USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Memoirs of the Miami valley > Part 78
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After Mr. Stuart's death, the following officers were elected : A. D. Hance, president, vice-president; A. S. Clouse, treasurer ; L. E. Shanks, secretary, and Philip Geil, general manager. The Imperial company, with a capital stock of $400,000, is now
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occupying the four-story building on the corner of Wayne and Water streets, built by Curtis and Reed for the manufacture of carriages, noted in their day. When the purchase of the building was made retail stores occupied the ground floor, the upper floor being converted to factory purposes, with offices on the second floor. As the leases of the various stores are expiring the company will include this space in their plant, and big improvements are con- templated. Over 200 dozen suits of underwear are now being fur- nished each day in contrast to the 30 dozen daily output in earlier years. The majority of the 225 employees is women, and the most modern conveniences and best factory conditions possible are pro- vided for their comfort. At noon hot lunch is served in the com- pany's lunch room and a woman is kept there to cater to the wants of the employees all day. Thirteen men of the employees served in the World war. Forty thousand suits of underwear were manu- factured for the government, to be worn by the soldiers. The out- put of the factory now consists of cotton, wool and silk knit under- wear, also all grades, including silk in woven fabrics, and is taken directly by the big retailers all over the United States. After the death of A. D. Hance in July, 1919, the official board was rearranged as follows: F. E. Campbell, vice-president ; A. S. Clouse, treasurer ; L. E. Shanks, secretary; C. A. Campbell, general manager, and Philip Geil, advertising and sales manager.
The Favorite Stove & Range Co. The name of William King Boal is ineffaceably impressed upon the intimate history of the Favorite Stove & Range Co. as its founder and spirit. On the completion of the first factory buildings in the south end of the city, Mr. Boal moved his family here in 1887 and became an integral part in the social and business life of the community. His character and personal life, until his death, occurring January 2, 1916, was felt to be for the betterment of all affairs with which he was in touch. Looking for the best in everyone, he brought out the best. It was his custom to make a trip through the factory every morning and his men entertained for him the highest personal respect and always felt free to go to him for advice and in any difficulties that might occur.
The original Favorite Stove & Range Co. was established in Cincinnati in 1848. The necessity for expansion and owing to the fact that the plant in Cincinnati was located in a district where it was impossible to obtain additional land for building purposes resulted in the removal of the institution to Piqua in 1889. Here an ideal plant was laid out with all the work shops on the ground floor and so arranged that all the work progresses from one department to another in an orderly fashion. There is no retracing of steps, or raising and lowering from one floor to another from the yards and foundries to the shipping platforms. On coming to Piqua William K. Boal was the president of the company and his son, Stanhope Boal, the vice-president, and Jacob Bettman, of Cincinnati, secre- tary and treasurer. Mr. E. W. Lape, who came here with the com- pany as bookkeeper, succeeded to the offices of secretary and treas- urer when Mr. Bettman returned to Cincinnati in 1893 and has taken an important part in the concern.
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Additions to the plant have been made from time to time and today the Favorite Stove & Range Co. occupies fourteen acres. The buildings are in six parallel rows with light courts in between, and it is acknowledged to be one of the best arranged and most effi- cient manufacturing institutions of its kind in the United States. The administrative building is on Young and Weber streets. The company today makes the most complete line of stoves, ranges and furnaces of any stove manufacturing plant. The Favorite line com- prises the famous Favorite baseburners for hard coal; a wonderful variety of heating stoves for soft coal and wood; a complete line of cast ranges, steel ranges and cooking stoves; a complete line of gas ranges and gas heaters, including the marvelous Favorite fireless gas ranges, and a very beautiful and complete line of porcelain stoves and ranges for all fuels. They manufacture Hermetic Favor- ite warm air heaters and the Favorite pipeless furnaces, and there is also operated a completely equipped shop for the manufacture of Favorite Piqua hollow ware.
An intelligent and progressive sales and advertising policy has resulted in a nation-wide distribution of Favorite stoves and ranges. Favorite stoves and ranges are sold to over 5,000 dealers affording representation in every state in the Union. In addition they do a considerable amount of export business, which includes not only Mexico and South America, but Japan, Java and South Africa. Before the European war they had a large export business with Russia.
In packing stoves for export they first mount them in order that they may fit perfectly, then they are dismounted and each piece carefully tagged and numbered and packed in large iron bound shipping crates with straw so that they will occupy the least pos- sible space. Since the war extensive importations are being made to Spain and Italy. The total number of employees of the Favorite Stove & Range Co. at present is about 650. During the late World war the Favorite Stove & Range Co. manufactured over 6,000 stoves and ranges which were used in the cantonments and hospitals in this country and in the camps abroad. Favorite hill, where many of the employees have their homes, took its name from the company. The executive officers today are: President, Stanhope Boal; vice- president-treasurer, E. W. Lape ; secretary, Leo. M. Frigge ; superin- tendent, John H. Fecker; sales manager, J. A. Underwood ; manu- facturing manager, Charles C. Jelleff; manager of furnace depart- ment and advertising manager, Irving M. Adams.
The Piqua Handle & Manufacturing Company, now the largest handle company in the world, was organized on May 1, 1882, and housed in a small building on River street, Piqua, to manufacture garden and farming tools, long and "D" handles; the earliest officers being R. M. Murray, president ; H. C. Nellis, vice president ; H. H. Bassett, secretary, and W. C. Gray, treasurer. Upon Mr. Nellis resigning in 1886 as vice president, Myron E. Barber was elected to fill his place. September 26, 1886, he was also made treasurer and manager, later following Frank Chance as president. Mr. Barber was with the company for twenty years, and upon his resign- ing May 1, 1905, was presented with a silver loving cup as a "token
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of the honor and esteem in which he was held by the officers and employes." During Mr. Barber's long and efficient service, many changes were effected.
September 1, 1892, Mr. William Cook Rogers, of Philadelphia, was added to the firm, bringing with him The W. C. Rogers Manu- facturing company, making wooden door knobs, shutter knobs, escutcheons, base knobs, electric push buttons, and kindred goods. September 26, 1893, Mr. Rogers was elected vice president of the company, and upon the retirement of Mr. Barber, he became presi- dent, the company being reorganized May 1, 1905, under the laws of Ohio, having until then existed under a West Virginia charter. From the time Mr. Rogers entered the firm the words "and manu- facturing" were added to the name.
About the year 1902 branch factories were established at Thompsonville, Mich., and Osceola, Ark., where, as both were equipped with sawmills, they made the finished product direct from the forests. The entire output of these branch factories was farming tool handles. An office was also maintained at Columbus, but that was later discontinued. The New York office is at 18 Broadway.
In 1907, Mr. Robert Lansing Douglas, vice president of a life insurance company in Indianapolis, was elected treasurer, and in that capacity, and as a director, was with the company until his death in 1917. Shortly afterward, Mr. Charles H. Barnett, who had entered the company in 1891, had been made assistant secretary in 1905, and secretary in 1907, was elected treasurer also, with Mr. W. B. Unkefer, assistant treasurer.
In 1914 the company took over the Joseph Bardsley company of New York, manufacturing the finest line of wooden door knobs in the country, and in 1917 the Chapman-Sargent company, of Copemish, Mich., makers of dairy supplies-many of them hand- carved and unusual-was acquired. In 1917 a new plant was built in Marquette, Mich., which is one of the finest wood turning estab- lishments in the United States. There the Thompsonville branch was moved in 1917.
The buildings of this plant are of the most modern, slow burning factory construction, automatically sprinkled, virtually fireproof, having as their motive power electricity generated by a 1,000 horse-power turbine engine. The company holds in reserve large acreage of standing timber, its fancy woods being obtained from Mexico, Cuba and Honduras. The Piqua Handle & Manufac- turing company is thoroughly progressive, its president, Mr. Rogers, ever on the alert to improve and perfect, to the smallest detail. A business man of rare acumen and ability, he has won for himself and his company an enviable and substantial name, selling its products in every part of the world. From the little, one-story and a half building on River street, where it had its birth, the company has grown until it now occupies ten buildings in Piqua, six in Osceola, Ark., and five at Marquette, Mich., and employes between 500 and 600 men and women. In 1918-19 the output, or number of pieces sold was 27,593,513. The company derives its strength fundamentally from its timber holdings, manufacturing the finished products in the place where it grows. The men employes have a
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mutual aid association with sick and death benefits, and a large co-operative store is owned by the employes of this and a neighbor- ing plant. Present officers of the company are; President, William Cook Rogers; vice president, A. M. Leonard; secretary and treas- urer, Charles H. Barnett.
The company was the first Piqua factory to be given a govern- ment war order for the World war, receiving an order for 350,000 tent poles before the war was declared by the United States. The poles, which were for the shelter or "pup" tents, were cut and turned at the Thompsonville branch, and sent to the Piqua factory to be assembled. They were to be delivered in thirty days. So, as it was impossible to obtain men, a number of the prominent young girls of the city, headed by the daughter of the president, Miss Eleanor M. Rogers, volunteered for the work, thirty starting the first day and it was finished in less than the time required. More orders following the first, the girls patriotically remained for several months or until the work was transferred to the Marquette branch of the company. There, and at the Thompsonville branch as well, young women did this work.
The company devoted 42 per cent of its output to direct war work, and 52 per cent to other essential work. This involved ap- proximately three and a half million turnings. Among the articles made were shovel handles, intrenching tool handles, baling shovel handles, tent poles, serving mallets, pick mattock handles, file, chisel, brad-awl, and other small tool handles; the intrenching tool and baling shovel handles together with the metal parts furnished by the Wood Shovel & Tool Works, were in the equipment of most soldiers, as were the tent poles, while the mallets were used in con- nection with airplanes. It was said that his factory was the only plant to make good on tent poles, 1,440,000 were made and as- sembled.
The Orr Felt & Blanket Company. The unusually attractive office and factory buildings of the Orr Felt & Blanket company with well-kept lawns and surroundings are most ornamental to the south end of Main street, and everyone connected with the insti- tution seems to have a personal pride in its sightliness. This com- pany was incorporated August 16, 1901, by General W. P. Orr and his son, A. M. Orr, for the manufacture of felts and blankets, after the purchase of the old F. Gray company, who had manu- factured paper maker's felts and jackets, flannels and yarns since 1872. They remained in the plant on East Water street, until 1910, when in January, they moved into a new plant they had con- structed on South Main street the previous year, much larger than the original plant and occupying a space of 95,000 square feet. The East Water street plant was reorganized and changed into a worsted mill, for the manufacturing of "piece dyed worsted," operating successfully until April, 1913, when it was badly damaged by the flood which swept through Miami valley. This mill was never started up again after the flood, as when all improvements had been made and it was about ready for the commencement of operation it was entirely destroyed by fire. The machinery was sold and the company after deciding not to rebuild sold the site
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to the state for an armory. The Orr Felt & Blanket company con- fined its operations to the South Main street plant and in the fall of 1916 was obliged to enlarge its quarters. A new building was erected south of the plant, occupying a space of 6,000 square feet, and the output increased. The volume of the business is in the manufacturing of the felts used by paper makers of this country and in foreign paper mills. Blankets are manufactured that have a world-wide reputation and no finer ones can be produced any- where.
Every convenience for the employes has been arranged for and the offices are very attractive and comfortable. The company in 1919 employed approximately 350 hands, 60 per cent men and 40 per cent women. The women employes had their own separate organization for doing war work, working especially for their own men who were in the service sending them boxes when they were in camp on this side. They knitted sweaters and scarfs giving up definite hours each week to the work. Forty-eight of the employes of the company were engaged in the World war. Approximately 100,000 army blankets were manufactured for the government, the company starting on a war order almost immediately upon the entering of the country into the war.
The Pioneer Pole & Shaft Company. Prominent among the manufacturing companies of Piqua is the Pioneer Pole & Shaft company, whose main offices occupy the whole top floor of the Orr-Flesh building at the corner of Main and Ash streets in this city. The official staff is as follows: President, A. R. Friedman ; secretary, W. W. Edge; treasurer, H. D. Hartley ; chairman of the executive board, W. A. Snyder. This company is closely identified with the Hayes Wheel company with its plants at Jackson, Mich., and Anderson, Ind., and their own plants are at Piqua, Sidney, Muncie, St. Louis, Memphis, Cairo, Ill., Evansville, Ind., and Cin- cinnati, and Canadian factories at Windsor, Galt and Muritton, Ontario.
To old residents, however, the Bentwood factory on South Main street is thought of when the Pioneer company is mentioned. This factory including the manufacturing and storing space occupies the better part of two blocks at the south end of Main street, and was erected by A. G. Snyder and his son, W. A. Snyder, who came here from Ashtabula in 1888; the firm name was Snyder & Son. The site was the old Hetherington stone quarry filled up to a great extent by ashes and cinders. In digging for various purposes at one time or another remains of the supporting work of the trestle work of the old quarry have been uncovered. The original product of the Bentwood was confined entirely to wood work for the carriage trade of the country. In 1903, the Bentwood became part of the Pioneer Pole & Shaft company. The carriage trade having given way to the automobile industry, the company has been manu- facturing the wood work parts for these more swiftly running cars. From 2,500 to 3,000 men are on the payroll of this company.
During the war, rims, spokes, double trees and single trees were turned out by the thousands for the government escort wagons, and from the Bentwood in Piqua went heavy ambulance poles,
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doubletrees, lead bars and singletrees. The company, with its associates, the Hayes Wheel company, operated these plants 70 to 80 per cent capacity on war material.
The Piqua Malt Company was incorporated November 7, 1889, after having been successfully operated by the Schmidlapp Brothers. Their plant is located on Downing street and the rail- road, one five-story building just opposite on the southeast corner and another of six stories on the southwest corner. Originally there was but one small, floor system house, but after incorporation the second and larger plant was erected. The latter was also built first as a floor house but was afterward modernized by a pneumatic system and the capacity increased from about 500 bushels per day to a million bushels a year. All the work is now completed by the most modern machinery that in former years was done by hand.
While the general impression is that malt, which is manufac- tured from barley, rye and corn was used only to make whisky and fermented liquors, it is used by bakers, confectioners, in breakfast foods and in syrups, as well as in making malt tonics. During the war the Piqua Malt company filled government orders for malt used in making solidified alcohol, used for heating in the trenches and hospitals. It was also used in making smokeless powder. When in full operation thirty men are employed. The company is capitalized at $150,000 and the officers are: President, Louis Hehman ; vice-president, J. G. Schmidlapp ; secretary, J. F. Hubbard.
The S. Zollinger Company is the only wholesale grocery com- pany in Miami county. Their fine three-story and basement rein- forced concrete fireproof construction building, erected in 1914, occupies 87 by 107 feet on Wayne street and Sycamore street, with side track facilities direct to their building. This company is the outgrowth of the partnership grocery firm of Samuel and J. W. Zollinger, whose storeroom was on the southeast corner of Main and Greene streets. The flood of 1913 rendered the building on Main street unsafe, five feet of water coming in on the first floor damaging stock as well as structure. Temporary quarters were found in what is now the Piqua Flour company's property on Main street. The S. Zollinger company was incorporated with a capital stock of $75,000. Samuel Zollinger, president, and O. J. Licklider, secretary and treasurer. Samuel Zollinger died in 1912, the year before the flood. The present officers of this very healthy concern are: President, John C. Zollinger; vice-president, J. P. Spiker ; secretary-treasurer and general manager, O. J. Lecklider.
The French Oil Mill Machinery Company. Occupying two city blocks between Washington avenue, Lincoln, Greene and Ash streets, the French Oil Mill Machinery company is one of the busiest hives of industry in this city. Machinery of all types for the extracting of oils by hydraulic pressure from vegetable seeds and nuts is manufactured here. As the parts of this machinery are weighty, the factory buildings of the plant are low one- and two-story buildings of brick, concrete and steel; the latest to be built is of steel. The company was organized in 1900 by A. W. French, M. E. Barber, and W. C. Rogers. Mr. French had invented and patented an oil cake trimmer and it was to put this on the
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market that the business was first established. They started with desk room in The Piqua Handle Company's plant, with a capital of $5,000 and their first factory space was in the old building at the end of Water street where the Fillibrown Handle company had been located and used some of this company's equipment. This equip- ment proving inadequate The King Manufacturing Company's plant on the banks of the hydraulic were taken possession of and later River street was the scene of activities for two years until their first building, 100 by 55, at their present location was ready for occupancy. This building, it was thought, would be ample for all time to come, but before the end of the year additions of new buildings were in progress of construction and new machinery rapidly installed.
The first big foreign order was from the British Oil and Cake Mills company, of England. This last year, oil mill machinery was shipped from Piqua to many foreign countries including India, Japan, Java, the Philippines, Chile, Argentine, Peru and Cuba. The growth in twenty years has been from $12,000 worth of machin- ery sold a year to $1,500,000 and from employing two men to now employing three hundred. During the world war the French Oil Machinery company was considered most essential to the food supply of the world, as their machines extracted oils and fats, the basis of oleomargarine and cooking fats, leaving a residue of oil cake which is fed to farm animals. This machinery also produced the oils for glycerine and nitroglycerine, necessary in warfare. The present officers are A. W. French, president and general manager ; J. W. Brown, vice-president ; C. B. Upton, secretary and treasurer.
George W. Hartzell's Walnut Wood Companies. In 1900, George W. Hartzell, who had been a member of the J. T. Hartzell & Son Lumber company, founded in Greenville in 1875, came to Piqua and established his first walnut lumber yards and mills on South avenue just south of the Wood Shovel & Tool Co.'s plant. Walnut was the only wood handled. In 1914 four acres were pur- chased on Clark avenue and veneer mills were erected and are most successfully operated.
The war coming on, Mr. Hartzell was called on both by Great Britain and our own Government to manufacture walnut gun stocks. Walnut aeroplane propellers were also manufactured both for the army and the navy. A special building was put up at the request of the Government for the manufacturing of gun stocks, that now lies idle since the termination of hostilities. Walnut lumber for propellers was furnished in great quantities to the United States Government as well as to the British and French. In 1918 the old King Manufacturing company's plant on West Water street was purchased and equipped to manufacture walnut battery cases and specialties. This year the manufacture of phonographs with wal- nut cases has been successfully launched at a plant on Washington avenue that has a frontage of 1,060 feet. In all, George W. Hartzell employs about two hundred men.
Five acres are occupied by the main mills, panel works and yards on South avenue. Here is the attractive administrative build- ing, a twelve-room Swiss cottage design with the inside wood work of the most beautiful walnut veneer. A garage is in the basement,
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also shower baths and rest rooms. Two acres of landscape garden- ing is part of this plant, rose beds, shrubbery, and the rustic fence of rough walnut bark is hidden in summer time by crimson ramblers. Mr. Hartzell is assisted in the active management of the company by his son, Robert N. Hartzell.
The Meteor Motor Car Company. Maurice Wolfe, now one of the leading and progressive manufacturers of Piqua, came to this city in 1913 from Shelbyville, Ind., where he had organized the Meteor Motor Car company, putting out a motor car called the Meteor. Machinery and equipment were moved into the old Sprague-Smith plant at the west end of Greene street and the com- pany reorganized under the laws of Ohio with a capital stock of $50,- 000, since increased to $90,000. Pleasure cars were brought out until 1915, when they were discontinued for funeral cars. The company by this time had sought larger quarters, first renting and then buy- ing the old Union Underwear company's building on Spring and Water streets.
Expanding in their production, they started to build their own funeral car bodies and commenced to manufacture the Meteor Phonograph for which purpose the Klanke Furniture company's plant in the south end of the city, where they moved in May, 1917, was purchased. The company now employs over 225 men with a pay roll running a quarter of a million dollars a year, and shipments to one and a half million a year. A welfare club is part of the organization that provides for helpless and crippled children. Serv- ices of a trained nurse and of a physician are free to employees, and special insurance is provided for every employee of $1,000 to $3,000 and a bonus is given on the savings of each individual employee to encourage the thrift habit. The present officers are Maurice Wolfe, president and general manager; S. N. Arni, vice-president, and Charles E. Hicks, secretary and treasurer.
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