Your Dad is Rad
By Betsy Alexander
Historical Education Coordinator, The War Memorial
What kind of dad was created if his father was a larger-than-life, extremely wealthy businessman, highly decorated military figure, and beloved American politician?
You got a firecracker like Russell A. Alger, Jr., General Alger’s eldest son and an aggressive investor, capitalist, sportsman, and philanthropist.
Like his father he inherited a great nose for sniffing out new businesses or ideas to invest in and they frequently bore fruit, making him millions. Junior made his money in lumber, railroads, automobiles, airplanes, and other holdings in addition to administering his father’s many and diverse business investments. He sat on numerous Boards of Directors and was on the membership rolls of over 30 clubs and organizations.
Josephine, Fay, Rusty, Russell III, and dog on the Lake, with the boathouse of “Edgemere” beyond.
Russell Jr. was “Rusty” to those who were brave enough to call him that. He was reportedly built like a boxer and had quite a temper if provoked. He lived for speed and competition in any form and energetically participated in all sports. He excelled in shooting, riding, fishing, golf, and all manner of water sports. He was a daredevil, an early civilian pilot, an accomplished sailor, speed boat aficionado, and avid yachtsman (he owned nine at last count). His favorite yacht, “Winchester” was docked at The Little Club. He kept his Wright biplane – equipped with pontoons - tied up to one of his mooring poles in the lake for quick getaways. One winter day, for kicks, he reportedly drove one of his Packard’s across Lake St. Clair to Canada.
He liked to show and win with his prize bulldogs. The Alger’s had their own famous kennels to facilitate this, of course.
Downstairs in his villa he commissioned the ultimate 1910 version of a man cave called his “Play Room” that banned all women, including family members. The room came equipped with a secret tunnel that originally led down to the boat slip and had a fireplace with secret panels for hiding liquor, valuables, guns, or a combination of the three. It was decorated like a 17th century British pub and got quite the workout hosting the days’ top names from industry and politics.
Russell jumped in with both feet when Henry B. Joy approached him about investing in what was to become Packard Motors with the Packard brothers. They moved the new company to Detroit from Ohio and Russell became VP to Packard President Henry. Encountering another set of inventor brothers, Russell thought the Wright Brothers were on to something big commercially but needed help. He roped in his brother, Fred Alger, and they invested in and supplied business guidance to the Wrights’. Russell also formed Wright Brothers Inc. with buddies and fellow financial heavyweights, Cornelius Vanderbilt, III and August Belmont, to swat away patent lawsuits and invest in their inventions. In 1915, after the two Alger’s sold back their interests in the Wright Brothers’ business, they became investors in the nascent General Aeroplane Company, the first to build aircraft in Detroit. Although there was an important military commission and enthusiasm for potential wartime use, the company was dissolved in 1918.
Russell also experienced a few terrifying events, two happening during the brief period the family were living in Grand-Mère, Quebec. During the first incident, in December of 1898, Russell severely injured his spine while tobogganing. He was completely paralyzed for a few days before he slowly recovered, an eerie precursor of his future fate. The following July, brush fires ripped through Grand-Mère, destroying the wooden Alger home and part of Laurentide Pulp and Paper, one of Gen. Alger’s large holdings. Russell and Marion ran for their lives carrying their two baby daughters. The family soon moved back to Detroit after the second event.
Russell’s high-flying days came to an abrupt halt in the early 1920’s. Although no eyewitness accounts have yet been located, he reportedly fell off his horse twice in one day at the Hunt Club. The first time he remounted and continued on, but the second fall rendered him paralyzed completely on his left side. He was mostly wheelchair bound the rest of his life and his health was never the same, suffering additional strokes. Although Marion arranged various travel opportunities and the “Winchester” was pressed into frequent service, he was a shell of “the old Rusty.” He also had to divest from almost all of his business activities when his health first took a turn in 1920, further depressing the situation.
Russell suffered another major stroke while yachting off the coast of Havana, Cuba late December of 1928, and underwent various medical procedures. He developed pneumonia following corrective surgery and died at age 56 on January 26, 1930, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan. After a large funeral service at “The Moorings” with 100 honorary pallbearers, he was interred in the Alger mausoleum at Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit.
To learn more about the history of The War Memorial and the Alger Family, please contact Betsy at balexander@warmemorial.org to schedule a tour.