Business & Economics

Michigan is home to an amazing array of food and drink brands, each with a fascinating story behind it.

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals like Kellogg’s and Post changed how the world eats, and Gerber first made baby food commercially available. But the Wolverine State is bursting with many other notable edibles, such as Faygo, American Spoon, Jiffy, Sanders and Vernors. Better Made uses Michigan potatoes for its chips. Fudge, pasties and anything made with cherries are also local standards. Others are gone but not forgotten, like Awrey’s and Twin Pines.

Authors Gail Offen and Jon Milan explore the history and stories behind all of these and many, many more.

There have been few cars that ignited the public’s interest as much as the Ford Mustang.

Introduced at the opening of the New York World's Fair in April 1964, the Mustang was based on mechanicals from the earlier Ford Falcon compact car; it quickly established a new motorcar category which was widely copied by domestic and overseas competitors—the “pony car.” From the outset, the Mustang represented inspired product planning and design, followed by brilliantly executed marketing. Ford's Mustang team effort used every tool in the vehicle-marketing toolbox: clever teases long before the new product went on sale, unprecedented publicity, simple but effective advertising, the stage at the World's Fair, movie placement, distribution of toy plastic models, and even a replica pedal car for the young drivers of the future. With a measure of luck, it became a classic case of releasing the right product at the right time, and Ford sold one million units in less than two years. Even today, the Mustang is held high as a symbol of American design, engineering, and the freewheeling American spirit.

Relive the history of Hudson's department store, a fixture in downtown Detroit , when retailing was an event and the department store ruled the shopping scene and was a Detroit icon.

The J. L. Hudson Company redefined the way Detroiters shopped and enjoyed leisure time. Many Detroiters share memories of times spent shopping and enjoying spectacular events sponsored by Hudson's. A solid and lofty icon built by businesspeople who believed in their passion, Hudson's defined Detroit's downtown, creating trends and traditions in consumer culture that still resonate with us today. Now and in the future, as Hudson's boxes, shopping bags, and artifacts are discovered in closets, attics, basements, and flea markets, many will remember that it was once as solid a civic fixture as the City-County Building or the Detroit Public Library.

Among more than two hundred auto companies that tried their luck in the Motor City, just three remain: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But many of those lost to history have colorful stories worth telling.

J.J. Cole forgot to put brakes in his new auto, so he had to drive it in circles until it ran out of gas. Brothers John and Horace Dodge often trashed saloons during wild evenings but used their wealth to pay for the damage the next day. David D. Buick went from being the founder of his own leading auto company to working the information desk at the Detroit Board of Trade. Author Alan Naldrett explores these and more tales of automakers who ultimately failed but shaped the industry and designs today.

The General Motors Corporation opened over a century ago with humble beginnings to grow into the company that became the global business powerhouse it is today.

Established in 1908 by William C. Durant, General Motors was the end-product of combining the Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland companies. From the 1920s onwards, GM grew from a company that accounted for about 10% of new auto sales in the U.S. to becoming the largest producer of cars and trucks in the world. By the 1960s, due to a series of federal safety regulations and competetive challenges, General Motors' business would never be the same. Though they've suffered their fair share of setbacks, GM is still one of the biggest motor companies in the world, even today. General Motors: A Photographic History explores the growth of the company in a series of 200+ black-and-white images, from the first assembly line to post-WWII recovery, and takes the reader on an intriguing visual tour of a tremendously important piece of the industrialization of the U.S.

For over a century, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store was more than just a store - it was a Detroit icon and a world-class cultural treasure.

At 25 stories, Hudson's was the world's tallest department store, and was at one time home to the most exceptional offerings in shopping, dining, services, and entertainment. The store prided itself on stocking everything from grand pianos to spools of thread. In addition to regular department store fare, the original Hudson's store featured an auditorium, a circulating library, dining rooms, barber shops, a photo studio, holiday exhibits, a magnificent place called Toytown, and the world's largest American flag. As a legendary symbol of urban and entrepreneurial American history, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store earned a permanent place in Detroit's collective memory. Although the big store no longer graces Woodward Avenue, its legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of generations, and in the remarkable photographs that preserve its reign.

Catering to all the folks

In business for more than a century, Kewpee is the second oldest hamburger chain in the United States. Beginning with the Kewpee Hotel in Flint, Michigan, founder Samuel “Old Man Kewpee” Blair soon opened his original hamburger stand. That location served the world’s first deluxe hamburger, crafted from fresh, never-frozen beef and topped with tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. By licensing the Kewpee name, Blair and Ohio Kewpee Hotel operator Edwin Adams expanded into a chain of hundreds of hamburger stands and restaurants, mainly in the Midwest. A small number of Kewpee locations survived competition and still serve Olive Burgers, fries, malts and pie to lucky customers.

Author Gary Flinn tells the full story of Kewpee, its many locations long gone and its spinoff, Halo Burger.

Though a tragic death tinges the memory with sorrow, the name Stinson is still revered in aviation circles.

By the early 1920s, the charismatic daredevil pilot Eddie Stinson had become famous throughout the US for his fearlessness and skill. In 1926, he and his close friend Bill Mara founded a company to design and manufacture airplanes that combined features then only found in luxury automobiles. The Stinson Aircraft Corporation quickly grew, but sadly its namesake wouldn't live to enjoy the success of his company. In 1932, Stinson was killed in a tragic crash while demonstrating a new model, and ultimately served to propel the company into the hands of larger aircraft manufacturers. Although Stinson’s life was short, the world of aviation still admires the airplanes built under his name. Featuring many never-before-published photographs and comprehensive biographical information, Stinson Aircraft Companychronicles a remarkable period in airplane development. It details the growth of Stinson's company, which produced more airplanes for a longer period of time than any other Michigan airframe producer, and reveals the story of Eddie Stinson and Bill Mara, who together made aviation history.

From the author of Remembering Flint and Hidden History of Flint come unearthed tales of Vehicle City's lost heritage.

The city of Flint waxed and waned with the automotive industry of the twentieth century. Where they have not vanished completely, crumbling signs of past opulence stand as painful reminders of more recent struggles. Hardly a trace remains of the Buick City factory complex that sprawled across the city's north side. The placid waters of Flint Park Lake once echoed with the sounds of an amusement park--games, dancing, circus acts, even a roller coaster. Flint Community Schools pioneered a model for how schools can function outside regular hours, but too many now are closed and deteriorating. Local author Gary Flinn uncovers the abandoned places and lost traditions from the Vehicle City's past.

An engaging history of the beginnings of Lansing's R.E. Olds.

Upon the dedication of a new Capitol building in 1879, the city of Lansing was just beginning to emerge from the swampy wilderness of its recent past. As industry began to take root along the banks of the Grand River, Ransom Eli Olds brought his father's motor shop to national prominence with advancements in gasoline and steam engines, and then horseless carriages. By the early 20th century, Oldsmobile became the world's first mass producer of automobiles and Olds had moved on to found a second car company, making Lansing the first Auto City. Through these efforts, Olds rose to become one of the nation's greatest industrialists and entrepreneurs. Using primary documents and historical images, this book traces the industrial history of the Capital City within the context of one of the 20th century's greatest entrepreneurs, R.E.

One of the unsung heroes of the auto world, C. Harold Wills designed the Model T when he worked as Henry Ford's right-hand man.

Later, he founded his own company to produce the legendary Wills Sainte Claire. Every endeavor displayed his trademark inventiveness, from the development of the overhead cam engine to the toboggan run on the roof of his house. He used his money to create one of the first worker model cities at Marysville, Michigan. In this long-overdue biography, Alan and Lynn Lyon Naldrett preserve the legacy of an automotive icon.

Join author Michael W. R. Davis as he retraces the history of what went on behind the scenes of testing automotive tracks in Detroit, Michigan.

The catastrophic failure of a new but unproven copper-cooled Chevrolet in 1923 led the General Motors Corporation to buy back the 100 cars it had sold to the public and recall another 400 in company and dealer hands. As a result, in 1924 General Motors started building the industry's first scientific proving ground to test new vehicle designs before they were released for production and sale. Before this, all automakers tested new cars haphazardly on public roads and within limited engineering laboratories. Better known by the public as test tracks, the proving grounds became a source of curiosity for decades about the secrets they might hold. Detroit Area Test Tracks goes behind the test track walls to show how the facilities evolved and what typically takes place inside.

Ann Arbor has seen many cherished landmarks and institutions come and go - some fondly remembered and others lost to time.

When the city was little more than a village in the wilderness, its first school stood on the now busy corner of Main and Ann. Stores like Bach & Abel’s and Dean & Co. served local needs as the village grew into a small town. As the town became a thriving city, Drake’s and Maude’s fed generations of hungry diners, and Fiegel’s clothed father and son alike. Residents passed their time seeing movies at the Majestic or watching parades go down Main Street. Join authors Patti F. Smith and Britain Woodman on a tour of the city’s past.

Author and award-winning historian Russell M. Magnaghi delves into the delectable food history of the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a veritable cornucopia of delicious dishes. Over the centuries, the shared food knowledge and passion Native Americans and immigrant of all kinds produced the region’s iconic foods and beloved restaurants. Mackinac Island remains the epicenter for fine food. Here one can dine on freshly caught trout and whitefish at the Grand Hotel before tracking down the island’s celebrated fudge for dessert. Afield of the island, visitors and residents alike can attend a Friday night fish fry virtually anywhere in the area, savor a juicy “Big C” burger at one of the many Clyde’s Drive-In locations, or just have a refreshing glass of beer at Tahquamenon Brew Pub in aptly-named Paradise.

For more than 130 years, there has been no sweeter word in Detroit than Sanders.

Sanders was more than just an ice-cream and candy shop—a Detroit icon, it served a fountain of memories for generations. The venerable confectioner was once as much a part of Detroit's streetscape as the Big Three, Hudson's, and Coney Islands, where customers stood two and three deep behind lunch counters for tuna or egg salad sandwiches, devil’s food buttercream “bumpy” cake, hot fudge sundaes, and Sanders’ signature dessert—hot fudge cream puffs. As Detroit boomed, so did Sanders, and at its peak, the company boasted more than 50 stores, with its products available in as many as 200 supermarkets. The Motor City nearly lost Sanders in the mid-1980s, but its dessert shops have begun to resurface, thanks to another Detroit institution, Morley Brands LLC, which bought the Sanders brand in 2002. Even after more than a century has passed when Fred Sanders opened his first shop in Chicago, Sanders Confectionery has opportunity to become a national player in desserts and candy.

Casting a legacy

Long before automobiles made Detroit the Motor City, the city boasted a flourishing and diverse industrial economy, albeit on a more modest scale. Among the myriad industries that defined the nineteenth-century city, none held greater significance or broader influence than stove fabrication. Three manufacturers—Detroit Stove Works, Michigan Stove Company and the Peninsular Stove Company—dominated this sector, collectively contributing more than 10 percent of all cast-iron stoves produced and distributed throughout North America. At the forefront of this triumph were Jeremiah and James Dwyer, whose vision and ingenuity played pivotal roles in shaping the industry’s success.

Historian Gerald Van Dusen explores the key role that this early industry played in laying the groundwork and facilitating the production of automobiles.

Join department store historian Bruce Allen Kopytek in this history of Jacobson's, a beloved Michigan institution for over 100 years. Winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award for 2012.

Reenter the marvelous stores and meet the personalities who transformed Jacobson's from its humble Reed City origins to a staple of sophistication throughout Michigan and into the rest of the country. The brainchild of a retail genius, this deluxe specialty store gave customers a peerless social, shopping and dining destination. Experience anew the refined beauty of its Williamsburg-style Grosse Pointe store, the chic designer world of its Birmingham ensemble, or the charm and allure of its original Florida branch in Sarasota, revealing the secrets which made Jake's the dazzling store it was, and why it remains so profoundly missed by anyone who entered through its solid wooden doors.

Grand River Avenue details the history of this historical Michigan roadway, which has served as a footpath, wagon rut, and ultimately a two-lane highway.

Grand River Avenue, or Michigan US-16 as it was ultimately designated, is one of Michigan's true Blue Highways—an original two-lane, blacktop road still serving as a direct path through roadside America. Originally a Native American trail, this ancient path has been a westbound route from the Straits of Detroit to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan for more than 1,000 years. Over time, it has served as a footpath, horse trail, wagon rut, stagecoach route, plank road, and ultimately a two-lane highway that gave some of America's earliest motorists their first taste of long-distance automobile travel.

Throughout its existence, Dearborn has been a pioneer settlement, a multicultural hub, a college town, a major tourism center and a world-renowned industrial city.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, significant structures have been lost to time. Almost all of the eleven U.S. Arsenal complex buildings have disappeared since the arsenal was closed in 1875. The hallways of the Edison School and Oxford School still live on in the hearts of their students but were razed long ago. Even beloved edifices such as the Ford Rotunda and the Ford Motor Company Administration building are now only a memory. Author Craig E. Hutchison endeavors to immortalize the important foundational building blocks of an evolving city.

Detroit has always been a haven for the working class. Headquartering the most powerful industrial union in American history, the UAW, the city's labor movements have had the power to influence national urban and social policy. Captured here are Detroit's nationally recognized labor campaigns, from the first sit-downs of 1937, to the powerful unions inspired by the radical philosophies of Jimmy Hoffa and Walter Reuther. Through the contribution of arms and tanks to World War II, to the devastating decline of the unions in the 1970s and '80s, the photographs here capture the multitude of races and faces that made Detroit one of America's greatest industrial cities, and the world's undisputed Motor City.

Savor the taste of wines inspired by the Great Lakes as enthusiasts Lorri Hathaway and Sharon Kegerreis introduce passionate winemakers like Joseph Sterling, who ignited Michigan's first viable wine region in the 1800s along Lake Erie.

Discover how the Detroit River was used for bootlegging during Prohibition, how the raid on red wine in the Upper Peninsula generated national headlines and how Michigan became the first to repeal. Learn about the wineries that boosted production to make Michigan a leading wine producer through the 1960s, when the changing marketplace caused a slump in production and sales.Since then, new grape varietals have spurred resurgence in the industry, garnering Michigan worldwide attention for its locally influenced wines. Discover Michigan's vibrant wine history, which is vital to the second most agriculturally diverse state and top tourism region becoming a premier agritourism destination.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, Detroit's finest hotels fiercely competed with one another for the lion's share of tourist, convention, business, and dining traffic. This book serves as a comparative study of the Book-Cadillac and Statler Hotels of Detroit, and their impact on the development of Washington Boulevard. Here you will find the story of these two legendary institutions, illustrated with over 180 photographs from the Burton Historical Collection, Manning Brothers, the Walter Reuther Library, and private collections.

On April 18, 1889, a meeting was held for the purpose of organizing a social club for the local businessmen in Saginaw, Michigan.

The organization was named the East Saginaw Club, and stock was sold at $100 a share. Bids were then submitted for property on which to build the clubhouse, and a site on Washington Avenue in downtown Saginaw was selected. The three-story building was to be an elegant setting for functions, with beautiful surroundings and walls that displayed wonderful and valuable artwork. In 1919, the original charter expired, the new articles of association were ratified, and a new name was chosen: the Saginaw Club. Today, the Saginaw Club has over 300 members and is known for its many traditions, particularly the club’s annual toast to the office of the president of the United States.

Roberta Morey, a retired elementary school teacher, has written four previous books for Arcadia Publishing dealing with postcards of Saginaw and interesting local people. John Morey, a Saginaw Club member, is an owner of a surveying and engineering business in Saginaw. He is a former president of Saginaw’s Fordney Club, and he writes a flashback article dealing with Saginaw history for the Saginaw Club’s monthly newsletter.

Grand Rapids, Michigan was the center for shopping in western Michigan with department stores, five-and-dimes and more, until the advent of the shopping mall.

For decades, downtown Grand Rapids enjoyed a long run in the limelight as the epicenter of shopping in western Michigan. The vibrant Monroe Avenue corridor included three homegrown department stores, several chain department stores, five-and-dime stores, and scores of clothing and specialty retailers. It weathered mother nature, wars, the Great Depression, the advent of neighborhood shopping centers, and civil disturbances—but the one change it could not overcome was the regional shopping mall.

Revisit your favorite stores and memories of innovative Northland Mall in Michigan, once heralded as the future of shopping.

When the Northland Mall opened in Michigan on March 22, 1954, it was the world's largest shopping center. Its innovative design was the vision of architect Victor Gruen and the Webbers, nephews of Joseph Lowthian Hudson and executives of the J.L. Hudson Company. Northland featured Hudson's flagship suburban store surrounded by other businesses selling a variety of merchandise and services. More than just a shopping destination, Northland Mall was a total experience of activity and relaxation, with colorful courtyards displaying sculptures such as the famous The Boy and Bear.