History 21 The Podcast - 1.13 Charles Horn Jr
What stories would you tell about your parents? Charles L. Horn, Jr. took time in 1993 to remember his father and namesake Charles L Horn, Sr. He shared details on everything from Sr’s signature mustache and the first days of Federal, to President FDR’s secret visit to a Federal-run ammunition plant during World War II.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Charles Horn
Charles Lilley Horn, Jr.
1927-2006
“Charles graduated from the Blake School in 1945 and shortly thereafter entered the U.S. Army where he served overseas and was discharged in 1947. He graduated from Princeton University in 1950 and from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1953. He practiced with the firm of Faegre & Benson for 38 years, specializing in Real Estate and Title Law. He took pride in having registered the titles of many important properties such as the Wells Fargo Center and Ridgedale.” Obituary, Star Tribune August 20, 2006
Charles Lilley Horn, Sr.
1888-1978
“Famed Charles L. Horn Dies at 90.” Anoka County Union July 14, 1978
“Charles L. Horn, retired chairman of the board of Federal Cartridge Corporation of Anoka, president of the Olin Foundation, former chairman of the Minneapolis Housing and Redevelopment Authority, nationally known conservationist and philanthropist, died of pneumonia Thursday night at Metropolitan Medical Center. He was 90.
Horn continued as honorary chairman of the board of directors of Federal Cartridge after retiring as chairman in January, 55 years after founding the internationally famous company.
R.B. Ehlen became chairman of the board and William B. Horn continued as president of Federal Cartridge.
Horn took over the then defunct ammunition company in 1923 and with the help of many people, guided it to the successful business it is today.
Federal Cartridge started slowly and in January, 1923, the firm had 15 employees and was making about 45,000 shells per day. From then on growth was steady and Federal Cartridge Corporation became a household word in ammunition, hunting and sports circles.
In January, 1930, Ehlen was named assistant to the president and during the years of the depression that followed 1929, the economy of Anoka was largely based on Federal Cartridge. In the early 1930’s, Federal Cartridge made available jobs to many persons in the area who had been unemployed.
With the advent of World War II, Federal Cartridge operated Twin City Arsenal for the government and was awarded five “E” awards for overall excellence. Federal Cartridge Corporation today is one of the great manufacturing industries in Minnesota.
Horn, of Ida Grove, Iowa, was born at Mount Vernon, Iowa, March 5, 1888. He received a BA degree from the School of Forestry, University of Minnesota, switched to law and obtained a degree from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1912. He was a member of the SAE fraternity. On graduating, he went to Cando, N.D., to work as an attorney and abstractor. A year later, he worked for the Schurmeier Wagon Co. of Minneapolis and in 1921, he was named president of Federal Cartridge Corporation.
He is recognized throughout the nation for his many contributions to colleges and universities, for his ardent work in 4-H and conservation and his work in urban redevelopment in Minneapolis.
He was credited with sponsoring a conservation program in the 4-H national organization and helped support conservation camps in many states. He was honored many times for his conservation and other achievements, receiving honorary degrees from several educational institutions. He also received a national citation from the US. Agriculture Department for conservation work in 1945. Sports Afield magazine in 1948 called him the leading conservationist in the country and in 1961, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association presented him with its distinguished graduate award.
Anoka benefited in many ways, besides having Federal Cartridge, from Horn’s personal efforts. A new city hall was given to Anoka. An outdoor pool for the children of the community was a Federal Cartridge Foundation gift and it was through his efforts that Anoka has a lighted baseball field, plans were made for a new hospital and a substantial gift was made toward the new Mercy Hospital. Horn is also responsible for many scholarships.
He was chairman of the Minnesota Emergency Conservation Committee.
Horn was an effective supporter for the black community, hiring black newspaper publisher Cecil Newman, a longtime friend, to oversee the hiring of blacks to work at Twin Cities Ordinance Plant during World War II. Newman’s son, Oscar, was personnel manager at Federal Cartridge.
Horn was a fiery, sometimes forceful personality, complete with waxed moustache and a fresh white carnation, who personally worked hard and saw to it that his projects moved along.
The Horn residence is at 3807 Zenith Ave. S. Horn was married in 1924 to the former Louis Brace and they had two sons, Charles L., Jr., and William Brace. After her death, he married the former Alice Robertson in May, 1951.
Services were arranged by the Werness Brothers Mortuary, 50th St. and Beard Ave. S.”
Anoka County Union July 14, 1978
History 21: The Vault Extras
Listen to Charles Horn Jr.’s full oral history about his father.
Charles Horn
Charles Horn inside the Federal Clubhouse
Charles Horn leaning over President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s shoulder during his visit to the Twin Cities Ordinance Plant. Both gentlemen are sitting in an automobile as a woman shows the president a box with ammunition.
Anoka County Library Minute
Further Reading:
1939: A People’s History of the Coming of World War II by Frederick Taylor (940.531 TAY)
In 1939, Europe seemed poised for peace, but that would quickly change. Taylor draws on diaries, interviews, and personal narratives to give a glimpse of the lives of ordinary people leading up to the war, the disconnect between governments and private citizens, and the horror of staring down another brutal World War when the world was still in recovery from the first one.
A Call to Arms: Mobilizing America for World War II by Maury Klein (940.5373 KLE)
While the Axis powers had better technology, soldiers, and weapons, they could not compete with the sheer amount of American productivity and manufacturing during WWII. Positing that American industry was largely responsible for the winning of the war, Klein’s book looks at the change in American manufacturing during this critical period.
General Motors magnate William “Big Bill” Knudsen and shipbuilder Henry S. Kaiser were largely responsible for rallying the “arsenal of democracy” that helped the Allies achieve victory in WWII. These men converted auto factories to airplane construction facilities and assembly lines to ammunitions creation lines, resulting in a boom of manufacturing that helped outfit the US military for war.
Manufacturing was booming all across America leading up to WWII, but Baime’s book takes a closer look at the Ford Motor Company and Detroit in particular. Drawing on research from the Ford Archives, the National Archives and the FDR Library, this book shows how Ford became a huge manufacturer of planes through their assembly lines.
Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front During World War Two by Dave Kenney (977.6052 KEN)
In Dave Kenney’s book we turn to focusing on Minnesota in particular and its role in the war effort. The book provides photographs, letters, interviews with veterans and families, and tons of detail about uniquely Minnesotan war experiences, like the rival scrap drives between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the human centrifuge project at the Mayo Clinic, and much more.
A Woman’s War, Too: Women at Work During World War II by Virginia M. Wright-Peterson (940.531 WRI)
Of course, women had their own role to play in the war effort. They enlisted in the military, worked as civilians, worked on assembly lines, and served as peace activists, relocating interned Japanese Americans and European refugees. The stories of individual women are on display in this book, helping to make clear the impact of women on the war.
This DVD contains 52 short films covering the trials and experiences of Minnesotans during WWII. It addresses the lives of those Minnesotans who grew up during the Depression and lived through the war, as well as the boom that came after it.
Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair by Christopher Oldstone-Moore (391.5 OLD)
Mustaches, beards, goatees, mutton chops. Facial hair fads come and go, and Oldstone-Moore’s chronicle of how and why that is is fascinating. The classic Western ideal may be clean-shaven, but facial hair always seems to come back around, inspired by shifting concepts of masculinity. Learn more about this interesting subject here, and maybe consider growing out your own mustache.
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos (E HEO)
Baby Billy was born with a mustache! Okay, a bit strange, but no big deal, right? But is Billy’s mustache a good-guy mustache, or a bad-guy mustache? And does his mustache determine his fate? Find out in this hilarious book, fun for kids of all ages.