USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 108
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WEBSTER IRBY SALLEE, vice president of the Bridgeport Sand & Coal Company, and well known in business circles by reason of his varied and intelli- gently directed activities, was born in Sharpsville, Indiana, December 11, 1883, and is a son of Henry H. and Mary Catherine (Jones) Sallee. The mother has passed away but the father survives and makes his home in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Webster I. Sallee mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools of his native state and was a pupil in the high school at Tipton, Indiana. His first work on starting out in the business world was with the Cincinnati Gas Company, which he repre- sented as a traveling salesman, selling coke. This gave him a knowledge of the business that led later to the organization in Indianapolis of the W. I. Sallee Company for the handling of coal and coke. Later this business was merged with that of the Aetna Coal and Ice Company and Mr. Sallee sold his in- terests.
In the spring of 1910 he arrived in Detroit and for two and a half years was representative of the National Coal Company of Cleveland, Ohio. He after- ward spent a year and a half in connection with the Parker Brothers Company and then organized the R. E. Hamilton & Sons Company, which was forced to close on account of the war. He afterward formed the Detroit Fuel and Foundry Supply Company, which
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closed out its business in 1918. Mr. Sallee then organ- ized the Bridgeport Sand & Coal Company, of which he is now the vice president. This company handles foundry sand and has developed a patronage of grati- fying proportions. He is also the secretary of the Grand Haven Sand Company and the president of the Kentucky Ridge Mining Company, which is operating in coal.
On the 11th of February, 1903, Mr. Sallee was married to Miss Jennetta N. Henze of Indianapolis, and they have become the parents of a daughter: Ethel Ruth, who is now a student in the Northern high school at Detroit.
Mr. Sallee belongs to the Detroit Board of Com- merce and is identified with Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Religiously he is connected with the Wood- ward Avenue Methodist church and politically with the republican party. That he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated in his connection with various clubs, including the Old Colony, Trans- portation, Detroit Wheelmen's and Fellowcraft Ath- letic Clubs.
VERNE W. TUCKER was born October 25, 1884, at St. Louis, Michigan, a son of Willard D. and Mary Louise (Briggs) Tucker. His father was a pioneer newspaper publisher in Ithaca, Michigan. and author of the History of Gratiot County. He is now residing in South Haven, Michigan.
Verne W. Tucker is the president of the Apel-Tucker Studio, designers of art work for advertisers. The Apel-Tucker Studio enjoys a national reputation for creative ability in advertising design, having pro- duced many of the most striking advertisements that have appeared in the magazines and newspapers of the country. Its splendidly equipped studio is located in the Marquette building.
Mr. Tucker was married at Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 19, 1910, to Majel Wright, daughter of Thomas P. and Helen Wright, now of Detroit. They have three sons: John Wright, born in 1911; Robert Verne, born in 1913; and William Allan, born in 1916. Mr. Tucker is a member of the Adcraft Club, the Players, and as art director of The Detroit Golfer takes a lively in- terest in the activities of the Golf and Country Clubs of this district.
RALPH REED RICHARDS. Wherever capital is heavily interested the services of men of technical training in the science of auditing and accounting are vitally essential. This is peculiarly true in a city like Detroit where new corporations are being formed al- most daily and where consolidations and increases of capitalization of existing corporations are of common occurrence. Then, too, the Federal tax law with its many perplexing angles, forms a new field for the trained man and has brought into the field of account- ing many new individuals and associations offering
their services to the public as specialists along lines of accounting, auditing and tax work.
The Richards Audit Company occupies a leading position among the firms engaged in this profession in Detroit, not only because of its reliability and efficiency but also for the extent of its operations. This company was organized by Ralph R. Richards in 1912, and its success has been so pronounced that offices have been opened in several other large cities, operations now being carried on in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Omaha, Tulsa, Flint, Saginaw, Pontiac and Windsor, Ontario.
Ralph R. Richards was born in Chicago, March 25, 1876. He attended the public schools in that city until fourteen years of age, at which time he began his business career with Lobdell, Farwell & Company, bankers and brokers. He remained with that company seven years and during that time acquired a wide knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting. After working for various manufacturing companies for several years he became associated with Barrow-Wade- Guthrie & Company, public accountants and auditors. At the age of twenty-five years he became a senior accountant and was later identified with the Everitt Audit Company, as senior accountant of their Chicago office.
In 1912 Mr. Richards located in Detroit and opened offices in the Ford building, removing to the Book building when opened for occupancy. He has remained in that building constantly since then, although in- creasing business has necessitated several moves to larger quarters within the building. At present the firm occupies a beautiful and commodious suite of offices on the sixth floor at No. 620 to No. 623. As business expands and new offices are opened Mr. Rich- ards places one of his own men, trained in the Richards methods, at its head and also gives him a financial in- terest in that particular office. This naturally is a great incentive to the men so favored, in their ef- forts to increase the earnings of their respective offices and stimulates a friendly rivalry between the men in the various cities. In keeping with this policy of rewarding his men, Mr. Richards appointed H. D. Kilets as resident manager of the Detroit office on January 1, 1918. Previous to this date Mr. Kilets had served as a senior accountant on the staff of the company since April 1, 1917. Prior to joining the Richards Audit Company, Mr. Kilets had practiced as a professional accountant and auditor in the state for twenty-five years. On January 1, 1921, Mr. Kilets was made a partner in the business of the Detroit office, outside of which connection no one, other than Mr. Richards, has any financial interest in the com- pany.
On February 2, 1909, Mr. Richards was married to Marguerette Richmond, of Illinois, whose parents came from Scotland. Mr. Richards himself is of English and Welsh descent.
Although he is very active in the conduct of his
RALPH R. RICHARDS
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various offices, acting, as he does, in the capacity of general manager, Mr. Richards has a wide range of social and fraternal affiliations. He is one of the best known whist players in America and is a director of the American Whist League. He has won many prizes in National Whist Tournaments and has adopted for his trade mark a facsimile of the league's emblem with three R's (his initials) in place of the A. W. L. of the American Whist League. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of Union Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M .; Peninsular Chapter, No. 16, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; Michigan Sovereign Con- sistory and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Elks. His clubs are the Avia- tion Country, Fellowcraft, Masouic Country, Old Col- ony, of which he is a member of the advisory board, Minneapolis Athletic, Cleveland Athletic and the widely known Hamilton Club of Chicago.
WALTER GUSTAV TAEPKE, a successful Detroit florist, has devoted his life to this business and as the years have passed has enjoyed a most gratifying measure of prosperity. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging and developing this he has shown a most progressive spirit and thorough knowledge of every branch of the trade as well as of the most practical and scientific methods of plant culture. Detroit numbers him among her native sons. He was born June 23, 1884, his par- ents being Gustave H. and Katherine (Waltz) Taepke. The father was of European birth, but the mother was born in Detroit. The former came to this city at the age of sixteen years and later engaged in the florist business, organizing his interests under the name of the Gustave H. Taepke Company. He bent his en- ergies to the development of the trade and the im- provement of his business in every way until it became one of large proportions, and he continued suc- cessfully to conduct the enterprise until his death, which occurred in 1915, when he was sixty-one years of age. His widow is still living within a block of where she was born in February, 1853. By her marriage she became the mother of four children: Mrs. Martin Brown, Mrs. B. J. Haberkorn, Mrs. Omar Rudkwicz and Walter G. of this review. All are residents of Detroit.
Walter G. Taepke was the second in order of birth in the family and his education was obtained in the public schools of his native city. When his textbooks were put aside he became associated with his father in the floral business, which had been established in 1878, and upon his father's death in 1915 he incorpo- rated the business under the name of the Gustave H. Taepke Floral Company, of which he has since been president and manager. This is a close corporation. The company owns a large greenhouse at No. 2730 Elmwood avenue. The rarest and most beautiful cut flowers can be obtained in this establishment, together with all kinds of plants and floral pieces for every
occasion. A large out-of-town trade is supplied through the Detroit house, the company making shipments everywhere.
On the 23d of June, 1910, Mr. Taepke was married to Miss Grace E. Price and they have become parents of two daughters: Mary Barbara, who was born in Detroit in 1911; and Grace Jean, born in 1913. Both are now attending school.
In his political views Mr. Taepke is a republican and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce, to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Yacht Club, the Detroit Floral Society and the Society of American Florists. While the record of a business man is less spectacular than that of the mili- tary hero or the political leader, it is none the less essential and none the less valuable, and Mr. Taepke is numbered among the progressive men of Detroit who, pursuing the even tenor of his way, has built up a substantial business and has ever been recognized as one of the worthy residents of his native city.
BURTON WARNER, whose name awakens favor- able comment in professional circles among civil en- gineers and surveyors, is the junior partner in the firm of Warner & Warner of Detroit. He was born June 12, 1891, in the city which is still his home. His father, Harry E. Warner, was a native of Ashtabula, Ohio, and became a well known veterinary surgeon. He married Ida Miller, who was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and after residing for a number of years in that place they removed to Michigan in 1879, settling in Detroit, where the father practiced his profession for a number of years and where both he and his wife still make their home. They had but two children: Harry E. and Burton, constituting the firm of Warner & Warner.
In the acquirement of his education Burton Warner attended the public and high schools of Detroit and then entered the employ of the Canadian government, working in the Canadian northwest in the surveying and engineering department. There he received the training which constituted the foundation for his fu- ture professional success. He remained in the employ of the Canadian government for five years, on the expiration of which period he returned to Detroit and became a member of the firm of Warner & Warner, joining his brother, who also had had considerable experience in this line. They have since done a large amount of work in road engineering and surveying and have been very successful in all of their efforts. At the outbreak of the World war Burton Warner enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixth Engineers Regiment, One Hundred and Thirty-first Division, and for a year and a half was overseas in France, doing active work in building roads and other engineering tasks that contributed largely to the winning of the war. He rose from private to the rank of second
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lieutenant. He was discharged at Camp Custer July 17, 1919, and then entered upon the active work of the partnership relation with his brother.
Burton Warner is a member of the Phi Epsilon, a college fraternity, and also of the Detroit Board of Commerce. He is fond of outdoor life and during his connection with the Canadian government was compelled on more than one occasion to supply his larder with food from the wild districts of the Cana- dian Rockies. At such times he sought the larger game, such as moose, elk, deer and bear, and became an expert shot. He greatly enjoys hunting and fishing, especially when he has the opportunity to seek the big game in the wilds of the northwest.
DAVID LEE HEMPSTED, a well known merchant of Detroit, proprietor and originator of the business conducted under the name of the Dollar Hat Store, achieved success and won an honored name as well in mercantile circles. His birth occurred in Palmer, Massachusetts, on the 7th of April, 1840, his parents having been David Lee and Joanna K. (King) Hemp- sted, whose family numbered six children. The an- cestral line can be traced back to an early period in colonial history. The first representatives of the name in America came to the United States in 1642 and founded Hempstead, Long Island. The family was subsequently established in New London, Connecticut, where successive generations have resided until the present day. A copy of the family coat-of-arms is in the possession of the family at Detroit. David Lee Hempsted, Sr., the father of him whose name intro- duces this review, was engaged in mercantile pur- suits in early manhood and later devoted his attention to railroad contracting, building a part of what is now the New York Central Railroad in western New York. He passed away August 28, 1852, and his wife survived him until the 17th of January, 1901.
David Lee Hempsted, Jr., was a small boy when his parents removed to the state of New York and attended the Union school of Geneva, New York, until fifteen years of age and then entered the Temple Hill school of Geneseo, New York, in which he continued his studies for about two years. He enlisted for service in the Civil war and was a member of the quartermaster's department during the years 1863 and 1864 under General Benjamin F. Butler. He learned telegraphy and became a train dispatcher, being em- ployed along that line until he came to Detroit in 1871. Here he secured a position in the fur manu- facturing house of F. Buhl & Company, which was established in 1833 and with which he remained until 1880. In the latter year he became a member of the firm of Henry Newland & Company and in this connection conducted a wholesale business in hats and furs for six years. It was in 1898 that he estab- lished the Dollar Hat Store on Griswold street, the original store of its kind in the United States and of which he remained proprietor until the time of his
demise, building up an extensive trade which made the enterprise a most profitable one. He was recog- nized as a merchant of unquestioned integrity and reliability.
On the 6th of September, 1866, at Rochester, New York, Mr. Hempsted was united in marriage to Miss Sophronia C. Vose, a native of Spencer, New York, daughter of Samuel Vose, a prominent family of Rochester, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Hempsted were born four children, one of whom died in infancy. The surviving daughters are Ella V., Joanna K. and Clara Lee. Miss Joanna K. Hempsted was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1896 with high scholastic honors and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa, honorary fraternity. She is now head of the history department of the Western high school at Detroit.
In his political views Mr. Hempsted was a stanch republican, while his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. He belonged to the Bowling Club and was also identified with the Board of Com- merce, manifesting keen interest in all matters pertain- ing to the city's upbuilding, the extension of its trade relations and the maintenance of its high civic standards. His death occurred June 9, 1914, after a residence of forty-three years in Detroit, and his remains were interred in Woodmere cemetery. Mr. Hempsted was a man of pleasing personality, pos- sessing a jovial manner which won for him a host of friends. He was always deeply interested in young men, many of whom sought his advice and counsel, and it has been often said that Mr. Hempsted was never too busy to do a favor for his young friends and his memory is revered by many who profited by his advice and recommendations. His demise was deeply deplored, for his career had ever been such as to commend him to the confidence and esteem of all with whom he was associated and in social rela- tions he had endeared himself to a host of friends. The family home is located at 640 Putnam avenue.
GEORGE MICHAEL LEHMAN, engaged in law practice in Detroit as a member of the law firm of C. H. & G. M. Lehman, has always been a resident of Michigan, his birth having occurred at Chelsea on the 28th of April, 1885. His parents were Michael J. and Mary (Schumacher) Lehman. The father passed away in 1912. Prior to his death he practiced law in Ann Arbor and later in Detroit. The mother resides at Ann Arbor.
George M. Lehman was a pupil in the public schools of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and then entered the State University, in which he pursued his more specifically literary course, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1908. In the same year he matriculated as a law student and won his professional degree in 1911. He thus qualified for the profession to which his father and brother were devoting their energies and is there- fore the third representative of the family to engage
DAVID LEE HEMPSTED
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in the practice of law, joining his brother in a part- nership relation under the name of C. H. & G. M. Lehman. The subject of this review has since devoted his attention to general law practice. The firm is building up a good business, having a clientage that has connected them with considerable important liti- gation.
On the 19th of November, 1913, Mr. Lehmau was married to Miss Nora Reithmiller, a native of Jackson, Michigan. Mr. Lehman is much interested in athletic sports, to which he turns for recreation and diversion. He is a member of the Detroit Bar Association, and with the thoroughness that characterizes him in all that he undertakes he devotes the major part of his attention to his professional duties, recognizing that industry is just as essential a requisite to success in the practice of law as in trade or commercial relations. He therefore prepares his cases with precision and care, so that he is ready to meet any attack of the opposing counsel and ready as well to present his own cause with clearness, cogeney and force.
WILLIAM C. KETTENRING is president of the Kettenring Sales Company, Incorporated, of Detroit, distributors of the Revere motor cars, in which con- nection the firm acts as agents for eastern Michigan. Mr. Kettenring is a Cornell University man, of highly scientific and thoroughly practical mechanical training. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, March 12, 1885, and is a son of William R. and Lillian Myrtle (Watterman) Kettenring, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. The father became a well known manufacture of woodworking machinery at Defiance, Ohio, where he conducted business for many years. He passed away in Toledo, Ohio, in 1915. His wife, however, died in Defiance. Three children were born of their marriage.
The only surviving member of the family is William C. Kettenring, who in early life was a pupil in the public schools of Defiance, and afterward attended the Catskill school at Ithaca, New York, from which he was graduated in 1905. He later entered Cornell Uni- versity and completed two years' college work. He then decided to learn the trade of a machinist, in ac- cordance with which he secured his training and served his apprenticeship in shops at Defiance and Cincinnati. Having obtained a technical mastery, he followed the trade for several years and later became a traveling salesman, in connection with metal-working machinery, representing the Machinists Metal-Working Machinery Company of Defiance. He organized this company but afterward disposed of the business and removed to Detroit, where he took up his residence in January, 1919. Here he organized the Kettenring Sales Company, and secured a favorable location at 5764 Cass avenue, where he obtained a building suit- able to the needs of automobile sales, having both a salesroom and repair shop. The Locomobile was in- troduced to the Detroit market by the appointment of Vol. III-60
Mr. Ketttenring to the agency for eastern Michigan. His business ability and training are of such a char- acter as to qualify him well for the work which he has undertaken here, and already his business has grown to very substantial proportions.
Mr. Kettenring is a Knights Templar Mason, belong- ing to the lodge at Defiance, Ohio, and to the con- sistory. He is also a member of the Detroit Auto- mobile Club. Mr. Kettenring is making for himself a most favorable reputation, not only in motor car circles, but wherever his business and social relations have extended.
HARRY R. DEERING, who for the past nine years has occupied the responsible position of general su- perintendent of the sheet metal plant of the Hayes Manufacturing Company of Detroit, has been identified with the automobile industry throughout his business career and has developed unusual ability as a fatcory expert and executive. He was born in Detroit on the 16th of October, 1882, his parents being Jonathan and Louise (Johnston) Deering, the former a native of Massachusetts, while the latter was of Scotch-Canadian descent. His education was acquired in the public schools of this city and since putting aside his text- books he has been continuously connected with the automobile industry until he is now an acknowledged expert in factory and executive work. He first be- came an employe of the Chalmers Motor Company, with which he was advanced to the position of assist- ant purchasing agent, while subsequently he entered the service of the Hayes Manufacturing Company and through the past nine years has acted as general superintendent of its sheet metal plant. In this con- nection he directs the labors of eight hundred men, for he is thoroughly familiar with every phase of the work and displays executive ability of a superior order.
In 1916 Mr. Deering was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Farrell and they now have a daughter, Dor- othy. Mr. Deering is a member of the Society of Automobile Engineers and of the Board of Commerce, while his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. His life has been spent in Detroit and he has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of its most worthy and esteemed young business men and citizens.
ALFRED FOSTER STEPHENS is the vice president of the Arctic Ice Cream Company of Detroit, in which connection he has built up a business which is the second largest in the city. A spirit of unfaltering enterprise has actuated him at every point in his career and unflagging industry and determination have carried him to the point of business prominence which he now occupies. He was born on a farm in Oakland county, Michigan, September 15, 1869, and is a son of Chalin and Margaret M. (Fiero) Stephens. After ac- quiring a district school education in Oakland county he attended the State Normal School at Fenton, Michi-
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gan, and in 1890, when a young man of twenty-one years, came to Detroit. Here he entered upon the manufacture of ice cream on his own account and from 1899 until 1907 was connected with the Detroit Cream- ery Company. In the succeeding year he founded the Arctic Ice Cream Company, of which he has since been the president, and today the business is the second in size of its kind in Detroit. In addition to the main plant in this city the company has con- densing plants at Grand Ledge, Fenton and Hastings and milk receiving stations at Richmond, Birch Run, Shear's Station and Shotke Station, and an ice cream plant in Grand Rapids, all in Michigan. At the be- ginning new customers were secured through personal solicitation and the equipment consisted of a small manufacturing plant and two wagons for delivery. Today the company has forty-five trucks and thirty- five wagons and employs an average of one hundred and fifty men. Thirty thousand gallons of milk per day are received and during the manufacturing season from the 1st of May until the 1st of October the daily output of ice cream is eight thousand gallons. Ship- ments to all parts of the United States are made from the condensing plants and the business has become one of the most important industries of this character in the middle west.
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