HARLAN ELECTRIC - early on

In 1940, C. Allen began to organize Harlan Electric by asking some of the men with whom he had worked at Turner Engineering to join him. No cash investment would be required only the commitment to work with him for the time that it would take to get things underway and profitable; they would share in any profits. Edward Gudum and Erwin MacNeil were the two invited. If they agreed to join with C. Allen, they were promised shares in the new firm. Mrs. MacNeil hesitated; her husband had a good paying job where work was assured. It did look like a risk to make a change that December of 1940 to a new firm when one could not know what the future might bring. How much funding did C. Allen have; how long would each families reserve carry them? We had all just been through a deep depression which had taken most of the stretch out of our budgets and left little in the line of reserves. I pointed out that this was a venture for C. Allen and me; we were still making mortgage payments on the Birmingham house and I was expecting. She agreed reluctantly. Emmett Eagan drew up the necessary papers; they were signed and HEC began. Ready to join C. Allen were Atwood Austin and Van Grant, who brought with them Ozzie Knopf; each had knowledge about probable sources of money and about money management. C. Allen brought only his experience gained through his years working for Turner, the acquaintances that he had made during that time, the reputation which he had established, and a young man's hopes for his future. A sound organization was of great importance since the success of the venture depended upon the proper function of all parts of the firm.

Gudum and MacNeil were union men with the skill and knowledge to manage the workers in the field work whom they knew; they liked the idea of having responsible positions in a firm of which they were a part. Emmett Eagan was a friend of David Murray with whom C. Allen had formed the firm which sold used electrical equipment, failed and some years in the past. Mr. Eagan was a lawyer, recently graduated from the U of M, hired by Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone; a position with that firm was a strong recommendation in itself. Over the years Emmett has proved to be a valuable friend. It was he who knew Atwood Austin and Van Grant. It may have been Emmett's persuasion which involved them. Atwood Austin was acquainted with many of the people whom C. Allen would need as customers. Atwood was married to the daughter of a GM vice-president - that is a position which can open many doors. His friend, Van Grant was a man with the knowledge and experience in the organization and the financing of new firms, information which C. Allen lacked. Grant brought Ozzie Knopf who served as treasurer and watched the company's books for many years. Yearly many firms fail because of poor management; C. Allen was most fortunate to have the skills which these men were brought to the new company. C. Allen's was the drive necessary to keep the company moving and his was the reputation for knowledge in the field, for excellent work, and for sincerity.

A place from which to conduct their business was found and bought - an old building at the corner of Hamilton and Temple. The reconstruction work was to be done by donated help for funds to finance this business were in short supply. My brother, Laurencelle, Alan Campbell (those two had been involved in the now-defunct zinc extraction effort) and C. Allen's brother, John Marvin, were asked to give their hours. John Marvin wanted some compensation for his work; he had wife and children; his regular job as a city fireman gave him alternate twenty-four hours off, but, he did not have much reserve because of a fireman's small salary. I do not know just how the whole thing was managed but the building was made usable and served the company for several years. Situated at a corner of Temple and Hamilton, it was a serviceable beginning point; that is all.

For a while it was a hand-to-mouth business. There was a week when C. Allen did not have the money to meet a payroll; this can be a catastrophe for any young firm. He was doing a job, installing new presses for the Detroit News. Arthur Seaman, head of that department, understanding C. Allen's problem, arranged for HEC to bill early and for work not finished. He was not playing Russian roulette with the News' funds for he was certain that C. Allen would finish the work. Like every good American story there was a happy ending: the work was finished. That was only one payroll.

No other time could have been better for the new HEC for the nation was going into a period of expansion because of inflowing war orders. Charles Sorenson, of Ford administration, looked into HEC and decided that this firm could not do business with such a young small firm, housed in such a small building. The business grew apace. Since that decision cut off contact and probable Ford business, HEC has done a great deal of work for Ford Motor.

Work took company members out of the state. Over the years the company expanded as offices were opened in Ohio and Wisconsin. John Elsworth Harlan, Russell and Phillip Scannell worked out of the Toledo office; David Murray managed the Cleveland office. The company helped to build the MacArthur locks at Sault St. Marie - during forty below weather. The Detroit office handled the work in New Orleans building the Hughes plant where it was expected that cargo planes would be built. Work was contracted in Baraboo, Wisconsin where the Hercules firm was building a powder plant. Because Mattie was with the family, I was able to make many trips with C. Allen to New Orleans, spend half of many weeks in Madison and then move the family there for most of a summer; I enjoyed it all.

When HEC had outgrown its original quarters and there were sufficient funds, vacant property on the John Lodge highway was purchased; George Bery was hired to design and supervise the building of new facilities for the expanding firm. George Bery introduced C. Allen to Marvin Beerbaum, muralist; Bery and C. Allen planned a mural of the history of electricity which would extend from the entry at the lower level, rise up the stairwell and cover all the wall at the head of the stair. Beerbaum studied the subject which he did not know, drew his preliminary sketches and worked for almost a year before the canvas was hung. It was a job well done and C. Allen used it at every opportunity for it made very good public relations material.

Personnel changed and increased. Hugh Sloan left Albert Kahn to work with C. Allen; Helmut Krippendorf joined the firm, and still works as supervisor after many years. Needing some one to act in the capacity of publicity manager, C. Allen asked Jean Schaffer, retired Michigan Bell vice-president, to become chairman of the board. Schaffer did an excellent piece of work for there were many doors which he could open for C. Allen; he introduced Allen to many new areas in Detroit activities. He proposed that the firm begin giving larger sums of money to charities of their choice rather than replying with small donations indiscriminately to many requests. C. Allen came home to tell me that Schaffer had suggested the hospital for crippled children. I suggested that the money go into education to educate more doctors to help more crippled children. C. Allen took my suggestion and all manner of doors began to fly open. Everyone was interested in education which could expand so many lives in so many ways. A foundation was later established to relieve HEC of the paper work and keep all funds properly separated.

The work for the Hercules Powder Plant in Wisconsin gave me the opportunity to see Madison, Wisconsin and after school, when summer came, to move the family there. The pattern was that Allen would leave for Madison on Sunday afternoon. I would take a train up on Wednesday; we would return to Birmingham on Friday. We rode the Mercury to Chicago; then transferred to one of the Hiawathas. I first saw the Wisconsin capitol through a snow fall; it is a beautiful building even without snow. Because Allen and I were gone so much of that winter and spring, it was decided to rent a house in Madison and then move the family to Madison for the summer. We did just that and enjoyed the pleasure of a special cottage. Except that C. Allen then spent most of his time in Michigan.

(Once on the Hiawatha, returning to Chicago, we observed in the coach, a man nursing an ice-bag against his abdomen; the ice melted and he was in great misery until some one brought more ice. He was on his way to Chicago for surgery - appendix. That is not why I gave C. Allen an ice-bag for his turnip green pains. Allen's incident came before the one on the train; I do not know how I was aware of the benefits of ice.)

Another time, General Immel was driving C. Allen from Baraboo to meet a train for Chicago; C. Allen was going home. The men were late. The General called ahead to have the train held until C. Allen should reach the nearest station. It was held - both of the Hiawathas. General Immel had neglected to say which way C. Allen was going.

Always innovative, C. Allen devised a trolley which could ride the joists above a factory work area, placing the men above their work which made things less difficult than standing on ladders and reaching up to make installations. That device was made for the tank plant on Mound Road, a plant so large that a great deal of time would have been lost moving ladders, raising material to work level, climbing up and down. The idea was so new and promised to be so useful that Senator Kefauver (D. - Tennessee) came to ride the trolley with C. Allen. HEC promised that if, with the use of the trolley, any financial savings were made, HEC would return to the government the difference between the bid and the profits. Money was returned to Washington; that is the part that was truly innovative. John had a summer job at that plant and part of my summer pleasure was to drive him there in the early morning.

Then came the Navy years, C. Allen and Russ Scannell had volunteered for service; to them, it was imperative that they go. They were both involved in work which furthered the war effort, both were married, had families and were close to forty years old. The rest of us wondered 'why?' The challenge of running the young business fell upon the capable shoulders of Gudum and MacNeil. Family lives were disrupted. The services sent Harlan and Scannell to opposite sides of the continent - Russ and Marie went east; C. Allen was sent to Bremerton, Washington. Mattie went into the Pontiac factories. Once the war was over, everyone returned to a more settled life. The company expanded as industry refitted for normal peace-time production.

The company expanded; the business grew for a strong reputation had been established. Allen became involved in civic work which helped. He was invited to sit on boards, to head organizations, and to become a part of many small ventures for word was out that, if you were in trouble, C. Allen could help you with knowledge and cash. C. Allen envisioned organizing many of the smaller out-state electrical companies under the heading of HEC. Of the contracting branches, the Flint office, under the care of Hugh Sloan, did the best; Buick was a near neighbor. That in-state out-reach went as far west as Battle Creek, then into Wisconsin. C. Allen became involved with a company which manufactured television tubes, spaghetti, welding materials, furniture, carbides and, even, banking. What busy years they were. Out of the state, the Ohio branches (Cleveland and Toledo), the Wisconsin office continued to grow; out-state, HEC bought Ramsey Electric in Nashville and Power Piping in Pittsburgh.

After John had finished the university, finished working his way through the electrical union school, the responsibility of the company was given to him and C. Allen walked out of the picture so that he might concentrate on all his other areas of interest, except that he was always on call in case of an emergency. That action of C. Allen's was influenced by Mr. Turner who had handed his business over to his son, Ron; he then hovered over the young man's shoulder, keeping his finger on every thing that happened. C. Allen saw how demoralizing that action was and swore that he would not do the same. That very decision caused John some hard times for the men delighted in torturing the Big Boss's son by whatever small means they could devise; it was not meanness, just their sense of humor. Jay and Jeanne did have somewhat the same situation while attending Harlan School. Carrying the responsibility of a 'name' can be difficult. Now the reputation of that name has become yours to defend and to develop.

As the business continued to grow and expand, C. Allen's horizons expanded. I do not know if C. Allen bought or if HEC bought; either way he could pretty much do as he wished with an acquisition. Ramsey Electric was purchased from its founder and owner and given to brother Leon to husband and develop. Leon had worked with the company in Wisconsin (WWII had taken him away.) and his knowledge was still limited. Many nights phone calls from Nashville brought Leon's problems and questions to Birmingham; C. Allen taught the lessons which he had learned working with Grant, Austin and during his own years. Ramsey grew and was eventually placed entirely in the hands of Leon. It was during that time that C. Allen and his brothers began to reach out for the old plantation and found a confusion of problems because, some time in the past, the phosphate mineral rights had been sold. There were continuing questions concerning old agreements which had been written about the turn of the century. They were finally settled; I can imagine the fine hand of Emmett Eagan was involved in the solution. Ramsey Electric finally became HEC and is now in the hands of Stephen Harlan, youngest son of Leon and Fannie Sue.

Power Piping has long been the star in the crown of HEC. Blau-Knox was unloading some of its divisions (this was long ago and far away; not part of the recent trends of acquisitions); C. Allen bought and acquired with the firm a fine management team, headed by Robert Patterson. From my point of view, Pittsburgh (Duquesne - on very old maps) was a good town in which to invest; Power Piping, with the coming expansion in generating plants, was a good investment. C. Allen wanted to sell it; John and I vetoed that move. I have no idea what C. Allen wanted to do with the money which such a sale would have generated; John knows how much he would have lost over the years. It is seldom that anyone can give a clear picture of the future; one can only guess. That is why I maintain that a 'proposed budget' is half fact and half fiction. The outcome often depends on how hard you are willing to work to make your dreams come true. John thinks that there are ten good years ahead for Power Piping.

The Vivano family came with their problem. About the only thing which I learned from that experience was that one makes the best spaghetti by using Durham wheat. The company was later sold to Prince.

Young Einar Almdale and his friends came to C. Allen with their dreams. The possibilities of’ Walmet' were discussed in the parlor of 3535, the usual agonies were survived, and the company was formed. C. Allen was personally interested, was pleased to watch it develop, and to witness the eventual sale to GTE.

Ernest Baumgarth. garden editor of the Detroit News, came to C. Allen for things were changing in Birmingham. Ernest, Edith and their retarded son lived in an ancient house in the center of the town. The church on a near corner had been sold to Kresge; the Baumgarths could read the writing on the wall: Progress. They wanted no more of town life. Was there something which C. Allen could suggest so that they could continue to benefit from the strategic position of their land? The old house was demolished (that hurt), a commission was given to Louis Redstone and the Harlan building was soon in place and renting. It still wears the Harlan name; very seldom did C. Allen leave his name behind over an activity which he could not control. The Baumgarths moved upstate. Ernie died. Edith, alone with the retarded son and acknowledging her own increasing years, took that son into the garage, shut the doors, turned on the car motor and joined Ernie in eternity. There are times when we must, with courage, face improbable problems.

One spring day under a blossoming apple tree, the idea for a bank took shape. Mr. White came to C. Allen proposing that it was time to organize another bank to serve the Birmingham-Bloomfield area. That is just what the new bank was named: the Birmingham - Bloom-field Bank - the BBB. C. Allen had the contacts which would invest the necessary money. He also had some experience in banking since he had served on the board of the new City Bank (formed under the leadership of John French). Emmett Eagan was called and asked to recommend a lawyer to handle the new banks organizational problems and lead it through the legal maze; Emmett recommended Donald Parsons with the caution 'watch him'. Over the years, the BBB grew; it had good organization and the support of influential people; the building was situated facing the city center, across the street from the postoffice and kitty-corner from the town library. What more could a young bank need? A lawyer other than Don Parsons. Problems developed for Parsons was making questionable loans often using the same piece of collateral for several loans. (These were probably the same tactics which Carter's friend, Lance, used.) C. Allen resigned from the bank's board; with him went Cal Patterson, (once a vice-president of Michigan Bell) Judge Butzel (brother-in-law of Albert Kahn), Vanderkloot (son-in-law of Semon Knudson, president of GM). That must have been a trying decision for C. Allen for that bank was part of his life. In anger he promised that all of the stock which the children held would be sold to the bank for the stock price of the date that he had promised it. When it came time for me to take the stock to the bank, I did as directed. When asked for Joyce's stock, I pointed out that she was over twenty-one and neither her father nor I could sell her stock. The promised sale price was below the then current market price for the reputation for honesty established by C. Allen kept the stock value growing for some time after he had left the board.

Meantime there was the Harlan House. When HEC moved into the Redstone designed offices on Telegraph Road, the building on the Lodge was left vacant. The Gershensens came to C. Allen with the idea of building a motel on that land. It was a long time before C. Allen could see any of the possibilities there; eventually he did. Again a Redstone design, the motel prospered as the Boulevard area improved. Jim and Ida Sandquist were the management team; they taught C. Allen many things about running a motel. The race riots of sixty-seven forced C. Allen to ask the Gershensens to stand by their word to 'buy the motel if and when C. Allen wanted to get out.' Sixty-seven was the time. That experience led to the motel in Morgantown, West Virginia, and that to the one in Allen Park. The Allen Park Motel was a fiasco, the result of ego and lack of knowledge; let us forget it - the sooner, the better. The one lesson learned: never do business with a member of the June family.

There were several business boards on which C. Allen served. Other than the banks the most outstanding was the Detroit Mortgage and Realty, managed and largely owned by Earl and Palmer Hennan, sons of the founder. As had become the custom, each of the children were given stock. It pays little; it is simply an instance of the early recognition of C. Allen's value. I like the Heenans. Staunch conservatives, they recognized the conservatism of their Democratic partner and argued the party points with him. What good it did, I really do not know for they were all three on the same side of the political fence. I am still amused.

Along the way service on boards brought business opportunities to C. Allen. He was especially interested in the opportunities which the students at Cranbrook's art academy offered. He underwrote Hugh Acton's venture into furniture manufacture. Hugh had great promise as a designer, innovative and clever. As a business man he left much to be desired. C. Allen sent Campbell to him so that some sense of money management could be organized. Hugh's ego refused to accept Campbell and his advice. Jim, Joe, Jay, and Jeanne each had ten thousand dollars waiting for investment. I was told to write checks for Hugh. I did; then I called the bank and stopped payment. C. Allen asked why; Hugh asked why; Dottie (Mrs. Acton) got the full story. My cover was that I did not believe the courts would allow me to invest that much money in a business which was so poorly run. I called Emmett for confirmation and got it. C. Allen would not have allowed such lax practices in HEC; but he had a myopia when he chose. He furnished the Morgantown motel with Acton furniture; the cleaning women always complained - the drawers never pulled easily; customers stole the chairs - I think that they were Knolle design. Now both the motel and the Actons are gone.

There are many places that C. Allen could go and point with pride: 'this I helped construct, on this board I served, this was my suggestion, this I helped to fund.' Where ever he went, in whatever he became involved, he left a positive influence. He has repaid the city of his choice for giving him the room which one hillbilly needed. He would thank, if he could, that nameless man who stood, way back in 1928, near him in the employment line at the Dodge plant for having said "they're employing electricians today."