Henry P. Bolt

Henry P. Bolt, 90, of Benton Harbor, passed away on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at home. He was born March 22, 1918, to Henry and Marie (Smith) Bolt in Cicero, IL. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 P.M. Friday, September 19, 2008, at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, September 20, at St. Joseph First United Methodist Church at 3003 Leco Court with Rev. Wade Panse officiating. Burial will follow in North Shore Memory Gardens.In lieu of flowers, family requests memorials be made to St. Joseph First United Methodist Church. Friends wishing to send a condolence may do so at the guest book at www.starks-menchinger.com. Henry’s first job was working in his father’s furniture moving business. Then he worked as a crane operator for Great Lakes Dock & Dredge Co. where he was chosen to be in charge of a group of men to demolish the Sault Ste. Marie Locks. In 1969 he started a business, Work Area Protection Corp., in the basement of his home in IL to make and distribute safety supplies for utility companies. As business grew, more space was needed. As a result, the company is now a 10,000 square foot building in St. Charles, IL. In addition to manufacturing construction area traffic cones, Henry designed and sold trailers to the telephone industry to haul reels of cable. Another product was “men working” signs which led to the need of a sign stand that would hold the signs and withstand excessive vacuum pressure generated when large vehicles such as semi trailer trucks pass on open highway. Henry designed and invented such a stand for which he received a patent in 1971. In 1978, as a result of expanding his company products to many of the states in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, and Jamaica, American Traffic Safety Association awarded him “Salesman of the Year”. In 1982 Michigan Safety Congress gave him recognition for over one million miles traveled with no accidents or violations. He retired in 1986 from Work Area Protection Corp., that he started. In 1987, as a result of former customers calling for his help, he again started a new business, M-L Enterprises in Benton Harbor, MI, from which he retired in 1998.