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FAYGO VIDEO

J

oe Grimm enjoys lots of Faygo
flavors, but Rock & Rye ranks
as his favorite. Besides the taste,
he enjoys the story behind it, one of
many bubbly stories he has written
into The Faygo Book (Wayne State
University Press).
“Rock & Rye started off as an alco-
holic beverage, the first bottled cock-
tail,” reveals Grimm, whose topic at
this year’s Jewish Book Fair, on Nov.
8, takes readers and listeners into

working hard, innovating, caring for
employees, taking their work seri-
ously but not taking themselves too
seriously are good values today just as
they were 50 or 100 years ago.”
Grimm began working on The
Faygo Book after getting a positive
reaction to an earlier book, Coney
Detroit, which came out in 2012 and
traced the history of the dressed-up
Motor City version of the hot dog,
which features tempting trimmings

Grimm contacted and later met with
the family member as his main source
and supplemented her information
by talking with others and accessing
published articles. He was able to find
and use lots of pictures.
The more Grimm posts about the
book on social media and the more
places he speaks, the more he learns
about what went on at the factory
located on Gratiot and expanded to
adjacent buildings as Coca Cola and

Faygo!

The history of the pride of Detroit has been
deliciously documented.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Joe Grimm

the development of the locally based
soda-pop company. “It originally was
rock candy sugar put into whiskey.”
There’s also a story about the mys-
tery of making Rock & Rye, and he
clears that up while delving into the
Feigenson family and its loyalty to
Detroit beginning with two Jewish
immigrants from Russia.
“The values of Ben and Perry
Feigenson are values for our times,”
says Grimm, who teaches at the
Michigan State University School of
Journalism. “Their classic values of

54

November 1 • 2018

jn

originated by Greek immigrants.
“That book made people feel good
about Detroit, and I thought I’d like to
do that again,” says Grimm, a former
Detroit Free Press newsroom recruiter
who now teaches reporting, editing
and career branding while leading
students in publishing a series on
diverse cultural explorations.
“In the 1960s, when I was a kid,
they had a lot of great Faygo com-
mercials on TV. Growing up drinking
Faygo and seeing the commercials
gave me an interest in Faygo. I wanted
to know more about Faygo, and that’s
the key to writing a book. Typically,
when you write a book, you want to
know more about the subject.
“The Faygo Co. [no longer owned
by the Feigenson family] preferred
not to help. I complained to a class,
and one of my students asked if I
knew Susie Feigenson, who had been
his English teacher at Andover High
School. He said she was a grand-
daughter of one of the founders.”
Supplied with an email address,

Pepsi Cola moved away.
“I had hired an Orthodox Jewish
woman from New York for the Free
Press, and she said she was happy to
find a local soda-pop company with
all kosher flavors including grape,”
Grimm says. “I found out that grape
had to be handled differently because
[plain] grape juice fermented and
became wine.”
In researching the Feigensons’
interests away from business, Grimm
learned they were very active in
charitable projects. They sponsored
scholarships at Jewish schools and
helped the Jewish Historical Society
of Michigan.
“I think the Feigenson family and
how they treated people, especially in
the early years when they were set-
ting up the business, is an important
part of the longstanding commitment
of the Jewish community toward
the African American community,”
Grimm says about the business that
spanned about 100 years and has
employed many African Americans.

TOP: Orange pop on the production line.
BOTTOM: Susie Feigenson in a Faygo ad.

Although Faygo was sold in the
1980s when family members were
not in a position to run the company,
Grimm has learned that Feigenson
descendants and employees’ descen-
dants maintain a feeling of kinship
with the brand.
“I’ve run into some people who
said they will see me at the Jewish
Book Fair,” Grimm says about
remarks he heard at earlier speaking
engagements, “so I’m preparing a dif-
ferent talk.” ■

details

Joe Grimm speaks at 8 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 8.