Max P. Schmidt was born in Schlawe, Prussia. He emigrated to America at age 19 in 1877. He first located in New York City, but later settled in Shenandoah, in the mountains of Pennsylvania. There he and his brother Frank started a dry goods business which together they operated for nearly twenty years. Through this store the brothers became well-known, popular and wealthy.

In 1896 Max cashed out of the company and purchased a minority stake in P. H. Fuhrmann's Eagle Run Brewery in Coal Township, just outside of Shamokin. The brewery had been saddled with debt after being completely rebuilt the year before. The investment turned out to be a wise one. The Fuhrman & Schmidt brewery would continue to expand, so much so that in 1916 the partners had to erect a new brewery in the town of Shamokin in order to satisfy the demand for their beer. The firm would go on to be one of the largest such concerns in that part of the state. The brewery operated until Prohibition came into effect in 1920. Max Schmidt died on the 18th of November, 1945. He was 86 years of age.

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