When Dr. Adam A. Christman died at the age of 97, he was known to many Ann Arbor residents simply as "the man who grows roses". Beyond the confines of his incredible gardens, he had also trained thousands of University of Michigan medical students, and hundreds of graduate students, in biochemistry, bacteriology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmacy, botany, and zoology. His pioneering medical research had assisted in solving multiple criminal cases, including uncovering the truth behind a young woman's murder. He was also a devoted historian of Ann Arbor, who humorously documented city life in a collection of short stories that grew into a novel. Christman wore many different hats throughout his time in Ann Arbor, and his contributions spanned literature, science, and the arts.

Early Life

Adam Arthur Christman was born December 11, 1895 at his family's farm home near Shannon, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Grinnell College in 1917, just as World War I was escalating. Based on his education, the U. S. War Department assigned him a position at the Hercules Powder Company in Kenvil, New Jersey, where he worked as a chemist preparing high explosives (nitroglycerine, dynamite, & TNT). When the war ended, Adam attended the University of Illinois and completed a Ph.D in Chemistry. In September 1922, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School. The following year he married Mary Josephine Stevens, who also hailed from Shannon, Illinois. The young couple moved into a small attic apartment on Ann Street in Ann Arbor.

Biochemistry Solves A Murder

Dr. Adam Christman's career at the University of Michigan spanned 42 years, from 1922 to his retirement in 1964. He moved up through the ranks of the physiological/biological chemistry/biochemistry department in the Medical School, and served as chairman of the department from 1953 to 1955. In research he worked on allantoin and purine metabolism, calcium metabolism, antimalarials, and muscle metabolism. He served as chairman of the U-M Russell Award Committee, chairman of the Medical School curriculum committee, and on the National Science Foundation selection committee. He also served as a consultant to Oak Ridge Nuclear Institute and in other similar capacities.

Known as a gifted teacher and scientist, Dr. Christman was particularly well known for a quantitative method he developed early in his career for the rapid determination of carbon monoxide in the blood. In 1932 he presented this work before the American Society of Biological Chemists in Philadelphia. Four years later, in 1936, his method was used to help solve a murder.

On January 5, 1936, 24-year-old expectant mother Bernice Blank died after a fire in her home in Maple Rapids, a small farm town north of Lansing. Her husband George had reportedly not been around when a stove exploded, and her death was ruled accidental asphyxiation. Just days after her burial, suspicious family members requested that her body be exhumed for an autopsy. The Michigan State Police reached out to the University of Michigan Pathology Department, bringing Dr. John C. Bugher and Dr. Herbert W. Emerson onto the case. Bugher found evidence that Mrs. Blank had been struck in the head multiple times. Familiar with Dr. Christman's work with carbon monoxide, Bugher called on him for assistance.

Organs and tissue samples were brought to Dr. Christman, who used his method of detecting carbon monoxide in blood and determined that the level was less than the smoke from a single cigarette. According to Christman's work, Mrs. Blank was dead before the fire began. Once Christman's method ruled out asphyxiation from smoke, Dr. Emerson examined the body and found chloroform in the brain, kidneys, liver and stomach. Together the three scientists determined that Mrs. Blank had received physical blows to her head and was killed with chloroform. The fire was likely intended to cover the crime.

Faced with the autopsy results, George Blank confessed to the murder of his wife over a financial argument. Dr. Christman would go on to share detection of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream with law enforcement officials and forensic scientists, and his method would be used to solve many more investigations. In future interviews, Dr. Christman often mentioned that the Blank murder case was memorable for him because a brother of Bernice Blank was a medical student in his laboratory. The brother had expressed his appreciation for Christman's work in solving the murder. George Blank was sentenced to life in prison.

Life Consulting Rosarian

When he wasn't working as a biochemist, Dr. Adam Christman could often be found in his rose garden. In 1928 the Christmans moved into a newly built home at 1613 Shadford Road, in the Burns Park neighborhood. In their backyard they grew vegetables, a few flowers, and had space reserved for playing croquet. According to Dr. Christman, “By 1933, probably because of articles in garden magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens, we were persuaded that the help of a landscape architect was needed to design a beautiful garden.” On a whim, the Christmans had a dozen rose bushes included in the plan for their updated yard. Years later, when Christman's garden contained over 200 rose plants and he was an avid member of multiple rose-related organizations, he would look back at these first dozen rose bushes as his gateway into a lifelong hobby and passion.

In 1936, the Ann Arbor Garden Club held a flower show, and Dr. Christman entered several of his roses for competition. One of them won a blue ribbon, and his interest in rose culture deepened. In 1937, Dr. Christman joined the National Rose Society (American Rose Society or A.R.S.) and the Detroit Rose Society. In 1945 he left the Detroit group in favor of the Greater Lansing Rose Society, which he belonged to until 1964. In 1964, he and eleven other local rose enthusiasts organized the Huron Valley Rose Society as part of the Great Lakes Division of the American Rose Society. By 1982 their group had grown to over one hundred members. Immersed in all aspects of rose growing and appreciation, Christman had become a true rosarian. On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1985, friends presented him with a new rose cultivar, a dark red Grandiflora known as the "Adam Christman". Through the years he won numerous awards for roses he grew, as well as for his judging skills. In 1988 the American Rose Society made him a Life Consulting Rosarian, one of their highest honors. 

The Changing Scene

In 1978 Dr. Adam Christman was approached about writing an article on growing roses for the Neighbors Page of the Ann Arbor News. He agreed to the task and wondered if readers would be interested in his observations of Ann Arbor from when he first arrived in 1922. This was the start of a regular series of articles known as "Ann Arbor Diary" that Christman would write from 1978 to March 1981, covering the history of the city and the University. Ann Arbor Diary covered topics like streetcars, victory gardens, notable residents, neighborhoods, and education, and all of the articles are laced together with humor and quirky observations. The stories were entertaining, and popular with readers of the newspaper, and serve as a record of many people and places that no longer exist in our city. When the series ended, after 45 installments, Dr. Christman self-published a book called "Ann Arbor: The Changing Scene", which included much of his Ann Arbor Diary writing as well as a few additional pieces. Although he never actually wrote about growing roses in his newspaper series, a rose article is included in his published book.

On the occasion of his 94th birthday, in 1989, it was announced that Dr. Christman had established the Adam A. and Mary J. Christman Graduate Student Fellowship in Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. The university's current description for the award, which still exists to this day, reads as follows: The Adam A. and Mary J. Christman Award is presented to an outstanding Ph.D student in the Biological Chemistry Department who has demonstrated excellence in her/his academic scholarship and research contributions. The recipient receives a cash award of $1,000. Dr. Christman died in Ann Arbor on September 23, 1993 at the age of 97. He currently rests in the Washtenong Memorial Park Mausoleum, where his location is easy to find because of the roses it is decorated with.

Read the entire text of Ann Arbor: The Changing Scene.

On May 12, 1926, a seventeen year old German boarded the SS Stuttgart, a passenger ship in the port city of Bremen, Germany. His name was Max Karl Aupperle and he had journeyed to Bremen from his hometown of Schorndorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, leaving behind his friends and family. He and his fellow travelers spent 10 days on the SS Stuttgart, as it made its way from Europe to New York City’s Harbor. On May 22, 1926, he disembarked at Ellis Island and started his new life as a German-American.

Germany, 1908-1926

Max Karl Aupperle was born June 21, 1908 in Schorndorf, Germany near Stuttgart, the first child of Karl & Pauline (Weik) Aupperle. His father was a tailor. In his later years, Max had childhood memories of playing with buttons in Karl’s shop, and being interested in the sewing machine. As the eldest son, Max followed in his father's tailoring footsteps and learned much of the trade from Karl. He completed 10th grade, an apprenticeship with another tailor, and trade school, before leaving Germany in 1926. On his passenger manifest from Bremen to New York City, Max’s occupation was listed as “dressmaker”. 

New York, 1926-1936

Max had an aunt (Pauline's sister) living in Philadelphia when he arrived in the US, but decided on Syracuse, New York as his new home. He had a German friend living in Syracuse and was able to quickly find work in dry cleaning and tailoring. He also began to learn English. In 1929 he joined the Custom Tailors and Designers Association (CTDA), which he credited for much of his lifelong success. The CTDA, founded for sharing ideas and techniques for design, pattern making, fitting, cutting, and tailoring, still exists today as the oldest continuously operating trade organization in the United States. His parents and siblings (Frieda, Maria, Walter, & Samuel) soon joined him in Syracuse. By 1930, the Aupperles were all living in the same home on South Avenue, with Karl and Max working as tailors. Frieda & Maria were both listed in the Syracuse city directory as "tailoress", so clearly Max wasn't the only child that inherited Karl's skills.

In 1930 Max attended the American Mitchell Designing School of New York City and completed a course in men’s garment design. In 1931 he moved west of Syracuse to Batavia, where he took a job in the tailoring shop of John G. Poultridge. On November 11, 1933 Max married Hedwig Haas, a fellow German immigrant who had also lived in Schorndorf. Hedwig had been working domestic jobs around Syracuse, including a stint as a live-in maid for Howard Chester Will, the wealthy vice president of the Will and Baumer Candle Company. By 1934, Max had opened his own tailoring business in Batavia. Their first child, Eric Max Aupperle, was born April 14, 1935.

Ann Arbor, 1936-2003

According to Max, it was a salesman who told him about a job opening at Wild Mens Shop in Ann Arbor. In 1936 he took a boat from Buffalo to Detroit, secured the position in Ann Arbor, and began supervising five people in a busy tailoring department. The Wild family were also Germans from near Stuttgart. Their store was located at 311 South State Street, between North University and Liberty. By the time Max joined them, the Wild family had been running their Ann Arbor clothing business for nearly 50 years.

By 1938, Max's parents and his brother Walter had also made the move to Ann Arbor. His father, Karl, joined him working as a tailor at Wild & Co. Walter found work at Metzger's German restaurant as a cook. His sister Frieda returned to Germany, while Samuel and Maria remained in New York.

In his free time, Max joined the Ann Arbor Civic Orchestra, known to us today as the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. A skilled violinist, he quickly became a popular member. In both 1939 and 1940, Max won a merit award for being the most valuable player in the orchestra. As many musicians went off to World War II, he worked to keep the remaining group together. In 1941, Max served as president of the Ann Arbor Civic Orchestra. In addition to his orchestra work, Max also assisted with the war efforts by sewing army tents at Fox Tent and Awning in Ann Arbor.

On June 2, 1941, Max & Hedwig welcomed their daughter Charlotte into the world. Their third daughter Gertrude, "Trudy", would arrive on November 12, 1945. 1945 was also the year the Aupperle family purchased a cottage on Base Lake outside of Ann Arbor, which would become a destination for their growing family to rest and relax.

1946 was a life-changing year for Max Aupperle. As men returned home from World War II in droves, the supply of clothing at Wild Men's Shop was quickly being depleted. Max was friends with the director of the adult education program in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and asked him if sewing pupils from his classes could work at Wild's. At the time, however, there was no one teaching sewing and tailoring classes, and Max was offered the job on the spot. Taking the position in education meant he would have to quit his role in the Ann Arbor Civic Orchestra, which made it a difficult decision. In the end, he accepted the role of sewing and tailoring instructor and taught his first class in February 1946.

In July of 1949, the Aupperle family was featured in the Ann Arbor News. Frieda (Aupperle) Haerer, Max's sister, moved from Germany back to the United States with her three children. A photo of them arriving at Willow Run Airport, and reuniting with their extended family, was published in the paper. Frieda and her children moved in with her parents, Karl and Pauline. Her husband, Hugo, had died in World War II.

Max kept a busy schedule, working full time at Wild's store, and teaching his adult education courses multiple nights a week. In 1954, he was elected to a three year term on the board of directors of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association (CTDA). His children attended the Ann Arbor Public Schools and Hedwig, his wife, was busy in many community organizations. In 1957 his father Karl died at the age of 73. Pauline, his mother, died in 1963 at the age of 81. They were buried together in Ann Arbor's Forest Hill Cemetery.

1964 brought more change to Max's life when Wild & Company updated their business model and discontinued their tailoring department. Mass-produced clothing was cheap and readily available, and the tailoring industry was in decline. In response, Max brought much of the equipment from Wild's store into his basement at 716 Oakland Avenue and started his own private tailoring business. In the beginning, he had a staff of four. He retained clients from Wild & Company, and named his new venture Ann Arbor Apparel Studio. Over the years Max outfitted many well known men and women in Ann Arbor, including the University of Michigan's William D. Revelli, Alexander Ruthven, and Bo Schembechler.

In May 1970, Max was named an outstanding teacher of adults by the Adult Education Association of Michigan. He was presented with a citation declaring he "gained the admiration and respect of thousands of adults who have taken his courses. It is a common experience to find his classes large and enrollments closed early in the registration periods. Always deeply interested in each student, he has demonstrated unusually successful teaching techniques in imparting clothing knowledge and skills to adults of varying backgrounds and abilities...". Since his first class in February 1946, Max had continuously taught three or four evening classes during each term. The final continuing education class he instructed was in May 1978. He had been a teacher for 32 years, educating over 2,000 students.

In November 1983, Max and Hedwig celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Alaska. They also had a dinner party at Barton Hills Country Club, hosted by their children and grandchildren. In 1997, Max was installed in the Custom Tailors and Designers Association (CTDA) Hall of Fame, and accepted a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the trade. Hedwig died in 1998, followed by Max in 2003. He was 94 years old. They now rest together in Ann Arbor's Washtenong Memorial Park Mausoleum. Many pieces of Max's work may still be viewed in museums, including The Aupperle Collection at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design in North Carolina.

Morning Suit, ca. 1920s, Max Aupperle (1908–2003), German-American, Hand and machine sewn wool, 39" center back jacket length, The Aupperle Collection, 2015.030.001a-c, Gregg Museum of Art & Design