•Parade Grand Marshal
•Developer of Industrial Park
•Avid traveler
Nick Popa, 86, will represent Fenton as Grand Marshal of the Fenton Freedom Festival Parade on Saturday, July 4 at 10 a.m. He and his wife, Donna, will be honored at the Grand Marshal Adult Reception this Friday, July 3 at the Fenton Community Cultural Center at 8 p.m.
How did you get involved in the development of the city of Fenton? Donna and I moved to a house on Outer Drive in Fenton from Redford Township in 1956, when I took a new position in engineering and development at Sutter Products in Holly. Fenton was having problems with its water and I became a thorn in the side of Harry Leman, who put me on the Planning Commission. I became chairman and helped plan Fenton’s future land use.
What accomplishments are you most well known for? Tom Kundinger had a business where Sweet Variations is today and he grew out of the building. I suggested he go out by U.S. 23, which had just been built. He bought the first 40 acres on the expressway, then wanted to buy another 40 acres next to his property and asked me to be his partner. In 1966, we bought the next 80 acres, then bought land on the other side of the expressway, adding another partner, Dr. Henry Phillips, a local optometrist. That was the beginning of the Fenton Industrial Park.
Thirteen guys got together to organize a new bank, First National Bank of Fenton, where First Merit is today. At 35 years old, I was elected chairman of the bank. We sold it to Bank One in the 1980s.
When did you start Epic Machine? I started it in ‘78, after deciding I wanted to work for myself. I sold it to one of my employees, Mike Parker, a talented machinist, in ’94 and I retired in ’95.
What about the Silver Parkway development? My two partners and I bought the land, then sold it to a group from Milford, and we ended up getting it back on a default loan. Eventually, we sold the land to Talon Development Group and they developed Silver Lake Village in ’94. Kmart was the first big sale. Donna and I kid around that the house we live in now (on Plumtree Lane) is ‘the Kmart House – the house that Kmart built!’
On a more personal note, how did you meet Donna? We’ll be married 64 years in August. I married my best friend’s sister. We lived across the street from each other in Detroit when I was 10 and she was a little bitty thing of 7. When I got out of the Army after going to Korea, we got married in ’51. Her brother had bought a ’98 Olds in 1950, then got drafted into the Army. Donna ended up driving his car while he was gone. I told my best friend, ‘Well, brother, I married your sister while you were gone and took your car on a honeymoon.”
What have been some of the highlights of your life? We’re very close to our daughters and their families, Debbie Teachworth, a retired nurse, who lives in Midland with her husband, Gary. They have two grown children. Our other daughter, Janet Gardner, a retired CPA, lives south of Jackson with her husband, Chip. Both our daughters will be riding in the parade with us.
We’ve also traveled a lot, including our favorite trip, a month in New Zealand with three couples. We’ve hiked in Switzerland, Bavaria, Alaska and Hawaii. I also traveled a lot for business. I’ve got two plastic knees to prove it.
We love our church family at Fenton United Methodist and have lots of good friends there.
What would you like to be remembered for the most? The Industrial Park, because it helped the city tax-wise.
What is something about you that most people don’t know? I never really had a dad growing up. I had a lot of breaks in my life that I was smart enough to take advantage of.