Benjamin Gero (right) in his battery powered Oldsmobile, circa 1901, Courtesy Ben Gero III collection.
Born on Nov. 9, 1862 in Potsdam, New York, Benjamin Gero’s business career and civic contributions can only be marveled at today. He is best remembered as the owner of the “Gero Theater” in Manistique, but his accomplishments were many and varied. The death of his father when Gero was only nine years old and the necessity to support his mother and younger brother fueled his quest for achievement. When he was 15, he left home for Michigan, finding work at Cheboygan in the lumber industry. With steady employment, the family joined him there and established a home. By the time Gero turned 21, he had risen to the position of lumber inspector for the Martin Stillman Lumber Company in Cheboygan. Coming to Manistique in 1890, he began his remarkable career here as an independent lumber inspector.
By 1901, Americans were being introduced to the automobile. There were several brands to choose from—all of them very expensive and beyond the means of the average farmer or laborer. Cars were manufactured one car at a time by hand. Henry Ford’s 1907 innovation of the “assembly line” which facilitated the mass production of the Ford Model T was years away.
Gero became the first car owner in Manistique in 1901 when he purchased an Oldsmobile, Straight Dash Runabout for $650. The vehicle’s electric motor was powered by two 75 pound Edison batteries and rode on hard rubber tires. It had one speed forward and one speed in reverse. Steering was accomplished with a lever. Illumination at night was provided by two kerosene lamps mounted on the sides of the vehicle. After the car was delivered to his home on Arbutus Avenue, Gero decided to take it for a spin around Lakeside. The roads in Manistique in 1901 were constructed with sand, tanning bark and crushed limestone. The excursion ended on Lake Street, where the Olds became mired in mud and sand. Towed back to Gero’s home by a team of horses, the car was parked in the stable where it remained undriven for several years.
Undaunted, Gero obtained the agency for Oldsmobile in 1902, selling both electric and gasoline powered vehicles. The new Curved Dash Runabouts were powered by a one cylinder, four horsepower engine which was housed under the seat. The engine was started by a hand crank on the side of the car. In the days before filling stations, gasoline was purchased in five gallon pails from the local drug store. Car travel in 1902 was precarious at best. William Crowe purchased an Oldsmobile from Gero in 1902. He and Louis Yalomstein left town at 7:00 in the morning travelling east. By 6:00 pm., after driving all day on poor roads, the car stalled out a few miles from Curtis. While a team of oxen towed the car into Curtis, the men caught the Soo Line passenger train for a quick trip back to Manistique. The next day, Gero’s mechanic accompanied the pair back to Curtis where he made the necessary repairs.
By 1906, Oldsmobile had added a luxury car to its fleet, the Model S Palace Touring Car. It featured a 4 cylinder, 28 horsepower. water cooled engine. Gero had one Model S at his agency, which he purchased for $2000 wholesale. In March of 1906 a customer from Sault Ste. Marie came to Manistique with the intention of buying a new car for his wife, and he had his eye on the Model S. Usually a savvy businessman, Gero ended up being “taken for a ride.” The buyer from the Sault, who represented a Canadian copper and silver mining company, proposed a trade of shares of stock in the mining company in exchange for the cost of the car which sold for $2,350 retail. Gero had the car delivered to the man’s wife in the Sault, but he never received his shares of mining stock. The stock had been seized by a sheriff with a writ from a Canadian court, and was eventually sold for only $8. Gero sued the customer and his wife for the purchase cost of the car, but the case was still bogged down in litigation four years later. Gero soon moved on to other pursuits, leaving the sale of cars to others. His former customer, William Crowe, became the agent for Oldsmobile in 1915.
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A gasoline powered Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout (circa 1907) parked along side Patrick McNamara’s Star Buffet Saloon (Presently MBank Arts & Cultural Center). SCHS Photo, Benjamin Gero III collection.