The last job he held was working as a chemist and salesman for a man who manufactured car polishes and waxes and sold them to Ford Motor Company. During a sales call with the Ford buyer, the man told him that he really did not care for the man my grandfather worked for and went on to say that he would prefer to buy the products from him.
In 1930 my grandfather started his own company, Excelda Mfg. Co. In the beginning he manufactured the products in his basement until he could afford to buy an old building in Ferndale, Michigan, which is located nine miles outside of downtown Detroit.
To make ends meet he also sold automotive cleaning products retail to those men who were unemployed. They paid cash and used the chemicals to polish and wax cars of those who could afford to pay.
When the US entered WWII his manufacturing plant was converted to a tool and die shop that made parts for the B25 bomber being assembled at Willow Run Airport, which was located outside of Detroit.
He was very active in promoting "War Bonds" and soon Ferndale found national recognition for residence buying more bond than any other city of its size. The Army sent General Douglas Macarthur to Ferndale to personally thank them for their contribution to the war effort. It is believed that after the general's speech, my grandfather shook Macarthur's hand. At the end of the war my grandfather's war efforts were awarded when he was honored with the "US Treasury Award for Patriotic Service".
