Schlanderer and Sons was founded in 1933 by C. Henry Schlanderer and his two sons, Paul and Arthur. But Hank, as Mr. Schlanderer was known to his friends, already had forty-seven years in the jewelry trade. Today, Schlanderer and Sons has grown into a thriving, fourth generational keystone business on Main Street in Ann Arbor.
Hank was born in 1870 to Fredericka and Charles Henry. His father, also C. Henry, was born in a small town near Tuebingen, Germany and immigrated to Ann Arbor in the 1850’s. Originally finding work as a baker, he married Fredericka Rauscher and settled in a house located at 504 South Main Street. In 1871, Hank’s father, a volunteer fireman, was fatally injured in a horse-drawn fire engine accident. Hank was just a year old. Fredericka was left with four young children and another one on the way. In order to make ends meet, she moved the young family to the basement of their home and rented out the rest of the upstairs.
Upon finishing the sixth grade, Hank went to work to help support the family. Collectively, the children earned enough money to regain their family home. When Hank was fourteen, he joined his older brother at the Keck furniture factory on Fourth Avenue. By the age of sixteen, he became an apprentice watchmaker for George Haller of Haller Jewelers in Ann Arbor (216 South Main Street).
Hank could not have chosen a better teacher. George Haller had been trained in Germany and came from a long line of skilled watch and clock makers. His father, Jacob Haller, had several horological inventions to his name. Hank made a dollar a week as an apprentice, and graduated as a full-time watch maker when he was able to build a complete watch from scratch. He stayed with Haller for the next twenty five years.
Mr. Haller had taken a shine to Hank, and Hank was loyal to him. He stayed on with Haller until George’s death in 1911. At this point, he and fellow watchmaker, Fred Seyfried, formed a partnership and new business. Together, they purchased Henne Jewelers at 113 East Liberty and opened Schlanderer and Seyfried Jewelers (sometimes called “S & S”). This business eventually moved (in 1922) to 304 South Main Street. Twenty years later, both Hank and Fred wanted to bring their sons into the business. Without enough room in the existing store, they dissolved their partnership and Hank opened Schlanderer and Sons one block north, thus beginning Schlanderer and Sons.
Built in 1854 by Paul Christman, the new building at 208 South Main was home to Christman’s stove and tin shop until 1913. It then became a confectionary, drugstore, and briefly housed the Staffan funeral home. With brand new walnut cabinets and a black and green marble façade, Hank proudly opened Schlanderer and Sons with his two sons, Paul and Arthur, in the summer of 1933. Both boys had graduated from the University of Michigan. Paul had been working as a silver buyer for J.L. Hudson’s in Detroit, while Arthur had a masters’ degree in business and would take over the accounting.
Less than a decade later, Hank passed away on April 12, 1941, at the age of seventy. His wife Mary came into the store to help the boys out. Growing up originally in Saline, Mary lived only a few blocks from the jewelry store on Hamilton Place. Over the next few years, her sons Paul and Arthur would be very busy. Paul served as the director of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, the head of the University of Michigan Club, was the junior warden for the Grand Lodge of the Free Masons, and a member of the three cities board of appeals for housing, zoning, and building codes. Arthur had been the captain of the University of Michigan hockey team and was invited to play for the USA Olympic team in 1932.
Paul passed away from a heart condition at home in July of 1949. He was only 44 years old and he left behind his wife Annie Mae and their three young boys, Charles, Paul and William. Paul and Arthur’s mother, Mary, would pass later that December at age 73. Arthur ran Schlanderer’s for the next eight years. In 1957, Charles, Paul’s oldest son, entered the business. Chuck came in with a large personality and a business degree from Hillsdale College. Together he and Arthur would run the business for the next thirty years. Chuck and his wife Judy had one son and daughter. Chuck Jr. would come into the store, learning the trade from a young age. After graduating from his father’s alma mater in 1989, Chuck Jr. would later join Schlanderer and Sons full time.
Now in our fourth and fifth generation, we are proud to have served the community and appreciate all that it has offered our family over the years. We look forward to many generations to come and we are ever thankful to those we have served, and those who have entrusted us to serve them along the way.
Thank You! –Chuck Schlanderer
