Sesquicentennial Interview: John Feiner

Wed, 11/06/2024 - 11:54am

When: 1974

This interview was conducted in 1974 as part of the I Remember When television series produced by the Ann Arbor Public Library.

Transcript

• [00:00:11] INTERVIEWER: Could you tell us something about your family? When did your family first come here?
• [00:00:15] JOHN FEINER: Sometime in the 1860s. I've been attempting to find out through Washington, They have passenger lists of all the people that immigrated and, at the present time, I haven't been able to pin down exactly when my great grandfather came to Ann Arbor.
• [00:00:35] INTERVIEWER: Where did he come from?
• [00:00:37] JOHN FEINER: Little town outside of our sister city Tuebingen named Kirchentellinsfurt.
• [00:00:45] INTERVIEWER: Tuebingen in Germany.
• [00:00:46] JOHN FEINER: Yes.
• [00:00:47] INTERVIEWER: He came right from Germany and then.
• [00:00:49] JOHN FEINER: To the best of my knowledge, yes.
• [00:00:51] INTERVIEWER: Not settling some other place in the United States first?
• [00:00:54] JOHN FEINER: Not to my knowledge.
• [00:00:55] INTERVIEWER: What did he do back in Tuebingen?
• [00:00:58] JOHN FEINER: He was a cobbler.
• [00:00:59] INTERVIEWER: He was a cobbler when he came here too.
• [00:01:01] JOHN FEINER: He was a cobbler when he came here. Yes and he came to Ann Arbor and was employed by a cobbler whose name, I can't remember at this present time. But eventually, Feiner and my grandfather and a Mr. Brodbeck, went in the cobbling business together. They were located on West Washington Street in the 100 block and the reason that if you want to go on to yes, how Feiner's started, which I believe is the reason you're here today. My grandfather at the age of 16, was employed by William Herz, who owned a painting and decorating shop in the same block. All I can imagine is that this gentleman, Mr. Herz needed a young boy to do miscellaneous jobs around his store, probably sweep the floor, miscellaneous things like that, and my grandfather was available. When the Herz company closed their business after many years, I was able to obtain a pay record and it showed my grandfather started working for $2 a week and after a year, his wages had been raised to $3 a week and that is how he actually became started as a painter. When Feiner's, as we call it now, after many name changes over the years, in fact, it used to be called Feiner's Paint Shop. That is the way my grandfather started. He had worked for two other painting contractors in Ann Arbor in the 1800s. He finally went into business for himself and operated out of his home. For some reason or other glass has always been associated with paint and although he did run a big painting crew, glass became more and more important. [NOISE]. I'll look at some of my notes so you can test that thing.
• [00:03:19] INTERVIEWER: What kind of glass did they first do any mirrors and windows or was it blown glass?
• [00:03:24] JOHN FEINER: Mostly windows.
• [00:03:29] INTERVIEWER: Where would they get the glass from? Was there any difficulty in that in late 1800s? Did they have to ship it in from some place?
• [00:03:36] JOHN FEINER: I would assume it was made in West Virginia. Most of your glass industries are located on the Ohio River, mainly because the basic ingredient of glass is sand, and there's a certain type of sand that works out perfect for glass.
• [00:03:53] INTERVIEWER: They would have had imported up the Ohio.
• [00:03:55] JOHN FEINER: It'd probably be shipped in those days by barge.
• [00:04:07] INTERVIEWER: He started working on the paint store about when?
• [00:04:11] JOHN FEINER: 1884.
• [00:04:12] INTERVIEWER: 1884.
• [00:04:12] JOHN FEINER: 1884 yes.
• [00:04:13] INTERVIEWER: He built his own business from within that one or did he start another one?
• [00:04:17] JOHN FEINER: No. He started as a single painter, eventually employed more painters. Eventually got into more and more glass. The biggest job that he did is now called the Ann Arbor Trust building down on Main and Huron. At that time, it was called the Glazier building and he installed all the glass in that particular building. That was back in 1908. Approximately 1908, 1907, 1908.
• [00:04:52] INTERVIEWER: When did you phase out the paint portion of your business?
• [00:04:56] JOHN FEINER: Actually, the paint got phased out in the past year.
• [00:05:00] INTERVIEWER: It's been painting until now?
• [00:05:01] JOHN FEINER: Well, let me explain it this way. He was a contract painter up until about 1929, 30 whenever the depression came. At that time, he got out of the painting contracting business and relied solely on glass. Although, we did retail paint up to about a year ago.
• [00:05:25] INTERVIEWER: Has the business has stayed in your family directly then, father to son since then?
• [00:05:30] JOHN FEINER: Yes.
• [00:05:30] INTERVIEWER: Since the beginning.
• [00:05:33] JOHN FEINER: To my knowledge, we are the oldest business family owned in Ann Arbor, continuously owned.
• [00:05:41] INTERVIEWER: When did you move your plant out or your store out to here?
• [00:05:44] JOHN FEINER: 1970.
• [00:05:46] INTERVIEWER: 1970.
• [00:05:47] JOHN FEINER: Our old location was purchased by the City of Ann Arbor for Packard-Beakes bypass, which is a defunct thing now and we were forced to move, so we moved, which I think is a great thing.
• [00:05:59] INTERVIEWER: Where was that located?
• [00:06:01] JOHN FEINER: That was at 216 West William. Now, we had been there since 1939 when we'd moved down from 117 West William and there again, another assumption that I have. The reason that this property at 216 was purchased. It was purchased from Sam Heusel, the baker, and he had a stable down there. Well, when they didn't use horses anymore to deliver bread, there was some vacant property. It was down the hill from our other location, and my grandfather purchased it. I think the reason he may have purchased it, he found it was for sale, because, his mother and Sam Heusel lived two doors apart upon Hamilton place. In his assumption, I assume yes. I have some property for sale, and why gee I could use it, and purchase was made.
• [00:07:01] INTERVIEWER: You know how your great grandfather came to Ann Arbor. Did he come by covered wagon or?
• [00:07:08] JOHN FEINER: In those days, from what I've read in history, he probably came by boat, probably from Buffalo to Detroit and came to Ann Arbor. There again, strictly assumption. I have been to Germany, the area where he was born. Where my great grandfather was born, excuse me. The best way I could describe that is if you drove from here to Dexter and had pine trees, which in those days, remember, we had pine trees that looks identical to this part of Germany. Therefore, I assume that someone was here. They rode back to their families there and said, come to Ann Arbor. It's just like home. Because you have that little winding road, little hills, little streams between here and Dexter and that's identical to the area in Germany.
• [00:08:06] INTERVIEWER: Did your great grandfather bring his wife or did he meet a girl over here, did he have?
• [00:08:11] JOHN FEINER: He was married when he came here.
• [00:08:14] INTERVIEWER: Did any other parts or any other relatives from Germany come on over to Ann Arbor?
• [00:08:20] JOHN FEINER: Not to my knowledge.
• [00:08:25] INTERVIEWER: Do you have a son?
• [00:08:26] JOHN FEINER: Yes.
• [00:08:26] INTERVIEWER: Is he going to go into the business, too?
• [00:08:28] JOHN FEINER: He's working right back here right now.
• [00:08:31] INTERVIEWER: Every intention that Feiner's will keep going for a while.
• [00:08:34] JOHN FEINER: Sure, hope so. You want to bring him up? Hey, Johnny. Come here. He doesn't want to be on this at all.
• [00:08:47] INTERVIEWER: He can stop it.
• [00:08:52] JOHNNY FEINER: I don't know. Maybe.
• [00:08:55] INTERVIEWER: Maybe.
• [00:08:55] JOHNNY FEINER: Not doing nothing else right now.
• [00:08:57] INTERVIEWER: Does your father want you to stay in a business?
• [00:09:06] JOHNNY FEINER: Yes.
• [00:09:06] INTERVIEWER: I don't know what else to ask.
• [00:09:07] JOHN FEINER: Back to work.
• [00:09:09] INTERVIEWER: Thank you. Let's see. When were you born then in 1930?
• [00:09:20] JOHN FEINER: 1929.
• [00:09:22] INTERVIEWER: 1929. Right after the stock market crash. Can you remember growing up in Ann Arbor?
• [00:09:30] JOHN FEINER: I have recollections when I was I say 5-years-old, maybe. I can vaguely remember before I ever went to kindergarten. I know that. Because of the time, I lived on East Jefferson Street, and you could look over and see Perry School, which is where I went to kindergarten.
• [00:09:52] INTERVIEWER: I was talking yesterday to John Hathaway. I guess he was born in 1930. He moved here in '36 and he was talking about this. Main Street is a separation of the town and how the west side of the tracks and the west side of Main Street, east side of Main Street used to cause some kind of rivalry among children.
• [00:10:08] JOHN FEINER: That is somewhat correct, even as far as when I was in high school,
• [00:10:17] JOHN FEINER: I lived on the west side. At one time I lived on the east side and then moved to the west side, but there was a little bit difference if you lived on the east side of town, you were a little bit better than if you lived on the west side.
• [00:10:28] INTERVIEWER: Supposedly.
• [00:10:30] JOHN FEINER: Well, mainly because professors, doctors lived on the east side. I guess those Germans lived on the west side.
• [00:10:41] INTERVIEWER: I know that a lot of the West side part of town there. What's the Schwaben Verein?
• [00:10:51] JOHN FEINER: That is an organization of Germans. Now, my grandfather was a member of that.
• [00:10:56] INTERVIEWER: He was a Schwaben?
• [00:10:57] JOHN FEINER: Yes.
• [00:11:00] INTERVIEWER: Were the German traditions strong in your family? Do you recall that?
• [00:11:05] JOHN FEINER: Not that much. I think we were too far removed. I'm third generation. My father could speak occasional German if a customer came in our old shop, might greet him in German, but other than that was strictly English.
• [00:11:27] INTERVIEWER: Did you ever see your great grandfather? Did you ever?
• [00:11:30] JOHN FEINER: No.
• [00:11:32] INTERVIEWER: But your grandfather did?
• [00:11:33] JOHN FEINER: I vaguely remember my grandfather. Vaguely.
• [00:11:38] INTERVIEWER: Let's see what else I'd like to ask. Do you remember what it was like in Ann Arbor during World War II? You would've been a teenager.
• [00:11:48] JOHN FEINER: I remember the day and the night the war ended.
• [00:11:51] INTERVIEWER: Tell us about it.
• [00:11:54] JOHN FEINER: I don't know where all the cars came from all the people, everybody was out, I had a car at that time, and people would just climb on your car and you drove up and down the streets and around the town with big celebration.
• [00:12:13] INTERVIEWER: Say, back to glass. You ever did actually any glass blowing or any of that?
• [00:12:20] JOHN FEINER: No. Actually, what we sell is classed as flat glass.
• [00:12:28] INTERVIEWER: Is it like windshield material.
• [00:12:30] JOHN FEINER: No, it's like this desktop here.
• [00:12:34] INTERVIEWER: But like windows of cars and stuff, too, but not windshields.
• [00:12:37] JOHN FEINER: We used to do auto glass. There again, at the present time, we don't.
• [00:12:42] INTERVIEWER: Back to your grandfather, when he was doing his contracting for painting. Do you know some of the buildings he painted in town or some?
• [00:12:50] JOHN FEINER: Actually, I don't. I know that he did all the glass work at the St. Joe Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. This I know. I know that he did do some university buildings.
• [00:13:07] INTERVIEWER: Was he doing?
• [00:13:07] JOHN FEINER: There again, the records are so far gone that they're just not available anymore.
• [00:13:13] INTERVIEWER: Right. Would he paint interiors or exteriors?
• [00:13:17] JOHN FEINER: Both.
• [00:13:18] INTERVIEWER: Both. Where was the paint made back then in the 1880s, 1890s?
• [00:13:26] JOHN FEINER: National Lead Company. In fact, before I dropped the line of paint, we were one of 15 dealers that had been on their books since they started.
• [00:13:39] INTERVIEWER: Where are they located?
• [00:13:40] JOHN FEINER: They're in Chicago.
• [00:13:41] INTERVIEWER: Chicago.
• [00:13:42] JOHN FEINER: There were four or five companies that made white lead. Years ago, that's all paint was made out of white lead, these companies merged, and they called it the National Lead Company. My grandfather bought white lead from one of these companies that merged to make National Lead Company.
• [00:14:02] INTERVIEWER: How about roofing? Anything in the roofing?
• [00:14:05] JOHN FEINER: No.
• [00:14:06] INTERVIEWER: Glass and paint.
• [00:14:07] JOHN FEINER: Glass and paint. Now today, we've swung into glass, screen, plastic.
• [00:14:19] INTERVIEWER: Was your family close to any of the other old families in town?
• [00:14:27] JOHN FEINER: No.
• [00:14:27] INTERVIEWER: Do you know some of the other families who've been around for a long time? Maybe as long as your own family? Some of the first settlers here in the city?
• [00:14:40] JOHN FEINER: I know some of the older people. But our families never associated together on a social basis.
• [00:14:50] INTERVIEWER: Do you know how many people were living in town when your great grandfather first came here? I've seen pictures of what it was like 1865.
• [00:15:00] JOHN FEINER: I would estimate 2000, maybe.
• [00:15:04] INTERVIEWER: 2000.
• [00:15:05] JOHN FEINER: Possibly.
• [00:15:07] INTERVIEWER: In your own particular business here, have you noticed a big change in your clientele, like, during the last 15 years?
• [00:15:11] JOHN FEINER: Yes.
• [00:15:12] INTERVIEWER: What I know there's so many more people here now.
• [00:15:15] JOHN FEINER: Well, let's take today as an example, I call them walk in customers because they walk in the door. Out of probably 20 people today, I personally know three. Therefore, 17 people who have walked in here that I've never seen before.
• [00:15:46] INTERVIEWER: In the old days you used to know most.
• [00:15:48] JOHN FEINER: The old days, you knew everybody, just about. I find this today, you walk down Main Street, you can walk three, four blocks, you may not see anyone you know. You may see one person, two people, 20 years ago, you knew just about everybody.
• [00:16:12] INTERVIEWER: I'm kind out of questions. Is there something else you'd like to add that I'd like to mention?
• [00:16:16] JOHN FEINER: Well, you talk about how the business has changed, today, we sell plexiglass and screen, which years ago we didn't, and then we tried to change with the times. In other words, people would bring in a broken storm window and they'd have a screen. It was damaged also. We'd have to send them someplace else, and I started thinking, well, give better customer service, so let's start repairing screens, which, after about a 2, 3 weeks of training, you can fix the screen. I know one thing, I don't know if you want on TV either on your tape or not. I know, you ask your average person in Ann Arbor where's a glass company. They say Feiner's, this I know.
• [00:17:13] INTERVIEWER: Are there any other glass companies in the area?
• [00:17:15] JOHN FEINER: About half a dozen.
• [00:17:16] INTERVIEWER: Half a dozen. You're the oldest and you are here the longest.
• [00:17:21] JOHN FEINER: Occasionally, when I have time, I'll ask a customer, why did you come here? Because I advertise on a radio, in a newspaper, yellow pages, and just to find out where is my advertising dollar being spent. Most times, they say, well, friend of mine recommended me. That's the best recommendation in the world.
• [00:17:46] INTERVIEWER: Has your volume really increased during, say, the last 25 years? Say, 30 years since World War II?
• [00:17:59] JOHN FEINER: That would be hard to say on account of inflation, and I would say, actually, our volume in the past five years since we moved out here, may have decreased. See, one time we had a crew about ten outside glazers, which I no longer have. Our last two big jobs, we did Ann Arbor Buick on Washtenaw and Ann Arbor Bank on South U, East U. But we are more in customer service today.
• [00:18:37] INTERVIEWER: When you got to be an older teenager, it got to be time for you to decide what to do with your life, was there any hesitation about going into the business? Or was it a natural thing to do?
• [00:18:50] JOHN FEINER: Well, I went to University of Georgia for two years, taking business administration, I assume yes, I would eventually be in the business. I fell into it.
• [00:19:02] INTERVIEWER: Fell into it.
• [00:19:05] JOHN FEINER: In fact, I love the glass. I was in the service for four years, Air Force, I was radar maintenance. I was offered a job, you're talking about 1956. I was offered a job to start 12,000 a year, that's in 1956. Plus expenses. That was big money. But I'd rather do what I'm doing today.
• [00:19:39] INTERVIEWER: Can you recall any stories your father or grandfather used to tell about getting into this business? Are there any family stories that you've heard amusing or touch on historical events?
• [00:20:02] JOHN FEINER: About the only funny story I may comment on is one day in Milan, we were just about ready to put a piece of big plate glass in, and wind caught it, and two of our employees, you have a man on each end of the glass, and the wind is blowing, and these two men are trotting down the street, attempting for one guy to get ahead of the other guy so they can turn it. You get it into the wind so the glass is just not going to blow away with them, and they were able to do it, and I guess passerbys, you see two guys running, and maybe you don't see the glass. You wonder what's the guy running like that for?
• [00:20:50] INTERVIEWER: Thanks very much. I wonder can we get a shot.
• [00:20:54] JOHN FEINER: This old. I had mentioned this Feiner and Brodbeck, but this was later, and also they had moved to Number 7 Main Street.
• [00:21:06] INTERVIEWER: Really, the business has been in a number of different areas, in Ann Arbor?
• [00:21:09] JOHN FEINER: This is the cobbler. My great grandfather, yes.
• [00:21:13] INTERVIEWER: But he was in a couple of locations and then actually the glass and paint businesses.
• [00:21:16] JOHN FEINER: That's been in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 locations, yes.
• [00:21:23] INTERVIEWER: Got that. Thanks very much.