If your grandparents grew up here, they probably refer to the Ford Motor Company as “Ford’s” and Meijer as “Meijer’s.” Many laugh this off as some silly midwestern linguistic tic, but it’s not.
It’s a recognition that great men have built great companies in Michigan.
When Chrysler Fiat and Peugeot merged in January 2021, the company chose to be known by a new name, a contrived one: Stellantis.
This name was meant to call to mind the stars, to signify a bright future in which auto brands like Dodge and Citroën led the world in auto innovation. Fat chance of that.
What the name really represented is an obliteration of one man’s legacy: Walter Chrysler. Chrysler became interested in cars in 1906 and started running Buick for Billy Durant’s General Motors within a decade. Then he struck out on his own in 1925, bought the Dodge brand from the Dodge brothers (another name muted in the rebrand), and built a company to rival GM and Ford.
But now that Stellantis has been thrust upon us, no one will ever talk about working for “Chrysler’s” again.
The possessive is important. The workers who streamed into Detroit in the early 20th century did not see themselves as working for a faceless corporation. They knew they were working for a visionary, and their work was to carry out his vision of a car-centric future.
It wasn’t the “Ford Motor Company” to them, it was “Ford’s Company.” And rightly so. The man from Dearborn did more to change Southeast Michigan than any other person in history.
It wouldn’t be out-of-line to refer to Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties as “Ford’s Corner.”
Similarly, when Hendrik Meijer borrowed $320 to open a grocery store in Greenville in 1934, he literally called it “Meijer’s Grocery.”
His sons expanded the business and opened some superstores in the state under the name “Thrifty Acres,” but in 1986 went back to the start and renamed each one after their family.
And why shouldn’t they? Hendrik’s grandsons have served on the board, as CEO and president of the company. It’s a family firm.
Each building stands as a testament to the vision of a handful of Dutchmen who wanted to provide great food at low prices and at scale.
The lesson in this? If you plan to build something great here, name it after yourself. If you succeed, you’ll be remembered for a century or more.
Mark Naida is editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
