Sterling Silver Alf was born in North Dakota on November 9, 1911 to native Polish parents Benjamin and Minnie (Marquardt) Alf. Benjamin passed away during Sterling’s childhood. After which, a widowed-Minnie and her children moved to mid-Michigan. In 1924, Minnie married Arthur H. Webster in Okemos, Michigan.

As a growing boy, Sterling lived in the Meridian Township area, starting at about 9 years old. When he was 14 or 15 years old, Sterling taught himself to paint. While in school in Okemos, Sterling was the cartoonist for the school newspaper, the O.H.S. Record. He also did work on the scenes and backdrops for school productions and plays. He graduated from Okemos High School with the Class of 1930. In 1938, Sterling painted a full wall mural for the "Old Brown Church" (later the Okemos Community Church) in Okemos. 

Sterling married Canadian-born Hazel Ardis Rogers in Okemos on June 7, 1935. In the 1930s, Sterling worked for Fisher Body in Lansing before World War II. In the 1940s, the couple moved to Holt, by 1945 they moved into their longtime residence on Chestnut Street. After about 1950, Sterling devoted most of his time and energy to painting. He was mostly known as a sign painter, but also did work in murals, cartoons, and oils. According to one of Alf’s grandchildren, velvet was his favorite medium to work with.

Alf’s work has long been in high demand. Among his unique public artworks were his both revered and trouble-making Snoopy fire hydrant which was a regular sight at the corner of Sycamore and Chestnut Streets in the 1960s and 1970s. A favorite of the community, the fire department would always be right behind Alf to paint over the hydrants. Sterling painted “Squirrel Crossing” signs on the backside of street signs frequently as a humorous display of his skill – they disappeared as soon as he put them up. There was regularly a hopscotch court painted on the sidewalk near his home. The Alf house itself is a work of art. Sterling painted the pattern from his wife Hazel’s china, a pattern called “Desert Rose,” all around their home. The house was still decorated on its window frames, doors, and pillars with that pattern until recently when repairs required the removal of the artwork. The home also remained adorned with a large sign reading “My House” above the side door and the “Alf House” sign along Chestnut Street, removed in the early 2020s. Sterling strictly worked out of his basement and garage – he never grew beyond the bounds of his home – which was adorned with a sign that read: “experimental laboratory.”

It is said that Sterling, along with a group of other men, planted trees along Holt’s ‘tree streets’ that matched the name of each street. He was made an honorary member of the Kiwanis Club of Holt, but did not formally belong to any of Holt’s clubs. He was known to freely give his work to Holt’s service groups. Sterling painted and rode his motorbike often with its memorable “IDIOT” license plate. One would also see him driving his car with its license plate, “ROBBER.” Alf was also an avid fisherman. He was named Delhi Township’s first Citizen of the Month in 1977, an award created by Delhi Township’s board to designate and recognize citizens who go above and beyond what is expected of them for their community. He was always known as one of the “funniest guy in town,” and as one of the most caring. He painted a portrait of each of his grandchildren as “Alf’s Elfs,” and all of his family remembers him as the loving, caring, and talented family man he was. After he was established as an artist in Holt, he began signing his work “Alf, of course,” because any new sign or art that appeared in town was more than likely by his hand. See the list below of signs and paintings by Alf. 

Sterling Silver Alf died on July 11, 1995. The day of his funeral is remembered as a hot one by those that attended and the funeral service served as a platform for a vast crowd to tell their stories of Sterling. Sterling is buried in Lansing’s Mt. Hope Cemetery. His headstone is adorned with an artist’s palette – an item which is associated with Sterling both in life and legacy.