The story of the Wistert brothers at Michigan began when Whitey's Carl Schurz High School school-mate John Kowalik was invited to visit the University of Michigan. At the time, Whitey Wistert "was working in a factory building "Majestic radios"." Kowalik took Whitey with him on his visit Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Alvin Wistert later said, "that's how it started: the Wisterts of Michigan."