Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
46 | JULY 30 • 2020
Call Me A Cab …
I
recently wrote about an early
Jewish automobile leader that
you may not have known, F.
L. Klingensmith, first president
and founder of the Gray Motor
Corporation. I also mentioned Max
Grabowski, creator
of what is now GMC
Trucks, and Meyer
Prentis, longtime
treasurer of General
Motors. In response
we received a letter
from David Flaisher,
who mentioned
another Jewish auto
pioneer: Morris Markin.
Flaisher is spot-on. While Markin
is not as famous as Henry Ford or
Walter Chrysler, he did make his mark on the
early automobile industry. He founded and ran
the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company.
Based in Kalamazoo, Checker was the premier
maker of taxi cabs in America for 60 years.
The Checker company should not be confused
with “Checker,
” the cab company still operating
in Detroit today. More on that later …
Like many early automakers, the Checker Cab
Manufacturing Co. was derived from a combi-
nation of manufacturing enterprises. One of was
Markin’
s own Markin Auto Body Corporation
in Joliet, Illinois, which made bodies for vehi-
cles produced by the Commonwealth Motor
Company.
Markin, however, had a better idea. He would
concentrate on making one product — taxi cabs.
Markin took over the Commonwealth Motor
Co. in 1922 and renamed it as the Checker Cab
Manufacturing Co. He moved the company to
Kalamazoo a year later. By 1925, it was produc-
ing 1,000 Checker taxis a year.
Checkers, known for their roominess and
durability, were the taxi cabs of choice for
decades in New York City, Chicago and many
other American cities. The last Checker rolled off
the assembly line in 1982. The big two-ton taxis
could not compete with more modern, cheaper
and more fuel-efficient competitors.
I searched for “Checker Cab” in the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit
History. This resulted in 640 hits in the Archive,
but only an obituary for Markin in the July 10,
1970, issue of JN that cites the Checker Cab
Manufacturing Co. Almost all of the entries
were ads for “Checker,
” the Detroit cab com-
pany established in 1921.
Although the Archive only yields a bit
of information, it appears that the Checker
cab company may have been another early
Jewish-owned automotive enterprise.
A story about Edward Fleischman in
the Feb. 2, 1964, issue of the JN cites him as a
founder of Checker cabs. More research is need-
ed on this topic.
Two other Checker-related articles were inter-
esting. An article on actor David Gorenstein, in
the Sept. 1, 1989, issue of the JN pictured him
sitting on the hood of his favorite car, a Checker.
In a March 3, 1995, JN article, local Detroit artist
Morris Rosin is also cited as a proud Checker
owner.
I wish to thank Mr. Flaisher for his letter. It
was the catalyst for another Michigan Jewish his-
tory adventure in the William Davidson Digital
Archive.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
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WIKIPEDIA