Rosenthal, one of Ben Feigenson's
grandsons. Matt's mother, Ruth, was
one of Ben's four children. Ben died at
age 63 in 1948, suffering a heart attack
at a Passover seder. Perry Feigenson
died in his 80s in 1965. Their sons,
Phil and Mort, ran the company until
it was sold to National Beverage. Phil
died in May.
"There's a great story about my
father [Dr. Sam Rosenthal], who was
a struggling medical student when he
was courting my mother," said Matt.
"And where does he take her on their
first date? To the Vernor's plant in
downtown Detroit to see how soda is
made. My mother laughed to herself,
but didn't say a word."
Ben's only surviving child is
Gertrude Schmittel, 92, of Rochester
Hills. "My father and Uncle Perry lived
in Cleveland first before coming to
Detroit because their sister had gone
there from Russia, and she was mar-
ried to a bottler [Cotton Club soft
drinks]," said Schmittel. "That's why
they switched their interest from bak-
ing to bottling soft drinks and came to
Detroit to start their new venture.
"Later, they moved to a bigger fac-
tory on Beaubien Street, and the fami-
lies always lived above the store. We
kept kosher and attended a synagogue
as much as possible."
Gertrude, her sisters and brother
"use to love to play in the plant's 'syrup
room, then drink real fresh pop off the
line; and our friends always came to
our house to drink pop," she recalled.
"But selling soft drinks was a tough
business at first. Pop sales went way
down in the winter when people
didn't want cold drinks, so my father
befriended a baker and sold bread and
even fish to supplement his income."
Matt worked at various jobs in the
family business at first, but left to
operate his own advertising agency.
He returned in 1992 in the market-
ing/communications position, which
includes advertising and public rela-
tions. He graduated from Detroit's
Mumford High School, from the
University of Michigan with a market-
ing degree, then got an MBA at Wayne
State, Detroit. He's married, with two
children and one grandchild.
"It's always a challenge to be a part
of a new generation in a family busi-
ness," he said. "And in my job, it's espe-
cially challenging to try to make the
most of advertising dollars in today's

highly competitive market!'
Catchy advertising always has been
Faygo's forte. In the 1940s, the com-
pany hired the W.P. Doner advertising
agency, created a new root beer and
introduced Uptown, a lemon-lime
soda.
"The Faygo Kid" appeared on televi-
sion, with the famous line, "Which way
did he go? Which way did he go? He
went for Faaaaaaaaygo!" Also appear-
ing on TV was "Herkimer the bottle
blower," who was "too pooped to par-
ticipate" until he drank Faygo Uptown.
Faygo also sponsored Detroit Tigers
baseball games, spreading the pop
word throughout Michigan and north-
ern Ohio.
Faygo is reminding everyone about
the 100th anniversary through bill-
boards, cookbooks, signs, hats and
other devices. Rosenthal organized a
national contest to name an official
new centennial flavor. An Ohio math-
ematics teacher won with the new
blueberry cream soda. Her photo and
name now appear on the bottle, which
is decorated with math equations
equaling 100.

Moving to Michigan,

Making a Difference in the D.

Howard Brown

Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer
and President of PlanitJewish.com

"Since moving our family to the Detroit area

in 2005, the Jewish Federation has been an

Pop Culture

Faygo pop even plays a role in
American culture. Some exam-
ples:
• Faygo was featured in the
1999-2000 NBC-TV series Freaks
and Geeks, a show about teenag-
ers growing up in 1980's Metro
Detroit.
• Rap duo Insane Clown Posse
of Ferndale are devoted Faygo
drinkers. They often spray large
amount of the pop at their con-
certs, dousing the audience.
• Faygo is mentioned in
Detroit rapper Esham's song,
"Detroit Stand Up."
• Eminem mentions Faygo in
his first major label work, "The
Slim Shady" LP. In the song "As
the World Turns," he raps "It's
nice to meet ya/ I'd like to treat
ya/ to a Faygo and a slice of
pizza."
• The comic book Knights
of the Dinner Table often cites
Faygo in various stories.
• An original song by the
White Stripes group, "Every
Highway That I Go Down," men-
tions Faygo.

important part of our lives, making us feel

right at home.

Right from the start, the community here has

been warm and welcoming.

Through my participation in Federation's

Jewish Entrepreneurs Network, Class of a

Million, leadership workshops, fundraising

activities, marketing committee, and 20-20

envisioning committee, I've had wonderful

opportunities to jump in and get involved

in purposeful work. Making a difference...

That's what Federation is all about."

lc

Jewish
Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit

jewishdetroit.org

1278640

September 13 • 2007

55