To form a club, or join a club has been a universal trait of people as long as I can remember--and I'll bet Adam had it in mind.At the age of seven we had a club, "The Lucky Thirteen" with a club room of sorts in a deserted livery stable. Though we never had thirteen paying members as boys, in those days, had hard times earning money so the number was flexible. It was a place to talk, plan, get ideas and argue about them. The club was ours, no parents' supervision; in fact most parents knew nothing about it. It was a great place for a boy to show his (missing word), his ideas and sell himself to other boys--in fact leaving the boys establish their position among the other boys.
The best boy when to the top and that's as it should be. Believe me the other boys usually showed good sense in their choice--much better than the adults did in selecting their aldermen and city officials.
There were hundreds of these clubs all over town and even smaller boys had their bunks. These groups had good ideas, maybe some deviltry, but nothing like in later years when they learned about gangsters, holdups and rackets from movies, radio and later from television.
I think radio and television have missed a bet as an educational medium. They produce too much bad music, too much shooting, too many murders, too much sex and the little educational value is usually on air waves we haven't gotten our television or on odd hours.
In later years the boy club idea was taken over by the old folds and resulted mostly in too much supervision--rules and regulated games with a father or even a mother as umpire or advisor. The boy became a part of a machine and if there ever was a thing a boy didn't like--it's being a gear in a machine! Give a boy, or a girl, certain house rules: when to get to bed, when to help around the house or yard and leave the rest to their judgment and then make you a good example!
If you smoke, swear, drink too much or even elect crooked officials you can't expect your son or daughter to be any different. Although I know many a son and daughter who grew up miles ahead of their parents through their own thinking.
There was one problem we had which was a sticker for our youth club--a good looking little girl insisted on becoming a member of our club. To us it was quite a problem and this problem has become larger as there are more females wanting to act like males and still maintain their feminine qualities. Why a good looking blonde would rather run a business than run a man I don't know and I'll bet you don't.
The Father and Son companionship is overdone even though men may be boys at heart their age and size does not make for too close a tie. The story about the boy who had been away at camp and at his return was asked by his father if he had been homesick. He replied, "No." When asked how come the boy told his father the only boys who had been homesick were the boys who had a dog back home.
New arrivals, from foreign countries, naturally join a club of their own nationality feeling a need for companionship of people with their own cultural habits and language. They were in a community something like the builders of the Tower of Babel and had to have half way in before becoming a real part of our community. We absorbed as much as we gave and each nationality furnished something--maybe it was music, art, artisan skill, games or new foods and it all made for a better place to live. it gave us a lot of new ideas and new thoughts that did us good.
One of the first clubs I knew of was the Arbiter Society, a German club, mostly social and I often went there with my Grandfather and parents. I enjoyed the singing, shows and other affairs although I understood little of the language as my father never talked German in our home unless he had to and he maintained that high school was the place to learn foreign languages. Their shows were very similar to vaudeville or the same thing you her and see on Ed Sullivan's show--the only difference being that they were produced and presented by an amateur group. They also had dances and naturally a bar--a German club without beer is impossibility!
They also had educational classes and an art class on Sunday run by Melcher, the father of one of our better artists.
The building was a large wooden one on Rivard Street, heated by huge wood stoves, and had card rooms, a stage and a dancing floor. I don't know if they carried any insurance, but they did a lot of charity work and any member who needed help got it. They turned out for weddings and funerals, and I'll guarantee that they did their share in building up this country as they made good working men and good citizens.
All nationalities have similar clubs with only a different language, music, food and entertainment, but they all were part of the melting pot that was a necessity at this period.
In early years there were the Polish, Irish, Scotch, Belgium, Italians and in later years the Spaniards, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese and although some had a hard job changing into the American environment, they are doing a fine job of it.
If it hadn't been for these clubs, many a foreigner would have become homesick, disappointed and would have gone back home carrying a lot of bad publicity with him. Good publicity never hurts--ask any advertising man!
Most of these became Americans and helped Detroit with their skills and ability to work, but you had to be patient with them. Their records are good in all our wars, and we can be proud of them.
There was the Detroit Turnverein--mostly athletic--the German drilling gymnastics, parallel bar, weight lifting, work on the horse, fencing and general body building. Everybody took part in these with very few non-participating games. They had lot of exhibits, gymnastic events and that was a necessity for Germans lover their food and beer and had a tendency to grow bay windows.
Now we have reducing clubs, reducing machines, medicines and lots of trick diets, but I still think their way was better and the results lasted longer. One of the physical directors, named Seiffert, was a wonderful guy, a wonderful director, and quite an amateur artist. He eventually became the physical director for Western High School, and made friends by the thousands and certainly built up the students' bodies and ideas of life.
The Harmony Club, as its name suggests, was a club of music and lovers of singing. I also found out, after eating there, they also loved eating. The meals were out of this world--German in style: pig's feet, pork bellies, wiener-snitzel, liver dumplings, spare ribs and sauerkraut washed down with real beer that had the flavor of the grain--then some good old German music. This club started out with German members, but in later years they even had an Irish president, imagine that! If Kaiser William ever knew that, he might have had a stroke and saved the world a lot of trouble.
They have song-fest and bring in good musicians and singers. I think it is one of the best clubs in town for good lining and for improving our culture.
Mr. Finsel and his wife were leading lights in lots of their affairs. Mr. Finsel was a musician and band leader who played all over Detroit, and you could hear him at any event whether it was a patriotic or an athletic event. Opening day at Bennet Park, later Navin field, then Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium) was always a great day for him. His wife was the life of many a party, and Detroit will long remember them. His portrait, with his happy smile, hangs in the lobby of the Harmony Club. In this kind of club, Germans became Americans in a very short time.
One thing I don't admire is the foreign club that doesn't want its members to learn, but wish to keep them talking their own language. The idea is not good--but I have known foreigners who have been in this country for twenty years and still couldn't talk English.
To see a man make a contract with a large firm for a gang of foreigners who could not talk English, had to depend on their boss for all contracts. They could not get work without him and that might have been a good thing for the contractor, but it wasn't American!
Before a man became a citizen he should be able to talk English as we have plenty of schools that will teach him and for nothing.
This club helped the D.A.C. when the employees went on a strike, and left the club with no eating facilities. They recognized their membership cards, in their dinning room, and the D.A.C., Rotary, Vondotego, Lions, Detroit Club and other purely social. Many have a wonderful charity as their main theme like the Masons, Elks, Eagles, Moose and the Shrines. These clubs have lots of parties and entertainment, but to me the charitable work they do is wonderful and they do it better than any governmental branch can do. The Shrines have children's hospitals all over the country and give parties, football games, circuses--all good money makers and it all goes to these charities.
The women are branching out with their own clubs from sewing, bridge, knitting clubs they now have Advertising, Art, Business and Political clubs, and they have to be considered by all the elective groups--a woman can put up a good argument when she thinks it is necessary!
The Scarab Club, Michigan Water Color Society and Palette and Brush Club, and many smaller groups try to improve the atmosphere of Detroit by studying, painting and giving exhibits. These are run by the membership dues.
Then we have lots of musical groups, singing societies all run by lovers of music and there are actors groups and they all help improve the cultural life of Detroit. It is important if we want to be a real live city. There are lots of things in life besides Production and Profit!
I was surprised, when visiting Winnipeg, Canada, to find a small town with a wonderful orchestra playing for television and giving concerts all the time. Fine musicians and a fine conductor and the city and the business men take care of the finances.
We have a wonderful orchestra, at present in Detroit, but it's been an off and on again proposition all through the years. I think we have found out we really need an orchestra to make it possible for more people to attend and learn to love good music. The prices should be lowered, with the help of the people who have become rich--with the working man's help! They own Detroit that much and they will find that it will pay well
We had, at one time, a musicians' club "The Bohemian Club" which broke up when our orchestra was discontinued. I missed the jam sessions and the wonderful parties they gave at the Artists Club.
The musicians union takes care of the pay, working hours and lots of things they should leave alone. Musicians, the same as artists, are not built to live under a bunch of rules, regulations and restrictions. I wouldn't be surprised if the union would start to charge by the number of notes played in an evening and make it double time for all extra notes. Composers would have to make their music fit their price scale and count all the notes.
Every person should belong to some cultural group, work with them and help them financially by paying dues. They will get a lot of satisfaction and find there's a lot of fun to be had with cultural events.
The D.A.C. (Athletic club) has been a part of Detroit for a long while. Do not let the name confuse you as the athletic part of it is of minor value--unless you call it athletic for some of its members to own the Tigers (baseball) and Lions (football), but they made it possible for Detroit to run the clubs and not let gangsters from Chicago and New York run them.
It really is a business man's extra office. The big business men, and efficient salesmen, transact lots of their big deals in the dinning room, or at the bar and have helped to make Detroit dynamic--whatever that is!
Mr. Hughes, the secretary and manager for years, did a wonderful job at the D.A.C. He contracted to run the club and the only pay he was to get was the right to own and print the House Organ, "The D.A.C. News", and boy did he make a success of that. It is the best house organ and the best in the world printed one besides being very interesting--business articles, news, and humor. He made a lot of money with it as a wonderful advertising medium--it goes to people who really have the money. Mr. Hughes was Secretary of the Board of commerce before taking this job, and he knew the business man's angle and really fit into his new job.
In its earlier days it ran heavy to athletic, sports and fathered a champion ball club. It still turns out swimming and hand ball champions and has everything in an athletic way to keep its membership in good physical shape if they use them, besides furnishing all the financial connections in this town.
It is a beautiful club with a wonderful mural over its bar painted by (---------), and lots of other pictures by noted Detroiters and Old Masters. They have the painting, by Rolshoven that hung for years in Churchill's bar--a painting known by many old Detroiters that dropped into that bar for refreshments.
I remember when they dedicated the mural over the bar. Hughes invited a lot of artists to add some kind of an art atmosphere to the event. Clyde Burroughs and myself, after talking it over, decided to wear our working clothes instead of tux as we figured the artists would not dress up. Low and behold, we were the only ones in the place that didn't wear tux.
As the drinks were free that night, the D.A.C. had quite a time to get the artists out of the place when the affair was over. By turning out the lights two or three times the artists got the idea, and went back to their own clubs, with the mural painter, and finished the party.
The painter told us all about the mural, the tough time he had with the research about the Indian tribes in this locality, and their wearing apparel. The research showed him that Indians wore old discarded red coats, officer’s caps, patent leather boots--all exchanges with British soldiers. How most Indians were pretty well liquored at all meetings with the whites. He had to forget his research and paint a mural in a very glorified manner, colorful blankets; feather head dresses so people would really believe in the scene. He also had trouble with the composition. He had a horse in the mural and to keep the interest pointed to the center of the picture the horse had its rear end facing outward in his sketch. The club Mural Committee had objected to that, and said they could just hear the comments of the members when they had a few drinks, and looked up and saw a horse's rear end looking right at them. He turned the horse around, and maybe spoiled the composition a little, but saved the dignity of the club.
The Recess, Yondotega and Detroit clubs, of our overgrown city, are for the high brows and you have to have money to belong. These clubs have an atmosphere of quiet culture, very little hilarity, but they are important to our city. Most of these members earned the quiet, dignified and wonderful service they demanded and got.
They all have quiet rooms for after dinner or any other time snoozes. I can't tell you what would happen if one of them snored or sneezed--I found out when making a sketch of part of these rooms for their house organ. I folded my sketching paper and the terrific noise woke an elderly gentleman who reported it to the manager. I was warned of my great offense, and told never to let it happen again. I may have misjudged them as I have made some party invitations for them that hinted they have some pretty good parties.
The Detroit Boat Club, Detroit Yacht Club, Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and Bayview are for people who love water not as a drink, but for sailing, power boating, cruises, swimming and all kinds of water sports. In the later years these became social clubs with dances, parties and they even have members that hate the water. Others remained real sailors' clubs for sailors, and run by sailors, who have regattas to Put-in-Bay to Mackinaw City races, championship power boat races, rowing races and all kinds of local races. Some are so classy they have indoor swimming pools for the ladies, kids and men who do not appreciate the sun. There's nothing that makes a better picture than sail boats on the water.
Detroit is one of the greatest sailing and waters sports cities in the world. We are really ideally situated on a great river running into the Great Lakes, and we are able to sail or motor boat for great distances--or short ones among some of the world's best scenery.
As a kit I never heard about golf, only to see a few pictures of England with a few golfers. It looked a little childish to me, but in later years it took hold in our country, and before you could say "Jack Robinson" a lot of swales, swamps, cow pastures and land that couldn't raise Timothy Hay were turned into private golf clubs with club houses, presidents, pros, caddies, committees, bars, dining rooms, lockers and showers. This created a new business as a golfer's needs are great. He just had to have loud knickers, colored sweaters, golf shoes with spikes, a tam, a whiskey flask, a couple dozen golf balls with his name on them, a leather golf bag, twenty golf clubs with fancy hoods for them, and he had to take a least a dozen lessons. This meant factories and working men for these things as they were all new to this country.
There were lots of these new clubs all around Detroit. Then they started the public ones and the city got into the game, and built courses for the people who didn't have enough dough to join the private ones.
I tried to play for years, but never improved my game and eventually paid the pro to turn my slice into a hook--then found out they had fences and rough on both sides of the course. I quit that and just played-hitting the ball as far as I could and locating it in the rough. The consolation was that I found a few lost balls in the rough left by men "in the dough". It was a costly game with dues, balls, caddies fees and the nineteenth hold--as I tried to use it to entertain prospective art buyers and we signed for everything. The shock at the end of each month could produce an ulcer in no-time.
About this time the stock market went boom. President Roosevelt got peeved and closed the banks, the wives cried and some men jumped out of hotel windows and off bridges. I worked like hell trying to get enough money to buy food, and pay my insurance. These were great days to try men's souls! I quit the club and tried to sell my stock, which cost me a thousand dollars, and found I couldn't give it away--so I pasted it on the basement wall to remind me what a hick I was.
These were tough days, very little advertising, no art work, hungry artists and a three year lease on my studio space, a partner who had a nervous breakdown--but I managed to get through it. I remember advertising men who had given me thousands of dollars of work coming around to borrow a quarter. The W.P.A. with it $22 a week for counting how many people had bathrooms in their homes, or kept a dog and what breed he was, but it kept people alive with a little respect for themselves.
It seemed like an eternity, but eventually it was over and everybody had a nice fresh start and a feeling that anything that happened would have to be better.
Later women started to play golf, and for a while had a golf course of their own "Mt. Vernon", but it did not last long as they could not bother or hold up male golfers--so they joined clubs where they could holler "fore" at the men. They are on all courses now, holding things up, but they help the scenery since they can play in shorts--I'm all for it.
Golf is a good excuse for the salesman who thinks he needs some fun, and takes a prospect out with him. He lands an eighteen dollar order with an expense account of twenty-eight, and believes me; I have OK’ed. many of them as a studio owner.
I have seen Hogan, Tommy Armour, Nelson, Bobby Jones and Hagen and enjoyed it. It isn't a game with them, it's a business.
I learned not to play sniff and snort, the difference between medal and match play, and once I won a cup in the third division because the other guy developed some kind of a shaking affliction when putting.
Golf does one thing--it gets you mad enough to forget your real troubles like your Mother-in-law, even your own business and will be with us for quite a few years.
The golfer, who rides around in an electric go-cart, disturbs me. I always looked upon the walking uphill, down hill, into the rough and even occasionally into the water, as the healthy part of golf, and that was what I thought was it's original function.
There are bridge clubs, cribbage clubs, sewing and knitting clubs, chess clubs, bird lovers, flower clubs, suit clubs, tall clubs, retirement clubs and if you can't find one to suit you, start one--that way you'll find other people as nuts as you are.
The Players Club, with its own beautiful building, built so they can act or paint scenery satisfies a lot of people who like to act, promote plays of all kinds (old or new ones) and they do a good job as anyone who ever saw one of their plays knows.
The Adcraft Club organized in 18??, is truly a thinking man's club. Organized by advertising men which includes men from all branches of that business--commercial artists, engravers, electrotypes, printers, photographers, typesetters besides a lot of business men who necessarily are interested in that interesting and invigorating business.
Its original members included Henry Ewald, McManus, Harvey Campbell, and their roster reads like a list of all the hustling men in our locality. They have done things for their city, their state and their country--helping in all civic efforts, charity drives and even helped win wars.
Their Moonlight and Starlight parties, and affairs given by the members, have been something to remember. They had their own club rooms for years, and I hate to tell you why they eventually quit it and rented space for their meeting and parties. They brought some wonderful guest speakers to our town--mostly educational.
Dave Brown a well known old time Detroiter, and former News Boy, had them out to his farm, and ice houses many times, fed them chicken with all the trimmings and all the ice cold beer you could during and left you swim in his private lake. Anybody who attended them will never forget these affairs.
Mr. Peletier, a Frenchman, with a wonderful talent for writing short, sharp and right to the point advertising, headings and copy and the man who helped sell the old E.M.F. auto business to Studerbaker--had us out to his estate with the eats and extras all on him.
This was a gang who would try anything and on one occasion we had a ball game with the Detroit Yacht Club--who won slipped my mind. This is a real life club, and I hope they keep it that way for a long while.
Mr. Hasting, their secretary and manager for years, did a masterly job and made the club something that Detroit can be justly proud of.
I think the city could use this club to a greater extent and get more publicity whether it is bad or good--as both have to be brought to the public so they can get rid of the bad things that are no good for us and back up the good things the city officials are trying to do.
When I say publicity there's one kind we ought to do away with, and that is the kind that plays up individuals who deserve no credit. At the Rackham Golf club, a club donated by the Rackham foundation, and accepted by the Common Council who had a brass plate with all their names, in letters about an inch high, telling us what wonderful guys they were for accepting this wonderful gift. That's publicity all right--but kind of cheap stuff I think.
The Detroit Chamber of Commerce is, and should be, the most important club in this locality. The effects of its decisions affect everybody whether he is a laborer, a man who runs a corporation or just a run of the mine individual. That means a union man, business man, Democrat, Republican, Socialist and we can include a few communists if it is necessary.
Through the years their work, through business men and for them, had made Detroit a dynamic producer of machines, produced automobiles and all kinds of products in quantity with modern labor-saving devices and systems. Has raised the standards of living of everyone who lived here for years, thousands of others who came from the four corners of the world and from every section of our country.
The idea of "what is good for big business is good for the working man", worked for a while, but fundamentally is not a sound idea. Without laws or pressure on some of the business men, they only think of profits and his working men, as machines.
As plants became larger, the working men became known as numbers, the production line faster and the working man merely a small cog easily replaced. It created a new problem, helped make for strong unions and eventually the big boss of the business and the big boss of the union were the only men who came in contact with each other. In lots of cases both held their jobs because they were tough, and often gangsters at heart, who were expected to get results not settlements. This created sort of a cold war, resembling the cold war between Russian and the United States, today and it's no good for our country.
The Board of Commerce has got to forge that they are a club for business men alone, that famous idea of Wilson's that's "what's good for General Motors is good for this country"--as big business run by boards, and hired managers, has a heart but it's been pretty well controlled.
Detroit has a lot of men who could vote, if they felt like it, and the biggest majorities are working men, their wives and children. The Board of Commerce has to make these people believe that they are working for them also not through big business but as individuals--by somehow working with the skilled mechanic, recognizing their problems and being able to talk to them as equals. They should have some labor leaders and mechanics as members and try through publicity and actions to be able to get votes from them--they can in no other way create new laws and better political officials.
Harvey Campbell, the very efficient secretary of the club for years, did a good job. He had all the qualities his job called for. He is smooth, a good looker who does look dignified, knows a lot of good stories and can talk to people making them feel good. He has very little temper, but can blow up on occasion. His record is good--only been in jail once, and that was considered a martyr affair. He could not agree with Judge Jeffries, a hard-boiled old cuss, and told him so and spent a few restful days in jail.
Mr. Scherer, another wonderful guy, a hard worker was some kind of an assistant to Harvey as was a fellow named Schrieber who did some of Harvey's interviewing. A Mr. Hall was one of the new comers in these clubs activities, and he is getting a lot of publicity in the late years and has lots of ways to improve the nature of that club.
This club gets the members together for a boat cruise on the Great Lakes and meets other boards in smaller towns and it also gets the members together in a very social manner. They almost sleep together for a few days, and learn to know each other. These cruises are wonderful--good food, good entertainment, good meetings, some golf and other athletic events and lots of cards and plenty of drinks for those who like them. They even have church services on Sunday, and they usually have the YMCA physical director who gives the guests some exercises in the morning for those who just got up or are still up.
There also have trips to Europe to meet foreign business men and clubs. That ought to mean a lot to Detroit as we certainly are in the foreign market business with the new water-way to Europe right at our front door. That's a problem in the Board of Commerce laboratory at this time. I hope they figure it out right--we have plenty of competition with Chicago, Toledo, Buffalo and many other ports fighting to get more than their share of that business.
All we need at this present date is a little cooperation between working men and business men, fill some of our political offices with men who will look at these problems with the idea of helping all the people not just the certain groups. As we have more working men, each with a vote, you have to reach them as their votes tell how we are going to be governed and it is all up to the Board.
This club is very important to Detroit, and you can help by becoming a member and helping to make it a club composed of Detroiters of all stations of life. It's important to you if you live in, like and believe in Detroit. It's up to all groups to see that they have representative members in the Board of commerce and help them do a good job.
The small saloon, which has been with us a long while, is really a club and meeting place for those who know each other and have the same problems, ambitions and need a place to talk them over. There are things you don't talk over with your wife or relatives as they don't understand you or appreciate your ideas. Lots of these places deal with men of a certain trade--like a saloon near a truck terminal and you find these truck drivers can talk more freely about their troubles than they can at their won union hall and not be pushed around. This means they can exchange ideas for better ones and its their own ideas not the ideas of some union official.
These bars are all over town, all with similar guests, and you'll hear similar arguments in them both political and working ideas.
The owner of the bar seldom enters an argument and though he is asked for advice he's a diplomat and has to be--as owner of the bar.
Things have changed in later years. Men used to be the only guests in these places, but now it is a family club with games, tables for cards, and I'll bet the first unions were started in this atmosphere. The women tame down these places, but some women can be bigger nuisances than any man can ever be.
I have sat down in many a bar, and listened to their not so funny jokes, or political and world events and I found they are all good citizens and have ideas which are worth thinking about. Lots of these ideas are as good, if not better, than I have heard at more select clubs and at political meetings as these men have very little material gain in getting their ideas across.
Some saloon keepers who make a living on twenty-five or thirty families in their neighborhood, all who run a charge account, and pay once a month or every week, like they do at the other clubs. He has to listen to their troubles, grief’s and kicks and usually his advice is good and he is a psychiatrist without a couch. He'll give you a loan, knows where to get a baby sitter, who can do a small job for you reasonably and often can tell you about a new job, and what kind of a boss a certain factory has. He really knows what's going on, and who would cheat his own Grandmother, cheat at cards, or the guy who is to lazy to work.
In the foreign districts, these bars kept open all though the prohibition days as the politicians, who run the police force, were afraid to close them. Really these places are a better place to argue. You can always go home, and take it out on your wife which is a better way than to reverse the idea--it's safer! As far as drinking is concerned they drink no more at these bars than they do at private clubs or in their own homes. It's a wonderful place for companionship or a good cribbage or pinochle game. For a few years to watch television, as the bars helped put television across in this country.
One bad thing I noticed was the idea of licenses in really in the hand of politicians and many bars are owned by secret or silent owners, of these licenses, and they are often gangsters who wouldn't and shouldn't be allowed to even enter a bar.
The crowd who voted and helped put across the prohibition days did this country and themselves a lot of damage. I hope they learned their lesson, but I doubt it. People have always drunk and always will, and only the ones with the weak minds were hurt but they will get hurt by most anything. Help to cure these weak people through education and religion and you will get much better results.
Prohibition was one of the worst things that happened to this country. It made lots of gangsters, and cheating politicians, and hurt our health. The liquors and drinks made in home bathtubs was terrible in taste, and would destroy the intestines of a wolf.
In 1907, at a gathering of artists and men who were interested in art activities decided to honor Robert Hopkins by forming the Hopkins Club. Robert Hopkins was a painter of the sea, its boats and water in its many moods. He knew the Great Lakes, their boats, their storms and history, and he could put it on canvas as few men ever did. The club was for informal meetings and get-to-gathers for discussions on art and the future of art and culture in our city. These informal meetings continued until he died in 1909. Hopkins did a lot of other painting, besides being a wonderful character, designed stage scenery and stage curtains one of which was at the Temple Theater. James Swan, a lawyer with a love of art, was one of the original groups that felt the need of a permanent art club. He called a meeting of Joe Geis, Clyde Burroughs and a few other artists, and they organized and had a art show of Detroit artists at the Old Museum of Art on Rivard and Jefferson. Among the exhibitors were Irving Bacon, Charles Chamberlain, Roy Gamble, Joe Geis, F. Henrich, George Hodges, Perch Ives, Charles King, Murry Mackey, Edward Packbauer, Francis Paulus, Albert Peters, Ivan Swift, Charles Waltensbarger and John Wicker. All artists who made names for themselves in later years did a lot to start cultural activities in Detroit. This show was a bug success, and this show is still going on and is now called the Scarab Gold Medal Show--it never missed a show as long as I've known it.
Some of these men became portrait painters, some easel painters, nearly all taught in their own studios or for schools, and always talked and lived art. Their teaching helped when advertising started to demand more and better art for advertising purposes. They did their share for Detroit. Most of these men did creative work, and were individuals, or men who think for themselves. You could call them characters if you wish, but you got to admit characters are very interesting people and add a spark to any community.
I am pleased to say that at the present time, the people who do think, have the time and money, are starting to do something. If this is followed up, there's no reason why we can't become lovers of good music, good art, or good literature as these are the things that make life worth while. There's ore to life than making money.
I feel bad when people from other places, in this country, call Detroit the home of production lines, unions, gangsters. If the people don't change this attitude, I feel sorry for the future generations of Detroiters. It's not a government job, not political in any way, it's got to be done by the men who made money here, and there are plenty of them. If this city has been good to you, do your part in the cultural activities. Don't wait until you are seventy, retired and tired--do it now. Get interested in some cultural activity. If you want to paint, sculpt, play the violin, and write poetry or a stage play--set some time apart for it now. Don't wait as you should start a hobby as early as possible to really enjoy it in your retired years. Don't say you haven't the time, as you get time to play golf and lots of other things--just take time. Maybe you'll miss a few profits, but your profits in happiness will be greater.
