
to make precision gages and measuring
instruments.
Since the Woodworth Company began
government production in March, 1940,

it has manufactured several million items,
the exact number of which is a mili-
tary secret. The company is able to attain
a very high production rate, Mr. Wood-
worth said, because it has a systematic
training program for unskilled labor
which in a minimum of time qualifies
men and women for skilled work, and
in addition its plant equipment can be
tooled for war work with a minimum
loss of time.
While the company has established
production records it has made a record
in another direction, that of "human con-
version," to use Mr. Woodworth's words.
He realized very early the conversion of
human ability into wartime production
was just as important as the conversion
of machinery.
Precision production is required on all
the aircraft parts produced in the plant,
yet no apprentice school is needed. Wood-
worth precision training is carried out
right on the job itself. Ninety percent of
the workers in the plants today started
green, and women are playing an increas-
ingly important part in the Woodworth
production picture. At present the ratio
is 65% women and will increase to
80%. Women are used as grinders, drill
press and other light machine operators.
The Woodworth program is based
about 75 percent on teaching supervis-
ory employees (group leaders) how prop-
erly to teach new employees the job. So
important is this phase of the work con-
sidered that in order to train leaders to
offset losses of men going into the armed
services, women candidates for group
leadership are given up to an eight-week
training course. Some qualify in less
time.
In this training period they must meet
production schedules on each machine in
their groupup to eight different type
machinesand they must be able to set
54
Safaty Aitort liftap from fa>at at girlt panta for lnu>h.
up each machine for a given job. New
employees are given an intelligence test
and an aptitude test, and an effort is made
to place them in work for which they are
suited. The number of quits because em-
ployees didn't like the work assigned
them was reduced 70 percent in four
months, by a continuing study of the rea-
sons for quits.
The training of leaders is elementary,
and starts with the premise that a person
remembers only seven percent of what he
hears, and 50 percent of what he sees.
It is stressed because many of the new
women employees have never worked in
a shop before.
Thus, describing a job and demonstrat-
ing it are considered not enough, and
continuing emphasis is placed on patient
follow-up by each group leader with each
new employee.
Not only is the Woodworth plan a

practical answer to the immediate prob-
lem of obtaining skilled labor, but it is a
sensible approach to the vital objective
of satisfactory and productive manage-
ment-labor relations.
55
SIEGEL & CALDWELL
TWO of the best-known craftsmen in
the pattern making industry, John
R. Siegel and Robert T. Caldwell, vet-
erans of many years' experience, are
among Ferndale's newer members in its
rapidly-expanding industrial develop-
ment.
The Siegel & Caldwell Pattern Works,
while new to this city, was established
more than a year ago in Hazel Park. The
partners, seeking a more convenient lo-
cation and anxious to erect their own
building, acquired a site with a frontage
of 140 feet at 1820 East Nine Mile Road.
There the company has
erected a one-story con-
crete block building oc-
cupying 2,400 square feet
of floor space.
Mr. Siegel and Mr.
Caldwell, both of whom
spent 14 years with Gen-

eral Motors pattern de-
partment as foremen, are
widely known in the pat-
tern-making business.
Though they are concen-
trating their output now in producing
wood patterns for war manufacturers,
they are looking toward the future here.
The firm includes among its customers
three of the General Motors divisions as
well as several Ferndale firms. They are
currently engaged in turning out patterns
for automotive and plane part manufac-
turers.
The firm reports that all of their em-
ployees are from the Ferndale area and
that every effort will be made to continue
to give employment preference to Fern-
dale residents both now and after the
war.
STANDARD PLUMBING
THOUGH its business address is
Ferndale, Standard Plumbing Sup-
ply Company is known to residents
throughout the greater Ferndale area
and neighboring communities as one of
the finest plumbing supply firms.
Ferndale was selected in June, 1940,
by Bernard and William Weinberg as
the location for a plumbing supply store
and they obtained a store at 22742 Wood-
ward Avenue. The company does a retail
business only.
The owners say that greater business
opportunities are offered in Ferndale
than in more congested areas and they
have found Ferndale a pleasant place in
which to operate. The company does all
its own estimating and installation work.
56
THOMPSON
FERNDALE residents well remember
when they first heard the phrase
"syncro-mesh."
But few Ferndale residents know that
the engineer who spent years developing
and perfecting syncro-mesh is one of
Ferndale's leading industrialists, employ-
ing a large force of war workers.
The engineer who contributed so much
to the improvement of motor cars
through syncro-mesh is Earl A. Thomp-
son, general manager of the Earl A.
Thompson Manufacturing Company,
1300 Hilton Road.
Automobile manufacturers hailed Mr.
Thompson's syncro-mesh development as
one of the outstanding refinements and
improvements in the industry. One man-
ufacturer introduced it as an innovation
in transmission perfection. Now all auto
manufacturers use it.
Mr. Thompson, whose reputation and

fame in the engineering field are nation-
wide, was born in Elgin, Oregon, July 1,
1891. After his graduation from Oregon
State College his first business experience
was with hydraulic engines. He designed,
built and installed hydraulic engines to
supply domestic water for some of the
arid districts of Oregon. Mr. Thompson
/.
57
still is interested in this development.
He left the west coast for Detroit in
September, 1923, and later became asso-
ciated with the Cadillac Motor Car Divi-
sion of General Motors Corporation.
During the period from 1925 to 1928,
Earl A. Thompson
although not employed by Cadillac, Mr.
Thompson spent much of his time at the
Cadillac plant developing syncro-mesh
transmission.
After perfecting syncro-mesh, Mr.
Thompson sold his transmission develop-
ment to General Motors. It was intro-
duced by Cadillac in 1928 and since has
been adopted by all automobile manu-
facturers.
Mr. Thompson officially became con-
nected with the Cadillac organization on
September 1, 1929, as engineer. He be-
came assistant chief engineer on August
1, 1930. From then until 1934, when Mr.
Thompson left Cadillac to join General

Motors Engineering Department, he was
extremely active in production, design
and development work.
He was with General Motors until May
1, 1940, when he resigned to enter busi-
ness for himself.
Mr. Thompson designed and built the
Thompson Automatic Profile Milling
Machine, which is used in many gun
plants throughout the country.
In Mr. Thompson's search for the ideal
location to establish his business he se-
lected Ferndale because of its conven-
ience and accessibility to the trade and
the labor supply. The Hilton Avenue site
covers five acres and has railroad facili-
ties which, it is expected, will be vised at
a later date. Ferndale's lower tax rate
and the convenience of having his plant
near his Bloomfield Hills home also were
factors contributing to Mr. Thompson's
decision to select Ferndale as his business
address.
The Ferndale factory was erected in
the fall of 1940, and had 10,000 square
feet of floor space. The company recently
completed an addition to the one-story
brick building, increasing its size to a
total qf 24,000 square feet.
A majority of the company's employees
are local residents. The company is build-
ing the Thompson milling machine",
which is used by manufacturers in the
production of arms, plane, tank and gun
parts.
When it is possible for the company
to return to civilian production, Mr.
Thompson will be ready to resume his
development and engineering work,
creating new products and providing
employment for Ferndale residents.
Mr. Thompson is married and has two
sons in military service.
58
ECLIPSE
IN 1913 a new-type tool was developed
by a pioneer Detroit merchant. This
tool was not only original in its design
from the standpoint of economy but the
mechanical features were such that it
made other similar purpose tools obso-
lete.
This same merchant, the late C. H.
Michell, the father of the president of the
company, having foresight and imagina-
tion, formed a small company. The first
field of operation was in the basement of
the founder's home. This was the start of
the Eclipse Counterbore Company.
The Eclipse Counterbore was so en-
thusiastically received that immediately
it was necessary to start a small shop,
which was located in a loft of a down-
town building in Detroit.
As is true of so many industries in
America, and especially in Detroit, there
was romance connected with Eclipse.

When the first World War made de-
mands on the cutting tool manufacturers
to do their part in making motors for
cars, trucks and planes, Eclipse was
available to serve her country, located in
a modern well-equipped plant. The orig-
inal plant is on St. Aubin Avenue, and
since it was built has been enlarged three
59
times, now covering more than a half a
city block.
The present World War did not find
Eclipse lacking. When called upon to
quadruple production, the company rose
to the occasion and built the Ferndale
plant, which was in production early in
1942.
The policy of the company has been
unique in that it has concentrated upon
the improvement and production of one
type of end-cutting tools to the exclusion
of other cutting tools. While this policy
may have restricted the scope of the busi-
ness, however, it undoubtedly redounded
to the advantage of users of Eclipse pro-
ductions, since by specializing on counter-
boring types of tools to the exclusion of
other kinds, improvements of far-reach-
ing importance have resulted.
In 1920 the "multi-diameter" cutter
was originated by Eclipse engineers. This
type of cutting tool concentrated on one

body, alternate blades of varying diame-
ters. In some respects it was similar to
the "step tool." In performance and
length of life it far surpassed the step
tool. The multi-diameter counterbore en-
abled users to machine several different
diametered holes or surfaces in one pass
and do it more accurately than it had
theretofore been done.
In 1922 the balanced-drive inverted
counterbore, or "back spotfacer," was
originated and developed within the
Eclipse organization. Previously, miscel-
laneous types of back spotfacers of vary-
ing degrees of success were manufac-
tured. The Eclipse company was the first
to standardize on a design and group of
popularly-required sizes. The Eclipse in-
verted counterbore, due to the location of
parallel driving lugs, permitted the
greatest regrinding life. Also the opposed
parallel lugs insured balance on the
driver as against misalignment with most
miscellaneous type back spotfacers.
The great expansion in production
of automobiles in the 1920s, with the
consequent greater strains on cutting
tools, brought out the need for a "super"
counterbore capable of withstanding
much greater stresses and feeds than the
earlier type counterbore. Eclipse engi-
neers developed the radial drive counter-
bore, which incorporated the "integral"
drive of construction of the driving and
driven parts. Integral construction was
not new but a new adaptation was found
in the Eclipse grouping of the driving
members closer to the actual cutting
edges, thereby reducing torque.
A main feature is the fact that all driv-
ing stresses are exerted exactly on a line
of center, resulting in a turning motion
rather than a possible wedging effect.
Radial drive Eclipse counterbores are do-
ing yoeman service in the present war
besides multi-diameter boring tools, pin
drive counterbores and balanced-drive
flRi
DURING the last 25 years the Fern-
dale Fire Department has grown
from a single little chemical engine,
known affectionately in those days of
1918 as the "potato bug," to its present
stature the best-equipped and most
modern fire-fighting organization in
Michigan.
Because of its excellently-geared, effi-
cient force of firemen, the City of Fern-
dale has won the most coveted honor
which can be conferred upon a munici-
pality in the fire insurance worldthe
lowest residential rate in the state.
Fire Chief Norman Pritchard, who has
grown up with the department, points
with pride to the accomplishments of his
organization. Long strides have been
made, both in equipment and personnel,
since that day when the "potato bug"
was stored in the garage of Lovell G.
Turnbull, first village president.

Today the department has a force of
25 men, three pumpers, one ladder truck,
one booster truck, an ambulance and a
chief's car. Department headquarters and
most of the equipment are housed in a
modern, two-story brick building on East
Nine Mile Road. In addition there is an-
other fire station. That the department
61
buys good equipment and keeps it in con-
dition is demonstrated by one of the
pumpers, purchased in 1920, and still in
excellent condition.
Since 1918, when the department was
Chief Norman Pritchard
manned by volunteers, through the years
when George W. Smith, police chief, also
was head of the fire department, new
equipment has been acquired and more
men added to the force as it kept abreast
of the steady growth of the village to a
lively American city.
Ferndale firemen have won a wide
reputation for efficiency and ability. They
have answered calls from many neigh-
boring communities and have won the
commendation and praise of all whom
they have been summoned to serve.
As the city grew and new home sites
and subdivisions were added, water hy-
drant and call box installations increased.
Today there are 335 hydrants and 62 call

boxes located at strategic points through-
out the city.
While this year marks the silver an-
niversary of Ferndale, it is Fire Chief
Pritchard's eighteenth with the depart-
ment. He became a fireman in 1925 and
was elevated to lieutenant six years later.
In 1928 he was promoted to captain and
on July 1, 1940, was elevated to chief of
the department, succeeding Donald D.
Post, who retired because of ill health
after serving as chief nine years.
While hundreds and hundreds of new
homes have sprung up in Ferndale the
last few years, the efficiency of the fire
department, and the stringent building
code requirements have assured home
owners that only the best of materials
will be approved. Good construction of
buildings, strictly supervised, and an ef-
ficient fire-fighting force go hand in hand
to make this community the finest place
to build and own a moderately-priced
home.
Through the 2 5-year existence of the
Ferndale fire department runs a,n un-
broken thread of romance and dramatic
achievement, with many chapters of
bravery facing death and saving homes.
It is a strong human interest story, one
of loyalty, devotion to duty and fine mo-
rale, so ably demonstrated in the past and
in the present by the fine personnel which
has brought to Ferndale the recognition
and acclaim of all the best and safest
place to build a home.
62
STEEL and TUBES
^biaUian o^ RefuUUic Steel Gotfi.
REPUBLIC Steel Corporation's Steel
and Tubes Division maintains one
of its most complete steel tube manufac-
turing and fabricating plants here in
Ferndale. Operating under the manage-
ment of T. F. Marlowe, superintendent,
the plant forms steel into Electrunite
Tubing, ranging
in size from a
half-inch to three
inches. It then
cuts, bends and
shapes the tubing
into parts for all
types of war ma-
terials.
The Ferndale
plant was built in
1928 and, as a
part of Steel and Tubes, became a sub-
sidiary of Republic Iron and Steel Com-

pany in that same year. When Republic
Steel Corporation was formed in 1930,
Steel and Tubes, including the Ferndale
plant, became first a subsidiary and then
a division of the large steel corporation.
Mr. Marlowe, who was one of the earliest
industrialists in Ferndale, became super-
intendent shortly after the plant was put
in operation.
The Electrunite Process by which the
company produces tubing takes flat rolled
steel, passes it through a series of rolls,
and cold forms it to tubular shape. As
T. F. Morlow.
the edges of the steel are brought to-
gether, they are electrically welded. The
fabricating sections of the plan cut and
bend tubes to special shapes. One of the
procedures takes straight tubes and forms
them into various types of tapered tubu-
lar parts.
In pre-war days, a large portion of the
plant's output was produced for the auto-
motive industry. Today similar tubes, as
well as a number of new types, are be-
ing produced in greater quantities than
ever before.
Bapuiug Straight Tnaq
63
,-"
f1
FERNDALE THEATRE
AFTER trouping over most of the
. world as producer, manager and
agent in the theatrical business, Thomas
J. Ealand, who operates the Ferndale
Theatre, selected Ferndale as the best
place to establish his own business.
That was in 1931, and the success of
the theatre under the guidance of this
widely-traveled showman proved that
Mr. Ealand made no mistake in choosing
Ferndale. Currently president of the
Board of Commerce and the man credited
with the city's brilliant record of war
bond purchases, he recently received a
citation for distinguished service from the
Treasury Department in Washington for
the sale of war bonds.
For a great many years Mr. Ealand
traveled the United States, Canada, Mex-
ico and Cuba with various theatrical pro-
ductions. He produced stock company

and vaudeville shows, managed Keith's
Union Square Theatre, New York, was
general manager of the Miles Circuit con-
trolling four Detroit theatres.
Mr. Ealand recalls one of the bright
spots of his career when for three years
he was a stock company producer in
Grand Rapids. His leading man was
Spencer Tracy, popular movie star, be-
fore the latter entered pictures. Leaving
there Mr. Ealand went to Columbus, O.,
and then came to Ferndale. '
% komos Calling
64
HODGES AUTO SALES
FERNDALE, on the world's greatest
highway, is the best location in the
world to sell automobiles, according to
one of Michigan's largest dealers, Hodges
Auto Sales, Inc., 23048 Woodward Ave.
The firm has
been in business
here since 1924
when Giles E.
Hodges opened an
auto sales agency
on Woodward
Avenue. Two
years later James
A. Mason joined
Mr. Hodges as
sales manager. He
was followed by Charles J. Mason and
Major Wauu
Frank J. Hill, at which time the present
company was formed.
The firm's business grew and expan-

sion followed. Today it occupies a front-
age of 390 feet on Woodward Avenue.
For several years it was the largest Dodge
dealer in Michigan, employing as many
as 70 persons during peak business.
The Hodges business is being operated
today by Charles Mason and Mr. Hill in
the absence of James Mason, who is a
major in the Army. Many employees are
on leaves of absence, serving in the armed
forces and working in war plants.
Major Mason, a former president of
the Ferndale Board of Commerce, also
is a past president of the Detroit Auto-
mobile Dealers Association. Before being
called for military duty he was active in
directing the sale of War Bonds and
Stamps here.
65
PRATT-WRIGHT MACHINE PRODUCTS CO.
WHILE Ferndale this year is observ-
ing its twenty-fifth anniversary,
Pratt-Wright Machine Products Com-
pany is marking its tenth anniversary.
It was in 1933 that Glenn E. Wright
organized and established the American
Screw Company on Burdette Avenue and
began manufacturing screw machine
products. Mr. Wright's plant adjoined
that of Fred J. Pratt, who was engaged
in developing and perfecting special
tools and grinding gauges.
Success marked Mr. Wright's opera-
tions, and as his business grew, addi-
tional manufacturing facilities were re-
quired. Mr. Pratt's building next door
was larger and offered the necessary
space Mr. Wright's com-
pany required. As they
were in allied lines, both
supplying the automotive
industry, the two compa-

nies were merged as the
Pratt-Wright Machine
Products Corporation in
1936, taking over the
present building at 1956
Burdette Avenue.
Mr. Pratt retired in
January, 1941, and the
business is being operated
under its present name
by Mr. Wright with his son, Robert L.
Wright, as general manager, and R. J.
McFarland as shop superintendent.
Having built the business by supply-
ing the many needs of the automotive in-
dustry, Robert Wright anticipates that
the company's products will register even
further gains, once peacetime operations
are resumed. Today its production facili-
ties are engaged 100 per cent on orders
from war material producers, many of
whom were pre-war customers and who
are expected to resume civilian produc-
tion relations with Pratt-Wright.
The operators of the business are resi-
dents of Ferndale and many of their em-
ployees make their home here.
ASSOCIATED TOOL
BECAUSE Ferndale provided the ideal
location for a manufacturing busi-
ness, M. F. Buckingham established Asso-
ciated Tool and Gear Engineering here
10 years ago.
Mr. Buckingham decided on Ferndale
because of the city's accessibility to the
companies with which he was doing busi-
ness in Detroit and Pontiac.
The opening of his plant not long after
the bank closings in 1933 was a boon to
other Ferndale manufacturers, as Mr.
Buckingham persuaded Detroit suppli-
ers, who in the past had refused to travel
beyond the Eight Mile Road, to make de-
liveries here.
Associated Tool has maintained a
steady force of employees in the produc-
tion of riveting anvils, machine parts,
UBRARy
FORMALLY opened in November,
1930, the Ferndale Public Library is
one of the finest in this section. It has
kept apace with the reading habits of
residents and its shelves are filled with
carefully-selected books.
When it was opened, under the direc-
tion of Miss Etta Vivian, the library had
about 2,000 volumes, plus 200 loaned by
the State Library. In spite of the limited
number of volumes, the 1,500 library
cards showed that circulation was 25,000.
In 1942, total circulation exceeded 92,-
000.
Housed in the old Central School after
the city offices were removed, the original
library was a decided contrast with the
building today. In 1940 the entire build-
ing was remodeled. The interior is pleas-
ing to the eye, quiet and efficiently ar-
ranged.
Especially decorated for juvenile tastes

is the children's room, where books for
children up to 16 are available. The li-
brary now has about 15,000 volumes and
8,000 membership cards in circulation.
There is a reference library and technical
section, which has become extremely pop-
ular the last year.
When the library first opened, Miss
Vivian had one assistant. The staff now
consists of seven. Residents of Pleasant
Ridge and part of Oak Park are served
by the Ferndale library.
67
ETHyt CORP.
(Coat!aued from page 18)
on the road. Blowing equipment is gov-
erned by the speed of the rolls so that air
velocity always equals rear wheel speed.
In the basement under the chassis dy-
namometer rooms are the rolls and dyna-
mometers, the refrigerating equipment,
the motor generator sets with which all
electric dynamometers are operated on
the Ward-Leonard principle, and the Cut*
ler-Hammer Unitrol equipment used for
starting the alternating current motors
for the motor generator sets. Because of
the heat generated in this room by the
motor generator sets, transformers and
other electrical equipment, thermostati-
cally-controlled ventilating fans are in-
stalled to maintain the temperature
within safe limits.
Throughout the laboratories, the main
ventilation system provides automati-
cally-controlled heating and ventilation

to all rooms used for engine testing, the
handling of chemicals and similar work.
A substantial amount of road testing
is based in Ferndale and Detroit, partly
because of the many tests that are con-
ducted in cooperation with automotive
and oil companies nearby. Most of the
west wing of the main buildings at Eight
Mile Road is used by the Road Test Sec-
tion. Complete equipment for servicing,
weighing, adjusting and repairing test
vehicles is installed in this garage.
Among these are rear-wheel motoring
rolls, which provide automatically-con-
trolled speeds of 2.5 and 5 miles per hour
for measurements of compression pres-
sure, and either forward or reverse speed
of one mile per hour for ignition timing.
Since large quantities of many types of
fuel are needed by the engine laborator-
ies and road test sections, a separate
building houses unique equipment for
blending and distributing fuels. Thirty-
four underground tanks, ranging in ca-
pacity from 500 to 10,000 gallons, store
the gasoline, the total storage capacity
being 75,000 gallons.
From each of the buried tanks two
lines lead to the fuel building. Anti-
knock fluids may be blended with gaso-
line in any underground tank and the
fuel may be transferred from any tank
to any other tank, or may be supplied to
any engine on test by means of automati-
cally-controlled pumps.
Throughout the fuel building safety
precautions have been taken. All electri-
cal connections lights, motors, tele-
phones, switches, ventilatorsare explo-
sion-proof.
The new laboratories represent the
second move since the establishment of
research facilities in the early days of the
corporation. Originally located in Yonk-
ers, N. Y., the laboratories were moved
later to Milwaukee Avenue in Detroit.
The quarters there became inadequate as

Boord of Enpat!ou
69
NU-ENGINEERING
ONE of Ferndale's newer industries,
busy seven days a week producing
plastic moulds for companies manufac-
turing equipment used by the Army air
force and the Navy, is Nu-Engineering
Company, of 310 Livernois Avenue.
Nu-Engineering began operations in
Ferndale a year ago under the leader-
ship of John Neuman and Ormond Mil-
ler, both of whom were aware of the pos-
sibilities offered by the plastic industry.
They obtained a location at 3262 Hil-
ton Road and surrounded themselves
with an organization of men skilled in
precision operations and mould produc-
tion. Nu-Engineering's business grew
and it was necessary for them to move
to the larger Livernois location.
Mr. Neuman and Mr. Miller are plan-
ning for the post-war day in the plastic
industry, which has opened for those
with vision and ability a new field.

DEVUEG MACHINE CO.
(Coat!uued from page 20)
"These things must be done if our
American way of life, if our democracy
is to be maintained. Ferndale industries
are aware of it and are preparing for that
day when they must meet the post-war
challenge.
"Our industrial leaders know that
democracy means the establishment of
the dignity of man. There isn't much dig-
nity left to a man who, through no fault
of his own, leans hopelessly on the end
of a shovel and lives on a miserable dole.
"Today democracy can safeguard the
dignity of man by assuring his economic
security, by providing him with work.
That is what industry can do with free-
dom of action in a democracy enjoying
free enterprise. Then we can view de-
mocracy as a guarantee of free enterprise
and economic liberty and an opportunity
for financial security."
TRANSPORTATION
Ferndale has many means of transportation. The
Detroit Street Railway operates street cars between
Ferndale and downtown Detroit. Great Lakes Grey-
hound Lines operates through buses to all points
in the state, stopping in Ferndale, and also has its
suburban line, which operates on a few minutes'
schedule. Grand Trunk Rapid Transit service is
operated between Ferndale and Detroit or Pontiac.
D.S.R. buses operate on Woodward Avenue, Eight
Mile Road, Nine Mile Road, Livernois Avenue,
Pinecrest Avenue, and Marshall Street, as well as
special wartime service to the industrial section.
aw ormiALS
Mayor, Carl W. Forsythe; Commissioners, Ar-
thur F. Bartlett, Arthur J. Capstraw, George F.
Kline and Harold B. Wilcox; City Manager, Jay F.
Gibbs; Clerk, T. H. O'Donoghue; Treasurer, W.
A. Laking; Attorney, Orph C. Holmes; Engineer,
Roy F. Goodspeed; Assessor, Roy F. Goodspeed;
Sealer of Weights and Measures, George W. Martin;
Health Officer, Dr. C. A. Mooney; Superintendent
of Department of Public Works, Charles Knechtel;
Building Inspector, Roy G. Tilden; Plumbing In-

CI4L "| laa 6u;noo| jopujaj )o ar|ua;>
S03
1H1 Nl
5DV9 AVM.
BASUy
ZaUey Zna. and Mfft. 3a,
IT isn't just the size nor the quantity
of the product that determines its
importance in war production.
If this were so, one Ferndale manufac-
turer, Easley Engineering and Manufac-
turing Company, would be far down the
ladder. Butexactly the opposite is true.
While many of Ferndale's industrials
are building big machines needed to
carry on the war, and turning them out
in huge quantities, Easley Engineering is
just as busy with items of atom-like size.
But they are just as important and vital
to the war production program.
One of the Easley products is measured
in hundredths of a gram, so delicate and
exacting are the requirements for per-
fection. They are special weights and are
used by aircraft manufacturers. The de-
gree of perfection demanded is demon-
strated by the fact that a tiny piece of

aluminum but a quarter-inch square and
a bare 20,000th of an inch in thickness,
would throw the weight from one end
of its limits clear out of range. Even
moisture from handling will affect them.
Creation of products with such exact-
ing specifications calls for craftsmen of
utmost skill and temperament, says May-
nard M. Easley, who owns and operates
the company. Patience and pride in per-
fection is another essential in building
these special weights. This is evident by
daily production figures of one man, who
in a full day's work can produce but six
of these tiny weights. The Easley com-
pany also manufactures special tools, all
of which have stringent specifications.
Before starting his present company he
was engaged in building thermostati-
cally-controlled temperature tanks for
photographic developing.
BOUSFIELD AND CO MP AMY
TWO precision machinery craftsmen,
J. Earl Hepler and Alfred B. Ward,
with a background of experience gained
in two of Ferndale's larger industries,
nearly a year ago established Bousfield
and Company, at 239 East Nine Mile
Road, to produce materials for war
equipment manufacturers.
Today the company's greatly-expanded
force of highly-trained precision experts
are engaged nearly 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, fulfilling contracts with
manufacturers throughout the east and
middlewest.
Both Mr. Hepler and Mr. Ward, part-
ners in Bousfield and Company, were
formerly with Earl A. Thompson Manu-
facturing Company and N. A. Wood-
worth Company, where they were en-
gaged in precision grinding and tool
building.
Propn>t of Skill
72
PUNCH PRESS
MACHINES, like men, often
break down.
A disabled machine can cripple
an entire production line just as
much as an absent worker inter-
rupts the flow of vital war goods.
Ferndale, home of many indus-
tries, has a corps of "doctors of
machinery," experts in curing the
ills of production-weary machines.
Punch Press Repair Corpora-
tion is an organization specializ-
ing in machinery repair and main-
tenance. The company is headed
by its president and founder,
Percy Boyd, who designed and
built the nearly all-glass building
at 1975 Hilton Road, considered
a model plant. Directing opera-
tions with Mr. Boyd is Robert
Wright, vice-president and gen-
eral manager.

Mr. Boyd and Mr. Wright
with their crews of machinists,
repairmen and mechanics, all
highly trained through the years
in handling punch presses and
other equipment, large and small,
are on the go all the time. They
are summoned to nearly all the
major plants in Detroit when ma-
chines break down, for Punch
Press Repair is regarded highly
in the industry for "operations"
on mechanical patients.
It is not only Detroit and Fern-
73
dale manufacturers who call them, for
one day there may be an urgent plea
from Traverse City, somewhere in Illinois
the next, or from a plant in New York
or Connecticut. If, at times, these menders
of metal are unable to leave to repair a
broken machine halfway across the coun-
try, the parts are shipped here for re-
building in the Punch Press Repair "hos-
pital" for disabled equipment.
Some of the equipment serviced is tre-
mendous, weighing many tons, which
have to be handled carefully in the tall,
window-lined "operating room" where
machines are repaired. The room is 34
feet high and 50 by 100 feet, and has
more than 3,000 panes of glass. The tools
and equipment used are multiple, just as
in a hospital operating room. The finest
and most delicate instruments are re-
quired even though the "patient" weighs
several tons. Daylight is much more sat-
isfactory for this type of work, says Mr.

Boyd, and that is why he designed his
building of glass, for it enhances effi-
ciency in either repairing crippled ma-
chinery or building new presses.
The company not only is engaged in
this vital emergency repair work from
one section of the country to another but
also is a designer and a builder of impor-
tant machines. Unlike the majority of
manufacturing plants which have to re-
tool equipment for each new job, Punch
Press Repair never has that problem.
The company's equipment is tooled for
any job, whether in peace or war. It must
befor nearly every task these experts
are given provides a different problem.
Mr. Boyd and Mr. Wright have been
in punch press repair and maintenance
business many years, and formerly were
located in Detroit. They erected this
model Ferndale plant more than three
years ago because the location speeded
up their emergency service and minutes
are precious today when every machine
hour means so much to the men in the
armed forces.
74
WESSON
*7Ue WeAAxm Go+nfLO+uf,
THE Wesson Company originated 20
years ago in a small garage in De-
troit.
Today its modern factory in Ferndale
provides 20,000 square feet of manufac-
turing space and houses some 200 em-
ployees.
The business of the Wesson Company
has been, and still is, the design and
manufacture of special high-speed cut-
ting tools of high production steel, ce-
mented carbide and other hard alloy cut-
ting tools.
In 1941 the company was reorganized
with Ray Smith as president, Frank W.
Archer, Jr., as vice-president, and W. B.
Duncan as general manager. These men,
thoroughly experienced in the machine
and tool industry, have pioneered some
of the most important developments in
cutting tool design, manufacture and

application.
The company's facilities are concen-
trated on the engineering, design and
manufacture of carbide cutting tools,
with particular thought to their applica-
tion in the aviation motor industry. An-
ticipating the wider use of lighter weight
alloys and the resultant need for new
methods of cutting these tougher alloys,
75
The Wesson Company developed carbide
cutting tools that have revolutionized
metal cutting, particularly in the manu-
facturing of aircraft motors.
Outstanding Wesson accomplishment
is the recent complete tooling-up of an
airplane manufacturing plant from start
to finish with carbide cutting tools. This
was the first complete installation of its
kind.
The results have been gratifying in the
speed with which tough, hard alloys are
cut, the closer tolerances achieved with
the new tools, the decreased waste of
critical materials and the higher percent-
age of finished work that is acceptable
after the most critical inspection.
The company engineers are now work-
ing on new tools for forged aluminum
heads for aircraft engines. That, in it-
self, is another example of how Wesson
is developing faster and lower-cost meth-
ods in producing aviation motors. It typi-

fies, too, the determined manner in which
Wesson engineers approach a new prob-
lem.
There seems to be no question of "can
we do it?" They assume they can . . .
and exercise ingenuity and research to
perfect the new tools and new methods.
Research has enabled Wesson to use
non-critical materials in some tools, thus
releasing critical materials for other war
needs. A staff of engineers is maintained
by Wesson to anticipate the needs of in-
dustry for cutting tools that will reduce
costs and produce better products.
These engineers are specialists in the
application of cutting tools of all kinds,
and carbide tools in particular. Their
services are available to any manufac-
turer in the improvement of metal cut-
ting methods and equipment. American
industry has taken advantage of this en-
gineering service to solve many a "tough"
job.
The Wesson Company's plant at 1220
Woodward Heights Boulevard was built
in April, 1941.
TILT-A-DOOR CORP.
HAVING manufactured steel garage
doors for the last eight years,
Tilt-A-Door Corporation today is en-
gaged in finishing of metal parts for
defense.
Tilt-A-Door Corporation, designer
and builder of the patented all-metal
garage overhead door, which operates
without tracks or springs, began opera-
tions in Detroit in 1935. Two years later
the company acquired property here at
503 East Nine Mile Road and purchased
a building with about 4,000 square feet
of floor space.
In 1940 the company expanded its
operations, adding a line of steel kitchen
cupboard doors and just recently moved
its offices from Highland Park to Fern-
dale.
Operations are directed by Wesley A.
EXCELVA
PROFIT-SHARING between man-
agement and labor will go a long
way toward curing the ills of the indus-
trial world, in the opinion of Fred G.
Coxen, founder and president of Excelda
Manufacturing Company, whose indus-
trial, automotive and household chemical
specialties are known throughout the
world.
While recognizing profit-sharing as a
vital factor in maintaining business sta-
bility, Mr. Coxen also is aware that only
under continuance of the American sys-
tem of free enterprise can business suc-
ceed, either for its owners in the form of
earnings, or for its employees in the form
of wages or sharing of profits.
Mr. Coxen is no romanticist nor theor-
ist. He has no patience with either. Imagi-
nation and ability, plus a large portion
of hard work, win his respect. He has his
own ideas and is an individualist. Like

so many other successful men in business
today, Mr. Coxen took advantage of the
freedom of action which our country
grants us and started his own business.
But he didn't do it overnight, but had
prepared himself for years so that he
would be ready when the proper time
came.
In the late '20s, when lacquering of
auto bodies was being introduced, Mr.
Coxen, who was then in the electrical
business, became interested in developing
formulae of various kinds, usually in
waxes and polishes. This was done eve-
nings in his home when his day's work
was over.
Convinced that he had developed an
auto polish cleaner to a state of perfec-
77
tion, Mr. Coxen decided the time had ar-
rived to launch his venture. He located
in Ferndale. Days he was busy selling his
product to dealers. Nights he and his
family made and packaged the cleaner
to fill the orders Mr. Coxen had obtained
during the day.
Orders increased and the company was
forced to expand. A small building was
erected on West Marshall Street. In 1934
a second building was needed and three
years later a third. The business
flourished as Excelda products gained
fame. The company was producing as
many as 34 different products for differ-
ent firms under their own trade names.
Sales and distribution offices were estab-
lished in New York, Chicago and Cleve-
land.
The demand for Excelda products
crossed the oceans of the world and or-
ders came from England, India, Switzer-
land, Singapore, South Africa and South

America. So great was the volume from
the 19 outlets in South America that the
company printed catalogues in Spanish.
Excelda was preparing to establish
plants in England and South America
when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Expan-
sion plans for civilian production were
immediately shelved and Excelda offered
its services to the chemical warfare divi-
sion of the U. S. Army and now is pro-
ducing certain vital chemicals.
Determined to devote its entire facili-
ties to the war program, Excelda last
November absorbed the Ferndale Man-
ufacturing Company, precision tool pro-
ducers, and operates it as the machine
products division of Excelda, with T. W.
Hockett as vice-president in charge. This
unit is producing precision tools, jigs and
fixtures and production parts for plants
engaged in building the tools of war.
Excelda also is manufacturing waxes for
use in planes and other military equip-
ment.
Mr. Coxen's two sons, Fred A. and
Douglas G., have followed their father
into the business, in fact they were in it
when high school students, and will
maintain the traditions established by
the company's founder, that profit-shar-
ing with key employees is one answer to
the industrial world's problems.
KLATZ FUEL & SUPPLY, INC.
IN 1919, a year after Ferndale was in-
corporated as a village, S. J. Kaltz
and his brother, Edward, established the
Kaltz Fuel & Supply, Inc., first coal and
builders' supply dealers in Ferndale.
There were no buildings near the
Kaltz yards at 730 East Nine Mi'e Road,
nothing but ferns, sand and lowland.
The company had one team when it
was started. In 1923 the first motor truck
was acquired. By 1926 the last team had
given way to motor transport. A few
years ago the company eliminated the
building supply line and now specializes
FERN VALE GAGE
A definite example of the freedom of
enterprise, which makes it possible for
Americans to freely choose their life's
work, is shown in the career of Ralph L.
Ricketts, who
owns and oper-
ates the Ferndale
Gage Company,
at 1701 East
Nine Mile Road.
In June, 1928,
Mr. Ricketts,
having selected
the precision tool
business as his
vocation, entered
Henry Ford Trade School. After finish-
ing his course there he completed his
training at River Rouge.
When war came, Mr. Ricketts, having
acquired some machinery and set it up in
the garage at the rear of his Ferndale

home, decided to tool the machinery to
war use. His workmanship and skill
brought immediate orders. Soon it was
necessary to employ more help and seek
larger quarters and acquire more ma-
chinery.
R. L. R!kan
DERAy TOOL COMPANY
Though its facilities are engaged in
100 per cent war production for prime
contractors, De Ray Tool Company at
23225 Woodward Avenue already is
planning for the
return of peace-
time production.
The company,
which is owned
by Ray A. Harris,
manufactures
high-speed preci-
sion tools and is
a substantial pro-
ducer of small
parts. Mr. Harris,
a member of the American Society of
Technical Engineers, has had 18 years of
experience in the tool manufacturing
business as a precision tool maker. His
training and background also include
tool designing and plant management.
De Ray Tool was established here in
July, 1942, locating its manufacturing
plant at 22061 Woodward Avenue. Soon
it became necessary to seek larger quar-
ters and shortly after the turn of the year
the company moved to its new location.
Roy A. Harr!
BENNETT WOODCRAFT
A home workshop, set up to pursue a
woodworking hobby, has developed into
the outstanding cabinet manufacturing
company in Ferndale.
Bennett Woodcraft today is the result
of that home workshop, which had its
origin in the home of Elijah C. Miller a
few years ago. Russell A. Bennett, a
friend and neighbor, spent considerable
SUPREX GAGE COMPANY
VIRTUALLY unknown two years
ago, Suprex Gage Company has pro-
gressed not only to one of Ferndale's
leading industries but to one of the larg-
est manufacturers of precision gages, taps
and cutting tools in the country. Presi-
dent of Suprex is Mr. N. A. Woodworth,
who is also president of N. A. Wood-
worth Company.
Suprex personnel in July, 1942, moved
into its modern new homethe result
of a $750,000 expansion program. The
machine tool and plant equipment in-
ventory was balanced to meet the require-
ments of a carefully planned production
schedule, and each machine was selected
with a view to quality and the nature of
the task that was expected of it.
For inspection purposes the very latest
in optical and precision instruments has
been the goal. High-power instruments
are used to check the gage surfaces for

flaws, the leads of thread gages, and so
on. Comparators are used to check the
angles and shapes of threads, clearances,
and other important parts of gages of all
kinds.
One of the features of the Suprex plant
is the final finishing and inspection in the
"temperature control" room, where a
constant temperature of 68 to 70 degrees
is maintained, winter and summer. In
this room various gages are finished to
limits as close as 20 millionths (0.00002)
of an inch.
COVER DESIGN
COVER DESIGN of this book com-
memorating the twenty-fifth anni-
versary of Ferndale is from the studios
of Stuart A. Friedrich, Lincoln High
School graduate, who operates one of
the leading commercial art studios in
Detroit.
Mr. Friedrich was business manager of
his class in 1929 at Lincoln high, where
he majored in commercial art. He spent
six years in art studios in Detroit before
opening his own studios in 1934 at 3105
East Grand Boulevard, where more than
half the third floor is required for his
firm's operations.
Studios of Stuart A. Friedrich have
been converted practically 100 percent
to war work, with the firm doing busi-
ness principally with their former peace-
time clients, as well as other prominent
national advertisers.
Mr. Friedrich, who is a former director
of the Adcraft Club of Detroit, is mar-
ried and has two children.
80
LIVE IN FERN PALE
EVERY 33 hours for the last 25 years
a new home has been erected in
Ferndaledefinite proof that this city is
a community of home-owning, home-
loving citizens. Today there are more
than 6,500 homes here, of which more
than 75 percent are occupied by the own-
ers, a testimonial to Ferndale as the best
place to own a home. Fine schools for
the children, many churches and a mod-
ern, convenient shopping and business
section all contribute to Ferndale's at-
tractiveness as the finest place to build
and own a home.
<

81
CUNNINGHAM
GutuUHtfUcun Jb>uuf Stated,
TWELVE years ago, when the busi-
ness depression was engulfing thou-
sands of business establishments through-
out the nation, Nate S. Shapero, presi-
dent of Cunningham Drug Stores, had
the foresight to see a greater Ferndale.
Operating with the vision and plan-
ning that has marked the success of the
Cunningham chain of fine drug stores in
Michigan, Cunningham's opened the
Ferndale store on May 1, 1931, at its
present location, the southwest corner of
Woodward Avenue and Nine Mile Road.
From the opening day, when the new
store was jammed with well-wishers and
customers, the judgment of the company
has been vindicated. One reason for the
instant and continuing success has been
the management's policy of giving the
same fine service available in all its stores
and offering the same high-class mer-

chandise.
Two years ago, so popular had the
store become with Ferndale residents, it
was necessary to expand. The floor space
was doubled and the personnel was more
than doubled to handle the growing vol-
ume of business. Today the Cunningham
store is acknowledged to be the finest
drug store in Ferndale.
CENTRAL APPLIANCE
VISUALIZING Ferndale as the fast-
est-growing community in this area,
the Central Appliance & Furniture Com-
pany opened a large store, fully-stocked
with nationally-advertised products, here
in July, 1939.
Specializing particularly in household
appliances, the operators of the business
were able to meet the demands placed
upon them by the steadily mounting pop-
ulation and the construction of hundreds
of new homes.
Under the direction of the associate
managers, Morris Brose and Marvin Car-
ter, Central Appliance has moved to the
front as an appliance store of unusual
qualities. It is located at 198 West Nine
Mile Road.
GRAND RAPIVS OUTFITTING
ALL furniture and furnishings for a
.coast-to-coast hotel chain is supplied
by a Ferndale firm, the Grand Rapids
Outfitting Company, which operates one
of the finest retail furniture stores in the
North Woodward section.
The company chose Ferndale as its lo-
cation only after a careful study of nearby
communities. That the judgment of its
owners was not misplaced has been
shown in its constant increases in retail
sales throughout Ferndale and its neigh-
boring communities.
Contributing to the success of the busi-
ness here have been Mrs. M. A. Mattice,
popular manager, and her assistant, R.
W. Jervis. The store is owned by Earl R.
Milner, nationally-known hotel operator.
FERNDALE is the
home of State Pack-
ing House Market, the
largest independently -
operated super food mar-
ket in Michigan.
The business was orig-
inally established on
Seven Mile Road, Detroit,
in 1925, by two brothers,
William and Phil Rossen.
They handled only high-
class meats. Among their
customers were many
Ferndale and Pleasant
Ridge residents who
urged them to establish a store here.
In 1929 the Rossen brothers opened a
store with 20 feet frontage on West Nine
Mile Road. They had two employees.
The business prospered and three years
later the brothers added 20 feet more to
their frontage and installed a grocery

department. They discontinued the De-
troit store in 1932.
This expansion was insufficient to
handle the growing business and in 1934
the Rossen brothers acquired the pres-
Li
U^H ^z*zT
|HMi
1 h .. i^^fl
STATE PACKING HOUSE MARKET
ent site and in 1937 erected a modern
food market 80 by 120 feet.
The business has grown through the
years, one of the principal reasons being
that State Packing always has featured
champion prize-winning beef and other
meats acquired at livestock shows and
4-H Club expositions. In the new loca-
tion baked goods, groceries, fresh fruits,
vegetables, etc., were added to complete
the super market service. About 70 em-
ployees are required to serve customers.
FERN-WOOD CHEVROLET
SERVICING of autos has been recog-
nized by the government as essen-
tial to the war effort and this is particu-
larly true in a war production area,
according to Fern-Wood Chevrolet, Inc.,
one of the foremost agencies in Ferndale.
Taking care of autos is more important
now than ever before, the company exec-
utives say, in urging motorists not to
postpone any needed servicing.
Fern-Wood Chevrolet is owned by T.
T. Russell and Howard J. Stock, who
established the company here in March,
1938. Prior to locating here, Mr. Russell
had spent 15 years traveling throughout
the country in the insurance business.
Mr. Stock's background includes 15
years in the auto business as salesman,
sales manager and in other executive ca-
pacities.
83
RIENACKER INDUSTRIES
MORE than four years ago William
O. Rienacker realized Ferndale
was the most advantageous location for
his manufacturing business, then located
in Detroit.
Doing business with motor car manu-
facturers in Detroit and other manu-
facturers throughout this country and
abroad, Mr. Rienacker discovered that
Ferndale was more accessible to the auto
plants than any location he had consid-
ered. All industrial points in Detroit and
the state could be reached quickly and
with a minimum loss of time from here.
Rienacker Industries was established
in 1933 as the Dentool Products Com-
pany. This at the depth of the depression,
and the founder and owner of the busi-
ness was able to give employment to
skilled workers when there was little
work to do. Four years ago the company's
name was changed to Rienacker Indus-

tries. The company produces various pro-
duction items and jigs, as well as fixtures.
It also has developed special gages. In
May of last year the company completed
the erection of its new building at 2035
Hilton Road, and got into production
here.
Before transferring from Detroit the
company had converted its operations for
wartime production before Pearl Har-
bor. Mr. Rienacker, who is a graduate
mechanical engineer, has had a long and
successful career in the engineering and
manufacturing business.
CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY
FROM far-off Texas and from the gas
fields of central Michigan comes nat-
ural gas to serve Ferndale's homes and
industries.
Pipelines connecting Ferndale with the
great gas fields of the Texas Panhandle
and with Michigan's own natural gas
producing centers were completed in
1942, in accordance with arrangements
between the Panhandle Eastern Pipeline
Company and the Consumers Power
Company. The latter company provides
natural gas service in Ferndale and in
many other Michigan communities.
All the industrial, commercial and
household jobs formerly done by manu-
factured gas have been taken over by
natural gas. War Production Board re-
strictions have postponed the time when
the new fuel will be available for all the
additional jobs which industry may wish
to give it, or for additional household
tasks such as house-heating. But the fact
that Ferndale has natural gas service, and
that this service has the resources of Texas
and Michigan behind it, fortifies the city's
wartime position and constitutes another
assurance of its continued development
in peacetime.
84
BofC
tyebndcUe lioamdt oj Commence
THE Ferndale Board of Commerce
enters 1943the most important
year in its long career equipped and
ready to meet and solve the mounting
problems of a city engaged in all-out war
production and participation.
Twenty-five years ago, when Ferndale
was preparing to become a village, busi-
ness men took an active part in the fram-
ing of the village
charter. This was
the Boosters'
Club, which
formed the nuc-
leus for a board
of commerce a
few years later.
In 1937, board
of commerce ac-
tivity, which had
subsided during

the depression years, was revived when
business leaders re-formed and incorpo-
rated the Ferndale Board of Commerce.
From then until January, 1942, voluntary
efforts on the part of civic-minded busi-
ness leaders accounted for many activi-
ties, one of which was the building and
awarding of the Ferndale model home.
As 1942 dawned, the board retained
the full-time services of an executive
secretary and assistant, established a full-
time office and embarked upon a diversi-
fied program of service. It was two-fold
Thomat H. Ealoud
in design; one, to enlarge and improve
the facilities in the business section; the
second, to better serve the war effort by
assisting Ferndale's fine industries in
their many complex war production
problems. To accelerate the service, the
Roaqrt N. Tnruar
DaA!p C. BroMu
executive secretary was officially named
co-adminstrator for war transportation
for industries.
This service has included such duties
as the placing of 3,500 vital war workers
in the homes of patriotic residents for
the duration. The board assisted in set-
1a
Harry Pnrpy
Mourn. F Col.
85
ting up war transportation committees in
the larger plants and established one com-
mittee to service all the small plants for
all gasoline rationing problems. Hun-
dreds of other
tasks have been
handled for the
industries.
The board
sponsored an ex-
pansion of park-
ing lot facilities
in its program
for the business
section. Other
plans have nec-
essarily been shelved but, when condi-
tions permit, will be revived with new
and greater vigor.
HaraAy S. raoqt
Officers of the Board of Commerce are:
President, Thomas H. Ealand, owner,
Ferndale Theatre; vice-presidents, Mau-

rice F. Cole, Circuit Court Commissioner;
David C. Brown,
school recrea-
tional director;
Harry Purdy,
president, Fastcut
Tool Co.; Robert
N. Turner, pres-
ident, Turner
Gauge Grinding
Co.; secretary,
Harvey S. Jacobs,
executive secre-
tary Board of Commerce; treasurer, Wal-
ter A. Williams, owner, Williams Bet-
ter Stores.
Waltar A. W!ll!am
(Coat!auep ou page 92)
INDUSTRIAL BOARD OF CONTROL
Jay F. O!bb
N. A. WooMporth
H.ury ft.!chhold
C. 8. D.VI!.g
K.un.ih L. Clark
Thoma R. Bo"nar
Fraukl!u Fr!kar
Earl A. Thomptou
86
McCAUL LUMBER
McCAUL Lumber and Coal Com-
pany in Ferndale on March 1,
1921, establishing its main office at 22620
Woodward Avenue. Its sheds and rail-
road siding is located at Parent and Main
Streets, Royal Oak. It is the oldest retail
establishment operating here on its orig-
inal capital and original stockholder,
Fred A. McCaul being secretary, treas-
urer and manager.
The company carries the largest stock
of lumber, builders' sup-
plies, builders' hardware,
paint and coal in Oak-
land County, all kept
under cover in sheds on
both sides of its two-
block-long private rail-
road siding. McCaul was
the first lumber yard in
the state to offer window
displays of its products.

The people of Ferndale
will tell you, says Mr.
McCaul, that when you
\*k
fcii
A III UlLOKRf
want exactly what you buy, expect it
delivered when promised at prices that
are always reasonable, just call on Mr.
McCaul.
S. and C. COFFEE CAR
HAVING operated restaurants in the
larger cities of the middlewest for
30 years, George L. Williams selected
Ferndale as the location for a new type
of dining servicethe food car.
The Ferndale S. and C. Coffee Car was
opened in 1935. It was an instant success,
the service, food and price attracting pa-
trons who appreciated good food, neatly
and speedily served at reasonable prices.
After two years of operating here, Mr.
Williams opened another S. and C. Coffee
Car in Royal Oak. Both cars are under
management of his son, G. S. Williams.
87
N EISNER BROS.
WILLIAMS STORES
Outstanding variety store in Ferndale's
growing shopping area, Neisner Bros.
Nine Mile Road store has been register-
ing yearly sales increases since its open-
ing here in May, 1937.
This outlet of the nationally-famed
Neisner Chain, under the direction of its
manager, Irwin Friedman, operates on a
policy of giving employment preference
to local residents. Every effort is made
to employ. Ferndale residents, and many
high school graduates have obtained their
first business experience with the Neisner
fu>m.
The store features a complete stock of
merchandise usually not available in its
price bracket and, as a result, has at-
tracted an ever-increasing patronage. Its
better-type merchandise, attractive dis-
plays of goods, plus the flavor of local
personnel, have contributed largely to the

success of the store.
OLD FERNDALE PICTURES
The old-time photographs of Ferndale are from
the collection of H. Edwin Rowley, of 4152 Ken-
more Road, Berkley. Mr. Rowley took the majority
of pictures of the city's progress in the early 70s
while a student at Lincoln High School. The pub-
lishers are grateful to Mr. Rowley for making it
possible to reproduce these old prints.
Having seen the population of Fern-
dale increase more than tenfold in the 22
years he has been in business here, Wal-
ter A. Williams, pioneer merchant,
visions a Fern-
dale of more
than 60,000 pop-
ulation in the
next score of
years.
In 1921, Mr.
Williams, then
operating two
drygoods stores
in Detroit, estab-
lished a store *E- w!iitaim
here on Woodward Avenue north of the
Nine Mile Road. In 1924 he opened a
new store on West Nine Mile Road with
a frontage of 90 feet.
By 1932 Mr. Williams had disposed of
his two Detroit stores to devote all his
time to the Ferndale operation. In 1936
a men's department was added. Though
Mr. William keeps in daily touch with
the business, his son, Robert E., is presi-
dent of Williams Better Stores and di-
rects the operations.
ALBERT STEINBAUGH
FIFTEEN years ago, Albert Steinbaugh
viewed Ferndale as a thriving com-
munity and established his undertaking
business here. In 1937 he moved to his
present location at 23257 Woodward
Avenue, where the finest in service is
available.
Among the services offered is a chapel
with a seating capacity of 250 people.
FACTS ABOUT FERNDALE
31300
6374
$16,366,650
$16.60
$1335,152
3.9
$36,062
5532
$2,676,000
16
317
69
75
969t
$4,193,076t
26t
$516,4751
77.6
44.5
75.6
65.0
4000
7681
26
25

73.6
1943*
3363
5594
$14,359,075
$19.70
$1,755,515
3.9
$262,955
543
$2,34,000
16
66
16
26
$990,264
$31,750
77.6
44
69.4
62.4
230
6262
24
19
1940
$14,192,795
$16.3
$2,067,396
3.7
$262,30
5254
$2,316,000
15
33
57
20
$96,165
BARTH STUDIO
THE outstanding photographic studio
in Michigan is located in Ferndale
at Woodward and Woodland Avenues.
Operated by Herman F. Barth, the studio
was the scene last year of the Michigan
Photographers' Association convention.
Mr. Barth established the Barth Studio
at 158 West Nine Mile Road in April,
1928. He is recognized as the outstand-
ing photographer in this section and
every senior class since 1929 has been
photographed by Barth.
He is a former member of the Board
of Education, past president of the Ki-
wanis Club, and was one of the organ-
izers of the Ferndale Camera Club. Mr.
Barth is a director of the Detroit Portrait
Photographers' Association.
Barth Studio supplied many of the
photographs of Ferndale's churches,
schools and public buildings used in this
book.

radio city theatre
NEWEST and largest Ferndale thea-
tre, the Radio City Theatre, in ad-
dition to featuring high-class entertain-
ment from the Hollywood studios, also
is used for public gatherings. The theatre
was built in 1936 by William J. Schulte
and has the best movie equipment obtain-
able. It seats 1,485 persons. The theatre
is managed by Harry W. Hicks.
FERNDALE LUMBER
OLDEST lumber yard in Ferndale,
Ferndale Lumber & Coal Company,
at East Nine Mile Road and the Grand
Trunk Railroad, was first established in
May, 1920, as the Ferndale Lumber and
Supply Company.
The plant, which covers three and one-
half acres, features only the best obtain-
able lumber, interior finishes, builders'
supplies, coal and coke. The company is
owned and managed by E. R. Regan, who
assumed control of the company in Sep-
tember, 1931.
RIALTO CAFE
IARGEST Ferndale restaurant and
4 one of the pioneer eating-places in
the city is the Rialto Cafe, on Woodward
Avenue just south of Nine Mile Road.
The restaurant was opened August 2,
1926, by Alex Kelingos and Basil The-
son, who came here from Detroit.
The original restaurant had a seating
capacity of 40 diners. Two expansions
were necessary because of the volume of
business. Now upwards of 200 can be
accommodated. The Rialto is the scene
of luncheon club gatherings, banquets,
weddings and parties.
90
!Nua Wila Roap Butiauu Sa>tiou
FERNDALE GAZETTE
THE Ferndale Gazette celebrates its
silver anniversary the same year as
the City of Ferndale.
Twenty-five years ago this June, the
Ferndale Enterprise made its debutthe
first newspaper in the then village of
Ferndale. In 1923, The Ferndale Gazette
presented its first edition.
Both papers flourished and grew with
the community. In 1935, Sam McGuire
purchased The Gazette and a year later
he acquired The Enterprise. The Fern-
dale Gazette Publishing Company, a cor-
poration, was organized.
For a few years both papers were pub-
lishedThe Enterprise on Mondays and
The Gazette on Thursdays. The Gazette
became a paid-circulation newspaper at
that time.
The Gazette is the only newspaper
owned and operated exclusively in and

for the people of Ferndale, Pleasant
Ridge and Oak Park by residents of
these communities.
rm ESS*I ANN-CALDWELL CO. ""
tSSMAN-CALWELL
Essman-Caldwell Printing Company
operates one of the most modern print-
ing and binding plants at 925 West
Nine Mile Road.
91
CLUBS ANP ORGANIZATIONS
American Legion Post No. 330
American Legion Auxiliary
American Red Cross
Beacon Light Council
Boy Scouts of America
B. P. O. Elks
Caledonian Club
Camp Fire Girls
Canadian Legion
Catalpa Club
Daughters of America
Daughters of Canada
Daughters of St. George
Disabled American Veterans
Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary
Ferndale Business and Professional Women's Club
Ferndale Camera Club
Ferndale Companion Rebeccas
Ferndale Community Council
Ferndale Exchange Club
Ferndale Garden Club
Ferndale Goodfellows

Ferndale Home Guards
Ferndale Kiwanis Club
Ferndale Memorial Association
Ferndale Republican Club
Ferndale Rotary Club
Ferndale Stamp Club
Ferndale Teachers' Club
Ferndale Veterans' Association
Ferndale Women's Club
Free and Accepted Masons
Girl Reserves1942
Girl Scouts
Hi-Y Club
Hoosier Club
Independent Order of Oddfellows
Junior AuxiliaryAmerican Legion Auxiliary
Junior AuxiliaryDisabled American Veterans
Lincoln High School Alumni
Liggett Farms Improvement Association
Metropolitan Club
Metropolitan Club Auxiliary
Mothers of Men in Service
Navy Mothers of Southern Oakland County
Oak Park Women's Club
Order of Eastern Star
Parent-Teacher Council
Pennsylvania Club
Protected Home Circle
Safety Patrol Boys
Sons of Legionnaires
The Maccabees
Theta Ro Girls
University of Michigan Alumni
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1407
Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary
Waverley' Society
White Shrine of Jerusalem
Women's Christian Temperance Union
BOARD OF COMMERCE
(Cout!uued from page 86)
Industrial Board of Control directors
are: Chairman, Jay F. Gibbs, Ferndale
city manager; N. A. Woodworth, pres-
ident, N. A. Woodworth Company;
Henry Reichhold, founder, Reichhold
Chemicals, Inc.; Kenneth L. Clark, pres-
ident, Forging and Casting Corp.; C. B.
FERNPALE INDUSTRIES
AA GAGE CO.
350 Fair Ave., Elm 6922
ALLEGHENY LUDLUM STEEL
1101 Wanda St., Elm 6900
APPROVEa MANUFACTURING CO.
650 East Troy Ave., Elm 6180
ARTISAN TOOL & CUTTER CO.
1915 Burdette, Elm 6146
ASSOCIATEa TOOL & GEAR ENG.
481 East Nine Mile, Elm 6587
BENNETT WOODCRAFT
23414 Woodward Ave., Li 2-0060
BOUSFIELa ANa COMPANY
BUSH, T. R., MANUFACTURING CO.
22925 Woodward Ave., Elm 6917
CLATFELTER, H. C, COMPANY
430 West Eight Mile, Li 2-1390
CRAFT BLUE PRINT COMPANY
1705 East Nine Mile, R.O. 7800
DeRAY TOOL COMPANY

EARLSON MANUFACTURING CO.
EASLEY ENGINEERING & MFG. CO.
1966 Burdette, Elm 6266
ECLIPSE COUNTERBORE CO.
1600 Bonner Ave., Elm 6345
ETHYL CORPORATION
1600 West Eight Mile, R.O. 6940
EXCELaA MANUFACTURING CO.
171 West Marshall, Elm 6732
FASTCUT TOOL COMPANY
2525 Hilton Ave., Elm 6262
FERNaALE GAGE COMPANY
FORGING & CASTING CORPORATION
1101 Wanda Ave., Elm 6900
FOSTER ENGINEERING COMPANY
255 East Nine Mile, R.O. 0962
FOUR-WAY TOOL & aIE COMPANY
3262 Hilton Ave., Elm 6348
GAGE PROaUCTS COMPANY
KRAETKE TOOL COMPANY, INC.
380 Fair Ave., Elm 6130
KIS TOOL SERVICE
523 West Nine Mile, Li 2-5440
LEE & CAaY
1111 East Eight Mile, Elm 6100
McNEIL PAINT MANUFACTURING CO.
523 West Nine Mile, Elm 6290
MORTON MACHINE WORKS
2421 Wolcott Ave., Li 2-5140
NATIONAL CYLINaER GAS CO.
1301 Jarvis, Elm 6850
NORTHERN EVERGREENS OF MICHIGAN
220 LaPrairie, Elm 6753
NU-ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC.
310 Livernois Ave., Elm 6097
PRATT-WRIGHT MACHINE PROaUCTS, INC.
1956 Burdette Ave., Elm 6590
PUNCH PRESS REPAIR CORPORATION
1975 Hilton Rd., Elm 6930
REICHHOLa CHEMICALS, INC.
601 Woodward Heights, Elm 6500
RIENACKER INaUSTRIES
2035 Hilton Rd., Elm 6916
ROYAL MATTRESS & UPHOLSTERING CO.
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Ferndale 1918-1943 25 Years of Progress

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Ferndale 1918-1943 25 Years of Progress

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Ferndale, 1918-1943 : 25 years of progress.

[Ferndale, Mich.] : Harvey S. Jacobs, c1943.

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Public Domain, Google-digitized

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Generated for mbreenbo (University of Michigan) on 2013-02-20 00:43 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071338258

Generated for mbreenbo (University of Michigan) on 2013-02-20 00:43 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071338258

Generated for mbreenbo (University of Michigan) on 2013-02-20 00:43 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071338258

Generated for mbreenbo (University of Michigan) on 2013-02-20 00:43 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071338258

TO the young men and women who

have left Ferndale to serve their coun-

try in two World Wars; to those loyal citi-

zens at home, daily making unselfish sacri-

fices to win this war, and to the American

tradition of free enterprise upon which the

nation grew and upon which it must build

for the future, this book is dedicated.

Generated for mbreenbo (University of Michigan) on 2013-02-20 00:43 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071338258

HarAay S. Jocobt, PM!ihmr: C. L. Thomptou, Edrror; OamAo Farmar Thomptou, Metopropoor

EVEN in new America the celebration of the twenty-

fifth anniversary of the founding of a City is unique.

Most Cities and Towns have enjoyed a much longer his-

tory. But OUR CITY of Ferndale is NEW. In twenty-five

short years we have grown to full stature.

On the following pages of this book, the reader will

discover the story of this startling and decidedly amazing

growth. Every loyal citizen will thrill with pride at this

narrative of our unparalleled development. Keep this

book, not only as a portrayal of what has happened but,

also, as a challenge to keep our civic pride at a high level

for the years to come.

Finally, let us on this twenty-fifth anniversary dedi-

cate ourselves again to the American way of life. Let us

here and now resolve that the City of Ferndale, twenty-

five years hence, shall continue to be a monument to the

vitality and inherent courage and faith of the American

principles of life and government.

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THE WHITE HOUSE

February 12, 1943

My dear Mayor Forsythe:

The President asks me to extend

hearty greetings to the community of Ferndale

on the happy occasion of the twenty-fifth

anniversary of the founding of the city. He

hopes that the celebration will be an out-

standing success and that all of the fine

things accomplished during the last quarter

of a century will be the forerunner of greater

achievements in the years that lie ahead.

Very sincerely yours,

Secretary to the President

Honorable Carl W. Forsythe,

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HistoryA Quarter Century

Ferndale Area Map

DeVlieg Machine Company

Turner Gauge Grinding Company 21

Reichhold Chemicals Inc. 27

The Forging and Casting Corp. 29

Approved Manufacturing Company 33

Great Lakes Greyhound Lines, Inc. 36

Syncro Devices, Inc. 41

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