[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1022-E1023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN CELEBRATION OF THE DOW CHEMICAL CO'S CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
______
HON. DAVE CAMP
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 22, 1997
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday the Dow Chemical Co. will be a
century old. That historic occasion will be celebrated with a reception
at the Midland Center for the Arts called A Century of Progress: 1897-
1997.
This celebration takes place thanks to the efforts of more than 300
volunteers, and support from local businesses and individuals who
donated generously for a citywide recognition of Dow and its
contributions to mid-Michigan's working families and communities. I
believe that Dow and the surrounding communities will continue to gain
from the mutually beneficial relationship that has grown from 100 years
of shared history and experience. I look forward to another 100 years
of success and progress for the Dow Chemical Co. and the working people
who have made that company and our community great.
I would like to share with my colleagues three articles from the May
20 special edition of the Midland Daily News with contributions from
the Saginaw News and Bay City Times that describe the importance Dow's
centennial anniversary is to our mid-Michigan communities.
[From the Midland Daily News, May 20, 1997]
(By Virginia Florey)
On Sunday, The Dow Chemical Co. will be a century old. That
historic occasion will be celebrated with a reception at the
Midland Center for the Arts and will be called, appropriately
enough ``A Century of Progress: 1897-1997.''
On May 18, 1897, The Dow Chemical Co. came into existence
when Herbert Henry Dow persuaded 57 investors to put up
$200,000 to start the new business. The purpose of the new
company was to make bleach from chlorine. From that small
beginning The Dow Chemical Co. has grown into the global
giant it is today. This is the story of the man who created
the company and in doing so, also created the city of
Midland.
Herbert Henry Dow was born on Feb. 26, 1866, in Belleville,
Ontario, Canada, where his dad had been sent temporarily to
work out some mechanical problems at a sewing-machine
factory. Joseph and Sarah Dow soon returned to Bermingham
(now called Derby), Conn., with their young son and continued
to live in Bermingham until Herbert was 12 years old. While
in Bermingham, two daughters, Mary and Helen, were born.
Joseph Dow was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, to work for
the Derby Shovel Co. in 1878. Herbert graduated from high
school there and that fall entered a new school called Case
School of Applied Science, located in Cleveland. Herbert
wanted to be an architect but the Dow family didn't have the
money to send him away to school. Dow graduated from Case in
1888 and made his first trip to Midland, Mich., to take
samples from the brine sea that was beneath the flatlands of
this small village on the banks of the Tittabawassee River.
In August of 1888, he began working at Huron Hospital College
in Cleveland and used the lab there to continue his
experiments with brine.
The next few years were filled with failure and successes.
In 1889, The Canton Chemical Co. was formed to make bromine
but by April 25, 1890, the company was dissolved. On Aug. 12,
1890, the Midland Chemical Co. was formed to make ferric
bromide from brine. A new process, invented by young H.H.
Dow, was to be used. On Aug. 14, 1890, Dow stepped off the
train at the Ann Street Depot in Midland and began looking
for a place to test his theory that bromine could be
separated from brine by electrolysis.
With little capital and no electricity (Midland didn't get
electricity until 1894) to conduct his experiments, Dow
rented a barn on West Main Street near the Upper Bridge and
bought brine and power from the adjacent Evens Flour Mill. On
Sept. 29, 1891, Dow got the patent for the process of
extracting bromine from brine by electrolysis.
Dow met and married a local girl, Grace Ball, who taught
school not far from where he was working. In 1893 he made his
first sale of potassium bromide crystals after his new bride
and he spent two days picking out the ``spots'' of foreign
matter in the crystals. But his persistence paid off and soon
the Midland Chemical Co. was making money.
Now that he had proven his theory on brine, Dow turned to
what he felt was an ``enormously greater field''--the
extraction of chlorine from the waste products of the brine.
In 1894, he built an electrolytic plant to extract chlorine
but the plant exploded in its first hour of operation. The
directors of the Midland Chemical Co. felt that the explosion
proved the chlorine idea was too risky and they decided to
stay with the production of bromine.
Dow left Midland for Canton, Ohio, with his wife Grace and
baby daughter Helen. He continued experimenting with the
chlorine idea and in six months was back in Midland to build
a pilot bleach and chlorine plant. He found some investors
and The Dow Process Co. was born in 1895. A second daughter,
Ruth Alden, was born on Nov. 16, 1895, to Herbert and Grace.
The year 1897 was a banner year for Dow. On Jan. 4 his
first son, Willard Henry, was born and on May 18, 1897, The
Dow Chemical Co. was incorporated to make bleach, taking over
the assets of the Dow Process Co. On Jan. 5, 1898, the
company sold its first bleach and The Dow Chemical Co. was on
its way. By 1899, the new plant was making a profit and Dow
built a home for his family on West Main Street in Midland--
the only home he ever owned.
A second son, Osborne Curtiss, was born in 1899, followed
by another son Alden in 1905. Margaret Grace Dow was born in
1907, and Dorothy Darling Dow was born on Jan. 2, 1908. Along
with the success in his professional life, Dow experienced
some wrenching tragedies in his personal life. In 1901, his
father Joseph Dow died from tuberculosis in Alma and on Oct.
3, 1902, his infant son Osborne Curtiss died. He lost both a
sister and a daughter during the flue epidemic of 1918 in
Midland.
Dow's genius wasn't directed solely toward his new chemical
plant; community involvement was a passion with him. Because
of that, Midland became a uniquely endowed town because of
his philanthropy and widespread concerns and interests. He
established a garden and an orchard famous enough that he was
sought after as a speaker and writer on the subject of
gardening. His love of growing things also led him to become
a pioneer in the field of agricultural chemicals.
In 1914, he began his yearly practice of donating to every
church in Midland. In 1919 he was the impetus behind the
building of the Community Center located then on Townsend
between Main and Larkin. In 1924 and 1925, he devoted time,
money and men for the construction of the new Midland court
house on West Main. Streets were paved. A new water
filtration system was initiated.
Those of us who were born and raised in Midland grew up
taking the advantages of living in Midland for granted. The
``plant'' as everyone called it provided an economic base for
the entire town. Good schools, beautiful churches, tree-lined
streets were a part of our heritage. In the 1930s, Midland
had more millionaires per capita than any city in the world.
Later this changed to having more Ph.D.s than any city in the
world. The best and the brightest came to Midland to work and
live here.
In 1930, Herbert Henry Dow died but his wife Grace and his
children continued the ``giving'' to the city of Midland.
there are few places that don't bear the mark of the Dow
family in one form or another. The Midland Country Club as
well as numerous churches in Midland were designed by Dow's
son Alden. The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library is a hub of
activity seven days a week. The Midland Center for the Arts
and the Dow Gardens are famous the world over. Eighty-three
years after Herbert Henry Dow began the practice, churches
still continue to receive money each year from a foundation
set up for just such a purpose. Schools receive money from a
similar source.
On May 16, a new science exhibit ``Chemistry Is Electric!''
will open in the Carriage
[[Page E1023]]
House of the Bradley Home Museum in Midland, at 3200 Cook
Road. On May 18, ``A Century of Progress 1897-1997'' will
open at the Midland Center for the Arts at 1801 West St.
Andrews. On May 20, ``A Perspective on Knighton-Hammond''
will be presented at the MCFTA with a free public reception
at Arts Midland Galleries at 8 p.m. Arthur Henry Knighton-
Hammond did a series of paintings and drawings for Dr. Dow in
the 1920s.
In Shakespeare's ``Richard the Second'', John of Gaunt
speaks of England calling it ``This other Eden, demiparadise.
. . .'' Each person has his or her own perspective, of
course, but for one who grew up in Midland as I did, John of
Gaunt's description could apply to the village that became a
city because of Dr. Herbert Henry Dow. His death in 1930 has
not diminished the work he accomplished and Midland is all
the richer because he lived here.
____
[From the Bay City Times, May 16, 1997]
Dow Honors Jennison Partnership
(By Kelly Adrian Frick)
Midland.--David Jennison Lowrie grew up hearing stories
about how his grandfather helped get the Dow Chemical Co.
started.
Everyone associated with the Jennison Hardware Co, knew
that his grandfather William Jennison had sold Herbert H.
Dow--the founder of Dow Chemical--some shovels in 1897. They
were sold on credit.
``It's a nice story,'' Lowrie said. ``Dow has been a
customer ever since.''
Thursday, Lowrie, the chairman of Jennison Hardware Co.'s
board of directors got a chance to make his own history.
Lowrie was recognized at Dow Chemical Co.'s 100th
stockholders meeting, where people and businesses that helped
shape the Midland-based company during its 100 years in
operation were honored. The event was held at the Midland
Center for the Arts.
The story goes that Dow eventually paid the $75 back to
Jennison.
Had H.H. Dow paid his bill in Dow stock rather than cash,
the shovel deal would be worth $5 million today, said Dan
Fellner, a spokesman for Dow Chemical.
Lowrie received a shovel engraved with a thank-you note on
its handle from Dow Chemical President William E.
Stavropoulos during a press conference after the stockholders
meeting.
``We'll probably hang it up in the office,'' and Lowrie,
who lives in Birmingham.
Jennison Hardware Co., which operates from 1200 Woodside
Ave. now, started almost 50 years before H.H. Dow arrived in
Midland to start a chemical company. The hardware supply
business was well established when Dow became a customer,
Lowrie said.
As the story goes, Lowrie said, the shovel deal wasn't the
only time Dow needed some time paying a bill. Several years
later, according to Lowrie, Dow asked a Jennison salesman if
he would accept some Dow stock instead of cash. The Jennison
brothers, one being Lowrie's grandfather, took the stock and
put their own cash into the Jennison company's cash register.
``That's how I became a Dow stockholder,'' Lowrie said of
the tale. ``I inherited some of that stock.''
The Jennison Hardware Co. operated out of the five-story
building at the corner of Fifth and Water streets at the
time. Each floor was filled with hardware and building
supplies. A slide that wound down from the top floor helped
to fill orders, Lowrie remembered.
Today, the building is being turned into expensive
condominiums and is called Jennison Place. ``I'm glad that
the project will keep the Jennison name,'' Lowrie said. ``It
keeps a little of that history intact.''
[From the Midland Daily News, May 18, 1997]
Midland Is Grateful for the Giant That Stuck Around
(By Geri Rudolf of the Saginaw News)
They called him ``Crazy'' Dow.
As Herbert H. Dow poked holes in the ground in search of
brine in 1897, some folks scoffed openly about his chances
for success.
Today, those who work and play here have a different
impression of the dreamer who dared to start a chemical
company in a nowhere place in the middle of Michigan.
Midland is grateful--and showing it.
The community, not the company, is throwing the birthday
bash for The Dow Chemical Co.
The ``Celebration of the Century'' lasts more than a week
and features activities for people of all ages and interests.
It includes art, music and theater productions and ends with
a family-oriented Field Day on Memorial Day, May 26.
Many believe the tribute is appropriate based on Dow's
century-long commitment and contributions.
``Midland is a dot on the map that had every right to be
the size of West Branch, but it is the head of a
multinational corporation,'' said David E. Fry, president of
Midland-based Northwood University.
``When a milestone comes, you should celebrate it.''
From its humble start in an old mill, Dow Chemical has
grown to 94 manufacturing sites and 188 sales offices and
service centers in 30 countries. It sells $20 billion worth
of products a year.
Despite its international scope, Dow has never budged from
Midland. Instead, it has enriched the city with contributions
for education, health care and the arts.
``It is really the foundation of the town,'' Fry said,
noting that company dollars helped build parks, recreation
centers and the Midland Center for the Arts.
Even its critics acknowledge Dow's generosity.
``Dow has done a lot of things in Midland,'' said Mary P.
Sinclair, a Midland resident who has long voiced concern
about Dow's impact on the environment.
``There is no question that they made contributions to the
community. The Dow family made an investment here and it has
continued.''
Dow's presence also has brought cultural diversity to
Midland, Fry said.
``We have all types of people from all over the world,'' he
said. ``Kids from 50 countries are in our schools.''
Having such a mix in a small community is rare, experts
say.
Although many companies have manufacturing plants in small
towns, few keep their headquarters in the little cities where
they started, said Andrew J. Such, executive director of the
Michigan Chemical Council on Lansing.
``Dow is unusual, but I think they are very proud of where
they came from,'' he said.
``It's unique to have a world headquarters in a city the
size of Midland.''
John N. Bartos, a longtime Midland engineer and developer,
is among the leading organizers of the centennial
celebration.
He was at a Dow-sponsored community information panel
meeting in May 1995 when a company public relations person
sought opinions about events the company was considering
hosting.
Bartos responded that he shoulder the celebration.
``If you pay for your own birthday party, it doesn't say
much,'' Bartos said.
He discovered that others felt the same way. Volunteers
surfaced by the dozens and ideas flowed.
Dow staff quietly backed off their plans and let the
community take charge of the party.
``We hoped that we didn't interfere too much with what they
wanted to do, but we felt strongly that it had to be
something the community gave to them,'' Bartos said.
About 60 core volunteers brainstormed in late 1995 and came
up with some 50 ideas for the ``Celebration of the Century.''
``We voted, and seven of them really rose to the top,'' he
said.
More than 300 volunteers helped coordinate events, said
Caludia A. Wallin, manager of community and employee programs
at the Midland Cogeneration Venture.
Field Day alone needed 15 subcommittees to organize, said
Wallin, the day's overall coordinator.
While neither Bartos nor Wallin would reveal how much the
party is costing, they call it a ``significant amount.'' All
funds were donated.
Dow officials say they are touched by all the work.
``We at Dow feel quite humbled by the efforts of the
community organizers and volunteers working on the
Celebration of the Century,'' said Rick Gross, vice president
and director of Michigan Operations and global core
technologies research and development.
``I am so impressed by the organizing group and I am very
proud to have these people as my Midland neighbors.''
____________________