USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 31
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William Kramer .- In some men the business sense is remarkably developed, and through it they reach a success not achieved by those who endeavor to control affairs for which they have little aptitude. It is now generally recognized that no individual reaches a full meas- ure of success who works against his natural inclinations, and when competition is so strenuous men need every assistance that developed talent can give in order to take profitable advantage of offered oppor- tunities and to be able to develop legitimate business chances. Espec- ially is this true at Grand Rapids, where, although the field is broad, competition is exceedingly keen, and he who distances others must be on a constant strain in the race of life. Such a man was the late William Kramer, whose activities in commercial affairs during a period of thirty-eight years made his name well known in Grand Rapids business circles. Mr. Kramer was born in Hesse Cassel, Germany, Nov. 18, 1839, son of Karl and Wilhelmina Kramer. He was educated in the public schools and given ordinary advantages in other ways, but when he came to the United States, in 1861, he had little beside his ambition and industry to serve as capital for his start in the new world. While residing in New York City, where he lived for four years, he was given his introduction to American business methods and customs in the dry goods establishment of a Mr. Neuberg, and when he came to Grand Rapids, in 1865, he became connected with the Houseman Clothing House. Later he received still further training with Meeker & McConnell, and in 1865 decided to venture his carefully saved earnings in an enterprise of his own. He accord- ingly established a modest dry goods house, which, under his honor- able methods and excellent management, developed into a successful commercial house, of which he remained the head until his death, Nov. 4, 1903. Cordial, sympathetic and broad in his views, Mr. Kramer was a man who made and retained many friends, and his competitors recognized his sterling worth and gave him credit for the unflinching integrity that would not permit him to stoop to any mean action. His death occasioned deep regret among his social and business acquaintances. He was a Mason and belonged to several social organizations, among them the Turnverein and the Arbeiter Verein. In political matters he was always a Republican. Mr. Kramer married, April 4, 1871, Sophia, daughter of Herman and Elizabeth (Becker) Loettgert, of Grand Rapids, and of this union were born four children: Elizabeth and Wilhelmina, deceased ; Fred- erick, a business man of Grand Rapids, and Karl, who died in 1903. Mrs. Kramer was born in Germany, but was reared and educated near Detroit and at Grand Rapids. The family came to the United States in 1856, settling in the vicinity of Detroit, where Mr. Loettgert fol- lowed farming until his death, in 1864, in which year his widow and children came to Grand Rapids. Mrs. Kramer is one of the well known ladies of her part of the city and occupies a pleasant home at 1237 Lake Drive.
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Arthur E. Kusterer .- Grand Rapids figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous communities of the State of Michigan, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development in the material upbuilding of the city. In this development, civic, busi- ness and personal interests are affected by many factors, one of the most important of which is that represented by the investment bank- ing and brokerage business. In this field it is necessary that there be men of judgment and foresight, in order that the communities investing capital can be placed in a legitimate manner and that it not be diverted from the channels that make for strength and stability in our institutions. Of the men engaged in this line of business at Grand Rapids, one who has met with success is Arthur E. Kusterer, president of the firm of Kusterer, Hilliker & Perkins. He is still numbered among the younger business men of the city, but has already made a name and reputation for himself in his chosen field. Mr. Kusterer was born at Grand Rapids, April 4, 1883, son of Charles F. Kusterer. He was educated in the graded and high schools of the city and at the University of Michigan, in which institution he was graduated in 1905, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. After graduating he returned to Grand Rapids to enter his present field, the investment banking and brokerage business. The first five years were spent in the employ of local investment banking firms, after which the investment banking firm of A. E. Kusterer & Company was formed, which was succeeded after several years by Kusterer, Hilliker & Perkins, of which firm he is president. He has been a participant in a remarkable success that has attended this firm's operations and has qualified unreservedly as a business man of marked energy, great capacity and thorough knowledge in his special line. In the affairs of the nation, as expressed by political matters, Mr. Kusterer is a non-partisan voter, and in local matters he is guided by the man rather than the party, preferring to use his own judgment rather than to follow blindly the choice of the organization. He be- longs to the Park Congregational church, and his social connections include membership in the Peninsular club and the Kent Country club. Mr. Kusterer was married, Oct. 3, 1908, to Miss Emma Foss, daughter of Willis O. Foss, of Auburn, Me., and of this union have been born two children, twins-Virginia and Elizabeth.
Christoph Kusterer .- Each individual is called upon to work out his destiny according to his own ideas. Some make a success of their life efforts, while others fail; but it is usually found that the men who attain the most are those who concentrate along a given line of endeavor and direct all their energies toward its successful prosecution. In the case of the late Christoph Kusterer, his record shows that he was a man who thoroughly understood his business and was never afraid of the hard work connected with it. As a result, he built up one of Grand Rapids' large industries and left his family not only wealth, but the heritage of a good name and the memory of a kind husband and father. For years he was one of the substan- tial men of Grand Rapids and the city benefitted by his connection with it, for he was a practical business man who believed in action rather than words. Mr. Kusterer was born May 24, 1824, in Wurt- temburg, Germany, where his father owned a large estate in the
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Black Forest, and his education was secured in the nearby town of Freudenstadt, where he also learned the art of brewing. At the age of twenty-two years, having been exempted from military duty, he came to the United States and immediately settled at Ann Arbor, Mich., where he engaged in the tanning business. There he was mar- ried, April 12, 1847, to Maria Dorothea Dauble, and in the following September disposed of his interests in the tannery and came to Grand Rapids. Here he bought a one-half interest in the Pannel Brewery, which was located on what is now known as the corner of Lyon street and Bond avenue, and he subsequently bought out Mr. Pannel's interest. In 1850 he built the City Brewery, at the corner of Bridge and Ionia streets, the site where the Grand Rapids Brewing Company is now located, and this was conducted until 1881, when the Kusterer Brewing Company was formed, with Charles F. Kusterer as presi- dent and manager. In 1892 this was consolidated with other plants and the Grand Rapids Brewing Company was formed, the other com- panies being the Tusch Brothers Brewery, the Veit & Rathman Brewery, the Union Brewery of George W. Brandt & Company and the Adolph Goetz Brewery, the brewery of Frey Brothers being sub- sequently purchased at the administrator's sale. The officers were Charles F. Kusterer, president; Jacob Veit, vice-president; F. A. Tusch, secretary, and C. E. Kusterer, treasurer, and the capital at incorporation was $500,000, which was later increased to $1,000,000. In 1895 a new plant was erected on the same property. The present officials of the company are: G. A. Kusterer, president ; F. A. Veit, vice-president and superintendent, and J. F. Cramer, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Kusterer lost his life on the ill-fated "Alpena," while making a business trip to Chicago, and at his death left a widow and eight children. Mr. Kusterer, in all his associations, with friends, business associates and competitors, and the public at large, impressed through a pleasing personality, and was widely respected and esteemed. He was interested in all that pertained to substantial prog- ress in his adopted city, in all the cultural activities and material advancement that have made notable recent years, and, as far as lay within his power, exerted his influence in these directions. The family home for over fifty years was situated at the corner of Ionia avenue and Michigan street, where the present fine Armory is now located.
Fred Lass .- A resident of Michigan and of Kent county for thirty years, and during the greater part of this time engaged in agricultural pursuits, Fred Lass is now accounted one of the substan- tial citizens of Caledonia township and is granted that respect and esteem that is given only to those who have been the architects of their own fortunes and who have won success solely through the labors of their own hands and the activities of their minds. While the life of Mr. Lass has been one of uninterrupted devotion to his home and its surroundings, with none of the celebrity that comes from prominent participation in the affairs of public service, out of his labor and experience have come the respect of all who know him and a reputation unexcelled as an agriculturist and a citizen. Fred Lass was born, May 11, 1865, in Germany, son of Martin and Anna (Ortmand) Lass, natives of that country, where they lived and died. They were people in modest circumstances, but honest, worthy, in-
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dustrious and God-fearing, who gave their children all the oppor- tunities they could afford and brought them up with a proper respect for the dignity of labor and the value of honesty. Their children were Mary, Anna, Minnie, Sophia, Caroline, Peter and Fred, of whom Peter is deceased. The youngest of the children of his parents, Fred Lass received his education in the public schools of his native land and there started his career. His ambition was too great to be kept within the bounds of his home environments, for he had heard of the opportunities for advancement to be found in America, and when twenty-two years of age he left Germany and arrived duly in New York, from which city he made his way to Grand Rapids. After a short stay in that city he went to Wyoming township, where for sev- eral years he was engaged as a butcher, but finally gave himself whole-heartedly to the vocation of farming and purchased 140 acres in Caledonia township, where he now has an excellent farm in section 8. He started in life with only a good constitution and a resolute determination to get to the front, and his successful career furnishes a strong incentive to the aspiring element of the rising generation to follow his example. Mr. Lass is a man of forceful and strong char- acter and the possessor of more than average business ability, and stands for all that is worthy and practical in agricultural life. His attention has been entirely taken up by his general farming opera- tions and he has had little time for politics, although a stanch sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party. In religious matters he is a Lutheran and attends services at Holy Corners church, of which Rev. A. W. Hueschner is pastor. Mr. Lass was married first in 1888 to Miss Wilhelmina, daughter of Fred Nagel, a native of Germany, and of this union were born four children: Martin, de- ceased; Carl, an agriculturist of Calhoun township, married Elna Parsons, and is the father of two children-Burdett, and Donald, de- ceased; and Clara, deceased. Mr. Lass was again married, Feb. 19, 1897, being united with Emma Conrad, daughter of Godfrey and Freda (Huffman) Conrad, the former of whom died in Germany and the latter now a resident of Grand Rapids, coming to the United States in 1888. Of this union have been born six children, all at home: Margaret, Berenice, Anna, Beatrice, Fred, Jr., and Conrad. The pleasant home of the Lass family is located on Caledonia rural route No. 2.
William R. Laughray .- In the tasks allotted to men's lives, not the least in importance or the most insignificant in their impress upon character and destiny are those who minister to our esthetic natures. There are many diversities of art, wide variations in the play of artis- tic gifts, and the labors of the individuals who, in instructing the unlearned, make possible the expression of thoughts in a rythmic way, and thus have an established place in the scheme of things. Dancing, at once an art and an amusement, has its devotees by the thousands, and a necessary feature of each community must be its academies where capable instructors initiate these followers into the mysteries of the new steps. In this connection mention should be made of William R. Laughray, proprietor of Laughray's Dancing Academy, which was established at Grand Rapids in 1894 and has grown in importance and popularity with the passing of the years. Professor Laughray was born in Oakland county, Michigan, Nov. 12,
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William A. Laughray
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1863, son of Robert and Josephine (Atkinson) Laughray. His father, born at Birmingham, Mich., Sept. 24, 1829, was first a contracting mason and later a general contractor, and as a young man came to Grand Rapids, where he married Miss Atkinson, who was born at Adrian, Mich., July 8, 1839. Mr. Laughray resided at various points in Michigan and was a business man of ability and resource, and one who had the entire and well-merited confidence of his associates. He was a Republican and a Thirty-second degree Mason. He died Oct. 1, 1909, in the faith of the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Laugh- ray, who survives him and lives at Detroit, is a member. They be- came the parents of the following children: Margaret, born Oct. 9, 1858, died in 1861; Ella May, born at Detroit, June 13, 1860; Robert E., born July 28, 1861, at Detroit ; William R .; James W., born May 3, 1868, at Saginaw, Mich., died Aug. 9, 1868; Isabelle, born at Sagi- naw, Aug. 20, 1869, died Aug. 9, 1870; Joseph E., born at Saginaw, Mich., March 2, 1872, living at Detroit; George F., born at Saginaw, Dec. 7, 1874, died Feb. 15, 1917; Anna Goldie, born at Muskegon, Mich., July 10, 1878, wife of Prof. Lawrence Marshall, superintendent of schools of Cleveland, Ohio; and Josephine Pearl, born at Muske- gon, Aug. 5, 1881, wife of Andrew Bendell, of Detroit. William R. Laughray was educated in the public schools of Muskegon, and even in boyhood displayed remarkable musical and terpsichorean talent. He was but a youth when he entered the musical business, and, going to Chicago, Ill., opened a dancing academy, which he conducted for nine years. Returning to Grand Rapids, he here established Laugh- ray's Dancing Academy, in Lockerby Hall No. 2, with the Evening Press, and for nineteen years was an instructor of newsboys. Pro- fessor Laughray came to his present location, in the new building at Nos. 16 to 22 Fulton street, West, where he now conducts private lessons and assemblies, in 1915. His institution is a very popular one, both with the younger and older sets, and his classes represent some of the most prominent families of the city. Professor Laughray is a Republican. He belongs to the Christian Science church, and his only fraternal connection is with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
Fred C. Ledger .- The agriculturists of Kent county are as a rule prosperous and contented, living independently upon the fertile farms which have been developed by their energy into valuable tracts of high productiveness. One who has been more than usually suc- cessful, and who has also been a factor in the civic life of his com- munity, is Fred C. Ledger, whose 192-acre farm is situated in Nelson and Solon townships. Mr. Ledger was born near Jersey City, N. J., Oct. 28, 1858, son of Fred C. Ledger. The elder man was born in England and emigrated to the United States in young manhood, set- tling at Jersey City, N. J., where he resided for some years. He died in New Jersey. He and Mrs. Ledger became the parents of five chil- dren : Gill, Frank, Lewis, Elizabeth, and Fred C. Fred C. Ledger, the younger, received a common school education in the city of his birth, but as he was ambitious he gave much of his spare time to study after leaving school and as a consequence is today one of the well- informed men of his community. When he started upon his career he chose farming as his vocation, and this occupation he has continued to follow, having won his own way to success without aid or assis- II-15
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tance from outside sources. Also, his success has not been a matter of chance or happy circumstance, for each step in his career has been carefully taken, and all his operations have been directed by sound judgment and an appreciation of possibilities. He came to Kent county in 1876, and at the present writing he is owner of 192 acres of land, of which 112 acres are under a high state of cultivation and producing annually bumper crops. He has devoted himself to gen- eral farming principally, although he does some dairying and stock- raising, and in each department has shown skill and a knowledge of conditions and general business. In the development of his farm into one of the model country places of Nelson township, he has brought into play the use of modern machinery and equipment, and his build- ings have been erected with an eye to attractiveness and utilization, substantiality and usefulness. While he has been very busily engaged in his private affairs, Mr. Ledger has not neglected his community's interests. In fact he has been one of the most public-spirited and useful citizens of his locality. Always a friend of public education, he has served his township as a member of the board of school direc- tors for twenty-two years, and in addition has been supervisor of Nelson township for three terms in succession and was formerly presi- dent of the village of Sand Lake for two terms. His public service has been faithful and efficient, winning him the regard and gratitude of his fellow-citizens. Fraternally, Mr. Ledger belongs to Cedar Springs Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his political views make him a Republican. Mr .Ledger married Nellie Ann, daughter of Philip and Mary (Lovell) Smith, one of the old and honored families of Kent county which was founded here by Mr. Smith when this part of the country was still covered by the forests. Mr. and Mrs. Ledger have had the following children: Victor P., engaged in the meat business at Sand Lake, married Mary, daughter of Henry Yoast, and has two children-Philip and Leo, the elder in school; Harry, who is engaged in farming in Nelson township; Bertha, who is the wife of Fred Peck, of Grand Rapids, sales agent for an automobile concern, and has a daughter, Neva Charlotte; Lester, engaged in the meat business at Sand Lake, married Grace Hefler, and Lewis is a pupil in the public school at Sand Lake.
Peter Leestma .- Among the young men who have been selected to superintend its affairs by the Grand Rapids Savings Bank, one whose more than ordinary success is based upon the possession of ex- tended experience, combined with marked inherent ability and sound financial judgment, is Peter Leestma, manager of the Grandville and Cordelia Street Branch. From the time that he entered upon his career after leaving school, Mr. Leestma has been identified with banking affairs, his services having been accepted by several of the city's leading institutions. He was born at Oosterbierem, Province of Friesland, Netherlands, Aug. 19, 1880, son of Peter S. and Rena (Tolsma) Leestma, natives of the same place. In his native land the father was a barber by vocation and later a farmer, and in 1883 brought his family to the United States, first settling in the city of Grand Rapids, where he followed various occupations. In 1889 he went to a farm in the vicinity of Friesland, Mich., and there con- tinued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, his death occurring Dec. 5, 1906. Mrs. Leestma had
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passed away, April 16, 1905, in the faith of the Reformed church, of which her husband was also a member. They were parents of the following children: Frank, deceased; Bertha, wife of W. Vander Heide, of Grand Rapids; Ren, who lives at Douglas, Mich .; Martin, of Grand Rapids; Elizabeth, wife of J. G. Van Zoeren, of Friesland ; Peter, and Bendert, of Chicago, Ill. Peter Leestma was educated in the public schools of Grand Rapids and Friesland and at Mclachlan's Business University, and Jan. 21, 1908, became teller of the State Bank of Michigan, which was located on Wealthy street. On July 1 of the same year the bank consolidated with the Kent County Bank, and Mr. Leestma was connected with the East End Branch of the Kent County Savings Bank until April 5, 1910, when he transferred his services to the Michigan Exchange Bank, a private institution, of which he became assistant cashier. This bank was later pur- chased by the Grand Rapids Savings Bank, at the time that it as- sumed control of a number of smaller organizations, and Jan. 1, 1917, Mr. Leestma was appointed to his present position as manager of the Grandville and Cordelia Street Branch of this large institution. Mr. Leestma is known as a young man of unusual banking ability and knowledge, safe in his judgments, correct in his estimates and con- servative in his policies. While he has been the incumbent of his present position for only a short time, he has already impressed him- self favorably upon the people of the community and has made many warm friends in his new surroundings. Politically he is a Republican. He belongs to the Reformed church, of which he was formerly a trustee for five years, and still remains active in the work of the church, being a teacher in the Sunday school and a member of the Christian Endeavor Society. As a public-spirited citizen, interested in the progress of and advancement of his community, he is acting as treasurer of the Grandville Avenue Improvement Association. Mr. Leestma was married, June 9, 1909, to Gertrude, daughter of Freder- ick J. and Susanna (Witman) Michmershuizen, of Grand Rapids. They are the parents of two children: Ethel Gertrude, born June 9, 1912, and Harold Frederick, Aug. 9, 1917.
Charles H. Leonard .- The name of Charles H. Leonard has for many years been intimately associated with Grand Rapids history, and to him one of the towering manufacturing houses owes the initial success which has later brought it its country-wide prestige. His activities along manufacturing and other lines have been so well directed and his management of affairs so masterly handled that he is rated among the able business men of today, and has earned the confidence and gratitude of men of high business standing with whom he has been associated. His success has been entirely due to his own ability, and his advance to high position has been steady and con- tinuous. He was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 15, 1847, and is descended from Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather, Silas Leonard, having served in the Revolutionary war, other forebears who served being William Hincher, Jr., a private in the Brookfield company, Massachusetts militia, and his great-grandfather was Serg. William Hincher, of Col. Job Cushing's Massachusetts regiment. Mr. Leonard's education was received at Grand Rapids, where he was graduated in the Grand Rapids high school with the class of 1866, having taken a classical course. His initial business experience was
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secured in his father's store, and in 1868 he was admitted as junior partner to the firm of H. Leonard & Sons, dealers in crockery and house furnishing goods. For fourteen years Mr. Leonard continued to devote himself to the business of this concern, but toward the close of that period began to become interested in refrigerators, and finally, in 1882, took out a patent for an improvement thereon, immediately beginning their manufacture on a small scale. Three years of dis- couragement followed, in which Mr. Leonard lost considerable money, but he had faith in himself and his ideas and eventually success came as a reward for his perseverence and courage. The business began to prosper, many other patents were taken out, and four plants, one after the other, were outgrown by the volume of business that flowed into the concern. The Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company, with a capital stock and surplus of $1,000,000, is a closed corporation, all stock being owned by the family, with Mr. Leonard's son, Harry C., and two sons-in-law, together with his brother, Frank E., members of the company. The Leonard Cleanable Poreclain-lined refrigerators are manufactured at the factory on Clyde Park avenue, which occu- pies thirteen acres of ground and is the largest plant of its kind in the country. The annual output is approximately $1,250,000, and 500 people are given employment. Mr. Leonard continues as president of the company. The Leonard Cleanable Porcelain-lined refrigerators ness judgment and executive power have strengthened and developed. When the question of a water supply for Grand Rapids was being seriously agitated the interested citizens were divided in opinion be- tween Lake Michigan and Grand River as the source from which to obtain the water. Mr. Leonard opposed the Lake Michigan project, on account of the greater expenditure of money and the danger to the necessary appliances from severe storms and ice floes. He earn- estly championed the Grand River proposition, and to that end caused to be constructed a filtration plant to demonstrate its feasi- bility. The demonstration was so successful that his plan was adopted and the present magnificent filtration plant of the Grand Rapids water- works system is thus a monument to his genius and loyal interest in civic affairs. He retains his interest in the business of H. Leonard & Sons and has numerous other connections. He is one of the active members of the Chamber of Commerce and has served as a member of the Board of Education, and belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution, being second vice-president of Michigan Chapter, and holding Nos. Michigan 701 and National 36,776. He married Emma J. Carr, daughter of Col. James W. Carr, and of this union were born three children: Harry C., Mrs. Jennie L. Harvey, and Mrs. Jessie L. Whittier.
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