USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 104
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Frederick F. Blodgett attended the public schools to the eighth grade and then put aside his textbooks in order to go to work. His first position was with the Safety Furnace Pipe Company and he received the munificent salary of two dollars per week. He continued with the company for two years and then secured a posi- tion in the Detroit Opera House as usher and checkroom manager. He worked there for a considerable time and became well acquainted during that period with many of the leading members of the theatrical profession. He gave up that position to accept a more lucrative one with the firm of Johnson & Foster, wholesale cigar dealers, with whom he continued until 1900, when he went to work as a bookkeeper for the Dime Savings Bank. His
next position was with the firm of Walker & Company, but after a short period he returned to the Dime Savings Bank as bookkeeper and remained there until August, 1912, when he left the bank to organize what became known as the R. C. L. Company. This business he con- ducted successfully until 1915, when he disposed of his interests and became one of the organizers of the Blod- gett, Sanders & Williamson Company, which was formed for the purpose of manufacturing tools and taking engi- neering contracts. After a time Mr. Biodgett purchased the interests of his partners and reorganized the company in October, 1916. The business has since been carried on under the name of the Blodgett Engineering & Tool Company. He also organized the Mather Pattern Com- pany of Muskegon, Michigan, but sold out his business there in November, 1919. The Blodgett Engineering & Tool Company was incorporated for one hundred thou- sand dollars. He is the president and the principal stockholder and is now at the head of a business which employs one hundred and sixty-three people in the man- ufacture of tools, dies, jigs, fixtures and machinery. The business is a growing one and has long since reached profitable proportions. Mr. Blodgett is also the owner of another important business enterprise, conducted under the name of the Blodgett Hat Company at No. 210 Sixth street, Detroit. Here he manufactures and designs ladies' hats and the output amounts to about sixty dozen per day. They are large distributors to the trade and employ eighty people in hat manufacturing in a plant of most modern equipment.
On the 28th of June, 1906, Mr. Blodgett was married to Miss Mabel Foster, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert E. Foster. Both parents have now passed away, her father's death having occurred in Detroit, January 16, 1916.
Fraternally Mr. Blodgett is a Mason, belonging to Palestine Lodge, No. 357, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, No. 133, R. A. M .; and Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T. He is also vice chairman of the Metal Trades Division, is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce, belongs to the Century Club of Muskegon, Michigan, and his religious faith is indicated by his con- nection with the Woodward Avenue Congregational church. His interests and activities are broad and var- ied, but it is well known that his aid and support can always be counted upon to further plans and measures for the general good. Those who know him recognize in him a man of sterling worth and one whose entire course has been a credit to Detroit, his native city.
WILLIAM J. WINDISCH is the vice president and manager of W. C. Windisch & Company, having the oldest book bindery in Detroit and one of the most suc- cessful enterprises of this kind in Michigan. It is true that William J. Windisch entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging and controlling this many a man of less resolute spirit and of more limited powers of adaptability would have failed. He has kept abreast with the conditions and demands of the times along the
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line of his business and he has one of the most modern and best equipped plants of the kind in the state.
Mr. Windisch is a native of Detroit. He was born May 24, 1882, and is a son of William C. and Johanna (Boepple) Windisch, who were also natives of this city, where they were reared, educated and married. The father was the founder of the book bindery of W. C. Windisch & Company, upon which business he entered after having served for thirty-one years as superintendent with the firm of Richards & Backus, printers and binders. He was always considered to be one of the finest work- men in his line and through merit and ability advanced steadily to that position. In 1902 he resigned to organize and establish a business of his own, which he began in a small way and which has developed into one of the larg- est in the city. The father passed away in Detroit in 1917, after a lingering illness. The mother still makes her home in this city and is the president of the firm of W. C. Windisch & Company, which is a close corpora- tion. Their family numbered five children: George W., who is a member of the firm; and Louise, Eleanor, Florine and William J., all of Detroit.
In early life William J. Windisch entered the public schools of his native city and after leaving the high school he secured a position with the well known wholesale jewelry firm known as the Noack & Hornblower Company. He continued with that house for four years and thor- oughly learned the jeweler's trade, after which he entered the business established by his father and started in a minor capacity, gradually working his way upward as he acquainted himself with the various phases and details of the business. He is now the vice president and manager and in this connection is directing the activities of a well equipped plant, in which more than fifty people are employed. They do all kinds of fancy book binding, turning out most artistic work.
Mr. Windisch was married on the 11th of June, 1906, to Miss Kathryn Muelsmann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Muelsmann, of Detroit, and they have two children: Warren, who was born in 1907; and Kathryn, born in 1911. Both are pupils in the public schools.
Mr. Windisch is a Mason, belonging to Palestine Lodge. He also belongs to the Exchange Club, to the Credit Men's Association and to the St. Clair Flats Improvement Association, of which he is the secretary and treasurer. These connections indicate his deep interest in the improvement of business conditions and in the promotion of projects which advance the civic standards and lead to the further development and improvement of the city.
HENRY R. CARSTENS, M. D. The name of Car- stens has long been a prominent and honored one in medical circles of Detroit and Dr. Henry R. Carstens, one of the younger practitioners of the city, is ably sustaining the traditions of the family in this respect. Dr. Carstens is a native of this city, his birth having occurred on the 19th of December, 1888, and he is the son of Dr. J. Henry and Hattie E. (Rohnert) Carstens,
the father having been one of the oldest and most prominent surgeons of Detroit. His preliminary edu- cation was acquired in the public and high schools of this city, after which he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1909 with the Bachelor of Arts degree, while in 1911 he took the M. D. degree upon graduation from the Detroit College of Medicine. He then went to Berlin, Germany, where he took further work in internal medi- cine in the hospitals and in the University of Berlin during 1911 and 1912. Thus well qualified for his chosen life work, he returned to Detroit and entered upon the practice of his profession, opening an office at the corner of Trumbull and Grand River avenues, and in 1915 he removed to his present location in the David Whitney building. He is specializing in internal medicine. He is junior physician in the Department of Medicine at Harper Hospital and is assistant pro- fessor of internal medicine in the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery. Through his membership in the Wayne County and Michigan State Medical So- cieties, the American Medical Association, the De- troit Medical Club, the Detroit Society of Internal Medicine, etc., he keeps abreast with the advancement that is constantly being made in medical science. In 1916-17 he served as secretary of the Wayne County Medical Society.
Dr. Carstens is a veteran of the World war and his military record is a most commendable one. On the 15th of November, 1915, he was commissioned first lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps and in the summer and fall of 1916 he served for six months on the active list at various posts. After war was de- clared he again entered upon active service, May 19, 1917, and was one of the first to sail for France, his overseas service beginning June 16, 1917, and con- tinuing until the 3d of August, 1919. He was com- missioned captain in June, 1917, major in February, 1919, and lieutenant colonel in May, 1919. At first he was attached to the British Forces, being assigned to the War Hospital at Edinburgh, Scotland. Subse- quently he was with Field Ambulance, No. 19, and The Cameronians, First Scottish Rifles (Thirty-third Divi- sion, British Expeditionary Forces) in Belgium. His service with the American Expeditionary Forces was in connection with A. R. C. Military Hospital, No. 3, at Paris, where he filled the offices of chief of medical service, adjutant, etc. He was honorably discharged on the 27th of August, 1919, after notable military service, and returned to Detroit, where he again took up the practice of his profession.
In his political views Dr. Carstens is a republican, giving his earnest support to the principles and can- didates of the party, and he holds membership in the Detroit Athletic Club, the Harmonie Society, the De- troit Boat Club, Le Cercle Interallié (Paris) and the Army and Navy Club of Washington. Dr. Carstens has made continuous progress in his profession, and although but thirty-three years of age, he has already
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attained a position that many an older practitioner might well envy and he undoubtedly has a brilliant future before him. Detroit is proud to claim him as one of her native sons.
JUSTIN R. WHITING, for thirteen years a member of the Detroit bar, associated with the law firm of Warren, Cady, Ladd & Hill, but since January, 1921, general counsel of the Michigan Railway and the Hayes Wheel Company at Jackson, Michigan, was born in St. Clair, Michigan, March 29, 1886, a son of Justin and Emily (Owen) Whiting. The father was born at Bath, New York, and the mother in Marine City, Michigan. The former came to this state with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Whiting, who settled on Mackinac island, at the old fort. Henry Whiting took an active part in the Civil war with the rank of colonel, being at the front through- out the entire period of hostilities. His son, Justin Whit- ing, became a prominent merchant in early manhood and after disposing of his mercantile interests turned his attention to public affairs and in 1898 was a prominent candidate for governor against his successful opponent, Governor Pingree. He was later elected to congress from the seventh district of Michigan and sat in the national legislative halls for eight years, becoming an active supporter of many bills which found their way to the statute books of the country. He also held other offices of public honor and trust and passed away in St. Clair, Michigan, in 1900, his wife dying the same year. In their family were eight children, seven of whom sur- vive, namely: Mrs. W. E. Burkless, of St. Clair, Michi- gan; Justin R .; John P., living at Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada; Mrs. H. A. Hopkins, of St. Clair, Michigan; Bruce F., also of St. Clair; Mrs. John E. Small, of Chicago, Illinois; and Frances, of St. Clair, Michigan.
In early life Justin R. Whiting of this review attended the public and high schools of his native city and after- ward went to Jackson, Michigan, where he was con- nected with the legal department of the street railway system for five years, and for an equal period he was connected with Richard Price, a prominent attorney. He next entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was there graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1907, after which he located for practice in Port Huron, where for a short time he was associated with Sanford W. Ladd. In 1907 he came to Detroit and through the succeeding thirteen years con- tinued in the general practice of law, making a specialty of street railway litigation, having become an expert in that branch of the profession. In January, 1921, he became general counsel of the Michigan Railway and the Hayes Wheel Company. He is a member of the Detroit Bar Association and has won a place of prominence as a representative of the legal profession in Detroit. His early training awakened his interest in railway litigation and he has always continued active in this branch of the profession, where his developing powers have brought him to a position of leadership.
On the 1st of October, 1910, Mr. Whiting was married
to Miss Nellie Howell, of St. Clair, Michigan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Howell, of St. Louis, and they have one child, Elizabeth Jane, who was born in Jackson in 1913 and is now in school.
The political belief of Mr. Whiting is that of the demo- cratic party. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and he belongs to the Masonic lodge at St. Clair, being a loyal and exemplary representative of the craft.
J. C. MUNN, Detroit manager for the American Bridge Company, was born in the city of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and was educated in the public schools of Pittsburgh. He initiated his business career as an em- ploye of the Westinghouse Machine Company and later occupied a position in the contracting office of the Globe Fast Freight Line, where he acquired considerable knowl- edge concerning railroading. He was afterward associated with the Pittsburgh Bridge Company, starting in a minor position and working his way steadily upward through his ability, fidelity and enterprise until at the age of twenty-four years he was made secretary of the company and when twenty-eight years of age became secretary and general manager. He continued in control of the business in this connection until he reached the age of thirty, when the company sold out to the American Bridge Company.
In 1900 Mr. Munn went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as manager of the Milwaukee Bridge & Iron Company at that point and there continued until 1907, when he came to Detroit as manager for the American Bridge Company. This corporation has fourteen plants in the United States and not only builds bridges but supplies vast amounts of steel for building purposes. Under Mr. Munn's able management an extensive business has been built up in Detroit and is steadily growing. The company has supplied the steel for many of the largest and finest buildings in the city, including the Ford build- ing, the Dime Bank, the Penobscot, the David Stott, the Peoples Outfitting, the Statler Hotel, the Kresge building, the plant of the Paige Motor Company, the Durant building, the Y. M. C. A. building, the Morgan & Wright plant and the new structure for the First & Old Detroit National Bank. During the World war the company supplied the steel for the Eagle shipbuilding plant and for the Lincoln motor plant. In the case of the latter they furnished the steel from the ore to the finished product quicker than steel was ever furnished for any building in the state of Michigan. Mr. Munn sent in the order on a Tuesday and twenty-six cars of steel were on the way on Friday of the same week. In the shipbuilding plant they had five locomotive traveling cranes going all at once and in the year 1920 they had twelve such cranes in daily operation in Detroit. Mr. Munn is a thorough executive, capable of handling large affairs with ease. He readily discriminates between the essential and the non-essential in all business matters and has the faculty of combining unrelated and seemingly diverse interests into a unified and harmonious whole.
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He is also construction manager for his district as well as manager of the Detroit plant.
Mr. Munn was united in marriage to Miss Florence Faulkner Totten and they have become parents of three sons and a daughter: John C., William Alexander, Florence T. and Merden Mellier. The two oldest sons enlisted in the aircraft service before the United States entered the World war. John C. went to the Plattsburg (N. Y.) camp and William A. enlisted in February, 1917, and went to Newport News for training. He was in the air service in France for fourteen months with the rank of first lieutenant and was honorably discharged January 24, 1919, at Garden City, Long Island. John C. Munn passed the examination and was commissioned second lieutenant and was made instructor at Fort Worth, Texas. He received his discharge soon after the signing of the armis- tice. The record of these sons is such as may well awaken a feeling of pride in the parents.
Mr. Munn is a Mason of high rank. He belongs to Lafayette Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Peninsular Chapter, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Wisconsin Consistory in the Valley of Milwaukee; while with the Nobles of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Milwaukee he has crossed the sands of the desert. He belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club and to various organizations of business men. He has served as the president of the Exchange Club and has prepared for it some excellent papers on industrial subjects, including bridges, rubber and other questions of great interest in business circles. He likewise belongs to the Credit Men's Association, is vice president of the Builders and Traders Exchange, is a member of the Detroit Engineering Society and belongs to the Noontide Club of the Knights Templar. James Russell Lowell has said that an institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man, and something of the strength and capability of Mr. Munn is therefore indi- cated in the business enterprise which has developed under his direction and which is today one of the im- portant manufacturing concerns of Detroit.
T. FRED LEE. The sale of property always goes hand in hand with the development of any community and offers a wide field for the man of business ability and keen discernment. Among those now active in real estate cireles in Detroit is T. Fred Lee, who is one of Michigan's native sons, his birth having occurred in Alpena. He was educated in the grade school of his native city and initiated his business career in connection with a dry goods store of Alpena, being engaged in the trade for sixteen years. He started as a delivery boy at a salary of two dollars per week and won gradual promotion until finally he became manager of the business, holding that position for some time before he severed his connection with the store.
Upon his removal to Detroit in 1913 Mr. Lee became connected with Crowley, Milner & Company, with whom he continued for a year, when he severed his
connection with that company to take a course of training in real estate activity at the Y. M. C. A. and then established a real estate business on his own account. He has since won substantial and gratify- ing success, dealing in high class improved and vacant properties, and he also handles mortgages, leases and fire insurance. There is no phase of the real estate business in the district in which he operates with which he is not thoroughly familiar and he is regarded as one of the most reliable valuators of property in the North Woodward and North West sections of Detroit. He is likewise a director of the Detroit National Fire Insurance Company and is appraiser for the corporation. He is also a member of the Detroit Real Estate Board, on which he served as treasurer, and he belongs to the National Real Estate Association.
On February 1, 1904, Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Bowen and they have three children: Harold, Lucille and Virginia. Mr. Lee is a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He like- wise belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit Lodge of Elks, Detroit Auto Club, Detroit Board of Commerce, Oakland Hills Country Club and Los Angeles Athletic Club. He is a very active, progres- sive business man, wide-awake, alert and energetic, and he is today a prominent figure in real estate cireles, with a large and important clientele.
PATRICK H. KANE is one of the rising young at- torneys of Detroit whose record thus far indicates that his future course will be well worth watching. Born at Port Huron, Michigan, February 6, 1890, he is a son of John and Annie (Veale) Kane, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of Ireland. The mother was brought to the new world by her parents when only a year old, the family home being established in this state. The father was a well known and prominent lawyer of Port Huron and for three terms filled the office of city attorney there. For many years he devoted his time to a large practice and in Port Huron passed away in 1911. His widow survives and now resides in Detroit. In their family were three children. Both parents in early life were successful school teachers and James Kane, brother of Patrick, and also his sister, taught school-a profession which Patrick H. Kane has likewise followed. It will thus be seen that all the family have been keenly interested in educational matters. Patrick H. Kane was a teacher for four years in the schools of Anchorville and Emmett, Michigan, acting as principal in the former place. His brother, James M. Kane, has become a prominent attorney of Detroit and of Dayton, Ohio, being in the government service in the latter city until January 1, 1920, when he returned to Detroit. The sister, Miss Mary Kane, is also living in Detroit.
In early life Patrick H. Kane was a pupil in St. Stephen's Catholic school at Port Huron and later he followed the profession of teaching, as previously indicated. Coming to Detroit, he entered the Detroit College of Law and
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afterward became a student in the law department of the University of Detroit. He and his brother, James M., were the first students to graduate from the law department of that institution, where they completed their course in 1914. Patrick H. Kane then returned to Port Huron, where he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in his father's office, there remaining until 1917, when he enlisted in the air service of the United States army and was sent to the flying field at Dayton, Ohio, where he remained until the close of the war, when he was discharged on the 1st of January, 1919. Coming to Detroit, he entered the office of his brother, James M. Kane, who was then in the government service at Dayton, Ohio, and through the intervening period he has acquired a large practice and is now attorney for a number of the leading commercial organizations of the city. He has made a notable and enviable position for one of his years, his reputation being such as many a man of twice his age might well envy.
On the 1st of December, 1917, Mr. Kane was married to Miss Helen Haynes, of Port Huron, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Haynes, the former a prominent lumber- man of Port Huron. The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Kane is that of the Roman Catholic church and he is identified with the Knights of Columbus. He also belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and his political belief is that of the democratic party. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the Detroit and Michigan State Bar Associations. Other interests of his life are made subservient to his law practice and his devotion to his clients' interests has become proverbial.
JAMES D. STANDISH, JR. For many years the name of Standish has figured prominently in commercial cireles of Detroit in connection with the meat industry and James D. Standish, Jr., displays the same enterpris- ing spirit and notable business ability which characterized his father and placed him at the head of extensive interests. Many lines of activity have profited by his cooperation and keen insight into business affairs and situations and his connection with any enterprise is an indication of its success, for his efforts are resultant factors in whatever he undertakes. Mr. Standish is a representative of an old American family, being the ninth in direct line of descent from Captain Miles Standish, and his paternal grandfather was a pioneer settler of Michigan. He is a native of Detroit and his parents were James D. and Jennie C. (Hart) Standish, the former born in Pontiac and the latter in Adrian, Michigan. The father removed to Detroit, becoming a member of the packing firm of Hammond, Standish & Company and was one of the most successful business men of the city, where he passed away in May, 1917.
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