Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-05-22

and he WAS Obliged 70 accept store
goods IS payment for his work. Farm
life was without attraction to the
young man and he soon found employ.
ment - clerk IN grocery store where
he renamed tor two years. lie then
resigned to enter dry goods establish
ment. The change provided broader
scope for the development OF his
native energy and enterprise ana ne
soon found himself associated with Mr..
Herpolsheimer IN the dry goods bust.
ness under the firm name OF Voigt q
Herpolsheimer. Their trade soon grew
TO considerable proportions. In 1879
the firm removed to this city where It
is at present located and has achieved
. promo lnced commercial success.
Besides dry goods business the firm
conducts an extensive milling business
which is under the personal superyi-
sion Of Mr.. Voigt.
Milton n. Morse. Merchant.
Milton NJ. Morse, the senior member
of the mammoth department store OF
Morse & Co., has risen fIom q poor
of his present extensive enterprise. Mr..
Morse Was born November 81, 1928, IN
the little town of Richficid Corners, on
the banks OF the kennebec river,
Maine. His father was an ordinary
mill hand. Young Morse was early
thrown upon his personal resources Tor
mis- support. His educational ad-
vantages were few. When IL years
of age ne was forced to abandon his
studies and begin active work
for himself. He went to Lowell.
Mass, and engaged a. clerk in an
auction house. Here he gained some
ideas Of business by peddling Yankee
notions and collecting bills for his en-
ployers, Gen. B. F. Butler being one OF
the pAtrons Of his employers. At the
age of IL he desired TO 90 to sea and
his father took him TO Boston and put
him aboard tho ship Chill. He ship
ped ~ cabin boy and went around Cape
Horn on . voyage of nine m0nths and
nine days duration. His mother
strongly objected To his choice of sea-
faring life and entreated of him to
abandon u. He abandoned the water
in 1850, went 70 Bedford, Maine. and
again engaged in the auction bus, ness.
Here he renamed until 1856. when
he went 10 Port La Vaca, Texas,
aud from thence TO La Crosse,
Wis, where he embarked in the whole
sale liquor business. Besides directing
TINS business he owned share in each
Of five lake boats and learned to oper-
ate them with profit. He finally dis
posed of hia business at La Crosse and
went to Chicago and engaged in the
liquor business, opening the first
bonded warehouse IN that city on Clark
street in 1868. Misfortune overlook
him when the disastrous fire of 1871
swept away all his hard earned saw
ings. About two years later he came to
this city and opened an auction house
In the Arcade under Powers opera
house. He has made this city his place
gradually worked his way upward to
success.
A. v. Pantlind. Landlord.
A. Voorhees, PantIind in response "a
a question as to how he got his start IN
business, replied, worked like thun.
DER" Continuing, Mr.. Pantlind said
'slt was just forty-nIne years ago Wed.
needay that came TO Michigan.
went TO Niles and went TO work IN tin
shop. was only boy at that time
and had no idea of going into the hotel
business. l worked at that business
for several years. During good share
of the time boarded at hotel there
and had an intimate friendship with
the proprietor. That was how l got
my first knowledge OF the hotel bust
ness. IL wasn't very extensive, but u
stood me we'll in hand afterwards. My
first hotel venture was At Paw Paw. II
Was not a very extensive one. but was
fairly successful, and made up my
mind TO stick to II. The rest Of my
business career 10 merely repetition
of what ! told you at first. / worked
almighty hard and branched out
from time to time. In the hotel
business you are brought more closely
in touch with the public than in Any
other industry, and you must know
Just what IL wants. A man will be sat
isfied with aimost anything il he has q
good bed and . good dinner. My
whole aim 10 business has been TO find
out exactly what the public wanted
and then give II 10 them. That II
probably the whole secret OF any busl.
mess, bat IL il doubly true of the hote
business. don't suppose IL would bs
Of any special interest to rehearse my
different hotel ventures: From Paw
Paw I went To Niles, and from there u
jackson. At Jackson I ran the Hib
bard House, and afterwards went te
saginaw. where I ran the Bancroft
In fs73 | came to Grand Rapids and
took she Morton.