HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Makers of M^ichinery History 



(See Portrait Supplement.) 



It is a big step for a foreign-born boy to 

 rise from the position of a cleaner of stoves 

 to a place among the prominent figures in 

 the making of woodworking machinery his- 

 tory in the United States. It is a rapid rise, 

 indeed, when the intervening progress is 

 made against serious handicaps and the 

 niches occupied serve more to retard than to 

 hasten the attainment. 



Such has been the career of Waldemar 

 Giertsen, president of the Chicago Ma- 

 chinery Exchange. This man has only him- 

 self to thank for his success. Coming to 

 this country without funds, friends or spe- 

 cial commercial training, he went to work 

 and made work tell. 



Mr. Giertsen was born in Bergen, Norway, 

 October 1, IS6S. His father was the largest 

 herring merchant on the Norway coast, and 

 his relatives were conspicuous in their walks 

 of life and closely identified with the po- 

 litical history of their sections. Similar 

 positions in this country would be considered 

 as offering a young man fine chances; in 

 Norway it is different, though such a station 

 in life is one to be proud of anywhere. 



Mr. Giertsen 's education, terminated at 

 the age of fourteen, corresponded to high 

 school training in the United States. Al- 

 though his school days ended at this com- 

 paratively eai-ly age, he has always been 

 keen to gain that valuable, practical knowl- 

 edge acquired through self-education. After 

 leaving school the boy served in a hardware 

 store in Bergen and it may be that there he 

 obtained his bent towards things mechanical, 

 yet the course he was at first compelled to 

 pursue in America did not serve to aid it. 



At the age of eighteen Mr. Giertsen left 

 home to try out his ability in America. He 

 came directly to Chicago, where he secured 

 a position as a cleaner of stoves in a Mil- 

 waukee avenue store. Later he worked in 

 a dry goods store, where he was advanced to 

 bookkeeper and cashier. This work did not 

 serve to awaken dormant faculties after a 

 service of one and a half years, so he re- 

 turned to the hardware business, taking a 

 position in the hardware department in 

 Mandel Brothers' big store. His next posi- 

 tion was with C. H. Besley & Co., a large 

 concern, and there he acquired much of the 

 knowledge which made possible his success- 

 ful career in the machinery world. After 

 remaining with this institution two years 

 he accepted a position with the old firm of 

 J. A. Fay & Co. at their Chicago branch, 

 which was later acquired by Manning, Max- 

 well & Moore. He continued this connection 

 eleven years, saving sufficient funds to en- 

 able him to enter business for himself. 



On July 1, 1900, Mr. Giertsen purchased 

 with a friend what was then known as the 



NUMBER .\ 



Waldemar Giertsen 



Machinery Exchange in Chicago, which 

 handled various kinds of second-hand ma- 

 chinery. He disposed of all of the old stock 

 and put in its place high-grade machinery. 

 Four years later he secured control of the 

 business and is now the sole proprietor. 



The Machinery Exchange, when Mr. Giert- 

 sen acquired the business, was not on a firm 

 footing and the stock carried was not suf- 

 ficiently modern to meet the requirements of 

 discriminating purchasers such as Mr. Giert- 

 sen wished to satisfy. It served, however, 

 as a beginning, and through the foresight 

 of a man who could perceive the commercial 

 necessity of such a business, has developed 

 iu nine years' time into a distinct force in 

 woodworking machinery lines. 



On January 1, 1909, Mr. Giertsen pur- 

 chased a controlling interest in the Her- 

 mance Machine Company of Williamsport, 

 Pa., whose product is sold by the Chicago 

 Machinery Exchange. The exchange also 

 handles the product of Baxter D. Whitney & 

 Sons, Winchcndon, Mass.; Greaves, Kinsman 

 & Co., Cincinnati, 0.; McDouough Manufac- 

 turing Company, Eau Claire, Wis.; C. O. Por- 

 ter Machinery Company, Grand Rapids, 

 Mich.; Beach Manufacturing Compan,y, 

 Montrose, Pa.; Crescent Machine Works, 

 Grand Rapids, Mich., and the West Side Iron 

 Works, Grand Rapids, Mich. The concern 

 also deals iu high-class rebuilt machinery. 



It is the intention of Mr. Giertsen to 

 manufacture at his Williamsport plant 

 moulding machines on an extensive scale. 

 He is investing at the present time $10,000 

 in improved iron working machinery look- 

 ing to this end. He recently bought a lot 

 100 by 200 feet on Washington boulevard, 

 Chicago, where he will soon begin the erec- 

 tion of a concrete and steel structure as a 



home for his large and growing business. The 

 capacity of this building will be four times 

 that of the present machinery warerooms. 



Mr. Giertsen tells an interesting conci- 

 dence in connection with the purchase of 

 the property on Washington boulevard 

 which will be the future home of the Chi- 

 cago Machinery Exchange. For several 

 years he had persistently imagined himself 

 walking into a fine building on that very 

 street. This idea remained in his mind al- 

 most continuously until one day a real estate 

 agent visited him and made a proposition 

 to sell him just such a piece as he had so 

 long hoped might be his. The coincidence 

 struck him so forcibly that, notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that he had not been contem- 

 plating building, he forthwiiEh made the 

 purchase without quibble and ordered plans 

 for the new structure which will be prac- 

 tically the same as he had long pictured it 

 in his mind. 



Mr. Giertsen is married, his wife being 

 Miss Theckla I. Henschel of Sheboygan, 

 Wis., before her marriage. Their only child 

 is a boy nine years old. 



Mr. Giertsen socially is very popular and 

 is identified with a number of clubs. He is 

 a Shriner, a member of the Hamilton, Illi- 

 nois Athletic, Columbia Yacht and Pickwick 

 clubs. He is an enthusiastic member of the 

 Central church, of which Rev. i>ank W. 

 Gunsaulus is pastor. 



In meeting Mr. Giertsen one is impressed 

 by a certain decision and determination 

 back of a modest and genial disposition. 

 All that might be said about business 

 acumen, foresight and energy surely applies 

 to this man, for he has succeeded in push- 

 ing himself to the very top notch in his line 

 in a few short ,years and in a strange land. 



Utilization of HardWoods 



Article XXXII 

 SANITARY FURNITURE 



Quite a large quantity of hardwood is used 

 nowadays iu the manufacture of what is 

 commonly known as ' ' sanitary ' ' furniture. 

 Tills term is somewhat of a misnomer, since 

 the furniture, which consists chiefly of office 

 desks and tables, has little of the sanitary ele- 

 ment about it. The expression was sup- 

 posedly originated by an eastern house, and 



Naturally, when some bright mind hit upon 

 the idea of elevating the desk slightly by 

 giving it legs, the idea caught and carried 

 much favor with it. 



The sanitary desk, however, was first in- 

 troduced in the year 1876, but not with the 

 same trade promptings as its recent successor. 

 The A. H. Andrews Company, of Chicago, 



aside from constituting a convincing talking brought out a desk of flat-top design in that 



point, the furniture known by this name is 

 exceedingly attractive, and the sanitary 

 feature has made it very popular. 



There has been manifest for a number of 

 years considerable distaste for a desk that 

 fit snugly to the floor or rug. Around the 

 outer edge and under it a world of dirt 

 gathered, as it was neitner convenient nor 

 easy to move it in order to sweep under it. 



year that was quite as sanitary as any now iu 

 use. The only difference was in the style of 

 the legs, which were much larger and round- 

 ing from the top to the bottom and had 

 considerable ornamentation. The late P. D. 

 Armour, the great Chicago packer, bought 

 the first of the early desks, which was of a 

 combination style. This desk had legs ap- 

 proximately fifteen inches in height. 



