Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Wessinger, Henry W. March 30, 1880 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 24, 2011, 1:30 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 782 - 785 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company HENRY W. WESSINGER, president of the Henry Weinhard Company, one of Portland's oldest and best known business concerns, has spent his entire life here and is accounted as one of the progressive and up-to-date citizens. He was born in Portland on the 30th of March, 1880, and is a son of Paul and Anna (Weinhard) Wessinger. His father was born in Esslingen, Wurtemberg, Germany, February 9, 1859, a son of William Wessinger, who was a professor of Latin at Stuttgart until his accidental death, in 1875. Paul Wessinger acquired a classical education, graduating from Stuttgart University in 1877, after which he took a thorough course in a business college. He entered the textile manufacturing plant of Carl Faber, in Stuttgart, where he rose to the position of head bookkeeper, which place he held for six years, after which he became selling representative of the Wuerttembergische Lienwand Industrie Blaubeuren, with which concern he remained for two and a half years. He then met Anna Weinhard, of Portland, Oregon, and after getting into communication with her parents was influenced to come to Portland, his idea being that their decision to accept him as their son-in-law should finally depend upon his presenting himself personally, this procedure being the proper custom in his country at that time. On his arrival here in 1886 he entered upon the study of the brewing business and soon became the detail man in connection with the plant of the Weinhard company, and on the death of Mr. Weinhard, op September 20, 1904, he was made president of the company, which position he filled until his death, December 3, 1926. He was one of the executors of the Weinhard estate and when it was incorporated in 1917 he became its president. With the passage of the national prohibition law he made extensive alterations in the plant, adapting it to the manufacture of soft drinks, and under his wise management the business enjoyed a splendid growth, amounting to nearly a million dollars annually. Mr. Wessinger was one of the original fifteen directors of the Lewis and Clark Exposition and served as chairman of the grounds and buildings committee, in which capacity he contributed immeasurably to the success of the fair. He was chairman of the sub-committee which had charge of selecting the site for the exposition and he made leases with twenty-seven of the twenty- eight land holders free, but had to buy the ground for the twenty-eighth parcel. In many other ways he showed a practical and unselfish interest in the welfare of his city, county and state and was regarded as one of Portland's most public-spirited citizens. On December 10, 1885, he was married to Miss Anna Weinhard, and to them were born two children. The daughter, Milla, is the wife of Philip Hart and has two children, Philip, Jr., and Louise. The son, Henry W. Wessinger, attended Portland Academy, after which he entered Cornell University, at Ithaca, New York, from which he was graduated with the degree of Mechanical Engineer in 1910. He was connected with the Portland Electric Power Company until 1916, when he entered the Henry Weinhard Company, with which he has been identified to the present time, becoming president and manager in 1926. This concern was established by Henry Weinhard and George Bottba in 1857, and was at first located at C and Front streets. In 1863 the business was moved to the present location, where the company owns seventeen lots. The plant was devoted to the making of alcoholic drinks until 1916, since which time the production has consisted of non-alcoholic beer. The company is also engaged in the manufacturing and jobbing of all kinds of soda fountain beverages and supplies, making fruit syrups and ginger ale, and maintains a cabinet shop, in which is made various kinds of confectionery equipment, counters, wall cases and showcases. It jobs soda fountains and all kinds of fountain accessories and has nine traveling representatives on the road, its sales territory including northern California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The company employs sixty people and its office and fixtures department is at Twelfth and Couch streets. On January 1, 1928, the brewery activities of the Weinhard company were merged with the Portland Brewing Company, under the name of the Blitz-Weinhard Company, the Henry Weinhard Company doing all of the bottling and acting as sales agent for the other concern. Mr. Wessinger is treasurer of the Blitz-Weinhard Company and devotes his attention closely to the interests of the business of both concerns. On November 5, 1913, Henry W. Wessinger was united in marriage to Miss Romayne Wood, of Aberdeen, Washington, and they are the parents of three chil- dren, Paul, William and Fred. Mr. Wessinger gives his political support to the republican party and is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the University Club, the Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations and has shown a commendable interest in everything relating to the prosperity and welfare of Portland. He has a wide acquaintance throughout this section of the state and is deservedly popular in his social circles. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/photos/bios/wessinge1419gbs.jpg File Size: 116 Kb File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/wessinge1419gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 5.9 Kb