The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-07-17

IL 10 easy W uldho lTleuuS, UuJ IL
is hard to hold them. When a man
both makes and holds friends, he is
worthy of careful consideration.
Such a man is Alex. ]. Groesbeck
of Detroit, candidate for the Repub'
lican nomination for governor.
1t is but necessary to shake the
hand of Mr. Groesbeck to feel the
strong personality of the man. He
impresses all who meet him as a
strong man-strong In both character
and In body. He Is dark, a heritage
of his Dutch and French ancestry,
with big brown eyes that look out
fearlessly, but kindly. His voice is
strong and even, with tone that has
made him great orator. although in
his speeches he Is not given to fam
boyancy.
He is a man who grows on one
q man who wears we'll. He Is a deep
and constructive thinker, and is not
swayed of his feet by the pressure
Of current happenings. He possesses
great determination.
After the SCATTERING of the Repub-
ncan party, In 1912, he did not throw
up his hands, but Immediately set
to work as Republican state chair
man to rehabilr ,te the party. He
gathered together the torn ends and
won a great victory in the spring
campaign of 1913. He did not rest
there, but has continued since to
form the party members into united
force. His success Is evidenced by
the welfare conference" held in De-
troit on May &c, which was attended
by nearly 5000 Republicans from all
parts of Michigan.
Mr.. Groesbeck is a successful man
of affairs. Not rich, but "well to do -
as the saying is. He was one Of those
who saw the great growth that was
to come to Detroit and he profited in
real estate in the metropolis. Forced
by virtue Of his position as attorney
for one of the creditors, into the
tangled affairs of the Flint and Sag
inaw railroad, an interurban line, he
finally took over the property, with
others. completed the road between
Flint and Saginaw, and afterwards
extended the line to Bay City. He
was president of this company and
while in this position, clearly demon
strated his ability as an executive.
In 1912, Mr.. Groesbeck and his as
sociates disposed Of the railroad to
the Saginaw Valley Traction Co., and
today he has no interests in any pub
lie utility. During his incumbency of
the presidency of the railroad, the
wages of the men were raised from
16 cents to 20 cents per hour, and
every Christmas the men were re-
membered with q present. Never
once did they ask for raise or pre-
sent a grievance to the officials of
the road.
From Old Stock.
Mr.. Groesbeck is a self-made man,
but in his veins flows the blood of
those who first dared the wilds of the
interior of this continent. On bic
fathers side. he is directly descended
from the old Dutch and French set
tiers. The name "Groesbeck' came to
this country from Holland, with VIM
Groesbeck in 1910. He was the great
grandfather of Alex. j. Groesbeck.
Mr.. Groesbecks grandmother was
Catherine st. Aubin. direct descend
ant of John Cass, one of the intrepid
souls who came to the present site oil
Detroit in 1901 with Cadillac for the
purpose of founding Fort Fontchar-
train.
The name of Cass became st. Au-
bin by a process of evolution. 1t was
customary among the early French
settlers to better identify each other
by attaching the name of the pro-
vince or parish, in France from
which the person came. John Cass
was originally from the parish of st.
Aubin, near Bordeaux, in France, and
he became known as "Cass, of st.
Aubin,' to give fairly literal trans
lation. Gradually this shortened to
"Cass st. Aubin" and then became
st. Aubin" alone. The family was