Royal Mutts: Harry "Hal" Mulford Jewett

His biography in a nutshell:

JEWETT, Harry Mulford; born, Elmira, N.Y., Aug. 14, 1870; son of Arthur Leroy and Gertrude (Osborne) Jewett; graduate University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind., degree of C.E., 1890; married at Detroit, Feb. 19, 1900, Mary Visscher Wendell. Began active career as civil engineer on Chicago Drainage Canal, later with Michigan Central RR as assistant engineer, with headquarters in Detroit; entered coal mining with the WP Rend Coal Co., Chicago, and began for self in same business, 1903, at Detroit; assistant in organizing firm of Jewett, Bigelow & Brooks, miners and wholesale dealers in coal. Also president Big Sandy Coal and Coke Co., J.B.B. Colleries Co., Twin Branch and Mining Co., Maher Coal and Coke Co. Member Appalachian Engineers Society. Member Michigan Naval Reserve, U.S. war with Spain, and on board U.S.S. Yosemite. Republican. Member Masonic order. Clubs: Detroit, Detroit Country. Recreations: Automobiling, baseball. Office: Penobscott Bldg. Residence: 1055 Jefferson Av.

It's funny that "automobiling" is the only near-mention of the cars that made him historically significant! We'll get to that later. Harry's life is chock-full of interesting tidbits and trivia. Let's start with athletics. Hal was an athletically gifted fella, so much so that it interfered with his high school education. He was expelled once in school for low grades and yet... somehow managed to make it into Notre Dame!

In the year 1890, Harry scored Notre Dame's first-ever touchdown in a 26-6 loss to Michigan during the school's (ND's) second-ever football game on April 20, 1888. A couple of years later he broke world records in track, one of which was broken by his brother a year later. There's sibling rivalry for you! He wrote an article about training for his various track events in a book called "The Athlete's Guide", in which he formulates his recipe for athletic success: his workout routine, sleep schedule, appetites, and his alcohol massages. The article can be read via Google Books here. In his later years he refereed the first Detroit marathon and donated "The Harry M Jewett Trophy" to the winner of the event.

After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in civil engineering he went to work conducting surveys for the Chicago Draining Canal (lovely!) and worked his way up the chain of command, receiving high compliments such as "the greatest engineer of the division" and "genius of construction". He randomly quit one day and tried his luck at being a newspaper man, whatever that means. Soon, however, he got in touch with an old friend, W.P. Rend of W.P. Rend Coal Company, where he became the highest grossing coal salesman.

Coal was the first industry he started to make a substantial fortune with. He owned part of Jewett, Bigelow and Brooks, which became one of the largest coal operators in the nation. He acquired coal mine after coal mine until his interest in coal became replaced with the fascinating "horseless carriages" being manufactured in Detroit at that time. He simply had to try his hand at designing of those! He arranged a meeting with Fred Paige, his future partner, and the rest is automobile history.

On February 19, 1900, he married Miss Mary Visscher Wendell, a very beautiful woman indeed. Way to go, Harry! Mary was the daughter of a prominent Detroit family and had been Harry's long-time sweetheart. I imagine he wrote many letters to her during his Spanish-American War service aboard the USS Yosemite. Their wedding was quite a social event! According to The Graham-Paige legacy, "the marriage and family were looked upon as successful in every order."

The more and more I read about enterprising young Harry, the more I wonder how much time he actually had to devote to his wife. He was a busy man to say the very least. They made a life together in this charming white clapboard Colonial Revival home on 625 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. The house was built in 1909 by Walter McFarlane.

Today, the house is owned by attorney Robert Liggett, who built a small structure to accomodate a collection pertaining to Jewett Motors, Inc. and the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company.

According to the Jewettsix.com: "Mr. Liggett acquired this collection from a California collector, that consists of ephemera, photographs, advertising pieces, varied small parts and other company related shelf items. He also keeps his 1923 Special Jewett “Six” Roadster here, which he acquired, from Edward Huntting Jewett’s grandson, Edward H. Jewett II. Edward Huntting was a brother of Harry M. Jewett."

One has to wonder, who is this Liggett fellow? I understand the fascination with the Jewetts, but to buy the house they lived in? That's devotion!

Harry had dreamt of a haven of his own for the "rod and gun." In the early 1920s, he bought 4300 acres of land just outside of Rose Hill, Michigan. He named it Grousehaven and built a lodge, decked out with indoor plumbing and a wine cellar. He raised and released game birds and fish at Grousehaven in addition to fishing, hunting, and hiking. Today it is open to the public as part of Rifle River State Park in which you can find "Jewett Lake" and even several families of bald eagles.

Another interesting tidbit is that Hal was quoted in Time Magazine, September 20, 1926: Harry Mulford Jewett, president Paige-Detroit Motor Car Co.: "I made a speech to 1,500 of my Jewett and Paige dealers at an elaborate dinner in the grand ballroom of the Book Cadillac Hotel, Detroit. Said I: 'The new Paige is a powerful brute. You can drive it right through hell and you can't make it heat up.'"

Harry's Life in Pictures: