119 East Michigan Avenue
This site was once home to Ebling Creamery Dairy Products, which operated here for 31 years before closing on January 15, 1957. Ward Stroud was one of the creamery’s first managers. In 1927, Alvin E. Hostler took over and remained until his retirement in October 1952. Wesley Copeland then served as the final manager, leading the business for its last 11 years. Local drivers, including Dewey Hoskins and Ward Stroud, regularly hauled products to Detroit, helping connect the small-town creamery to a larger market.
The property was once owned by the Foster family, who at one time held the entire block. This included a large wooden building that once stood where the grassy area is now. That building, a key part of local industry, was lost to fire around 1897. Clarence Foster later inherited the property from his father.
Over the years, this site served a variety of purposes. Beyond the creamery, it also operated as a funeral home and a store selling furniture, rugs, and household goods. The existing white building and the long-gone wooden structure were both important to Grass Lake’s commercial life for many decades.