MARCH 2024

FEATURE
Mesopotamia to the Motor City
New ventures in a new land
BY CAL ABBO
Part 3
The Chaldeans’ journey to Detroit
is a story constantly being rewritten
as the community grows and
evolves. It would be relatively simple
to characterize Chaldeans in the early
1900s; their differences from other immigrants
left them with few options besides
the assembly line, menial labor,
or starting their own farmers market
stalls and eventually small storefronts.
As Chaldeans found the growing
need for integration into their new
community as well as a certain independence
from it, they realized that
the neighborhood store business was
perfect for them. Intimately familiar
with farming and agriculture, they
found synergy in buying and selling
produce. In addition, their biggest
advantage was the community trust
established and maintained by faith
and family, which they used to learn
from and support one another in
times of need.
As time went on and new generations
were born, however, they became
acculturated and Americanized.
Young, enterprising Chaldeans created
business ideas that have survived decades,
and their dedication to service
and their community has rendered tremendous
success.
In addition, Chaldean immigrant
families tend to act like others from
different communities, emphasizing
a complete education and pushing
their children to become professionals
in some high-earning field. Therefore,
Chaldeans in Michigan have
become doctors, lawyers, judges, engineers,
architects, salesmen, managers,
restaurant operators, athletes,
and excel many more professions, as
the Chaldean News highlights on a
daily basis.
This kind of integration is important
for any immigrant group to
become a productive and respected
part of society. By expanding their
scope, Chaldeans can interact with all
kinds of people while maintaining the
Mike George
close-knit ties to their community that
brought them this far.
In some cases, the most successful
businesses resulted only from the hard
work and dedication to service that
Chaldeans are known for.
Mike George’s Melody Farms
Mike George is one of the legendary
Chaldean pioneers, and for good reason.
He built a long record of service
and support for his community while
also demonstrating incredible business
acumen.
Scott George, one of Mike’s sons, described
how his father got started in his
famed career. “My grandfather owned
a meat market in Detroit,” he said. “My
father started delivering milk out of the
market. They bought a van for $100 and
just went door-to-door.”
Scott’s uncle and his father, Mike,
started Tom George Dairy and Sons. As
years passed, the business grew, and
Mike bought his own dairy company.
Eventually, even while Mike was still
running it, Melody Farms became the
Saad Abbo
largest independent dairy in the Midwest
with 450 employees.
In a 2003 interview with the Chaldean
News, Mike George commented
on how his business got its name. “We
were distributing milk through Wilson
Dairy at the time,” recalled George. “It
was homogenized milk. There was no 2
percent or low-fat at the time. We added
vitamin D to the milk and as a result we
had the highest butterfat milk of all the
competitors. The more fat, the smoother
the product.” In 1962, the name
changed to Mello-D to compliment
the smooth texture and the vitamin D,
eventually becoming Melody Farms.
Saad Abbo’s U.S. Ice
Saad Abbo’s family came to America in
1972, when he was 10 years old. For the
next ten years of his life, his family operated
that store. One fateful summer
day in 1984, which Abbo remembers
as the hottest day in summer, the ice
delivery service they used failed to deliver
on a Thursday night, not showing
up until Monday night.
“My father was so pissed,” Abbo
said. “When a customer walks in, they
come and buy groceries and pop and
other stuff. If you don’t have all the
items, they go to another store. We had
a few customers just leave the buggy
and walk away.”
In his anger, Abbo’s father suggested
the family start their own ice company.
The rest is history.
42 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2024