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1922 Portrait-Theodore O. Vilter |
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History of Milwaukee, city and county, V3 1922 pg 131 |
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4/9/2011 9:55:05 PM |
THEODORE O. VILTER.
History proves that Milwaukee has many adopted sons who demonstrated their intense loyalty to American interests during the World war, and their equal fidelity in days of peace, but none more so than Theodore O. Vilter. Actuated by the most intense loyalty to his adopted land, he gave up his time and his service to the point of self-sacrifice. In fact, it is believed by many that his death was hastened by the demands which he made upon his strength and energy in his efforts to uphold America's high purposes—purposes with which he was in full sympathy. He had been a resident of this country from the age of fourteen years, although born in the province of Oldenburg, Germany, October 25, 1857, his parents being Christian and Elise (Melners) Oltmanns. His father, who was a farmer, died when Theodore was an infant and hi3 mother afterward married Ernst Vilter. In 1871 the family came to America and settled in Milwaukee, where Ernst Vilter became an interested principal in a company engaged in the manufacture of machinery. He continued a resident of this city to the time of his death in 1888, his widow surviving until 1912.
After coming to America, Theodore O. Vilter continued his education, which had begun in the schools of his native country, by study in the German-English Academy in Milwaukee. When his textbooks were put aside he became an apprentice in the machine shop that constituted the basis of what has been developed into the large industrial plant of the Vilter Manufacturing Company. This business had been founded by Peter Weisel in 1867. For three months Mr. Vilter worked without pay as a blacksmith's apprentice. Later he took a road position in erecting machines and in time became foreman. With his earnings he at length purchased an interest in the concern and the business was reorganized and incorporated under the name of the Weisel & Vilter Manufacturing Company. In 1887 Mr. Vilter and his brothers purchased the interest of Mr. Weisel and continued the operation of the plant under the style of the Vilter Manufacturing Company. When Theodore O. Vilter became identified with the enterprise there were but four journeymen and three apprentices in the establishment, and something of the development of the business is indicated in the fact that the Vilter Manufacturing Company, which is the outgrowth of the original business, now has seven hundred and fifty employes, while the trade has grown until the annual sale of products nets several million dollars. The factory was destroyed in the disastrous fire which swept the third ward of the city in 1892, but immediately the plant was rebuilt upon a larger scale and many improvements introduced, the present site on Clinton street, bordering the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, being chosen at that time. Many additions have been made at different periods until the plant now covers an area of nine acres and includes a number of substantial modern buildings, most of which are several stories in height.
As the years passed, Theodore O. Vilter and his brothers, William and Emil, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work, acquired the controlling interest in this great industry and bent their efforts to administrative direction and executive control. The business had been organized for the manufacture of machinery for brewers and bottlers, but later they expanded the scope of their activities by including the building of the improved Corliss engines, while at the present time the extensive plant is devoted primarily to the manufacture of ice-making and refrigerating machinery. In this connection the company has won an international reputation, the output being sent to all parts of the world. They have erected refrigerating plants in South Africa, Japan, Mexico, South America, France, Germany and England. Mr. Vilter remained as president of the company to the time of his death. The family retains its interests in the business. The company has a membership in the National Metal Trades Association. Theodore O. Vilter was ever a close student of business conditions and the public demand along the line of trade in which he engaged, and so directed his efforts and activities that gratifying results accrued. Mr. Vilter was not only a splendid executive but also a highly skilled mechanic. He could enter any department of his factory, take a tool from the hands of any workman and use it with skill and precision, owing to the fact that he had worked in every department, being at different times a machinist, salesman and executive. .
On the 16th of February, 1884, Mr. Vilter was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Meiners, who was born and reared in Milwaukee and is a daughter of the late John Melners, who was at one time a leading business man of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Vilter had four children: Erna; Alma; Ida; and Theodore, Jr., who died at the age of two years.
Mr. Vilter was not only a very successful business man but he was much more. He at
all times recognized and met his duties and obligations in citizenship and to his fellowmen, and he was the champion and supporter of many projects contributing to the welfare and upbuilding of the community. He served for some time as a trustee of the German-English Academy, in which he completed his education, and that he was a factor in the social life of the community is shown in his membership in the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Turnverein and the Knights of Pythias. He belonged to the Association of Commerce, of which he was one of the directors, to the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and also to the sewerage commission of Milwaukee. He attended the International Convention of Refrigerating Engineers at Vienna, Austria, in 1910, and through his efforts brought the convention to Chicago, Illinois, in the year 1913. One of the unique achievements credited to Mr. Vilter was that of bringing to Milwaukee the International Refrigeration Congress. Mr. Vilter had attended a meeting of the congress at Vienna in 1910, and in a spirited address he invited the congress to visit Milwaukee. Its convention of 1913 being held in Chicago, Mr. Vilter was active in perfecting plans whereby the members of the congress, about one hundred and fifty in number, were placed on a train at Chicago and brought to this city. They were shown the larger industrial plants of the city and were entertained at a noon luncheon end at an evening banquet given at the Palm Garden. The speeches were nude in Spanish, French. English and German. The spirit of international friendship and good fellowship ran high. Wine flowed freely and the menu was designed to meet the appetites of all nationalities. The technical magazines in Europe were loud in their praises of Milwaukee hospitality. Nowhere on the American continent had the guests enjoyed greater and warmer hospitality or a more pleasurable reception. The extension of Milwaukee's hospitality on this occasion was but characteristic of Mr. Vilter and his public spirit. He served as a member of the Milwaukee sewerage commission during the period when the more complicated engineering problems had to be determined. The system is regarded as the most scientific in the matter of sewage disposal ever undertaken by any city, either in the United States or Europe. Mr. Vilter's knowledge in the mechanical field enabled him to render most valuable aid in this connection. He studied every phase of the problems presented and his labors and his opinions were of the greatest worth. Again he contributed to the world's progress when he was called upon to cooperate at the time the industrial commission of Wisconsin proceeded to outline a set of rules on boiler regulation. His technical knowledge proved of immense service to the state in formulating standards and rules which are now permanent in connection with boiler safety.
When America entered the World war Mr. Vilter demonstrated his loyalty to the country in a most practical and effective manner. Of German birth, he revered his mother country, but he felt that his allegiance belonged to his adopted land. He, therefore, gave liberally of his time and means in promoting war aid projects, rendering effective assistance in Red Cross campaigns and Liberty Bond sales. In fact, his zeal was so intense that it impaired his health and by his close friends is believed to have shortened his life. His patriotism was one of his most marked characteristics and in every relation of life he measured fully up to the highest standards of manhood. His relations with his employes were always cordial and genial and they knew that Justice could always be secured at his hands. Many there are who bear testimony to his sterling worth and kindly spirit, and the Association of Commerce, with which he was connected, spoke of his work for the organization as most energetic and unselfish There was, therefore, a decided tug at the heartstrings of his many friends wh»n Theodore O. Vilter died on the morning of September 19, 1919, after an illness of several months' duration, leaving a memory that is cherished by all who knew him.
The following tribute was paid at the funeral service of the late Theodore O. Vilter by William George Bruce on the 22ci of September, 1919. "In the light of the character and disposition of the deceased it follows that no lengthy sermon nor flow cf eloquence, but the truth, told in the simplest language, must serve us. The truth here calls for a tribute born out of the completion of a life's work, the contact of man with man. of associate with associate, of friend with friend. Truth here readily lends itself to the beauty of romance. It is with the close of a career that we secure a perspective of its value, its service, and its blessings. The career of the deceased was intimately associated with the material progress and prestige of the community. He was essentially a worker, a builder, a constructor.
"The industrial life of the city had its inception in the skilled mechanics whose hands fashioned useful things. They were reinforced by those who possessed organizing ability. Their vision and constructive ability carried them on to success. They became the founders of great industries. Theodore O. Vilter belonged to that rare type of man. He began his career in a pair of overalls. He became a producer. More than that, he breathed his character into every article he produced. The product and his industry, carried him to success. His beginnings were humble and small. But the man became one. They stood for integrity and service. His enterprise, his energy, there was a power within him that reared an edifice of splendid proportions. His products went to the four ends of the world. His name was the guaranty that the product was perfect. He was always in sympathetic touch with his men. Having served for many years as a worker, he could understand his men, sympathize with them, fraternize with them. He was their coworker and friend. He was a true friend of labor.
"As a citizen he had no peer. In peace and in war he worked loyally for his adopted country. In all the important war drives he was an important factor, giving liberally of his time and substance. When public sentiment at times became superheated and here and there threatened to break into extremes, he held calmly to that Amerii-anism which recognizes justice and tolerance. He did not believe that opposition to autocratic power should degenerate into race hatred. He held that true culture wherever it may have its origin, must not be desecrated. Though German born, he was in the highest sense of that term a true American citizen.
"But we cannot contemplate the man and his works without contemplating him also as an associate, a comrade, a friend. Who does not recall his hearty, wholesouled, infectious laughter, his vigorous slap on the shoulder, his strong sense of humor? He delighted in the spirit of good fellowship and always stood ready to help in counsel and in deed. He was not only a large man—large in body and in mind— but he was also a large man in soul and sympathy. In his departure we all lose a genial companion, a wise counselor, and a true friend.
"The consolation that comes to the family and to the friends is found in the fact that he made a valuable contribution to the world's work and thereby added a full man's share to the sum of human happiness. It forms the richest legacy that man can confer upon man." |
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1922 Portrait-Theodore O. Vilter
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