A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

While he was selling books, he also was collecting them -rare books on the history of the NorthwestTerritory. He had them bound in London and Paris, seeking out the premier names in leather binding,making each book a work of art. They now are with the University of Cincinnati. He 1880 he published abook which he wrote, A Bibliography of the State of Ohio, a listing of all books printed in and printedabout Ohio up to that date. He wrote this book over a ten year period. It is still available today.In 1875 he married Laura Gamble of Louisville. He met her by accident. According to family lorePeter G.’s mother asked him to leave work early on a Saturday, when he worked for the Robert ClarkCompany, to escort her and her friends to a matinee. Across the street visiting a family friend, Laura wasincluded in this group. On the final night of her Cincinnati stay, Peter G. took her to Pike’s Opera House.They had a courtship at a distance after she returned home since, on a shipping clerk’s salary, he didn’tmake much money. He proposed. They saw each other only seven times before their wedding day.Years later in an interview Peter G. was quoted: “My wife was Miss Laura Gamble, a niece of thefirst Lars Anderson, and she was a wonderful woman. I had $10 when I was married. She had a great giftat writing poetry, jingles and pretty little lines. And she could write the most delightful children’s booksand nursery takes. I owe much to her.”By 1882 they started to publish toy books, games, nursery rhymes and school squeak less slates.Later, valentines were added. The children’s books sold for a dime. Laura did their business bookkeeping.This business was so successful that it was bought by the McLaughlin Brothers of Brooklyn, N. Y. to endhis competition in children’s publications. Enough was made from this sale that he could move his familyfrom downtown Cincinnati to College Hill (1885).Peter G. had three maxims; establish a good credit and then use it as much as you can; keepconstantly plugging; there is no luck connected with success, nor any secret. The surest way is to workhard.It was at this time that he started Champion Coated Paper in Hamilton, Ohio, 20 miles north ofCincinnati on the Great Miami River. There were other paper mills lining the east shore of the river, forhydraulic water power supplied the industry. In those days, the Miami Valley was the third largest papermanufacturing region in the nation. The Miami-Erie Canal also made shipping paper convenient. Thepaper mills attracted mostly Appalachian workers which added to the growth of Hamilton. Through W.W.II, Champion remained the largest coated paper manufacturer plant in the U.S.In the 1880’s printing underwent an improvement with the invention of the halftone process. It usedtiny dots of varying size to render a detailed picture rather than engraved lines. This new process requiredpaper smoother than any available at that time. The halftone process was used in newspapers andmagazines. With his experience as a printer, Thomson realized that a fast and inexpensive way to coatpaper would have an unlimited potential market.Thomson sized the moment and Champion Coated Paper started with $100,000 of capital stock in1892. He purchased 200 acres around the plant in 1889 and started a real estate business too, Prospect Hilland Grand View subdivisions, advertising homes that would be a 15 minute walk from Hamilton’sindustrial center. The nearest industry was a brickyard. He relied on the paper industry already there toprovide skilled workers.One of Champion’s early investors was Harry Pounsford. Champion grew rapidly and built a mill inCanton, North Carolina that had 150,000 acres of trees to supply pulp. Thomson was an innovator inreforestation techniques, being careful not to over cut his trees so that he had an endless, growing, supplyof pulp.A fire in 1901 reduced the Hamilton mill to ashes, but it was immediately rebuilt. In its heyday,Hamilton could produce 15 boxcar loads of paper per day. A flood and fire destroyed the plant again in1913 and once again was rebuilt, better than previously. One of Thomson’s strengths was constantinnovation, seeking more effective and less expensive ways for production.Thomson was a far-sighted and fair employer. His mills frequently employed several generations ofthe same family. He established an automatic raise at each five years of employment, free life insurancefor his workers, free medical clinics and a commissary where food and household supplies were sold at205