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gree of bachelor of science in mechanical engineering. He secured a position as draughtsman in the elevating and conveying department of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, Ohio, and spent a year in the designing of systems for the handling of materials. In 1906-07, he was transferred to the estimating department to make the preliminary drawings and estimates preparatory to the submitting of proposals. He left his position during a business slump of 1907 and in that year was manual training instructor in the high school at Niagara Falls, New York, after which he returned to Columbus as designer of special cars and skips for the Kilbourne & Jacobs Company. In 1910, Mr. Verner came to the University of Michigan as instructor in descriptive geometry, drawing, and mechanics and in a short while was shifted to the mechanical engineering department to teach machine design, theory of heat engines, thermo-dynamics, mechanical handling of materials, crane design, valve gears, heating and ventilation, steam engine and steam boiler design, and power plant design, continuing in that work from 1908 to 1917. During the period between 1910 and 1913, Mr. Verner was also associated with Professors Colley, Riggs and Anderson as consulting engineer in valuation and investigation work. From 1913 to 1914, he performed experimental work for Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, engineers and architects, of Detroit. In 1917, Mr. Verner resigned his position on the engineering faculty of the University of Michigan to become associated with the firm of Esselstyn, Murphy & Hanford, engineers and architects, and while he was with that organization, he had supervision of the Lincoln Motor Company's Detroit plant. The following year he became plant engineer at the River Rouge plant of the Ford Motor Company in the construction of two complete blast furnaces, two blocks of coke ovens, one foundry, a machine shop, and a power house. His work in this respect was so noteworthy that when he became a member of the engineering firm of Verner, Wilhelm & Molby in 1920, he had gained a name in the engineering profession that brought him a large practice. He is thus regarded as one of the successful mechanical engineers in Detroit and has gained a nationwide reputation for his research work in heating and ventilating engineering. He has read papers. before the American Society of Heating & Ventilating Engineers. and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was president of the Detroit section of the A. S. H. & V. E. in 1919. At Columbus, Ohio, April 14, 1909, Mr. Verner married Maude N. Howard, and to this union has been born three daughters, Maude, Ann, and Jane. Mr. Verner is a member of the Ann Arbor Golf Club, the Masonic fraternity, and the Barton Hills Country Club, of which he is treasurer. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church and supports the Republican party in political matters.

William H. Ball, who has recently entered the real estate business in Detroit as a member of the firm of W. H. Ball Land Company, was associated with the coal and coke business for a period

of forty-two years and is perhaps best known in this city for his work in the development of the Solvay Process Company of Detroit, an industry that has become one of the leaders in its field in the United States. He was born in Buffalo, New York, August 23, 1863, the son of John N. and Virginia (Hathaway) Ball, natives of New York and Virginia, respectively. The father was a member of the firm of Hart, Ball & Hart, builders of steam engines. and was actively identified with that organization until the time of his death, which occurred in 1869. William H. Ball graduated from the Buffalo high school in 1883 and began his career in the employ of the Merchants Bank of Buffalo, but after a short time spent as a clerk with that concern, he became associated with the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He also became coal and coke agent of the Solvay Process Company in Detroit, after removing to Detroit, where he was placed in charge of the coal and coke department of the Solvay Process Company and affiliated companies. With the exception of seven years when he was located at Syracuse, New York, Mr. Ball has lived in Detroit since 1897. When he severed his connection with the Solvay organization in 1921, Mr. Ball concluded a period of forty-two consecutive years in the coal and coke business, and he is favorably known to students of industrial conditions in Detroit. In 1925 Mr. Ball incorporated the firm of the W. H. Ball Land Company to engage in the real estate business, and the success he has met in this new field of endeavor is indicative of the executive ability he possesses, permitting him to make an unqualified success of a business venture within the space of two years. Mr. Ball was married in 1890, and his social affiliations are maintained with the Detroit Club, Grosse Pointe Country Club, Buffalo Club, and the Detroit Athletic Club, of which he was a charter member. He is also a member of the various Masonic bodies and his daily life is exemplary of the teachings of that fraternity.

Samuel H. Rubiner, treasurer of the First National Company, of Detroit, has worked his way to the position he now holds by a display of energy and initiative that stamps him as one of the able and influential financial men in this city. A native of Grand Rapids, this State, he was born October 30, 1900, the son of the late Abraham and Mary (Shetzer) Rubiner, the former of whom was a rabbi of the Hebrew Church, who died here on July 24, 1924. Samuel H. Rubiner attended the public schools and the Bishop Union school in the acquirement of his early education, and after pursuing a course of study at the Detroit Business University, he entered the Central high school, from which he graduated in 1918. He pursued further studies in the Detroit College of Law while he was working and was graduated in 1921, being admitted to the bar in the autumn of the same year. No sooner had he completed his high school education than he went to work at the First Old Detroit National Bank as office boy, but his energy and ability so attracted the favorable attention of his employers that he received

rapid advancement, becoming cashier of the bond department in 1919. When the First National Company was organized in that same year, Mr. Rubiner was offered the position of cashier. Here again he demonstrated a fidelity and aggressiveness that brought him to the position of assistant treasurer and finally to that of treasurer in 1923. He has come to be known as one of the able bankers of this city due to his phenomenal rise in financial circles, and the place he holds in the regard of his business associates is shown by the fact that in 1926 he was elected president of the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Banking and is the representative here for the national chapter and a member of various committees of the institute. He was married June 15, 1926, to Dorothy Frank, the daughter of Harry and Rebecca Frank. Mr. Rubiner is a member of the Masonic order, Redford Country Club, Lawyers Club, Phoenix Club, and the Phi Sigma Epsilon legal fraternity. He attends the Shaarey Zedek Temple.

Ralph Austin MacMullan, secretary of the General Builders' Association, of Detroit, has been prominently identified with the building trades of Detroit since 1915 and has done much to improve the condition of the laborers in this and the manufacturing field here by interesting the industrial employers in the fact that satisfied workmen make for increased efficiency and excellence. in the work they perform. He was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, February 28, 1893, the son of Henry and Carrie (Chapman) MacMullan, both of whom are now living in the Garden City section of Detroit. The family originated in Scotland, was then established in Ireland, and from that country came Henry MacMullan to the United States in 1850 to take up Government land located on the Wabash Railroad near Hand Station. His son, Henry, the father of Ralph Austin MacMullan, was born in Detroit, where he now makes his home. Ralph A. MacMullan received his early education in the elementary and high schools, although he was forced by circumstances to leave school before he had graduated from the high school, and then went to work, being employed in the succeeding years in such jobs as running an elevator, printing, and the like. In March, 1914, Mr. MacMullen first became associated with the building construction field when he entered the employ of the F. W. Dodge Corporation in construction reporting service, and in November, 1915, he was sent to Detroit to take charge of production in this city. In August, 1919, he formed a connection with Smith, Hinchman & Grylls but gave up this work early in 1920 to assume the secretaryship of the Mason Contractors Association, a position which he retained until 1922, when he became secretary of the General Builders' Association. Not only has he been an important factor in the achievements of this organization but he has also taken an active part in the betterment of working conditions and in the training of labor. He has ever been a strong proponent of recognizing the potentialities of the apprentice and of securing him the training and preferment to which he is right

fully entitled. As a member of the Exchange Club, Mr. MacMullan is director of the Citizens Committee and has devoted much time to the prevention of accidents to construction workers. He has served on the National Safety Council as chairman of the committees of Construction Section, and as chairman of the Construction Division of the Detroit Industrial Safety Council. In 1914, Mr. MacMullan married Emily E. Lathers, a native of Inkster and a descendant of one of the pioneer families of that section of Wayne County, and to this union have been born five children, as follows: Roberta E.; Ralph Austin, Jr.; Francis C.; Charlotte L., and Donald D. In Masonry, Mr. MacMullan is a member of Lawn Lodge No. 815 at Chicago. He and his family are members of the East Nankin Presbyterian Church of Inkster, and he has served as trustee of that body.

Walter Seymour Gurd, president of the Walter S. Gurd Company, is one of the leading men in the field of accounting and auditing in Detroit. He was born at Bristol, England, November 26, 1871, and is a descendant of the Gurds of Dorsetshire and the Seymours of Devonshire, his parents having been Robert and Jane (Maurice) Gurd. When he was but twelve years of age, so rapid had been his progress in his studies, he passed the examination in the College of Preceptors at Bristol, his previous schooling having been obtained at All Saints College, Clifton, England. He studied accounting in his native land and had gained wide experience in that field before he came to this country. In November, 1903, Mr. Gurd came to the United States and located at Detroit, where he has since been engaged in the field of accounting and auditing. Within a short time after his arrival here, he established the Walter S. Gurd Company, which has since become known as one of the leading concerns of its kind in Detroit and this section of Michigan. He was admitted to fellowship in the Corporation of Accountants of Great Britain on November 9, 1910, having passed the degree examination in 1903, and is a certified public accountant of the State of Michigan. On June 10, 1906, Mr. Gurd was united in marriage to Edith Elmira Granger, of Berlin Township, St. Clair County, Michigan. He is a member of the Canadian Club, the English Speaking Union, honorary member of Company D, 125th Infantry, National Guard, and is past grand president of the Michigan body of the American order of Sons of St. George. During the progress of the World War, he took a prominent part in the war activities, being president of the Detroit auxiliary to the Canadian patriotic fund, secretary of the British Recruiting committee of Detroit, and secretary of the Allies Relief Committee of Detroit, and following the entrance of the United States into that great conflict, he was tireless in his efforts to promote the success of the various war drives and measures as they applied to Detroit. He is a member of the advisory council of the British and Canadian Patriotic Society and is a trustee of the British-American War Veterans Association.

Lorne W. Weber, attorney and councellor-at-law in Detroit, was born at Stratford, Ontario, Canada, December 1, 1883, the son of George and Nancy (Funk) Weber. The father was born in Canada, married there, and came to Huron, Michigan, in 1893, giving up his previous occupation of farming to engage in the lumber and saw mill business in the thumb district of this state. He died in 1922 at the age of seventy-six years. One of two sons born to his parents, Lorne W. Weber attended the elementary and high schools in the thumb district, and from 1902 to 1907, he studied at the Michigan State Normal School, pursuing special studies at the University of Chicago during the vacation months. During this time, too, he taught school, for he was principal at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, from 1905 to 1907, and spent two years previously, 1904 to 1905, as superintendent of schools at Wolverine, Michigan. In 1917 he came to Detroit to study at the Detroit College of Law, and when he had graduated from that institution, he taught school for a time in the public schools of Detroit. In 1912, he went to Saginaw, this State, and entered upon the active practice of his profession. The following year, however, he returned to Detroit to take charge of the Detroit Law Library, but with the lapse of a year, he entered upon the general practice in which he has since been engaged. He is widely and favorably known among his professional confreres and has built up an extensive practice that shows him to be one of the successful and able attorneys of this city. Since 1913 he has been instructor of Private Corporation law at the Detroit College of Law and has gained an excellent name for his work in this connection. He was married December 27, 1909, to Harriett J. Schluchter, of Detroit, and they have two children, Ellen and Lorne W., Jr. Mr. Weber is a member of the lodge and Shrine in Masonry and also retains membership with the Lawyers Club, the Canopus Club, the National Town & Country Club and the Masonic Country Club.

Edwin B. Kelly, president of Kelly, Halla & Peacock, is one of the most prominent figures in insurance circles in Detroit, for he has directed the affairs of the present concern since 1923 and has been instrumental in developing it into a leading insurance agency in this section of the State. Born at Big Rapids, Michigan, September 5, 1890, he is the son of Thomas and Martha (McCord) Kelly, both of whom were born in Canada and came to the United States in 1880. The father was a railroad engineer by vocation and died in 1898. Edwin B. Kelly attended the elementary and high schools of Big Rapids and then took up the study of pharmacy at the Ferris Institute in the same city, completing his course in 1913. Since the year 1906, Mr. Kelly had come to Detroit during the summer months to work, and when he had completed his work in pharmacy at the institute, it was but natural that he should seek success in this city. For four months after his advent to Detroit, he was employed at the Northwestern Pharmacy but gave up the work to become associated with the Detroit Insurance Agency,

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