Wilmont Kreis

Book Eight: Bishop Union School. Set on the east side of Detroit, the Bishop Union School was already in poor condition when Clara Shands came to teach in 1898. Generally referred to as simply “Bishop,” it had already acquired a well-deserved reputation as the end of the road for poor students. Although some prominent Detroiters did emerge from the institution, most of its students were doomed to fail before they began. This made a perfect setting for young gangs and it was the early setting and prep school of sorts for a group of New York immigrants who would eventually become the infamous Purple Gang.