HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



'Builders of Lumber History. 



George W. Earle, M. D. 



( »SC(: l*nrtmit NH/>/*/fi/K'iif. ) 

 tiriiij-f \V. EarK', oiio of the bi-st known 

 liiinlienncn of Mii-liifian, was born at Trux- 

 tou, N. Y., Oetol)ir !l. 1.S49. He is of Sootch 

 and English parentage, and liis ancestors 

 acquitteil themselves bravely iu the eai'ly 

 wars with which this country was atHicteil. 

 Dr. Earle 's father was a farmer and con- 

 tractor — a man of groat energy. He came 

 West on railroad business iu 1853 and soon 

 afterward placed George in school at Beivi- 

 dere, III., where he remained until he was 12 

 years old. His ambition aud independ- 

 ence began to assert itself at that early 

 age, and ho insisted on striking out for 

 himself during the holidays of 18til, al- 

 though his relatives stronglj' opposetl him. 

 He tramped over the country roads from 

 Belvidere to Rock county, Wisconsin, where 

 he ' ' hired out " to a farmer for his 

 board and lodging, and remained until the 

 following spring. He then renewed his 

 contract, this time receiving his board 

 and $.5 a month additional, for eight 

 months, when he was able to attend school 

 for a winter season, aud after paying ex 

 pensos he found thai he had just .$.5 remain- 

 ing from his savings. In 1S6:1 the farmer 

 who employed him removed to Iowa and 

 took young Earle with him. For two j'ears 

 longer he worked at this pursuit and then 

 commenced to teach school, coutiuuing his 

 own education under a private tutor, dur- 

 ing outside hours, and spending his vaca- 

 tions in the fields. In 1S6S he returned 

 East to enter school, but this devotion to 

 study and constant activity in one line or 

 another commenced to tell upon his health, 

 and he was advised to stay out of school. 

 He entered a s;ish and door factory 

 operated by Blanchard & Bartlett, at Bing- 

 hamton, X. Y. He mastered all the de 

 tails of the work in a short time and fa- 

 miliarized himself with the conduct of the 

 business. The compensation which lie In - 

 lieved he earne<l was not forthcoming. Ikiu 

 ever, and, having completely recovered his 

 health, ])r. lOarle took up the study of medi- 

 cine at the Buffalo Medical College. lie- 

 graduated in 1872 at the head of the class, 

 and received his diploma at the hands of 

 Millard Fillmore, thi-n chancellor of the in- 

 stitution. 



The young physician began his first pro- 

 fessional work at Tully, X. Y., where he 

 soon V(uilt up a large and lui-rative practice. 

 He became prominent not only among the 

 medical fraternity, but in municipal affairs 

 in his district, and occupied several posi- 

 tions of (Uiblic trust. However, he had en- 

 tered this new field with the same enthu- 

 siasm and strenuous effort which have .al- 

 ways characterized his work in whatever 

 line he undertook, and again his health be- 

 gan to suffer. He went to Europe and re- 

 mained several months. While there he mot 



le married at Fond 

 Two children were 



NUMBER LIV. 



-Miss Emma Me.vii. miuin 

 du Lac, Wis., in 1888. 

 born to them. 



I'pon returning to the United States not 

 greatly improved in health, Dr. Earle con- 

 sidered it unwise for him to reenter the 

 jiractice of medicine, and he accordingly re- 

 moved to Hermansville, Mich., and became 

 a stockholder iu the plant of the Wisconsin 

 Laud & Lumber Company at that point. Ho 

 devoted some little time to learning general- 

 ities about the operations of the concern, 

 largely because he believed the work would 

 help him physically and occupy time which 

 ought not to be devoted to study. His idea 

 was to remain there a few months at most. 



Within sixty days of his removal to Her- 

 mansville, however, the company, which, with 

 several allied concerns, had become involved 

 in financial dilUculties, collapsed utterly, 

 with slim prospects of ever again redeeming 

 itself. Immense debts hung over it and the 

 difficulties which beset it seemed almost in- 



ini.i.vtn-: .\mp I'uriT ii|- si.i ri'ioitv i:l.\i. 



surmountable. Tlie receiver and principal 

 iieditors urged Dr. Earle to assume control 

 iif affairs and endeavor to pull the heavy 

 load out of the mire, for, although they real- 

 ized that he had almost no knowledge of the 

 lumber business, they recognized his clear- 

 headedness and well-balanced abilities. 

 Thereupon the concern was reorganized and 

 struggled along under his guidance for sev- 

 ■ •ral years. Dr. E.irle, against the advice 

 ■ of counsellors and friends, cventnally as- 

 suming the principal indebteduoss and entire 

 management. Hi' was elected ])resideut of 



llic mpany, uilli llio late I'hiletus .Sawyer, 



(it Oslikosli, Wis., as vice-president and 

 i-hief financial support. After five years 

 nmre all indebtedness was discharged and 

 the company was incorporated; several 

 faiflitnl employees who had stayed with it 

 during ailversily were rewarded iu a sub- 

 stantial UKUimi- aud taki'U in as stoikhuld- 

 ers. 



Ml. i.aii.. ua-i iciil.iwed the policy of in- 

 'Sting surplus earnings in timber lands, 

 of which his house now owns about 60,000 

 acres; when cnt over it is sold to settlers. 

 The chief product of the plant of the Wis- 

 consin Land & Lumber Company is its 

 famous I X L maple flooring — which is un- 

 excelled. In addition large quantities of 

 birch, basswood and other hardwoods are 

 manufactured, and all the stock which leaves 

 the plant at Hermansville is as well manu- 

 factured as it is possible for up-to-date 

 equii)ment and modern methods to do the 

 work. 



To the cooperation of his assistantf. in lius 

 uphill feat which he has accomplished Dr. 

 Karle lays a large measure of his success. 

 K. P. Radford is vice-president and superin- 

 tendent of the comi)any's operations; A. J. 

 Kraemer, resident salesman; F. J. Lang, sales 

 m.inager, and .lulius Slack, factory superin- 

 tendent. 



Dr. EarJe is a believer in association work, 

 and still retains his membership in one or 

 two meilic.al fraternities; he has served as 

 president of the Maple Flooring Manufae 

 turers' Association, which embraces about 

 !10 per cent of the countrj''s out]nit, and is 

 interested to some extent in Pacific coast 

 uiiiiils. lie is president of the Soo Lumber 

 I'cimpany and a director in the First Metro- 

 politan Bank, of Fond du Lac. 



The Wisconsin Land and IjUiuber Com- 

 pany is the center of industrial life in the 

 coinmuriity about Hermansville; it owns 

 about )")() iiouses, in which its employees re- 

 side, a general merchandise store, market, 

 etc., as well as the great flooring factory, 

 shingle mill, two large saw mills and a log- 

 ging railroad with four locomotives and all 

 necessary eipiipment. it owns a machine 

 shop and there constructs most of the spe- 

 cial machinery which is used in making the 

 l.\L flooring. The entire process of flooring 

 Hianufacture in this plant is said to be dif 

 fereut from that pursued anywhere else, 

 even the timber being cut with a view to 

 Ilie processes through wliich it will after- 

 ward i)ass. .In all departments the Wiscon- 

 sin Land & Lnmlier Company does an annual 

 hiisiiiess aggregating more than $1,000,000. 

 It purcliases immense (juantitios of hard- 

 wood stumpage as well as timbered lands, 

 and the locality in which its operations are 

 conducted is rich in hardwood forests. Its 

 future today is in striking coutrast to the 

 outlook when Dr. Earle assumed charge of 

 alTairs, imbued with the deterininaliou "to 

 do or die. ' ' 



Thus we li.ave the life story of a man who 

 lias climbed from the very bottom of the 

 ladder to the very top — not by luck, not 

 by choice nor special fitness for the work he 

 toidc in hand, but forced into a difficult 

 situation from which he triumphantly ex- 

 trii'ated himself and those dependent upon 

 liiiii. A glance at the clean-cut, strong f.-ic 

 uf Mr. Karle, as pictured herewith, will : 

 veal the qualities which made this 

 possililo. 



