FOREWORD
When Lynn and Myron asked if I would like to write a foreword to this book, my first thought was, OK, I havent written anything more than a few pages since college. But here goes.
I tried to think of a catchy sobriquet to start out with, and I came up with A Man in Full. I didnt make that up; its the name of a novel by the late author Tom Wolfe. The protagonist, an aging real estate tycoon, doesnt have much in common with Emerson, but I think the phrase does fit him.
The following pages detail Emersons rise from very humble circumstances on a farm in Indiana to a very successful industrialist in Hutchinson, Kansas. He is not unique in that regard, of course. America has countless rags-to-riches tales from that time. Let me start out by noting the truly impressive level of scholarly research that Lynn and Myron put into this book. Although I knew quite a few of the details of Emersons commercial ventures, this endeavor takes the facts and figures of commerce and weaves them into a story. It illustrates how these ventures began and evolved, with all the twists and turns that came about in the rough-and-tumble world of early twentieth-century industrialism. Emerson was a truly gifted individual with an enormous drive to succeed and a profound genius for making that happen. I still have trouble understanding how, with such a limited education, he could handwrite those early Conn & Carey income statements and balance sheets like a seasoned accountant in such beautiful handwriting.
I grew up hearing and knowing about Emerson and his business accomplishments, of course. My father, Jake, would take us down into the mine now and then, and wed tour the evaporating plant, where all I wanted to see were the train cars. I knew this was all created by my great-grandfather and was properly awed.
The Emerson that I knew, though, was not just the successful businessman. He was the romantic who created Willowbrook, where I grew up. As a free-range kid, I knew every inch of that place, and I came to understand him as I grew up. Yes, the golf course is and was the main feature of Willowbrook, and his house dominated the landscape, of course. It was always called the White House and was a constant reminder of Emerson. However, I was always aware of the less obvious echoes that Emerson left there. He took frequent trips to Europe, and I think he came back with ideas for classical landscaping plans, along with some marble statues from Italy. The Willowbrook landscaping plan was going to be something to rival the grand European gardens, I believe. I imagine, though, that the Great Depression and Emersons illness in the early 30s curtailed the undertaking. Some of it lingered. I could still see traces of these designs around the pool during my childhood with its formal English layout with stone benches and shrub-lined walkways. My father said that there was once a landscaped walkway between Emersons house and his son Howards house. I looked and could just make out the traces of the path where a few spirea bushes still remained.
Emerson was truly a family man and a social man. I have his Willowbrook guest book, wherein every visitor wrote his or her name when they came for a function. And there were many. The first entry is Christmas Day 1921, and the third name is Laura Reed Yaggy (renowned Hutchinson violinist and advocate for womens rights), followed by the note With a hearty welcome to our new neighbor. The largest gathering was the Carey Family Reunion of September 4, 1923, for which there were exactly fifty signatures, including eight of Emersons sisters. It also has the scrawled signature of my father, Jake, who was six! All throughout the guest book, one can spot the well-known names of early Hutchinson: Colladay, Bigger, Mammel, Yaggy, McCandless, Stamey, Pegues, McNaughten, Adela Hale, Winchester, Meyer, Gano, Hipple, Gowans, Brownlee, Conklin and Whiteside.
Lynn and Myron note the institutional legacies that Emerson left. For me, those legacies also endure, and they are based on the way Emerson raised his sons and how they, in turn, passed on the traditions of philanthropy, community engagement and love of family.
I think Emersons whole outlook on business, family and life in general is best summed up in a letter he wrote to sons Howard and Charles while they were at Cornell. It is dated January 22, 1913, and written on Kansas senate chamber letterhead.
Along with some admonishments for them to live correct upright lives always make our word good and keep everlastingly at it, he writes:
I am glad we have been situated so we could spend so much time together and that we have always been so congenial. And I look forward to the many years that I hope we may all live and plan and work together for the advancement of all our interests, business, social and fraternal. If we keep our health and do teamwork as I know we shall there is nothing that this Carey family cannot accomplish. I am laying this foundation for this future which is broad enough for all of the Carey boys and their father to work on and it will be a great pleasure and satisfaction to see our plans work out. With lots and lots of love, Papa.
A Man in Full.
Mike Carey
Mike Carey is Emerson Careys great-grandson.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When we started on this endeavor, we never dreamed it would take us nine months to write this book. We discovered there was a lot written about Emerson Carey; however, many of these were short biographies that only touched on specific industries or the beginning of his life. It didnt appear that there were any comprehensive books or that one particular book covered it all. The closest that anyone had come to this was George Simpson, to whom we are greatly indebted. In 1956, Mr. Simpson wrote his very comprehensive masters thesis for the Kansas State Teachers College, titled A Brief History of Emerson Careys Carey Salt Company, 19011956. Simpson focused on the Carey Salt Company. One of the only existing copies of this that we know of is housed at the Hutchinson Public Library. The reference librarians at the Hutchinson Public Library were exceedingly helpfuland patientkeeping this copy of the book handy specifically for us. Emerson Carey himself had the foresight to begin an autobiography that remained unfinished. His detailed accounts provided much insight into his thinking and actions. We wish to thank Mike Carey, Emersons great-grandson, for all his advice, input, suggestions, photographs and all-around encouragement and for writing our foreword. Thank you to Steve Conard and Steve Harmon for their generosity in sharing the images from their vast and wonderful collection of Hutchinsons photographic history. Also, thanks are in order to the Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce and to the Reno County Museum for sharing images from their collections. Former Reno County Historical Society executive director Mary Grace Clements was gracious enough to enable us to complete this biography and also encouraged us greatly. And finally, we wish to thank our long-suffering spouses, who granted us endless evenings to allow us to complete this book. Thanks, Connie Marcotte and Daniel Ledeboer!
