WWII Shoulder Pads, Matched pair. ("Kroehler Mfg. 1945")

Description: WWII SHOULDER PADS, One Matched pair. ("Kroehler Mfg. 1945") for use on any of the Yukon or molded Plywood Pack-boards, Mountain Rucksacks, Haversacks, Rifle Slings, etc. + Used "Combat Serviceable" condition. ZERO cuts, fraying, loose stitching, stains, but hand 'initialed' by the soldier, "CEH" in 1/4" letters on the topside that would be hidden when the pads are placed on straps. + Dark Shade OD#7 Canvas Web and Poplin.+ Dimensions: 11" x 3" + Stamped with "U.S." surcharge and faintly stamped on the underside with the contractor's data.KROEHLER MFG. CO.1945 + Unlike the sliding "pad" on the M1938 Dispatch/Map Case Strap...these are actually "padded." *****History of the KROEHLER MANUFACTURING CO. of Naperville, Illinois (Chicago area) Peter Kroehler, the son of immigrant parents, was born in 1872. In 1890, he attended the Commercial Academy of North-Western College (now North Central College) in Naperville, Illinois. His professor, James Nichols, and two other men founded the Naperville Lounge Factory in 1893 and hired Peter Kroehler as a clerk at $26 a month. Both the company and Kroehler were off to a good start and by 1896 he entered a partnership with Nichols, Fred Long and John Kraushar, the original investors. The Naperville Lounge Factory changed its name to the Naperville Lounge Company in 1898. Kroehler was elected president of the company in 1903, the same year he bought out two of the shareholders. In 1911 Kroehler incorporated a furniture factory called the P.E. Kroehler Manufacturing Company in Kankakee, Illinois. This company, the Naperville Lounge Company and two other furniture plants merged to form the Kroehler Manufacturing Company in 1915. Peter Kroehler led the furniture industry purchasing or building new plants around the United States and Canada. Kroehler Manufacturing Company was known as the world's largest manufacturer of upholstered furniture and was an industry standard. The company sold its interests and dissolved in 1981. *****By the 1940s, through expansion and acquisition of other companies, the company had over $20 million in annual sales and was the second largest furniture maker in the U.S. The hey-day of the company seemed to be in the 60s when annual revenues reached $200 million and the company had 14 factories which employed thousands of workers in the U.S. and Canada. This is the period of time when it was the world's largest furniture maker. According to an article about the company in the Daily Star, during the company's peak, "Kroehler was delivering 128 truckloads of furniture a day to stores primarily in the Midwestern and Northeastern states". This explains why Kroehler furniture can be found in homes in the Midwest, to this day. Apparently, the company operated at a loss due to smaller profit margins in the 1970s and gradually began to suffer. The Kroehler family sold the business and rights to the Kroehler name in 1981. The company was mostly defunct by 2001. Of particular interest to me in this story is all of the people that were employed by the factories for this company. Imagine how important Kroehler was to Naperville, IL - a western suburb of Chicago, and the thousands of people employed throughout the country and even in Canada! I read an excerpt of the 1951 company newsletter and it contained a listing of their Long Service Awards with employees that had worked for the company up to 40 years at that time!

Price: 7.5 USD

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-11-26T13:51:57.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.85 USD