Isaac W. Carpenter Jr.

Isaac White Carpenter Jr. (January 5, 1893 – May 6, 1983)[1] was the president of the Carpenter Paper Company in Omaha, Nebraska, for over 20 years, retiring in 1961 when the company was sold. He served in the Eisenhower administration as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration from 1954 to 1957.

Isaac W. Carpenter Jr.
Assistant Secretary of State for Administration
In office June 23, 1954 – January 25, 1955
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Edward T. Wailes
Succeeded by	Loy W. Henderson
In office August 11, 1955 – December 15, 1957
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Loy W. Henderson
Succeeded by	Walter K. Scott
Personal details
Born	January 5, 1893
Died	May 6, 1983 (aged 90) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Balch Reed ​ ​ (m. 1918; died 1964)​ Fredericka Clara Nash

Early life

Carpenter was born to Isaac W. and Caroline Mary (née Batchelder) Carpenter. His father had moved to Omaha from Illinois in 1888 and incorporated the paper company with a brother in 1890. By 1925 the business had branches in Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Des Moines, Billings, Chicago, Sioux City, and Lincoln.[1] His father, as company president, was one of 50 members elected in 1898 to the board of directors of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition world's fair.[2]

Business career

Circa 1940, Carpenter became the president of his family's paper company.[3] In March 1961, the sale of Carpenter Paper Company to Champion Paper and Fibre Company was approved by both companies' stockholders.[4] Upon that sale, Carpenter retired.[3]

Champion Paper and Fibre had formed from the 1935 merger of Champion Coated Paper Company of Ohio and Champion Fibre Company of North Carolina. The combined company would merge with the U.S. Plywood Corporation in 1967 and was renamed Champion International in 1972. It bought the St. Regis Corporation in 1984, and sold its Canton, North Carolina, plant to the employees in 1999, resulting in a separate company.[5] Champion was ultimately acquired by International Paper in 2000.[6]

Public service

Carpenter was appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 16, 1954, and began duty a week later on June 23.[7] His service continued in that role until January 26, 1955, when he assumed the new and equivalent rank of Comptroller, responsible for budgeting and fiscal affairs, operating the personnel program, and overseeing the provision of administrative services.[7][8] Carpenter then took on a combined role as Assistant Secretary for Administration on August 11, 1955,[8] during a recess of the Senate. He was recommissioned after confirmation on January 25, 1956, and remained in that service until termination on December 15, 1957.[7][9]

Personal life

Carpenter Jr. married his first wife, Elizabeth Balch Reed, in 1918. She had been honored as queen of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben ball in 1917.[10] Elizabeth, a granddaughter of real estate businessman and local politician Byron Reed,[11] died in 1964, sometime after which Carpenter married Fredericka Clara Nash.

See also

• Jobbers Canyon Historic District

References

1. "Obituary". Omaha World-Herald. December 14, 1925. Retrieved December 1, 2020 – via carpentercousins.com.
2. "Story of the Exposition". Omaha Daily Bee. June 1, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Library of Congress.
3. "Isaac W. Carpenter Jr". Obituary. The New York Times. Associated Press. May 9, 1983. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
4. "Champion Stock Companies Hold Annual Meetings". Business Financial. The New York Times. March 22, 1961. p. 53. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
5. Bell, John L. (2006). "Champion Paper and Fibre Company". NCpedia. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
6. "International Paper in Deal For Purchase of Champion". The New York Times. The Associated Press. May 13, 2000. p. C4. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
7. "Isaac White Carpenter Jr". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
8. "Administrative Timeline of the Department of State 1950–1959: January 26, 1955". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
9. "2 Dulles Aides Backed; Senate Also Confirms Five in Ambassadorial Assignments". The New York Times. January 26, 1956. p. 17. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
10. Grace, Erin (April 2, 2018). "Aksarben leaders say it was 'high time' to end the rule of kings and queens". Omaha World-Herald. photo slide 38. Retrieved December 1, 2020. Mmes. I.W. Carpenter Jr. .... reigned in 1917 ... as the Misses Elizabeth Reed, ...
11. Miss Cassette (February 24, 2020). "Portrait of a Summer Shingle: The Sale". My Omaha Obsession. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

External links

• Isaac W. Carpenter Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
• Color postcard image of Carpenter Paper Company building in Omaha
• B/w 1980s photograph of the Omaha building before 1989 demolition
• Photograph of the company's Salt Lake City storefront in 1918