MEETING MINUTES
& PROGRAM SUMMARY
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Atlas Mill, Suite 150
CALL TO ORDER BY CHAIRPERSON TOM SUTTER
TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 65
OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Tom Sutter, James Richter, Laura Leimer, Mark Moderson, Gwen Sargeant, David Buss, John Marx, Brian Schneider, Karen Probst, Jim Krueger
REVIEW OF UPCOMING MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS:
November 20 – Appleton Picture Show.
December 7 – 7th AHS History Fair, Appleton City Center.
December – No Regular Monthly Meeting.
APPLETON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION:
Officers and Committee Chairs for the organization are as follows:
A. President - Thomas Sutter
B. Vice President - Christine Williams
C. Secretary – James Richter
D. Treasurer – Laura Leimer
Committee Chairs for the organization are as follows:
A. Mark and Karen Moderson, Principal Organizers
B. Brian Schneider, Technical Resources
C. David Buss, Research Specialist
D. Gwen Sargeant, Public Relations and Web Page
PRESIDENT SUTTER OPENING REMARKS:
A. Sutter reminded us that our Annual Business Meeting will be held next month on November 20th at our Regular Meeting. The agenda will include: 1. Election of Board Members for the coming year. Only one third of the eleven member Board shall be elected each year, and those shall serve for a three year term. Officers for the next calendar year shall be elected by the Board of Directors at it’s first meeting of the 2014 calendar year.
2. A proposal for revision of the Bylaws to allow our organization to be formally
associated with the Wisconsin State Historical Society will also be voted upon.
B. Thanks to our own Jim Krueger for his terrific program on the History of Presto Products. Jim, a Presto Products Retiree, showed a real love of a company that he helped to grow into an internationally recognized firm.
C. Door Prize – a $10.00 Gift Certificate provided by Northside Hardware was won by Nancy Walchowski.
E. HISTORIC EVENTS IN THE AREA:
1. Please visit the Historic Grignon Mansion in downtown Kaukauna.
2. The Bergrstrom Mahler Museum in Neenah has been featuring a stained glass
Display provided by our own Board Member Linda Muldoon.
F.. Thanks again to Randy Stadtmueller for the use of Suite 150 in the historic Atlas Paper
Mill Complex for tonight’s meeting.
G. Just a reminder that previous meeting presentations can be found on YouTube.
H. Another reminder that Sutter and Schneider still have DVD videos of Appleton’s
historic trolley cars and their history.
Officer and Committee Chair Reports
Gwen Sargeant, Board and Communications Committee Member, gave a report on:
(1) Upcoming programs and events.
(2) She stressed the importance of our regular meeting next month, featuring the election of officers and another chapter of the Appleton Picture Show.
(3) Urged us to attend the Neenah Historical Society’s Collector Car Show the weekend of October 19th. On Saturday from1:00-4:00 they will feature reinactors and pictures in their building.
(4) Another terrific seasonal event is The Historic Hearthstone’s Christmas which begins November 30th.
(5) Also please visit the Outagamie Museum’s current exhibit on “Foods and Us”.
(6) Also of note the City of Appleton will be acting to remove and change the name of historic Jackman Street at a public meeting on October 20th at 4:00 p.m..
Karen Probst, Board Member, and Appleton Public Library Representative gave a report on:
(1) The Library is seeking volunteers to be interviewed on tape regarding the history of Appleton in the last 50 years. They want to document and retain this vital information on the period from World War II to the present.
(2) If you would like to consult or seek information on Appleton History or volunteer for an interview, contact her by phone at the Library (920) 832-6173.
AHS 7th History Fair:
Jim Richter, Co-Chairman, of the AHS History Fair spoke on extensive planning underway for this our 7th History Fair. He and Co-Chair Mark Moderson are meeting with representatives of veterans organizations and military artifacts collectors to provide exhibits for the event. The focus will be on “Appleton at War”, and emphasize how World War II affected Appleton and it’s residents. Tables are filling up and a number of unique artifacts have already been arranged.
PROGRAM – History of Pierce Manufacturing. David Ogilvie, Corporate Vice President.
Special Guests Representing the Firm:
A. Four former employees attended the presentation.
Speaker Backgrounds:
A Doug Ogilvie joined the firm to assist the Pierce Family, he had seven children.
B. Our speaker, Dave, is one of the seven and grew up in the business.
C. Dave was born in Appleton in 1955 and attended Appleton schools until the 5th grade when his parents moved to Greenville.
D. He graduated from Hortonville High School in 1973.
E. Dave served in the Air Force from 1973 to 1977.
F. He attended and graduated from UW-Stout from 1977 to 1981 when he graduated with a degree in Industrial Technology focusing on Manufacturing Engineering.
G. He joined the Pierce work force in 1981 and eventually took over leadership of the entire Engineering Department.
H. He became Director of Engineering and Corporate Vice President in 1987.
I. He sold his ownership in the company to Oshkosh Truck in 1996, but continued on as corporate advisor until his retirement in 2005.
Significant Events in History of Pierce Manufacturing:
A. Pierce was founded as Auto Body Works by Humphrey and Dudley Pierce in 1913.
B. The first shop at the corner of Fremont and Jefferson Streets on Appleton’s southside was converted from an old church. The address was 1913 E. Fremont Street.
C. They began doing repairs on cars, but by 1917 they began building wood bodies for Model T’s. These bodies sold for $65 to $85.
D. Also in 1917 the firm was incorporated.
E. In 1919 Doug Ogilvie was born, Humphrey Pierce died, and Eugene, Dudley’s son joined the firm. They also built the manufacturing plant at the corner of Pierce and Story Streets.
F. By 1920 annual sales were up to $80,000.00.
G. In 1937 Eugene took over management of the firm and they directed their focus to power and light (utility) trucks, which they made into the 1980’s.
H. In 1938 they started building parts for Fire Trucks which were sold to Otis Body in Hortonville, who built complete bodies.
I. From the 1940’s through the 1950’s they continued to manufacture parts for fire trucks but never complete trucks.
J. In the late 1940’s Art Moore built aerial buckets in Missouri. Doug Ogilvie aligned forces with Art to build A.O.C. Fire Trucks (Add on Compartments) with aerial buckets.
K. In the 1950’s they started constructing Darley Firefighting Trailers.
L. In 1958 Chicago Fire Commissioner Quison suggested to Doug Ogilvie that Pierce attach hoses to aerial buckets for greater ease in fighting fires. These snorkel trucks really took off. At one time during the 1960’s the firm had a backlog of 100 systems.
M. In the 1960’s FWD Corporation bult fire chassis and then shipped them to Missouri for an aerial bucket, and then to Pierce for body installation and finishing.
N. During this period FWD bought Seagrave Fire Equipment out of Ohio. Seagrave had it’s own pump.
O. In the late 1950’s Gene Pierce passed away and his wife became CEO of the company. Doug Ogilvie became General Manager. Gene’s wife served as CEO for a couple of years after which she wanted to sell the firm. At that time they had 50 employees and were doing $1,000,000.00 in sales per year.
P. Doug Ogilvie bought the company in 1963.
Q. Technology and diversification advanced in the company with products like the “Waterous” pump added in 1961.
R. In 1963 utility trucks made up 60% of the firm’s business annually.
S. Also in 1963 bought 21.3 acres off Hwy 41 in the Town of Menasha for a new plant.
T. Starting in 1972 and continuously into the 1990’s the firm built ambulance bodies for the Huxton ambulance.
U. In 1975 they secured a massive contract to build trucks for Saudi Arabia.
V. About 1980 they started producing their own aerial ladders.
W. In 1981 they developed an alliance with the Oshkosh Truck Company who ended up building
some 100 Pierce Fire Truck chassis for Pierce.
X. The firm began building quality truck bed toppers out of aluminum for a while, but exited this business at the same time as they quit producing utility trucks.
Y. In 1985 they created the Lance cab, also known as the split cab.
Z. In 1987 Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company acquired 50% of the assets of the company.
AA. In 1995 they started building the Quantum truck.
BB. In 1996 Oshkosh Truck bought all Pierce stock shares including those owned by Northwestern Mutual Life.
CC. In 1998 the firm started using foam systems on fire trucks.
DD. In 1998 they bought the Skyarm from a Canadian company.
EE. In 2000 they took over a plant in Bradenton, Florida, to build their Commercial Fire Truck Line.
FF. In 2004 they started building 75 foot aluminum ladders for fire trucks.
GG. In 2006 they built the Velocity cab.
HH. In 2007 they began production of the P.V.C. truck (PUMP UNDER CAB).
II. In 2010 they made their first sale to China.
JJ. By 2012 over 27,000 chassis had been sold by Pierce.
KK. Sadly New York City will not buy fire trucks from Pierce because the firm is non-union.
Pierce Manufacturing is Noteworthy:
A. The company was renamed Pierce Manufacturing Inc. in 1968.
B. The firm celebrated it’s 100th Anniversary this year.
C. Although often mistaken as the same firm, Pierce Mfg. is not affiliated with the Pierce Arrow motorcar company, which was based in New York.
D. They did have the rights to use the Pierce Arrow name which was affixed to some of their trucks.
E. Pierce created the aluminum cab truck body.
F. Doug Ogilvie and his wife not only helped develop a strong local company, but they were personally generous benefactors to the community:
1. They built the Outagamie Museum for the county.
2. Also have been huge contributors to the YMCA.
G. The current company President is Jim Johnson.
H. For those who would like more information the company invites us to go to their website which is www.piercemfg.com
Respectfully, James L. Richter
AHS Secretary, 10/25/13