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450 North Avenue • Battle Creek, MI 49017 • (269) 965-4161
Donald J. Taft Memorial Scholarship
 Donald Taft, who was born in Indiana, spent most of his early days in southern Michigan, south of Quincy. Upon high school completion, he tried out for a minor league baseball team but quickly realized that this would be a difficult life choice. Mr. Taft persuaded his farming parents to enroll him in Argubright Business College in Battle Creek to complete his studies in 1935-36, but was greeted by the Great Depression. After working several years as a part time accountant and meat cutter during the war years, Mr. Taft took the plunge into business in the late 1940s. After a short stint owning a bar in downtown Battle Creek, he purchased a local grocery store, known then as the “Battle Creek Beer Store” which serviced the remaining troops stationed at Camp Fort Custer. He became affectionately known to the local residents of his grocery store as “Mr. Don” and eventually changed the name of the grocery store to “Mr. Don’s Superette”, which he operated into the late 1960s. Mr. Taft envisioned that small neighborhood grocery stores would eventually be fodder for the larger supermarket. He had been interested in the fast food industry, then in its infancy. He opened his own version and continued to use the name “Mr. Don’s”. He owned and operated five different sites in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Mr. Taft had just finished building a new site across the street from the new Sears, Roebuck store on Capital Avenue Southwest. He ran it for just one year and succumbed to a severe heart attack which took his life in 1968. While mostly a learner by operating in business, Donald Taft enjoyed the enrichment program at Kellogg Community College in the 1960s. He took many of the classes and enjoyed learning of new business methods. He was also keenly interested in the stock market which he studied closely. His restaurants continue to live on in Battle Creek through the efforts of his wife Edith, son George and grandson Jason. The Donald J. Taft Memorial Scholarship is designated for Kellogg Community College students with unmet financial need. |
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