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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES
soon w as remedied by the stem fiber and loyal hearts o f its citizens. A s the son o f R ohr M cH enry, who de scended from one of the families who were the first to move into the upper sections o f Columbia county, John G . M cH enry early in life displayed signs o f unusual busmcss abil ity and creative instinct. F o r many decades Kohr M cH enry had coitducted the business of distilling whiskey. T he product had long en joyed a local reputation and the “ Still House," back o f "W hiskey H ill," perhaps a mile and a quarter from the village, was the objective pomt o f many farm ers, who filled their ju gs with spirits whenever they were in the vicinity. T he first M cH enry engaged in the manufacture and sale o f whiskey at Benton had established the business in i8 t2 and the product gradually gained a r^ u tatio n for purity and medicinal qu^ities. *rowards the end of the nineteenth century M c llc m y whiskey, because of these qualities, began to be known far beyond the confines of the county. Rohr M cH enry recog nized the commercial possibilities o f his pro duction to a certain extent only, and under his ownership the plant grew steadily but slowly, in amount o f output. Meanwhile, his sons were receiving excellent educations, and John G . w as preparing to fulfill the functions o f his subsequent successful administration of the plant. During the closing days of the nineteenth centur)' and the early part of the twentieth changes in the business were manifested. Plans for a greater future production w'cre discussed and the advertising pos.sibilities of the long and honorable career of the firm were devcluped. T h is w as due to the active association in the firm o f John G . M cH enry, who cs.scntially w as of the modem type o f business man. M r. M cH enry at once appreciated the value of the phrase “ Bom 18 12 ," and began the e x ploitation of the term by comprehensive and nation-wide advertising. W'hen the death of his father occurred, he naturally assumed the sole jurisdiction of the (hen rapidly growing business, and began to increase the daily out put, necessary to meet the additional demand, in a careful and systematic manner. H e cre ated an executive organization o f high efficiency to handle the selling end, administer the finan cial affairs and supervise the manufacture of the product. M r. M cH enry maneuvered his advertising campaigns with bold and success ful strokes. H e distributed enormous sums o f money all over the United States. Orders more than the plant could handle rolled into the offices in a golden stream. Even the in
creased facilities could not take care of them and it w as necessary to replan and build other utilities to accommodate the increase o f busi ness. in 1905 the concern, which had been in corporated under the name of the K ohr Mc H enry Distilling Qim pany, w as booming and faced a future o f infinite promise. Its adopted trade mark, "B o m 18 12 ," w as aiding in bring ing in the results— results that naturally ac crued througl) the superiority of the product over others o f a sim ilar nature. H ad its young executive continued to devote his singular busi ness talents and acumen to the further devel opment alone o f this proposition—a business which had come to him, through his forefathers and one o f long and honorable record— the ex tent o f still further growth w as immeasurable and only the hand o f time could have marked the limit. But he w as a man o f altruistic vision, a mod est and unassuming philanthropist in some w ays, and eveit in the days o f his greatest busi ness promise o f a decade ago his mind w as planning visionary schemes, which he Itoped would better the living conditions and financial status o f his community. Casting about for a way in which he could ^ s t attain the necessary )Osition o f power, from which he could put lis ideas into effect, he decided to enter the field o f politics. A t the conclusion o f a mas terly campaign he w as elected to Congress in 1906. He served his constituency with the utmost brilliancy and efficiency and his abili ties were early recognized by Democratic House leaders, who appointed him to service on the important Congressional committees. Mr. M cH enry’s business success and his rise to power as Congressman materially aided h is popularity, and he grew to be the most beloved man in (he section. Ills well known progressiveiiess attracted further investments in his business. H e had a natural aptitude fo r bank ing and finance, and one o f his earliest achieve ments w as the founding of the Columbia County National Bank, ot Benton, an institu tion he served in the capacity o f president fo r many years. H e was the factor that estab lished a scries o f Grange banks throughout the State, planning them as nuclei fo r sim ilar banks to be founded in every State and com munity, and thus build up a money power con trolled by agricultural interests which in time would equal the capitalization o f State savings banks. A singular commentary on the fa l lacy o f human endeavor is that these banking institutions which he founded at the expense o f great personal endeavor and investment su r vived the crash of the later financial ruin in
