The Stanley Kresge Papers, an important source for the researcher interested in the history of the S.S. Kresge Company/K mart Corporation; the work of the Kresge Foundation; and the Kresge family, have been divided into six series: Kresge Company/K mart Corporation; Kresge Foundation; Organizations; Personal; Speeches; and Visual Materials. The collection has now been microfilmed to allow inter-library access to the collection. These 21 microfilm rolls comprise the bulk of Kresge's collection. Excluded from the microfilming have been a few folders of restricted financial materials, two oversize ledgers, and, of course, the motion picture films. The following finding aid is a guide to the entire collection with appropriate indication of files and other materials not part of the microfilm edition.
A.H. Taylor, Jr., President of the Kresge Foundation, described Stanley Kresge in the Oakland Press on August 8, 1982, "He's one of a vanishing breed. He came through an entrepreneur background. He's close to a self-made man and credits first the Lord, and second his Dad."
Stanley Kresge was born in Detroit on June 11, 1900, the eldest son of Anna and Sebastian Kresge. His devoutly Christian parents and his own active involvement with the church from an early age led to the development of the moral principles which guided his life. He rose to leadership positions in both the S.S. Kresge Company (later K mart Corporation), and Kresge Foundation, organizations that were established by his father Sebastian.
Stanley's first experience in the retailing business was in the stockroom of the Kresge store in Detroit during summer vacations. After graduating from Detroit Central High School in 1918, he attended the University of Michigan for three years before transferring to Albion College, where he received his A.B. Degree in 1923. In that same year he began his full-time involvement with his father's growing company. He served as a manager-trainee in the Detroit store at Grand River and Woodward where he learned the business by working in the stockroom, and as a buyer and floor manager. He became assistant manager and later merchandise manager of the store. In 1926, Stanley moved to Flint as assistant manager of the Kresge store, and a year later he was promoted to manager of the new Kresge Dollar Store in Detroit at Grand River and Joy Road.
In 1930, Stanley joined the headquarters staff of the Kresge Company and for the next twenty years worked in a variety of positions, primarily related to sales promotion. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1950, became vice-chairman of the Board in 1953, and succeeded his father as chairman in 1966, shortly before his father died.
Stanley resigned his position as Kresge chairman in 1967, to become chairman of the Kresge Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by his father in 1924, of which Stanley had been president since 1952. He was named honorary chairman in 1978 and remained actively involved with the Foundation thereafter.
In addition to his work with the Kresge Company and the Foundation, Stanley was active in religious, educational, political, and civic organizations. He was a longtime member of the Metropolitan United Methodist Church of Detroit and served as a trustee; he was involved in the affairs of Albion College, where he also was a trustee; he was a board member of the Greater Detroit YMCA; he participated in Detroit Rotary Club events; and he was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Kresge's hobbies included photography, book collecting, and sports--he had played baseball and football in high school and college, and enjoyed playing tennis for much of his life.
It was on the tennis courts of the Metropolitan United Methodist Church of Detroit that he met his future wife, Dorothy McVittie, in 1915. They courted for eight years and married in 1923. They maintained two residences, one in Detroit and one in Lake Angelus, but later in life the Kresges made their permanent home in Lake Angelus. They had three sons, fifteen grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. Stanley Kresge died on June 30, 1985.
