Finding Aid for Fred Sanders papers, 1870-1986
03545

Summary Information

Repository
Detroit Public Library. Burton Historical Collection.
Creator
Sanders, Fred
Title
Fred Sanders papers
ID
03545
Date
1870-1986
Extent
4.0 linear ft.
General Physical Description note
(6 boxes, 3 volumes, 1 extra large manuscript)
Language
English
Abstract
The Fred Sanders Papers include family and business papers of the 111-year-old ice cream and candy manufacturing company, headquartered in Highland Park, Mich.

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Biographical/Historical note

The Son of a German baker, Frederick Schmidt was born in Germany in 1848. The family emigrated to the United States a year later, but as a young man Frederick returned to his homeland to learn more about baking as a business. Coming back to America, Schmidt--later called Sanders--opened bakery shops first in Philadelphia and then in Chicago. He came to Detroit only after his store was burned down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Frederick Sanders opened the "Sanders Pavilion", a candy and ice cream shop, at the corner of Woodward Avenue and State Street in downtown Detroit in 1875. He later moved the store closer to the river, on Woodward near Michigan Avenue, and the company became a phenomenal success. By the turn of the century, Sanders opened his "Palace of Sweets" and it remained at the same location on Woodward for the next eighty-five years. By the mid-twentieth century, there were nearly two dozen Sanders stores serving fountain treats along with soups and sandwiches in Detroit and nearby suburbs. The Detroit Free Press reported, "In 1962, when John Sanders, great-grandson of the founder, took over the company from his father, Sanders had 111 stores and more than $20 million a year in sales." But the real world eventually caught up with the family-owned company, and the 1970s and '809 saw any ups.-,and downs with the struggling firm. "Trouble began in the mid-1970s," the Detroit Free Press reported, "as Sanders faced increasing competition from local rivals such as Awrey Bakeries and from outsiders such as Godiva Chocolates and Entenmann's, the Long Island baked goods company." Despite hiring outside management for the first time in its one hundred year history, by the early 1980s the floundering company, unable to compete with "slipping sales, rising costs and an aging plant", declared bankruptcy. In 1989 the company was taken over by Country Home Bakery, but the name and recipes were retained. At the time the collection ends, in 1989, there were just a handful of Sanders stores still operating in the Detroit area. The collection provides a bittersweet look at a nostalgic era in Detroit's past.

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Biographical/Historical note

The Fred Sanders Company, which started in Detroit in 1875, was a popular manufacturer of ice cream and candy for over one hundred years. The material contained in the collection, including company records, family documents and newspaper clippings, provides a good look at the firm. The s

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Detroit Public Library. Burton Historical Collection.

Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

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Fred Sanders papers, 1870-1986 (Catalog record)

[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/525277737]

Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Fred Sanders Company
  • Sanders Candy
  • Sanders Confectionery
  • Sanders, Fred -- Archives

Genre(s)

  • Business records -- aat
  • Legal papers -- aat

Geographic Name(s)

  • Detroit (Mich.) -- Commerce.

Subject(s)

  • Candy industry -- Michigan -- Highland Park.
  • Confectioners -- Michigan -- Highland Park.
  • Ice cream industry -- Michigan -- Highland Park.

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Other finding aids note

Finding aid and white index cards available in the Burton Historical Collection and on the World Wide Web.

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Collection Inventory

Series I: Family Papers, 1889-1931 

General Note

Legal papers of the family members who made up the private corporation for most of the company's existence are included in the collection, such as baptismal records for Edwin Sanders (ne Schmidt), son of Frederick.

Box:File

Legal Papers: Passport application for Edwin Sanders; correspondence re. birth certificate; Last Will and Testaments, Doris Miller Patten, Marc T. Patten, Charles J. Sanders; Power of Attorney, John M. Sanders 

1:1

Miscellaneous Legal Papers, 1889-1931 

1:2

Correspondence--Life Insurance Policy, 1946-1957 

1:3

Miller Property, West Virginia, 1909-1933 

1:4

Woodlawn Cemetery Crypts, 1946-1965 

1:5

Papers, Estate of Charles J. Sanders, 1959-1966 

1:6

Deeds--Elmwood Cemetery and Green ood Cemetery, 1900-1959 

1:7

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Series II: Business Papers 

Subseries A: Business Legal Papers, 1870-1966 

General Note

The oldest documents in the collection are Warranty Deeds, which date back to 1870.

Box:File

Warranty Deeds, 1870-1957 

1:8

Trustees Deed--Woodward Avenue property, 1911-1953 

1:9

Land Contract and Power of Attorney, 1936-1959 

1:10

Subseries B: Business Plan and Factory Locations 

General Note

A history of the Sanders Company is included in the Five-Year Business Plan, as well as their sales figures and candy manufacturing procedures.

Box:File

Five-Year Business Plan, 1984 

2:1

Proposed Factory Locations, 1939 

2:2

Business Correspondence/Memos, 1980-1983 

2:3

Description of Stores, 1972-1981 

2:4

Subseries C: Stock Certificates, 1929-1959 

General Note

John Miller, who had been "one of the City [of Detroit]'s great merchandisers", was founder Frederick Sanders' son-in-law. Taking over the business in 1913, after Sanders' death, Miller expanded the company. The name was changed to Sanders-Miller Corporation while Miller was president. While the Fred Sanders Company evolved and grew over the years, it remained a private, family-owned business for one hundred eleven years. Fred Sanders Incorporated began in June, 1983, as the successor corporation to Fred Sanders, the "old-line" Michigan baker, confectioner and retail store operating concern originally founded in 1875. It underwent reorganization in 1986 when it became known as Sanders Inc. and for the first time in its 111-year history, the company's stock went public.

Box:File

Sanders-Miller Corp. Stock Certificates, Book 1, 1929-1954 

2:4

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 1, 1930-1935 

2:5

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 2, 1935-1948 

2:6

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 3, 1952-1954 

2:7

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 4, 1955 

2:8

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 5, 1955-1957 

2:9

Fred Sanders Stock Certificates, Book 6, 1957 

2:10

Subseries D: Abstracts of Title, 1914-1961 

General Note

The Abstracts of Title for the Highland Park property, Lots 29 and 30, are traced back to 1829. The property ownership is traced up through the twentieth century and includes mention of a law suit in the late 1880s involving members of the Riley family. Apparently, an error in the land deed leaving the land to Charlotte Riley from her deceased father Richard resulted in an unpleasant family situation.

Box:File

Abstract of Title, 1914-1926 

3:1

Abstract of Title, 1926 

3:2

Abstract of Title, 1926 

3:3

Abstract of Title, 1939 

3:4

Abstract of Title, 1961 

3:5

Subseries E: Oakman Blvd. Factory and Property, 1939-1985 

General Note

The headquarters for the Sanders Company was located on Oakman Blvd. in Highland Park, Michigan. Papers concerning the building, as well as blueprints for the factory, are contained here.

Box:File

Oakman Blvd. Factory and Property, 1939-1958 

4:1

Oakman Blvd. Factory and Property, 1966 

4:2

Cikman Blvd. Factory and Property--Blueprints, 1940-1956 

4:3

Appraisal of Real Estate, 100 Oakman Blvd., Highland Park, Michigan, 1985 

4:4

Subseries F: Payroll Sheets , 3 Ledger Books 

General Note

These ledger books show names of employees who worked at the various stores from 1915-1923, as well as their monthly wages.

Jan. 1915 - Dec. 1919 

Jan. 1920 - Dec. 1922 

Jan. - Dec. 1923 

Subseries G: Floor Plan, Organizational Charts 

XLMS: Floor Plan of Store Building for Sanders-Miller Corp., 1930 Organizational Charts, Fred Sanders, 1964 

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Series III: Publicity 

Subseries A: Newspaper Clippings, 1955-1989 

General Note

A good deal of the history, progression and problems of the company throughout the years is documented by newspaper articles. Arranged chronologically, they provide a vivid insight to the operation of a once prosperous and thriving company that struggled hard in a futile attempt to succeed.

Box:File

Newspaper Clippings--Miscellaneous newspapers,1955-1985 

4:4

Newspaper Clippings--Detroit News, 1979-1989 

4:5

Newspaper Clippings--Detroit Free Press, 1980-1989 

4:6

Newspaper Clippings--Termination Forward, 1981-1983 

4:7

Newspaper Clippings--Reorganization, 1983-1986 

4:8

Subseries B: Publicity Publications 

General Note

Public relations and publicity were important to the company. The colorful and attractive publications put out by Sanders were tempting invitations to delicious-looking products.

Box:File

Candy Books 

5:1

Sugar 'n Spice Newsletters, 1964; 1970 

5:2

Flyers and Brochures 

5:3

Menus 

5:4

Subseries C: Photographs 

General Note

The photographs in this collection are mainly publicity photos. They include shots of employees at work in the factory and at the stores, plus candy and cake displays. A reproduction photograph of the original founder, Frederick Sanders, and his "Sanders Pavilion", as well as a photo of Detroit Mayor Coleman Young attending Sanders' Centennial celebration in 1975, are also included (Box 5:6).

Box:File

Employees (includes Jack Sanders, 1958, and Sanders executives) 

5:5

Historical Displays/Miscellaneous (includes Mayor Young, 1975) 

5:6

Candy and Cake Displays 

5:7

Store Displays 

5:8

Mounted photos, Candy Displays 

5:9

Mounted photos, Candy and Store Displays 

5:10

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