Ypsilanti mayor Matt Max's signature is on Depression era scrip.MATTHEW MAX, born September 5, 1877, son of Nicholas and Mary Henninger Max. He married Katherine Tern on November 14, 1907.
Mat served twenty years as Fifth Ward Alderman, holding public office every year from 1908 until his death on January 12, 1954.
In 1934 he was appointed Ypsilanti Postmaster, retiring in June, 1949. A former President of the Chamber of Commerce, Life Member of the Ann Arbor Elks Club, member of the Knights of Columbus, Ypsilanti Kiwanis Club and the Loyal Order of Moose.
He was owner of a shoe store at 103 West Michigan Avenue and at the time of his death was serving his third term on the Washtenaw Board of Supervisors.
He was elected Mayor of Ypsilanti in 1928 and served in that capacity until 1934. As mayor, he accepted the statue of Demetrius Ypsilanti which stands in front of the Ypsilanti Water Tower in August of 1928. His signature was on the scrip money that Ypsilanti issued to its citizens during the Great Depression.
He died at his home, 105 Babbitt Street, on January 12, 1954.
Sources
- Mayors of Ypsilanti 1858-1976, Ypsilanti Gleanings; work credited to Foster Fletcher, Ypsilanti City Historian.
- Political Graveyard
Max, Matthew — also known as Matt Max — of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Mich. Democrat. Real estate and insurance business; shoe merchant; mayor of Ypsilanti, Mich., 1929-34; postmaster. Member, Kiwanis. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown.
