Forward Janesville - TheReport - Second Quarter 2018

PRE Pre-Depression Prosperity: Janesville transforms itself into a thriving center of economic and intellectual wealth 10 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M William Fink Palmer was an insurance salesman who unsuccessfully tried to interest George S. Parker in insuring both himself and his business. Instead, the two partnered to build Janesville’s famous Parker Pen Company, which was incorporated in 1892. In 1903, salesman and entrepreneur William Crapo Durant took over and turned around the failing Buick Company, despite his disdain for automobiles. Five years later, he incorporated General Motors (GM) and purchased the Buick and Oldsmobile companies. Beginning in 1910, Durant’s buying spree netted him more than two dozen production, parts, and supplier companies, among them the Samson Sieve Grip Tractor Company of Stockton, California. J.A. Craig would soon be recruited to run Sampson Tractor, and influential in convincing GM to move the company to Janesville. FEBRUARY Janesville voters return the city to the mayor-aldermanic form of government Joseph A. Craig convinces William Durant to move Samson Tractor to Janesville and merge it with Durant’s Janesville Machine Co., what would later become General Motors. Drs. T.W. Nuzum, J.F. Pember and T.J. Snodgrass start a medical center that will later become Riverview Clinic. Parker Pen sales hit $1 million dollars. NOVEMBER Businesses close for the day and people dance in the streets for hours, celebrating the armistice in Europe. APRIL Though full suffrage is a year away, Wisconsin women can vote in the 1919 election. MAY Janesville makes its first GM Model M Samson tractor. Janesville Federation of Women raises money to establish a free dental clinic, which will provide services for more than 30 years. JUNE Janesville’s first commercial air shipment arrives in Janesville, landing at the fairgrounds. SEPTEMBER The Janesville Housing Corporation announces plans to build 500 new homes for GM employees. NOVEMBER City teachers appeal for and receive a $200 per year wage increase.