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Ralph Izzo rose early each morning, walked downstairs and readied his fruit shop for the day.  If he thought about it all, he might have been proud of how far he’d come.  

Born Raffaele Izzo in the small Italian village of San Potito Sannitico (about 40 miles north of Naples), he left home in 1888 at the age of 23 and made his way to Saginaw where he joined and worked with his brother who owned a grocery at 512 W. Washington. 

Like all cities, Saginaw's story is the story of the people who shaped it and who are still shaping it today.  Among them was Peter C. Andre, an early pioneer who served as Mayor from 1863-1865 and again in 1883 - and who left his mark that is still visible today.

Born in Detroit in 1817, Andre settled in Saginaw in 1846 when there were fewer than 900 people.  Along the river, he initially established a fur-trading post at which many of his customers were indigenous Chippewas whose language he learned to speak fluently.