Person:Harvey Newquist (1)

HARVEY PAUL NEWQUIST (1895-1980)

Dad was a great story-teller who knew hundreds of jokes, and wrote poems as a hobby in later years. His recollections of his childhood included his selling newspapers on a street corner in Chicago. He said it made him "street-smart" and, since he never had the benefit of a high school education, it was his introduction to business and economics.

As a young man, he was a pretty good minor-league pitcher. He'd tell the story (fact or fiction) about the time after he had retired from the team, and was attending a game with his new bride. In the late innings of a tie game, they needed a relief pitcher, and paged him to come down from the stands over the loudspeaker. He stepped in - and won the game! He would often play catch with me on weekends, and taught me how to throw a knuckle-ball, his favorite pitch. Apparently all his scrapbooks of his sports career were lost in a fire.

He served in World War I as an Army sergeant in France, and stayed in Paris after the armistice to conduct post-war operations. A visit to Lourdes Shrine made a big impression on him. He married Mabel Hartmann shortly after his return to the United States.

Dad spent almost all his business career in the iron-foundry business. He initially worked with his brothers at Steger & Sons, manufacturing pianos. He became the office manager and associate editor of the Steger Magazine. The firm gave him their best grand piano for a wedding present, and it has been a fixture in or family home for over 70 years. He used to sit for hours and relax and listen to Mom play concertos for him.

In the 1930 Census, he and his family were residing in Racine, WI. His occupation is listed as a salesman for American Piano Plate. In 1932, that firm merged with the Aeolian Piano Company to form Aeolian-American Co. In the late 1930's, he became general manager of the American Skein & Foundry Co. in Racine at 23rd and Clark Street. He then moved the family to Dekalb, Illinois in 1940 to become president of the DeKalb Foundry, which produced cast iron products for Wurlitzer and other firms.

When World War II broke out in 1941, he was asked to build and manage a defense plant that produced links for U.S.Army tank treads. I would stop there after grade school to wait in his office to take me home. It was the largest and most successful industrial endeavor in what was a basic agricultural area, and he received many awards and honors for his work. I recall the Army bringing tanks and other military operations into town for a commemorative event, and Dad had a very prominent and well-deserved role in the festivities.

But when the War ended in 1945, the plant was closed abruptly and Dad (then age 5O) found himself looking for a new position. He decided to start his own business - The Newquist Foundry - and with initial financing from the Lennox Furnace Company, converted an old lumber warehouse into a foundry in record time for post-war conditions. I vividly recall the two of us walking through that warehouse and listening to him describe how it would all work.

Occasionally he would take me on short business trips, and I'd wait in the car during his meetings. He once took me to a restaurant in Ottawa, Illinois because had the best "liver and onions" dinner. (To this day I think I like that entree not so much because it tastes good - but because it reminds me of that special time together.)

All the family worked some amount of time in the Newquist Foundry, but he never wanted us to feel it was required. I had several summer jobs there, and watching Dad in his office gave me my interest in business. He had a reputation for being strong and fair in his business dealings with employees, vendors, and customers. He repeatedly emphasized to me the importance of inventory and cost controls. And he gained the respect of everyone for his bard work and community service.

He was active in many Church and social organizations, and was an excellent speaker. He loved to sing - especially harmonizing in barbershop quartet groups - and staged numerous fundraising events in those cities where he was employed. He shared his success with his siblings, and they visited us often. His brother, Leonard, lived in our home for several years.

Probably our most enjoyable times together were spent during the two weeks of summer vacation. The family often went to the North Woods of Wisconsin and Minnesota for sightseeing and fishing. We also took a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota, and Dad really would have liked the opportunity to purchase the Hisega Lodge outside of Rapid City. In the late 1940's he and I took an all-day drive into Deadwood City , Mount Rushmore, and Newcastle, Wyoming. We took our final family vacation together on a driving tour of the East Coast in 1950 after I graduated from high school.

I know it was a financial hardship for him to send me to Notre Dame, and those years were especially difficult ones for his business. He never brought that subject up, but I am very grateful for the opportunity he gave me. After years of trying, he finally sold the foundry about 1970, and then he and Mom could spend the winter portion of their retirement years in Florida. I had the chance to drive them back and forth on many occasions, and that afforded the three of us several good days together talking about the past and future. And we spent a portion of many of our family vacations visiting their home in DeKalb or Hollywood, Florida.

He was very conscious of his religious background, and attended Mass almost daily, as well as annual retreats in his retirement years. He loved coming to Phoenix to relax in our home and visit with his grandchildren. But his health failed, as he had developed silicosis, a lung disease acquired from all those years in the foundries, We brought him from Florida to Phoenix for urgent treatment, but be died in St. Joseph's Hospital a few days before his 85th birthday.

Harvey P. Newquist II

"Harvey Newquist was one of the most outstanding gentlemen that I ever met. My family enjoyed both he and your mother and had many pleasant times together which we cherish. Our visits during the Christmas holidays were great, and our kids still refer to those visits.

Your dad was a good ballplayer. One of the stories I heard when the Newquist brothers were together and remember was that our dads played for the Steger Piano baseball team, which was part of the Three I League (Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa) . Your dad was the pitcher, my dad played first base, and the catcher was a guy called Smokey Cinnaman.They were playing a Springfield team. It was in the bottom of the ninth inning, Steger leading by 1 run with two outs and your dad was on the mound. The batter hit a pop-up between the mound and first base, and all three called for it. They collided, and Smokey and my dad went down. Your dad was still standing and caught the ball. Smokey also told me years later what a good pitcher your dad was.

When I went into the Army Air Corps in 1940, I was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, south of St. Louis, Mo. All were living in tents, and who should walk in one day but your dad! What a shock! He had met my commander and located me in my tent. We had a most enjoyable visit walking along the Mississippi River. We also had a beer.

Harvey is my middle name. My folks had your dad be my Godfather by proxy, as he was still in France in January, 1919.

Related by Walter "Bud" Newquist to Harvey Newquist II, 6/8/95

WORK HISTORY

HARVEY P. NEWQUIST (1895 - 1980)

1900 - 1902, Chicago IL His first day as a newspaper boy on a downtown Chicago corner was a disaster. Another delivery boy stole his new cap, knocked him down, and scattered his papers. With his parents' strong directions, he returned, confronted his assailant and got his cap, and began a successful sales career. There were occasions when he had to explain why some of the weekly collection was spent on personal purchases of bakery goodies.

1902 - 1925, Steger IL The family move to Steger (30 miles south of Chicago) witnessed a close relationship between his father, John, and John V. Steger, founder of Steger & Sons Piano Manufacturing Company. It was the largest piano manufacturing company in the world, and Steger was known as "The Piano Center of the United States". John contracted to build hundreds of homes for Steger employees. Harvey and his brothers worked for their dad and Steger. He left to serve with the U.S. Army in Europe in WWI, and then returned to work in the Steger foundry, in particular the complex casting of piano plates. He was the associate editor of the Steger Magazine, and became the office manager for the entire company. The Steger Company was active in many community activities, and sponsored the Steger Grands baseball team in the Three I League (Illinois, Indiana and Iowa), where Harvey gained some renown as a pitcher. After achieving outstanding performance by the firm in three decades of operation, John Steger died suddenly of a heart attack in 1916. The company experienced dramatic sales decline, declared bankruptcy in 1926, and closed in 1928.

1925 - 1940, Racine WI With experience in management and foundry processes, he accepted a position with American Skein and Foundry Company, whose products included castings for many piano manufacturers, with Wurlitzer as a large client. He became superintendent and general manager of the firm, and this also involved much travel to the East and Midwest. There were frequent visits to the Wurlitzer plant in DeKalb, IL.

1940 - 1941, DeKalb IL He became president of the DeKalb Foundry which manufactured contract castings, and was located adjacent to the Wurlitzer plant. The operations were curtailed with the onset of WWII.

1941 - 1945, DeKalb IL The Defense Department and local investors established the Northern Illinois Defense Plant to supply links for armored tank treads. As general manager, Harvey led the installment of advanced equipment, material and facilities. With hundreds of employees working three shifts to supply the U.S. Armored conflicts in Africa and Europe, the plant became the largest industrial entity in the city, and achieved many U.S. Government honors and awards for productivity. Coincidentally, under his guidance the company sponsored a baseball team, which played in the Midwest industrial league. But, upon conclusion of the war, he was unable to convince the local investors to re-tool for commercial purposes and the plant was closed permanently.

1945 - 1975, DeKalb, IL At age 50, he started the Newquist Foundry Company. Within six months - and amidst post-war poor economic conditions - he obtained investment capital from the Lennox Corporation, leased a vacant lumber warehouse, installed state-of-the-art equipment, and employed his former crew from the defense plant. His five sons also worked for the family firm, spanning terms of a few months to almost thirty years. The company provided hundreds of gray-iron castings to Midwest manufacturers of heating equipment, machine tools, appliances, farm equipment, transportation and other products. Harvey gained local and national recognition as an outstanding businessman who treated customers, vendors, and employees fairly. For three decades the foundry was a good corporate citizen that supported local community and charitable activities. He sold the company in 1972, but his retirement was short-lived. After over 50 years of activity in the foundry environment, he lost a struggle with the work-related silicosis disease in 1980.

(by Harvey Newquist, Jr. 10/00

.