Page 39 - Copshaholm Curriculum Book_2015

Oliver Family History 13

Although he gained great wealth, James Oliver basically was a simple man. He
neither drank to excess nor smoked, he did not embrace religion in a sectarian sense,
but had great faith in a supreme intelligence and believed the Golden Rule to be an all-
encompassing guide to living. He prized good health, looked upon sickness with a
touch of scorn, took a daily cold bath and followed a calisthenics routine. He was hard
driving, thrifty, and obstinate. James lacked many social graces, and was not given to
explanations, excuses or apologies for dereliction to duty. He enjoyed farm work, and
gave high priority to family, honesty, service to community, and loyalty to fellow workers.

J.D. Oliver Takes Over

At the time of his father’s death, J.D. was 58 years of age and had begun
working in the foundry full time at the age of 16. He had been a director of the factory
since he was 20 years old, so the transition from father to son was easily accomplished.
Joseph was a financial genius and it is doubtful James would have done so well without
J.D.’s financial guidance. While James was frugal, J.D. realized money often was
earned by spending some of it. Because of J.D.’s modesty, it was not generally known
that James almost always left details of financial management to his son.

At a meeting after the death of his father, J.D. was elected president, treasurer
and general manager; James Oliver II (J.D.’s son) was named vice president and
Joseph Ford (J.D.’s brother-in-law) was named secretary. These three also were the
directors. Thus J.D. was responsible for almost the entire issue of Oliver company
stock; he had been named executor of his father’s will; he was responsible for the plant
and more than 2,000 employees, and he became plant manager.

Annual production at the time was very high. In 1909, J.D. launched plant
expansion to double it and developed plans to expand sales into Russia and construct a
factory in Canada. The Oliver Opera House block was remodeled and the Oliver Hotel
Annex, now seven stories tall, was opened a few months later.

In 1911, plant operations started in the new plant the Olivers had built in
Hamilton, Ontario. J.D. correctly perceived vast amounts of Canada’s Northwest
wilderness would be opened to agriculture, and the plant was part of a plan to get part
of that business. On May 1, the first carload of plows was shipped from Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada, and by summer’s end, 30,000 plows had been shipped. Among
buildings constructed in Hamilton that year were two large docks to provide for two lake
carriers to be used for shipping Oliver products. J.D. had contracted with International
Harvester Company to handle distribution and sales for the Oliver Canadian plant. This
satisfactory arrangement for both companies continued until 1919 when the Olivers sold
the Hamilton plant to International Harvester.

Farming in the United States was steadily becoming mechanized, and the Olivers
greeted it fully. A new era had been opened in 1905 when a gasoline engine was
mounted on a traction truck to pull several plows. Gasoline farm tractors and gang
plows (a large plank that carries several plows) developed rapidly, and on September
30, 1911 a world’s record was set when an Oliver 50-bottom (50 blades) gang plow,
pulled by three LaPorte, Indiana built Rumley Oil-Pull tractors, turned 50 14-inch furrows
at one time, a width of almost 60 feet! That same year three International Harvester