Michael Strange, the son of Robert C. Strange (a former Navy Captain, now deceased) and Ann Bassett, was born in Portland, Maine on September 13, 1958, and currently resides in Philadelphia.
As the son of a Navy officer, Michael spent most of his childhood living in the various places his father was stationed including Florida, New York, Virginia and even three years in England. In 1973, after his parents were divorced, Michael settled with his mother and younger brother Andrew in the Philadelphia area. He attended Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, graduating in 1976, and then went on to attend Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1980 with a B.A. in Business Administration and Accounting. Michael spent his high school summers working at the family owned Bassetts Ice Cream store in Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, and his college summers working at the plant producing Bassetts Ice Cream on North 20th Street in Philadelphia.
Upon graduating from college, Michael joined the Philadelphia office of Price Waterhouse, a large public accounting firm, earning his C.P.A. in 1981. In the summer of 1983 Michael was persuaded by his grandfather, Lewis L. Bassett Jr., and mother to give the family business a try. In 1984 Michael became the fourth generation of his family to attend the Ice Cream Short Course at Penn State, along with his cousin Roger Bassett. In 1989 Michael assumed his current position as president of Bassetts Ice Cream Company and in October of 2007 became the sole shareholder of the company.
Michael’s interests outside of business include travel, golf, tropical fish and reading.