Johnson County KS Archives Biographies.....Hershey, I. H. 1865 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 March 5, 2009, 4:57 am Author: Ed Blair (1915) I. H. Hershey, of Olathe, in partnership with T. H. Garbo, constitutes the Olathe Packing Company. The products of this company, and especially the famous Olathe sausage, is well known throughout several states in the middle West and Southwest, and patrons of the Harvey House, from Chicago to the Pacific coast are familiar with the superior qualities of the Olathe sausage, which is considered by epicures to be the finest on the market. The Olathe Packing Company is an extensive manufacturer of high-grade hams and bacon, and has the only exclusive retail meat market in Olathe. In order to give an idea of the scope and extent of this Olathe industry, it might be mentioned that it is the exclusive business of one Government inspector to inspect the output of this institution. The Olathe Packing Company has about a dozen employees on its pay roll, and is one of the important industries of Olathe. This business was founded by F. V. Ostrander, and later Jesse Nichols became a partner, and it was conducted for eight years by Mr. Ostrander and Jesse Nichols. In 1901 Mr. Hershey became a member of the firm, and the firm became known as Ostrander, Nichols & Hershey. Mr. Hershey, being a practical meat man, assumed the general management of the business. Later Mr. Ostrander sold his interest to Air. Hershey and the firm was Nichols & Hershey for two years when Air. Nichols sold his interest to S. T. McCoy and Hershey & McCoy conducted the business two years when Mr. McCoy sold out to Mr. Garbo and the business is now owned by Hershey & Garbo and does business under the firm name and style of the Olathe Packing Company, with Mr. Hershey as manager. Their plant is equipped with all modern methods of handling and storing meats and they have continued improving until it is a model of neatness and convenience. I. H. Hersey was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1865, and is a son of Jacob R. and Fannie (Huber) Hershey, both natives of Pennsylvania, who trace their ancestry back to 270 years' residence in Pennsylvania. The parents of Mr. Hershey reside at Lititz, Pa. The father was a successful farmer and is now living retired. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Sabilla, married Frank Martzall, and is now a widow, residing at Lititz, Pa.; Jacob H., a contractor, Lititz, Pa.; I. H., the subject of this sketch; Susan, now deceased, was the wife of Nathan Killer; Henry, a farmer, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and Amos, a farmer and dealer in leaf tobacco, Lancaster, Pa. I. H. Hershey was educated in the public schools of Lancaster county and Huntington Normal College, at Huntington, Pa. In 1887 he came west and located at Olathe, Kan. He had learned the meat business when a boy and upon reaching Olathe opened a meat market in partnership with John Martin, under the firm name of Martin & Hershey. This arrangement continued for two years when Mr. Hershey sold his interest and entered the employ of Adair, Cos-grove & Company, who conducted a meat market and grocery store. He worked for them a short time when he engaged in farming, which he followed about a year and then worked for Mr. Adair about a year when he took charge of the meat department of the Grange store, where he remained until he went with the Olathe Packing Company. Mr. Hershey was married April 13, 1893, to Miss Dora Huston, a native of Benton county, Missouri. She is a daughter of T. C. Huston, who now resides in Johnson county, twelve miles north of Olathe. To Mr. and Mrs. Hershey have been born four children: Howard, married Eleanor Welsh, of York, Neb., is in the employ of the Olathe Packing Company; Gladys; Lloyd and Mary. Mr. Hershey is a Knights Templar Mason and a member of the Grand Council. He is a Republican and is a member of the Olathe school board, having served in that capacity for the past twelve years. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas BY ED BLAIR AUTHOR OF Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY LAWRENCE, KANSAS 1915 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/johnson/bios/hershey265nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ksfiles/ File size: 4.7 Kb