BIOGRAPHY
Stanley Sebastian Kresge, son of Sebastian Spering Kresge, founder of
the S.S. Kresge Company, later known as the K-Mart Corporation, was born
on June 11, 1900 in Detroit, Michigan. Stanley Kresge was former chairman
of the Board for the S.S. Kresge Company, honorary chairman of the Kresge
Foundation, and a former Trustee of Albion College.
Stanley Kresge began his post-high school education in 1918 at the
University of Michigan. The Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 forced him to
leave the University for a time when he took ill. Once well, Kresge
returned to the University of Michigan for 2 more years, transferring to
Albion College for his senior year in 1922.
While at Albion, Stanley Kresge was active in the YMCA Cabinet and the
Athletic Club. He played on the 1922 MIAA Albion College championship
football team, as well as the baseball team. In 1923, Kresge graduated
from Albion College and also married his high school sweetheart, the
former Dorothy McVittie.
Stanley and Dorothy Kresge were personal friends with William Whitcomb
Whitehouse, the eighth president of Albion College (1945-1960). In his
official capacity as president of Albion, Whitehouse had many financial
dealings with the Kresge Foundation and with Stanley Kresge himself. One
of the most important transactions related to the construction of the
Goodrich Chapel in 1958 on the Albion College campus.
The correspondence in this collection reflects these relationships with
Albion. The scrapbook hints at the additional close ties Albion had
with Stanley's father, Sebastian.
