WEC ENDURING LEGACY

THE ENDURING
LEGACY
of Wallace E. Carroll
from the Golden Age of Industry
to the Heights of Philanthropy
by | Edward D. Miller & Michelle M. Miller
(SECOND EDITION of What I Do Best, The Biography of Wallace E. Carroll)

Dedicated to Le Carroll who was for over six decades
the wind beneath the wings of Wallace Carroll
Copyright© 1991 by Edward D. Miller and Michelle M. Miller. All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission
in writing from the authors, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Library of Congress Certificate of Copyright registration number TX485856.
2 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, my sincere thanks to the Carroll family for their encouragement and cooperation
from start to finish. Le Carroll and her four children, Pat, Denis, Barry, and Sis - and their spouses -
were most helpful in personal interviews and also provided suggestions and sidebar stories invaluable
in writing the early Carroll years. Barry Carroll must be credited with much of the guidance of the
project. He is also responsible for poring through the Carroll family album to find the many great
photos in this book. A thank you as well to cousins Danny Carroll and Mary Ellen Carroll Robinson for
researching the family history.
A number of people at Boston College played an essential role starting with University President J.
Donald Monan, S.J., a dear friend of Wallace Carroll, who extended carte blanche to use the facilities of
Boston College. A special thank you to Professor Peter Oliveri of the Department of Computer Science
and a thank you also to Bernie Gleason, Director of Information Technology, for the use of the printing
facilities at the O’Neill Library Computer Center and Mary Madaus Corcoran for her assistance in
preparing the print-ready version of the manuscript. Jack Neuhauser, Dean of the Wallace E. Carroll
School of Management, could not have been more encouraging or supportive.
Katy Industries Chairman Jacob Saliba and Katy President Bill Murphy provided excellent advice
and made available Katy’s files and records. Dorothy Morton, the key person at Katy’s communications
nerve center, was always cheerfully cooperative in getting through to people all over the United States.
Morrow Garrison, veteran Vice Chairman of CRL volunteered his own time and knowledge with regard
to Wallace’s building of his private company empire. And gratitude is extended to two outstanding
women at CRL, Barry Carroll’s secretary Mary Ann Carney and Denis Carroll’s secretary Lillian
Grandt, for their kindness and help on countless occasions. We are thankful also for the contributions
of Bette Baumbeck and Lynn Grosse for the proofreading of the appendices. Another young woman
whose proofreading expertise proved to be exceptional is Mary Jane Curry, scholar, and writer.
The entire Miller family is acknowledged and thanked warmly, starting with Patti and all my
nine children, for their support and encouragement over the many months of research and writing.
In particular, I thank my oldest son Eddie Jr. whose editing helped polish the manuscript during the
final months after Michelle had left for a teaching assignment in China. Finally, I salute Michelle for
her excellent editing talents and her exceptional organizational ability which were instrumental in
getting the biography off to a tremendous start. As the months wore on, her contributions became so
significant that she indeed became a co-author.
- Edward D. Miller, Milton, Massachusetts, 1991

CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Family History of Wallace E. Carrol
Chapter 2: Wallace Carroll’s Years at Boston College
Chapter 3: Wallace Carroll’s Studies at Harvard Business School
Chapter 4: Depression and War
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
Chapter 7: Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College
Chapter 8: The Goldenrods: Wallace E. Carroll’s Corporate Pearls of Wisdom
Chapter 9: Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
Chapter 10: The Goldenrods: Wallace E. Carroll’s Family Pearls of Wisdom
Epilogue
Appendix I - Katy Industries: History, Directors & Background
Appendix II - Wallace E. Carroll’s Independent Companies
Appendix III – Historical Context
Bibliography
1
2
8
13
17
24
47
58
62
71
80
83
86
91
92
95

PROLOGUE – Second Edition
Thirty years ago, my father, Eddie Miller, asked me to help him write the biography of Wallace
Edward Carroll. Below are excerpts from his prologue in 1991.
In April of 1990 Barry Carroll and Pat Carroll, two of Wallace’s sons, asked me to write the biography of
their father. I had been acquainted with their father for over thirty years and had become a trusted friend and
confidant. At least two earlier attempts to write his life story had been quashed by Wallace. He was a reserved,
unassuming, and private man. He expressed, however, that he had confidence in me to do the job.
As I began to research the early years of the great life of Wallace Carroll, my thoughts went back 30 years
to a warm, summer day in 1959. It was a Friday afternoon, and I was closing the office early. The Boston
College football team would soon be arriving and the quiet, off-season summer interlude on campus would
be over. At about 3:00, a truck arrived in front of Roberts Center, the home of the Boston College Athletic
Department. There were several large cartons of football tickets for the season. I was the only person left in
the building and I knew I had to drag those huge cartons into the walk-in safe and store them securely. About
one hour had passed when a knock at the door interrupted my labor. There stood a good-looking gentleman
of about 50 years of age who introduced himself: “I’m Wallace Carroll. Can you tell me if Bill Flynn is here
today?” I learned later that Wallace would fly into Boston often on a summer Friday afternoon, visit University
Heights, stop to say hello to Bill Flynn, and depart to his summer home on Martha’s Vineyard.
Without a word, this gentleman took off his suit coat, rolled up his sleeves and began to help me store
the remaining cartons of tickets. As we worked together for at least an hour, I knew I was in the presence of
a distinguished alumnus of the class of 1928. Wallace had also received an honorary doctorate degree at my
own graduation in 1957. Early the next morning, Wallace
called me from Martha’s Vineyard and invited my wife
Patti and our children to vacation in his East Chop cottage.
That weekend was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
The Carroll-Miller family friendship has now
extended to more than 60 years. The Carroll family
introduced the Miller family to the beautiful island
of Martha’s Vineyard, where we still socialize in
the summer and honor the legacies of these two
wonderful men and friends. Wallace’s grandson,
Brandon Johnson, has carried on the legacy of
Wallace and has collaborated with me on this
second edition of Wallace’s biography.
– Michelle M. Miller, August 2023, East Chop,
Martha’s Vineyard
Boston College Commencement, 1957. The year Eddie Miller graduated as President of his class; Wallace
E. Carroll was the recipient of an honorary Doctorate. Then Senator John F. Kennedy, among others, was
in attendance.
1

CHAPTER
One
The Family History of Wallace E. Carroll
The backbone of the country is families. I’d like to see everyone out of the office in
time to be home for dinner by six o’clock so that dinner can be had with the family,
sharing in the day’s joys and frustrations and sibling arguments, all of which
contribute to healthy ties. – Wallace E. Carroll (April 6, 1987)
Wallace Edward Carroll was born on November 4, 1907, in Taunton, Massachusetts. He was the
son of an Irish immigrant blacksmith, Patrick Joseph Carroll, and grew up in Taunton when it
was a city of 30,000, populated mostly by Irish immigrants.
Wallace would have a presence in each decade of the 20 th century. He was born into a
peaceful world. The pace was slower, and life was simpler, but dramatic changes would take
place in each decade. He grew to young manhood in the second decade against the background
of World War I. In the third decade, Wallace completed high school and college, and a year of
business school. In the fourth decade he laid the foundations of a sixty-year business career. In
the final decades of the 20 th century, both business and academia honored the accomplishments
of Wallace Carroll. His virtues of honor, tenacity, courage, loyalty, and charity, combined with
a keen and farsighted intelligence, produced a life marked by achievement, which improved the
lives of thousands of others.
Wallace Carroll enjoyed learning about the Carroll family lineage 1 in both Ireland and in
the U.S. and in later years relished the opportunity to visit the land of his ancestors, writing:
The countryside was all that has been described, stone walls, hedges, and green fields with fat cattle and
sheep. No forests at all. The comforting smell of peat filled the air as we passed through the towns. Several were
full of sheep and cattle for the fair and sale being held that day. We were at Athlone before we knew it, and
the first man we asked knew my uncle Tom Carroll, in Ballymallalin, three or four miles away. We found the
Carroll farm easy enough and were met at the door by Mary Carroll. She had seven sons and two daughters,
all gone except one son, Danny, who stayed with his mother. Another son, Michael, was home from Rochester
1
For more information on the Carroll family name and origins, see Appendix III.
2 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

New York for a visit. His older brother, Paddy, emigrated to Rochester several years ago and is a plastering
contractor, eventually bringing three of his brothers over. The plasterers earn $3.90 an hour there, quite a
contrast to the life of a worker at 35 cents an hour had they stayed in Ireland, since the farm isn’t big enough to
support more than one or two sons, one reason why my father and his sister emigrated around 1890. 2
Patrick J. Carroll set up his Blacksmith shop in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1903. It was called
“P.J. Carroll Blacksmith,” and was located in a small wooden building with an historic legacy
and where three generations of Carrolls practiced this art. 3
Patrick J. Carroll was a hardworking man of 37 in 1907 when his youngest son Wallace was
born. It had been 18 difficult years since he had arrived in Boston in 1889 at the age of 19, having
left his family home in Ireland. Patrick Carroll’s home was in the village of Ballymallalin. His
father, Daniel Carroll, and his mother farmed 110 acres of rocky soil and raised livestock. Patrick
left his home for America and arrived in Boston on the ship Iowa on June 25, 1889. The ship’s
manifest indicates that he was trained as a bricklayer in Ireland. 4
Patrick Carroll first settled in Brockton, Massachusetts, then the best-known shoe
manufacturing city in the country. A thriving racing track in Brockton demanded the skill of
shoeing horses and Patrick began his career as an apprentice. Later he had his first blacksmith
shop on Ford Street in Brockton. While visiting Taunton one spring day in 1893, Patrick
Carroll bought a handkerchief at a store located on the corner of Trescott and Main streets.
The saleswoman working at the store was Katherine Feely, who lived nearby with her aunt.
Patrick began to court Miss Feely, biking 24 miles from Brockton and back each Saturday night.
Wallace Carroll recalled his father telling him that part of the trip was through the Hockomock
Swamp where mosquitos would eat him alive in the summer, and ice and snow were perilous in
the winter.
Wallace Carroll’s mother, Katherine Louise (née Feely) Carroll was born in Boston on
August 10, 1874. She was named after her mother, Katherine (née Brennan) Feely, who was
born in Indiana and raised in Massachusetts. The younger Katherine had a sister, Mabel, and a
brother, Daniel. Wallace’s maternal grandfather, Daniel Feely, was born in Boyle, Roscommon
County, Ireland, in 1837. He came to the United States in 1870 and settled in New York City where
he continued the trade of a stone cutter that he had learned in Ireland. Daniel Feely had four
brothers: Darby, Timothy, William, and Patrick. Darby and his wife Kate bought the house at 34
Trescott Street in Taunton in 1875, which Darby left to his niece, Wallace’s mother, in 1903.
Wallace’s parents were married on November 27, 1895. They lived in Brockton for eight years.
Three daughters were born in their Brockton home: Mildred Agnes (November 11, 1896), Mary
Irene (January 20, 1899), and Helen Katherine (February 15, 1901). Helen married William Marshall
on September 1, 1927, as her brother Wallace began his fourth and final year at Boston College.
She had two children, a daughter Theora, and a son William. Helen died on November 19, 1894,
at the age of 83.
Mildred worked as a bookkeeper at the Franklin Williams Hardware Store on Broadway
Street and in 1923 married Cletus Connolly who owned a florist shop. They bought the house
next door to 34 Trescott. They had two sons, Bernard, and Robert. Wallace’s sister Mildred died
in 1938 at the age of 41. Mary was always called by her middle name, Irene. She died on March
21, 1914, as a result of kidney damage, most likely a complication of scarlet fever. Helen recalled
that she had a lovely voice and was going to take singing lessons. The first Carroll son born at
2
Wallace E. Carroll’s Journal Notes. U.S. Trade Mission to Ireland, 1966.
3
The Art of Blacksmithing, Appendix III.
4
Heritage International, “The Family Roots of Wallace E. Carroll,” Salt Lake City, Utah, 1987.
Chapter 1: The Family History of Wallace E. Carrol
3

10 Grove Street in Taunton on August 1, 1903, was baptized Francis Joseph. Frank followed his
father in the blacksmithing profession. He served his apprenticeship as a teenager at his father’s
side. Frank was also a talented woodworker. He could build almost anything, including homes
and boats. He ultimately took over his father’s business.
Frank married Mary Ellen McCormack on June 3, 1929, as his younger brother Wallace was
completing his first year at Harvard Business School. Frank and Mary Ellen Carroll had five
children: Francis Jr., Mary Ellen, Irene, Richard, and Joan. Frank Jr. was born on March 15, 1931,
and also followed his father and grandfather in the blacksmith business. He kept the Carroll
tradition of superior blacksmithing until September 1, 1975, when the historic shop had to be
torn down for safety reasons. The village blacksmith shop was in continuous operation for 72
years and three generations of Carrolls. The elder Carroll was a blacksmith for 51 years, his son
Frank for 50 years until his death in 1970, and his grandson Francis for 25 years. Francis married
Loretta Rose and had four children: Sharon, Richard, Susan, and Patti.
Mary Ellen Carroll was born exactly two years after her brother Francis on March 15, 1933.
She became a self-styled family historian who, along with her cousin Barry J. Carroll (Wallace’s
son), researched and chronicled an impressive portion of Carroll family historical materials. In
1961, Mary Ellen married Henry Robinson, a Boston School teacher, who moved up steadily in
the Boston Teachers Union, later becoming president of the union during the tumultuous 1970s
and court-ordered busing. Mary Ellen worked for many years at Boston College. Irene married
Ralf Mahr who built up a fire protection equipment company in Franklin, Massachusetts. Joan
married Paul Richmond and settled in California where he practiced law.
Howard Brennan Carroll was the second son and fifth child of Patrick and Katherine
Carroll. He was born on October 23, 1905. He and his brother Wallace were not only close in age,
but also very close as brothers. Howard married Mary Burke on August 2, 1933. On April 5, 1936,
they had a son who they named Daniel after his maternal grandfather. Daniel married Cornelia
Ryan on April 3, 1958, and they had five children. Danny Carroll graduated from Boston College
in 1962, shortly before his Lake Forest cousins, Dennis, and Pat Carroll. Their oldest child, Daniel
Burke Carroll was named for Danny’s mother, who died an untimely death in the late spring of
1936. Danny’s four other children are Timothy Ryan Carroll, Michael Howard Wallace Carroll,
Jennifer Agnes Carroll, and Mark Stephen Carroll. After Mary Burke Carroll’s death, Danny’s
father Howard married again on December 29, 1941, to Mary Dunn and they lived a happy life
together for more than 40 years. Howard died after a prolonged illness on March 25, 1987.
Howard was Wallace Carroll’s elder brother by two years. During the four years that they
were classmates as undergraduates at Boston College, from 1924 to 1928, they became confidants
and formed a bond closer than the sibling affection already among the Carroll children. Howard
devoted much of his life to education. While Wallace went on to Harvard Business School, his
brother began a distinguished career in secondary education. Howard’s first teaching assignment
was at Hardwick High School in western Massachusetts. He taught math and English and was
the assistant coach of football. In 1930, just as the nation began its long siege in the grips of the
Great Depression, Howard seized an opportunity to join the faculty at his old school, Taunton
High School, as a math teacher. He progressed quickly in the system, aided by characteristic
Carroll zeal and determination. In 1933, he earned a master’s degree in English Literature from
Brown University, while continuing to teach. He was later named head of the Math Department
at Taunton High School.
4 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

A few years later, on June 8, 1938, Howard earned a doctoral degree in English from his
alma mater, Boston College. He also studied in the graduate schools of education at Columbia
and Harvard. Consequently, he was appointed superintendent of schools in Taunton at age 34,
the youngest ever to hold this position. He held this position from 1942 through 1949. He then
accepted an offer in the insurance industry from the Equitable Life Assurance Company in
Brockton, where he specialized in corporate insurance and estate planning. He was named to
the distinguished Hall of Fame, Equitable Life’s highest honor.
Howard Carroll lived in Taunton and was an active and spirited member of the community
all of his adult life. He served as chairman of the Taunton Public Library, chairman of the
Red Cross, and as a trustee of the Morton Hospital. He was also a corporator of the Taunton
Savings Bank, the Bristol County Savings Bank, and a director of Taunton’s Boys’ Club and the
Rotary Club. For many years, Howard served as a director of Wallace’s American Gage and
Machine Company in Chicago and later in Elgin, Illinois and was the agent and advisor for the
establishment of many of the health insurance benefit plans for Wallace’s companies. Like
Wallace, Howard was always a loyal and supportive alumnus of Boston College.
Wallace wrote his brother’s obituary, stating that:
Like all the Carrolls, Howard worked all his life from early youth on. Afternoons after school found him
at Choicner’s Photo Studio at 15 cents an hour, then later in high school at Brady’s lunch cart on the Taunton
green or commons, where a large hot dog and a mug of half coffee and half cream cost a dime. While working
in New York as a laborer he now and then gratuitously sent $100 to his brother who was struggling to earn
his way through Harvard Business School, working 35 hours a week plus the course work. These things are
mentioned to illustrate the homespun and kind nature of the man – unpretentious, with complete integrity,
quiet dignity, and as one commented, ‘no one ever saw him mad at anyone.’ His spiritual nature, although not
of a vocation, carried him through his life and it is certain that he found peace in his hereafter. The Carroll
family is proud to have had him as a member and one which we all can strive to emulate.
On November 4, 1907, two years after the birth of Howard, Wallace Carroll was born. He
was the sixth and last child of Katherine Feely and Patrick J. Carroll. The Carrolls lived only
a short time in the house on 10 Grove Street. They moved back to 34 Trescott Street where his
childhood memories were most pleasant. In the early 1900s, many Irish immigrant families who
owned their homes took in boarders to help with the expenses of owning property. The board
usually amounted to only a few dollars a week, but the wise and frugal homeowners felt a sense
of satisfaction with their savings. Patrick and Katherine Carroll took in boarders in both homes
on Grove Street and on Trescott Street. A few days after giving birth to her third son, Katherine
Feely Carroll asked one of the Grove Street boarders, John D. Wallace, if she could name her
son after him. He was delighted and honored, and the baby boy was baptized Wallace Edward
Carroll at St. Mary’s Church three days after his birth.
In the early years of the new century, Katherine Feely Carroll worked long days raising six
young children, keeping a beautiful home, and staying active in St. Mary’s Parish, the focus of
the family’s social life.
In 1908, the Carroll family moved from 10 Grove Street to 34 Trescott Street. The house on
Trescott Street was built around 1870. It was a large wooden shingled home of three floors with
gas lights in each room and several fireplaces which provided the only heat. It had no indoor
bathrooms. Most of Taunton’s working class lived in such homes. Early in the turn of the century
and through the 1930s, renovations and remodeling such as Patrick Carroll managed in 1908
Chapter 1: The Family History of Wallace E. Carrol
5

were taking place in the cities and towns throughout the country, especially in the Northeast.
Helen Carroll Marshall captured these renovations in her letters:
“Pa added the porch, put in electricity, and a furnace, also bathrooms. We had been using
the little outhouse out back. The yard, before the garage was built, was filled with flowers that
Uncle Darby had planted: 2 pear trees, wild strawberries, rhubarb, rose bushes, and an arbor
vitae hedge. 34 Trescott street was a happy, exciting, interesting place to live.”
Wallace Carroll adored his mother and respected the manner in which she raised her
children and managed the household. He wrote of her:
As a boy, I did not think we were poor, although raising six children of which I was the youngest left little
or no savings or luxuries from the earnings of an immigrant blacksmith which in those days were meager and
very competitive. In the blacksmith shop, I’d earn pennies brushing flies off the horse on humid days while my
father shod them, at an age probably about 6 to 8 years old. I never had to support my mother until later years,
since she did pretty well herself to supplement the family income by having roomers in the house, plus raising
us kids with none of the conveniences of today and living to age 84.
Barry Carroll, the youngest of Wallace’s three sons, remembers staying at Nan’s as a child
and “the spotless cleanliness of the place, the polished upright piano in the parlor, the lace
curtains on the windows open to the breeze and street noises on warm summer evenings, and
the tic-tocs of the wood cased mechanical clocks against the stillness of the quiet Victorian
neighborhood.“
In the days when Wallace and his brothers and sisters were growing up, Patrick J. Carroll’s
blacksmith shop was one of the busier and more prosperous of the seventeen operating in Taunton.
In the 1916 Taunton Directory, under a listing of “Blacksmiths, Horse Shoers and Carriage Smiths,
most of the 17 smiths had Irish names, such as Brennan, Carey, Hanon, Lynch, and O’Connor.
Patrick J. Carroll was a good husband, father, and provider. While he worked long and hard,
and the Carrolls lived in relative comfort, he and his wife encouraged the children to earn their
own spending money. Wallace, the youngest, was no exception and through observation and
practice, he developed perhaps the most zealous work ethic and strongest competitive spirit of
the six Carroll children.
Like his brothers and sisters, Wallace attended the Old School Street Grammar School. In
1916, as a fourth grader of 9 years, he delivered the Taunton Daily Gazette to a steady number of
customers in the neighborhood. As he moved to the Cohannet School, he continued to work
after school and on Saturdays at his paper route, and other jobs, later recalling:
We all worked before or after school, in my own case as a paperboy, establishing my own route, buying
my own papers and collecting my own accounts, the profit on a 2 cents daily paper being 3 cents a week for six
days’ delivery. Even in those days, it would seem that entrepreneurship and efficiency were evident, my route
being concentrated in a narrow area so that the papers could be delivered fast to leave time to play a half hour
or so of football before dark.
A regular portion of Wallace’s free time was taken up by piano lessons and he progressed
rapidly to the point where he could sight read most sheet music. When Wallace reached high
school, he played as a lineman on the Taunton High School football team. He was always near
the top of his class academically while continuing to earn his spending money and helping out
6 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

at home. While a teenager at Taunton High School, he worked at Cushman’s, an ice cream store
near the Taunton Green, noting:
It was assumed without question that we would work our way through college.
I was the clerk in a clothing store in the afternoons and an ice cream factory in
summer during high school. At Boston College, I was a section hand on the New
Haven Railroad during the summer, and still clerked in spare time and Saturdays
during the school year.
Wallace graduated from Taunton High School in June of 1924, at the age of 16. His brother,
Howard, two years older and one year ahead of him in school, had gone to the Archdiocesan
Seminary in Baltimore in September of 1923 to study for the priesthood. He made the decision
to leave the seminary after one year and, together with Wallace, enrolled at Boston College, 45
miles away in Chestnut Hill, in September of 1924. By this time, Wallace and Howard’s older
brother Frank was already a full-fledged blacksmith, working alongside his father Patrick
Carroll. The future of blacksmithing was already somewhat in question in the early 1920s as the
automobile and the track were making inroads into horse and wagon transport. Thus, there was
a future for just one of the three sons in the profession. Patrick Carroll wisely advised his second
and third sons to seek a college education so they might meet the challenges before them in a
rapidly changing world.
Chapter 1: The Family History of Wallace E. Carrol
7

CHAPTER
Two
Wallace Carroll’s Years at Boston College
Catholic colleges claim they are educating the whole man, so obviously or subliminally
it is there, the philosophy, the religion you can’t get away from it. 5
When Wallace and Howard Carroll began their freshman year at Boston College on Wednesday,
September 14 of 1924, 61 years after the college’s founding in 1863, Boston College occupied a
beautiful Gothic campus with four magnificent buildings. The Tower building, rising to the
“heavens own blue” was the centerpiece of the small but inspiring Gothic campus. It was later
named Gasson Hall and is located at the end of the impressive Linden Lane, the main entrance
from Commonwealth Avenue, which is lined with 27 stately Linden trees. St Mary’s Hall, the
home of over 100 Jesuit priest professors and administrators, was and is located on the left
upon entering Linden Lane. The then new science building in which Wallace, a chemistry and
philosophy major, spent much of his time is adjacent to Gasson Hall and was named in honor of
Father William Devlin, S.J. who served as president of Boston College from 1919 until 1925. The
library, completed in 1928, the senior year of the Carroll brothers, is located on the immediate
right of the Linden Lane entrance directly across from St Mary’s Hall. It carries the name of
Father John Bapst, S.J. who served as the first president of Boston College from 1863 to 1869. 6
The 1928 Boston College yearbook Sub Turri notes that the Carroll brothers left for class
about 6:00 in the morning from Taunton, arriving at Chestnut Hill by 9 am. 7 They arrived back
home between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. in time for dinner and studying. Wallace tried out for the
Boston College varsity football team as a freshman in September of 1924. He had been a fine
offensive and defensive tackle for three years on the Taunton High School team. At six feet and
175 pounds, Wallace was considered a good candidate. He recalled:
5
A Catholic Businessman: Wallace Carroll remembers how his Jesuit education helped him out.” The Chicago Catholic.
January 2, 1987.
6
History of Boston College, Appendix III.
7
Sub Turri, 1928, p. 71.
8 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

I reported with a large group of freshmen as soon as tryouts were announced in September of 1924. The
coach was the famous Frank Cavanaugh, the Iron Major, and I gave him my best effort every day and kept
surviving the inevitable cuts until the last day with only a few freshmen left. I was the last lineman cut. He
should have kept me on the team.
The determined young freshman from Taunton had nothing to be ashamed of as the Iron
Major, in his sixth year as the Eagles’ coach, had Boston College surging to the top of the elite
college football teams in the country. Since his debut in 1919, Cavanaugh led B.C. to consecutive
upset victories over powerful Yale in 1919 and 1920 and posted winning season after winning
season including two undefeated seasons. During Wallace’s first three years at B.C. the Eagles
won 18 and lost 4 games. Cavanaugh stepped down after the undefeated 1926 season, capping a
brilliant 8-year stand.
In the fall of 1925, during Wallace’s sophomore year at the Heights, he met Leila Caroline
Holden at the Taunton Public Library. Wallace was a regular at the library in the evenings as was
Leila (Le) who was a sophomore at Taunton High School. Wallace asked his friend Leo Kennedy,
then football captain at the high school, if he would introduce him to Le. Le recalled Wallace
sitting at a table facing her and her friends introducing them one night. “Then he called me, but
he wouldn’t tell me who he was, he just said I’ll be back again next week…then he called the next
week, and he still wouldn’t tell me who he was…Wallace used to bring his studying with him…
that was his excuse for a date. I had my studying too, but I didn’t do much, I couldn’t concentrate!”
In 1925, Wallace had three years of undergraduate education in front of him. He also had
a plan to include graduate study at the Harvard Business School with its innovative master’s
program in Business Administration. Le Holden had her own plans as well. She intended to
study nursing after graduation from Taunton High School and in 1927 she began a three-year
program at Taunton’s Morton Hospital.
Leila (Le) Caroline Holden, one of three surviving children, was born in Jackman, Maine on
July 21, 1907. The Holden family was one of strong character and descended from the pioneer
stock of that area. Her ancestor, Richard Holden, had arrived in the Boston area in 1632 and a
great grandfather, Jabez Holden, was a minuteman who fought in and was wounded at the Battle
of Bunker Hill. Her family was of the Episcopal religious tradition which favored a simpler
liturgy more in keeping with the often-harsh conditions of Maine. Many of the life lessons that
Le Carroll learned from her parents, Isabelle and Aaron, at their home in Dennistown Maine
remained with her whole life.
Le grew up in a small single house which her father built with help from the neighbors. The
education offered in a little one room schoolhouse in Jackman for just a handful of children was
not of the highest caliber. Although Le recalled her teachers with admiration and fondness, Le’s
parents knew that it was in the best interest of their children to find opportunities for them to
work and live outside of Jackman. Le’s sister always stayed close to home, but Le ventured away,
finding many opportunities for both work and education. When she was 12, she felt fortunate
to find a job at a camp where she earned two dollars a week: “I worked on tables and cleaned
cabins. The cook, Miss Nash, took care of me. She told me what was right and wrong and what
was polite.”
Le also worked at Crocker Lake Camps where she met the Salmons of Newton Highlands
Massachusetts. They asked Le to come to Newton Highlands with them in the fall, attend school
there, and help him take care of their home. Another summer at Crocker Lake Camps Le met
Mr. and Mrs. Tallman of Belmont. Le stayed with the Tallmans for two years in Belmont and
Chapter 2: Wallace Carroll’s Years at Boston College
9

finished grammar school there. Her education was often delayed due to her hard work and all
of her moves, but she was determined and took advantage of the opportunities presented to
her to save money and continue her studies. When Le was 16, she began work at Atteon Camps
in Maine. It was here that she met Mr. and Mrs. Gifford of Taunton who were friends of the
Chase family, Taunton bankers. “Lou and Joe had two children, Dorothy, and Josie. They lived
in Taunton. They asked me to come stay with them, study in high school, and take care of the
children. I made my home in Taunton.”
Le moved to Taunton in 1924. It was a year later that Le met Wallace at the library. It was
with the Giffords that she first traveled to Martha’s Vineyard late in the summer of 1924. She
vividly recalled her first trip to the Island: “There were no trees then. You could see Nantucket
Sound from the porch. Mrs. Gifford was so upset about all the trees growing up and blocking the
view. Dad [Wallace] first came down in 1926…Mr. Gifford let us take his car. It was a 1918 Packard.
We went all over the Island, up to Menemsha and Gayhead [Aquinnah]. That was twelve years
before we got married!”
Later, Wallace and Le enjoyed the same ocean view for many years at their East Chop
home in Martha’s Vineyard across the street from the home of Josie and Ray Gifford. Wallace
Carroll endured many long years of study and work before he permitted himself to enjoy
vacations on the Island.
The years 1924 through 1928 were exciting years to be an undergraduate student at Boston
College. The 20s were a dramatically changing decade. World War I, the Great War, had come
to an end in 1918 and the 1920s triumphantly began. Wallace studied hard and worked hard but
always managed to balance his life with healthy diversions. After a long hot summer swinging a
pick and shovel as a section hand for the New Haven Railroad, a lean and physically fit Wallace
began his sophomore year at Boston College in September of 1925. It was early in the autumn of
1925 that Wallace met and began his lengthy courtship with Le Holden. It was also the time in
his young life when, perhaps feeling the frustration of having been cut from the Boston College
football team, the lean and competitive 165-pound high achiever tried his luck at boxing. One
warm evening during the summer of 1925 Wallace went to the downtown Taunton gymnasium
owned by Freddy Yelle. Freddy was something of a local hero in 1915. At 27 years old, he had
been one of the middleweight contenders in the country, but lost in a fiercely contested 15-round
championship fight. With his best boxing years behind him, Freddy, now 37, retired from the ring
and opened a boxing gymnasium in Taunton. Wallace eagerly and anxiously joined his group:
Freddy took me under his wing that summer. I was trim at 165 lb., 10 lbs. lighter than when I tried out
for the B.C. football team one year earlier. Freddy was a great boxer himself and a bonafide contender for the
title. I learned a lot from Freddy and became a pretty good boxer myself. In early October, Freddy thought I
was ready for some competition, and he entered me in the Golden Glove competition in Providence. It was my
only fight in Providence; I came out to touch gloves as I thought I was supposed to do, but the guy clobbered me.
The newspaper article said I was knocked down. I don’t remember being knocked out, but I do remember I was
mad and kept swinging all the rest of the bout to get a draw. I used the name Jack Carnes, but my mother saw
the article in the Gazette about a B.C. fighter and the cut on my nose and she put two and two together. She said
either fight or go to school, so that was that.
Wallace found time to work weekends during the academic year and he always maintained
strong academic grades despite his extra workload. On Saturdays, Wallace worked all day at
the leading men’s clothing store in Taunton on Main Street. The store was a partnership called
Goodnow-Morse-Brooks Co. The partners, all related, were Windsor H. Goodnow, Wesley F.
10 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Morse, and R. Frank Brooks, Jr. Later renamed Goodnow’s Clothing Store, the store closed in
1992. R. Frank Brooks, Jr. and Elsey Morse took a shine to the energetic young Boston College
student and part-time salesman while Wallace worked for them in 1925. Morse even periodically
offered Wallace his old suits. Mr. Brooks’ son, Windsor Brooks, recalled knowing Wallace when
he was a youngster working with his father: “We were pleased to watch his career develop in
Chicago. We all took pride in the fact that he became so successful.”
Wallace impressed employers and classmates alike. His classmates wrote in the 1928 Sub
Turri yearbook: “Wallace had a world of character, for throughout the time that we know
this healthy and handsome Maecenas, his actions day and night have been guided by his high
principles of conduct, a real fellow through and through, he possesses those inbred qualities of
courtesy, consideration, and disposition that have won us over en masse to him…we know of no
one who will uphold what he believes with more vigor than this same fellow. To sum him up, he
is a regular twentieth century lad, taking a great zest in life, but always the Christian gentleman.
That is why we can never forget him.” 8
During Wallace’s college days, many notable and memorable Jesuits reigned among the
faculty and administrators. Father James H. Dolan, S.J., (President), Father Patrick J. McHugh, S.
J. (Dean of Men), Father John A. Mattimore, S.J. (Prefect of Discipline), Father Charles L. O’ Brien,
S. J. (Student Counselor), Father Jones I. Corrigan, S.J. (Professor to seniors in Ethics, Government,
and Sociology), and Father Arthur J. Hohman, S. J. (Professor to seniors in Chemistry). Among
his classmates, he spoke of Dan Driscoll (the class president), Dick Condon, John “Snooks” Kelley
(the legendary Boston College hockey coach for four decades), C. Owen Dooley, Maurice Downey,
Jim Duffy, John “Smokey” Kelleher, Mal McLoud, and Herb Stokinger.
One classmate for whom Wallace had the greatest admiration and affection was Francis
John Daley. He was known as “Babe” Daley to his classmates. The two remained close friends
until Babe died in 1985 at 79 years of age. Babe had a sterling reputation as a fleet-footed track
star. He was elected captain of the team coached by the great Jack Ryder. The class of 28 yearbook
notes that, “Babe acquired the gift of savoir faire we know so well .... whatever he did was done
with dashing grace and ease… He was a member of the world’s record-breaking 400-yard Relay
Team. Some record! Some captain! 9
Wallace followed the business career of his college friend for the next 6 decades and the
two often met socially in New York, Chicago, and Palm Beach. In 1990, Wallace again mentioned
Babe when he wrote:
Babe Daley was my closest special friend when I was a student at BC. He was a special friend - I miss him
and I loved him!
During Wallace’s undergraduate years at Boston College the Jesuit school student body was
100% young men with a total enrollment of just under 1,000: 98% of these students commuted
from the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, South Boston, East Boston, and Roxbury; or from
Greater Boston suburbs including Milton, Cambridge, Needham, and Winchester. They were
largely from hardworking blue color families, most of them first generation immigrant families.
The majority of the students at the time were Catholic. Father James H. Dolan S.J. was president
and rector. Thirty-five of the 55 faculty members were Jesuits. Wallace had four or five Jesuit
professors in each semester. Wallace recalled of several Jesuits:
8
Sub Turri, 1928, p. 71.
9
Sub Turri, 1928, pages 88 and 395
Chapter 2: Wallace Carroll’s Years at Boston College
11

Father “Packy” McHugh was very popular with the students; he knew everyone by name. We had great
respect and admiration for him. Father Fritz Boehm was another favorite. He was the Professor of Logic,
Ontology, Cosmology, and Evidence of Relation. And Father Jones I. Corrigan’s Ethics classes were classics.
I also remember the young Jesuit Father Martin Harney was just beginning what was to be a long and
glorious teaching career. I had him for history in my junior year. We knew then that he had the makings of an
outstanding professor.
Wallace’s son Pat also had Father Harney for a semester of Irish history and noted that he
loved to sing Irish ballads during class. Wallace’s course of study included four years of theology,
metaphysics, cosmology, psychology, ethics, and history of philosophy. He excelled in all aspects
of his study and built a strong foundation as an outstanding communicator, particularly adept
at writing superb memos, journals, letters, and speeches. Wallace elected to major in chemistry
and he studied six consecutive semesters of inorganic chemistry, qualitative and analytical
chemistry, quantitative chemical analysis, and organic chemistry. As a sophomore, he took
French as an elective and studied Advanced French grammar composition and conversational
French. In his junior year Wallace studied a course in economics which included definitions
of wealth, value, price, and the factors of production, labor, and capital. In his senior year, he
added an elective course in Law taught by the famous football coach and attorney, the “Iron
Major” Frank Cavanaugh. He also took an elective in accounting. This helped him in his business
school studies as well as his first professional job in the accounting department of the New York
Telephone Company. Wallace’s Boston College years provided him with a firm educational and
philosophical foundation that inspired his business and management strategies.
12 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

CHAPTER
Three
Wallace Carroll’s Studies at Harvard Business School
Wallace had an incredible scope, an incredible ability to digest an enormous
amount of information very quickly and get to the heart of what was important
in that information. That’s a skill they try to inculcate at Harvard Business School
- Wallace really absorbed it with a vengeance. – Barry J. Carroll, August 8, 1990
In September of 1928, Wallace Carroll began a year of graduate study at Harvard Business
School (HBS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a school he had always deeply respected. 10 In 1987,
he wrote to Dean John MacArthur:
I am thrilled to have received the HBS 1908-1945 book, as will my HBS boys when they have a chance
to read it. As I skimmed through it this Monday morning, my morning mail suffered neglect as the periods
between the wars and my time at HBS brought back such a flood of memories. Each of us think we had the
greatest faculty during our sojourn, ours being Copeland, Dewey, Dunham, McNair, and so many others. Not
to mention Steall Kerr who was my boss in the library and who was strict, patient, and kind. Thank you for
this splendid gift. We will spend long hours reading and reminiscing with fond and happy memories at HBS.
In 1923, George Baker, president of the First National Bank of New York, donated $5 million
to HBS to expand and relocate the school to Soldiers Field Road on the Boston side of the Charles
River. The new buildings were dedicated in 1927 and the class of 1929 was the first class to reside
and study at the elaborate new campus. HBS was then officially known as the George F. Baker
Foundation. The class of 1930, Wallace Carroll’s class, was the second group to study at the
Soldiers Field campus.
By 1928, HBS enrolled 521 first year students and 308 second year students. The following
year, 618 first year students and 380 second year students were enrolled. These students included
18 graduates of Boston College. In 1928, tuition was $500 a year, increasing to $600 a year in
1929. Dean Gay retired in 1919 and Dean Donham served the administration from 1919 to 1942.
During the academic year 1928-1929, however, Professor Sprague served as acting Dean, due to
Dean Donham’s ailing heart condition.
10
History of Harvard Business School, Appendix III.
13

Years later, Wallace advised his nephew:
To be in a position of management requires many characteristics that make for one’s success. I would
encourage you to work a couple of years and apply to Harvard where I would of course send a letter of
recommendation, also assist you in your financial needs. I understand a year’s cost to board is about $22,000
now, including a computer. Staying at home will help, and working for the school will also. You don’t necessarily
have to go two years, one year being a good door-opener, as in my case. I worked 35 hours a week in the library
and dining room. But they don’t allow that kind of workload on the students now. Guess they don’t make
working students like they used to. Even during Easter vacation, I worked as a carpenter’s helper at Harvard
on new construction and during the summer between B.C. and Harvard as a bricklayer’s helper including
the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. So, you can see, nothing was handed out on a platter, except maybe on a
mortarboard, and I still had to use a Business School loan to finish the job, which was repaid in full the day it
was due. Believe me, work habits were formed that have never left me, as my three secretaries will attest who
try to keep up.
Wallace’s only diversions from the grueling routine of study and work and the daily
commute to and from Taunton was an occasional hour of rowing in a single scull rented from
the boathouse by the Anderson Bridge on the Charles, across from the B-School. The courses
which Wallace studied at HBS affected the formation of his distinct and humanistic philosophy
of management. One such course was the required Industrial Management. The course was
described as follows:
“This course aims to train students in effective methods of approach to administrative and
executive problems related to production, Necessary descriptive background is drawn largely
from the manufacturing industries. Problems arising in the location of an enterprise, the design
and construction of buildings, the selection and arrangement of equipment, the procuring of
materials, and labor requirements are considered during the first half year. In the second halfyear,
the course is divided into two parts, one of which deals with the conduct and control of
production: executive organization, the services of functional specialists, production control
methods, and the uses of cost accounting are among the topics considered. The other part deals
with an analysis of labor relations; representative industries are studied in detail; this part is
designed for students who wish to gain some knowledge of the control of the human element
in business.”
Wallace recalled this course in a memo years later:
The Industrial Management Course I had at the Harvard Business School entirely ignored the human
element in their courses and texts. Over the years, since then, this has all been changed, at least for lip service.
This is why we do not want strains to develop between principals during negotiations because of niggling
over minor points or remote possibilities. Too tough bargaining results in entering a merger with stress and
suspicion. This is why we always have a get acquainted dinner with the management and key people at the new
company. This is why we have weekends together at various places, and why we have Presidents meetings. This
is why I have sent out memos many times on how we hate bureaucracy and to be on the look-out constantly
against it creeping into our organization. It is why I never liked Group vice presidents, who become conspicuous
around the office and so fan out to the divisions, bothering them. We must beware of this in our accounting
functions as well. Reports must constantly be reviewed for excesses, as well as directives, memos, and requests
for information, which I am as guilty of doing as anyone. The old pros and founders don’t need much of our
help. They are survivors and successful in their own right for the most part. It is better that people want to do
14 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

things than having to do things. In all cases, management must be firm as well as fair and it all must come
down to the bottom line. 11
Wallace also remarked on the pros and cons of the “Case Method” used at the Business School:
The Business School now has programs on entrepreneurship alongside their curriculum of case studies.
The two are incompatible. The entrepreneur starts with the obvious balance sheet and profit statement but
bases his decision on intangibles such as gut feelings, the quality of management based on its human aspects,
street smarts and the general ambience of the company, the human qualities perhaps being the most important.
The dedicated case study graduate however, lines up all the pros and cons of finance, marketing, and surveys
physical assets, analytical studies, statistics etc. etc., all inanimate measures of the company. The human aspects
of the company are way down the line in its appraisal or ignored entirely.
In a typical case study, a prospect comes along for investment. The case method-trained analyzes the
company from top to bottom and all things considered, concludes that the purchase should not be made.
That’s also the safe decision. The entrepreneur looks at the same company and its people, and decides, based
on the [results] of a thousand entrepreneurial experiences, to buy it. Generally, but not always, it works out all
right and another increment to his fortune has been added. In the first instance, when the decision is to buy
and it does not work out, it is because of the lack of human appraisal that destroys the company because of
incompatibility, lack of imagination or innovativeness, or unsound judgements.
In my case, one person said that he only went to Harvard Business for one year - think what he would
have accomplished if he had gone for two years. The answer is, providently, he couldn’t afford another year
and the year he was there he got sidetracked out of manufacturing by an incompetent, mechanistic Production
Professor, taking him three years to finally get back into manufacturing after being laid off from the New
York Telephone Company in the Depression in 1933. The case method and trying to teach entrepreneurship
are incompatible since they call for two different mindsets. There are a few exceptions to this, witness the MCI
founder and the few like him who would burst the bonds of the case method no matter what school he would
have gone to.
While enrolled at the Harvard Business School during the academic year of 1928-1929,
Wallace cross-registered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he took a course in
Air Transportation. Wallace’s interest in this course was a natural outgrowth of his adventurous
interest in the relatively new phenomenon of flying. Later, in June of 1929, Wallace volunteered
for the United States Army Flying School in San Antonio, Texas. He learned to fly dual controlled
planes, and also flew solo after three and a half hours of instruction in a PT8 trainer.
Wallace later volunteered as a “Cadet” into the 102nd Observation Squadron of the New
York National Guard on Long Island. He served weekends and for a determined period of time
in the summer months. One of the types of aircraft in which Wallace Carroll was trained as
a pilot was the old Travelaire model. This double winged airplane was equipped with an aircooled
radial OX-5 engine, widely acknowledged as the first truly reliable aircraft engine. Some
years later, long after the Travelaire had become obsolete, a small and elite group of men who
had soloed aircraft equipped with this engine before 1930, formed an exclusive club called the
“OX-5 Club.” The membership included many of aviation history’s major figures and pioneers.
Wallace’s tour of National Guard duty coincided with his years of employment with the
New York Telephone Company in the early years of the Depression, from January of 1930 until
February of 1933. He often recalled his flying days in later correspondence to a Buffalo Museum:
11
Wallace E. Carroll, memorandum, August 21, 1985. Wallace refers to an article entitled “Why Mergers” by William
H. Miller (Industry Week, August 5, 1985) and calls attention to the “failure or disappointing performance of merged
companies” which “highlights the importance of people making these mergers work.”
Chapter 3: Wallace Carroll’s Studies at Harvard Business School
15

I read your letter about plans for a Museum in the Buffalo area with great interest. So many names
in the brochure for the museum are so easily recognizable. One was Ben Kelsey, the great test pilot, and the
Chuck Yeager of his day, who flew Bell Aircraft’s first plane, the bomber/fighter XFM-1, was in my class at
MIT on Air Transportation in 1930. He was a Colonel then, I believe. Coincidentally, when cleaning out some
old papers this week, I ran across the booklet ‘History of the 102nd Observation Squadron’, which was part of
the N.Y. National Guard I belonged to in 1930-33. We used to have our summer training at Pine Camp near
Watertown, New York. I also noted the omission of the OX-5 engine from the Museum’s collection. That was
one of the old, famous power plants with a great record. I am a member of the Illinois Chapter. As a suggestion,
when they place an OX-5 in their Museum, they should recognize the occasion with their annual fly-in at your
local airport. It is a big event with the OX-5 members annually.
Wallace additionally commended others, family members and friends, for accomplishments
in this field. Regarding a family friend’s appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, he wrote:
This news is so great it is deemed happy enough for a special edition of the Carroll Family Newsletter.
Jimmy (Wais) is the grandson of Ah Po Wong who started with us about 32 years ago... Jimmy worked hard
in all kinds of jobs, is a National Merit Scholar, cum laude, and was a star on the Lake Forest football team...
It all reminds me of when I was a similar Air Corps Cadet, except... I washed out after 5 months, developing
the genes, however, that made my son Pat an Airline Captain and several of the grandchildren and Barry are
also pilots.
16 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

CHAPTER
Four
Depression and War
You are learning about human nature, not always the best even in so called polite
circles. Back in 1926, I worked all summer pick and shovel on the railroad and after
college incidental expenses, etc., I went back to my second year at B.C. with $47 in
cash left. One guy couldn’t raise his down payment and was forced to drop out. I
lent him the $47 and got a note, which he never repaid. Tuition was $150 then. In
the depression in 1930 or so, I was broke and wrote him a letter asking for it. I got
the most scurrilous letter in return, to think that I should ask for it after all those
years! Treat people like you’d like to be treated and you’ll never have any problem
leading an organization. — Wallace E. Carroll (letter to his grandson Patrick J.
Carroll II, August 7, 1989)
Wallace moved to New York City at an ominous time: it was just months prior to the stock market
crash of October 1929. He stayed until 1933. 12 His first months in the city were not in the business
world, but as a military cadet with the 102nd Observation Squadron of the 27th Aviation National
Guard. With his wings clipped, Wallace spent much more time on the crash crew than in the air,
although he recalled going up as a passenger with a pilot captain to meet Charles Lindberg and
“fly the pattern” when he came to the field on a visit. He continued this reserve duty until 1933.
One event which fired the imagination of many young men of the time, including Wallace,
was the epoch transatlantic flight in 1927 of Charles Lindberg, “The Lone Eagle”. His aircraft,
a metal monocoque monoplane called “The Spirit of St. Louis” told the world that advances in
airframe and powerplant technology were about to make the airplane a reliable long-distance
transporter of people and cargo. That plane, incidentally, had among its primary navigation
instruments a magnetic induction compass calibrated by Ray Simpson, a young self-taught
electrical engineer. This brilliant and hard driving young man, who had attained little more
12
The Depression - Appendix III.
17

than an eighth-grade formal education, founded three pioneering companies in the electrical
instrument field and figured prominently in Wallace’s future.
Despite the growing unemployment in the city, in 1930, Wallace was hired by the New York
Telephone Company where he worked in the accounting department for three years. Consistent
with his search for and belief in the human element of management, he often contrasted his ideal
management style with the ambience of the New York Telephone Company. On the occasion of
the death of a long-time friend, Wallace wrote:
I was sad to hear of Tom…my closest friend at N.Y. Telephone. I remember how we both didn’t like the
bureaucracy of a big company which was solved for me by their black Friday in February 1933 when 17 from
our department were let go. We kept in touch over the years with our charade of his being my nephew and I, his
uncle. All such good friendships must come to an end, and we were fortunate to have one for so long.
Although Wallace Carroll often referred to the date of his lay-off as “that black Friday,”
he more commonly referred to this significant event as a distinct turning point in his career.
His old Taunton childhood friend, Allen Cusick, recalled: “Wallace was out of work and living
on the third floor again at Trescott Street. He and I used to go up there and talk and he had this
mail-order thing going. He was selling all kinds of things! We’d just talk and shoot ideas around.
About that time, it was really tough going. We’d walk a lot, with Chet Buckley too who was an
MIT graduate and a real smart guy. Wallace was a great walker. He’d go down County Street,
about five or six miles each way and he’d talk with Chet. He’d walk fast too: he was always in a
hurry. I believe this was a really critical time for Wallace, and a real turning point.”
This turning point directed Wallace back to his “first love” - manufacturing -, and demanded
the resurrection of his entrepreneurial instinct, intuition, and spirit:
The June 4th Research Institute ALERT report re terminations of white-collar workers is worth reading,
gives some pointers on techniques to make it easier. Blue collar workers with skills can usually soon find another
job. It is a difficult occasion and the more encouragement you can give, the easier it is for that person. You can
point out that perhaps they will be better off in the long run by the change, which often is true, and you can cite
me as an example. When I got laid off in the middle of the Depression in February of 1933, opportunities for
another job looked to be hopeless. High powered executives, if they didn’t jump out of windows, were selling
apples to get a little money for food. I was making $45 a week and seventeen of us walked the plank that
Friday. I remember telling old McDougal, the head of the department and a kind gentleman, that on the law
of averages, some of us out of the seventeen will be better off than if they stayed with the telephone company,
and I was going to be one of them!
I went back to Taunton and bought beautiful white broadcloth shirts in New Bedford for $1.50 and sold
them for $2.00. Meanwhile I was sending out resumes with little hope until I got a call from Col. Ashworth,
President of Reed & Barton in my hometown. He hired me as a time-study trainee at $18 a week, with no paid
holidays, vacations, or perks, which got me into manufacturing, my first love, and I went on from there. It took
me three years to get back up to $45 a week, when another company I went with sent me to Chicago at $50 a
week in 1936. The point of this story is to offer all the hope you can. Betterment is possible.
When Wallace began his first job with New York Telephone in 1930, Lelia Holden, his brideto-be,
was completing three years of nursing training in Taunton. Her training was interrupted
for a short time when she returned to Maine to take care of her father who was suffering from
pneumonia. Her father’s doctor urged her to return to Taunton to continue her training. She
followed his advice and graduated in 1930. Le recalls of her early nursing days: “I had one case, a
mother with two children who had pneumonia. We kept hot water bottles all around her to keep
18 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

her warm. We had to keep the windows open because she had to have oxygen. For some reason,
9 days was the magic number with pneumonia cases. We would wait patiently for 9 days, and it
always seemed things either got better or worse . . . she got better. I was getting $42 a week then
- I must have been on night duty.”
Wallace Carroll and Lelia Holden were together in Taunton from 1933 until 1936. Le
continued her nursing career and Wallace got his start in manufacturing and selling, first in
time-study with Reed & Barton, and then late in 1934 in the Sales Department of Federal Products
of Providence, Rhode Island. Wallace worked directly under Sinclair Weeks, one of the owners
at Reed & Barton who later became the Secretary of Commerce under President Eisenhower’s
administration. Reed & Barton was a prominent silverware manufacturer in Taunton. Wallace
worked for Sinclair Weeks for a year-and-a-half and proceeded to quit when he could not earn
more than $18 a week, which was the pay at which he started.
I never could get money out of that man... I kept losing ground with Weeks.
These tough years held some lighter times for Wallace, and he spent many of them with
Allen Cusick who by 1935 had completed his law degree at Harvard Law School and was
working in Providence: “The best a Harvard Law School graduate could get in those days was
$2,100 a year. I had to choose between a job in New York and one in Providence and started
working in Providence. By that time, Wallace had an across-the-counter job with Federal
Products and later moved into its merchandising and marketing side before leaving for Chicago
as a representative. We were quite close in those days. Wallace had a red coupe which was in
such terrible shape that he couldn’t even put antifreeze in it. He’d fill the radiator with kerosene
and sometimes when he’d drive me to work. my clothes would be full of that smell! Wallace was
romancing Le at the time. We used to go out on double dates together. I also had a friend, Jack
Ferrabee, down in Newport who had become friendly with a guy by the name of Frank Shields
[Brooke Shields’ father]. Frank was a top tennis player, and these guys were invited to all the big
coming out parties through the tennis circuit. I got into the circuit through Jack. I told Wallace
about the good life, and he got interested. We went down to Newport a few times and Wallace
even danced with a few beauties at some of these debutante parties, like Doris Duke of the Duke
University family. But he never got over charmed by the fancy life. He was happy to get back to
Taunton and Le and build it up himself instead of trying to marry into it and then get bounced
when it didn’t work out.”
Wallace finally left Reed & Barton late in 1934 for a job at Federal Products in Providence,
Rhode Island. After several months he was offered the chance to buy a one-third interest in
that precision gauge manufacturing concern. Wallace’s mother, and particularly his aunt Mabel
(known as “May’’) who was achieving some measure of success as an actress in Broadway
musicals in New York, gave him a $5,000 loan. The two-thirds partner was a man by the name of
Norman Redman. Wallace made his move to Chicago in 1936 as the company’s “Midwest Sales
manager” and started building this important market rapidly and profitably for the company.
His salary was set at $50 a week:
“He arrived in the Midwest on July 4. 1936. bringing with him his New England accent, and
an equally strong intention not to leave his girl, Lelia Holden, alone in the East too long. Like
everything Carroll sets his mind to, he carried out this resolve. Miss Holden became Mrs. Carroll
before the year was out, and both she and the accent are with him to this day.” 13
13
R.H. Eshelman, “Heated Debate Rages Over U.S. Tool Research,” Iron Age, July 25, 1963,
Chapter 4: Depression and War
19

Le followed Wallace to the Midwest in November of 1936, just days prior to their wedding
on November 7. A relative of Wallace’s recalls the marriage of Wallace and Lelia: “November
7th. Today has been tremendous. Spent the entire day with the bride. We all went down the hall
to Mass after the ceremony. Wallace and Father Dan had arranged a lovely breakfast. We had
chicken, a beautifully decorated bride’s cake, and ice cream, of course.”
Wallace’s and Le’s first child was born at St. Charles Hospital in Aurora, Illinois on August
24, 1937. He was christened Wallace Edward Carroll, Jr. He was later nicknamed “Pat” because
of his strong resemblance to his grandfather, Patrick J. Carroll.
Wallace and Le’s first home was a former hunting lodge which had been expanded into a
home. It was located on Duffy Lane, an unpaved road, in Bannockburn, Illinois. During the war,
Wallace and Le kept a cow for fresh milk and butter. Wallace and Le also acquired additional
land up to a total of 20 acres as the years went by. Wallace erected a barn and put a sign on it
“Lazy C Ranch” and bought some horses for his growing boys. While Wallace and Le Carroll
began to plan their family in the Midwest, Wallace struggled to find opportunities in the business
world. One of his top executives wrote: “The history of Wallace Carroll is synonymous with
the history of Katy Industries, the history of American Gage & Machine Company, the history
of International Metals & Machines, the history of American Machine & Science Inc., and the
history of what we commonly refer to as the building and real estate companies. The history
of the above-referenced companies really began in 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, when Wallace
established a company known as the Wacker Sales Corporation.” 14
Prior to starting out on his own as a sales representative in the Midwest, Wallace had
become disillusioned with his partnership in the Providence company:
The company’s gage line boomed under Carroll’s direction, but he soon
noticed that while, as minority partner, his compensation was fixed at $50
a week, his partner took raise after raise. So, Carroll sold out for the price
of his original investment. “That was the last partner I ever had,” said
Carroll. “I promised myself I’d operate alone after that, and I always
have to this day.”
The day Wallace sold his interest in the partnership back to Redman, he also paid back
both his mother and his aunt, with interest. He kept meticulous records of sums borrowed and
repaid always with the agreed upon interest, and he usually repaid early if he could manage
it. Although he often referred to the succession of events as luck, timing, or providence, it is
clear from his own words, memories, and recollections, that there is far more depth, effort, keen
perception, and strength of character to his success than mere luck or fate.
1940 was an ambitious year for Wallace. He asked his wife Lelia if she would mind doing
without a real home for a little longer. He wanted to start a business of his own and thought he
could turn the contacts he had made and familiarity he had acquired with the Chicago market
into a good sales representative business if he could get some good lines to handle. Lelia agreed,
although this represented some inconvenience with two small boys (one an infant) and their
modest, even primitive, rented quarters in Winnetka. The move to Deerfield was at least out in
the country to give the youngsters some running room, but the quarters were still rented and
primitive. He often referred to those living quarters in writing:
14
Morrow B. Garrison, Speech: “The History of Wallace E. Carroll, 1981.
20 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

You asked how I got started in business. It was through my friendship with Al Sonntag who ran a Division
of Ametek in East Moline, Illinois. He was a great engineer from Dusseldorf to whom I sold dial indicators.
I wanted to be on my own as a rep since I was then working for a Providence concern. He started me off [in
1940] with $200 a month. drawing account, selling his Reihle testing machines. Mrs. Carroll and I moved into
a summer cottage at $25 a month. It was built on stilts one foot off the ground and in winter I piled bales of
hay along the open spaces to keep the wind from coming up through the floor. Heat was a pot-bellied stove, and
the utilities were all outside, including the pump for water. There was no basket anywhere under me in case I
failed.
Wallace founded Wacker Sales Corporation and became the Chicago representative for
Riehle Testing Machines. His $200 a month draw just equaled the $50 a week job he had just
left, but before the year was out, he added the BC Ames Dial Indicator account, and some
additional smaller accounts as well: “By that time, it was 1940 and the British, desperately trying
to catch up with a rearmed and resurgent Germany they thought they had put down forever
some 20 years before, went on a defense buying spree in the U.S. In Carroll’s [product] area, the
British Purchasing Commission found that local industry simply couldn’t supply its appetite for
gauges.” 15
Wallace further wrote:
Two years later, in 1942, with additional lines and success, bought us a $20,000 home on five acres,
beautifully landscaped. There’s nothing like real estate. The sellers of the property were the manufacturers
of most of the Halloween corn candy [Goelitz] you saw at the time and whose company furnished all the jelly
beans to President Reagan a couple of years ago. Sonntag could never understand why I left New England for
the Middle West since he loved Westchester [New York] and wanted to get there. I was able to help him with
my continued success with Size Control, which I started in 1941, loaning him $20,000 for 20% for his venture
in Greenwich, which he and his wife [Christine] sold to Dow Corning for $2.5 million shortly before they both
died from cancer, childless. I am the Trustee for the Sonntag Foundation for Cancer Research, to which they
left their estate.
In 1939, as war broke out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the
establishment of the War Resources Board by the joint action of the War and Navy Departments.
In January of 1942, after several changes in name and form, this commission, designed to
coordinate defense production, was termed the War Production Board (WPB). The WPB, in
effect, symbolized “civilian supremacy in industrial mobilization during the war.” 16 Aiding the
United States in an efficient transition from peace to war were industrial manufacturers of
machine tools and related equipment, such as Wallace Carroll, who were flexible in organizing
their industries for war. Defense contracts were crucial to success in industry in the early 1940s
and the shortage in the supply of gauges was one of the most serious problems connected with
inspection of plants for industrial mobilization.
Wallace Carroll had focused his business interests on this market before major industrial
mobilization for war had commenced in the United States. In 1940, there was a very favorable
market in England for gauges and the British were hungry for gauging material to increase their
production. In 1941, just six days before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Wallace started Size
Control Company. He often said, when referring to that year and the years ahead:
The harder I worked, the luckier I got.
15
VIPortrait: Wallace E. Carroll, 1962.
16
Industrial Mobilization for War. Washington D.C.: 1947.
Chapter 4: Depression and War
21

Wallace based Size Control’s original product line on a simple but elegant innovation which
he had devised for plug gauges. He took a hexagonal shank which was convenient to hold in his
hand, and attached two hex aluminum end pieces which each held a precision plug gauge. One
end piece he had anodized red, and this held a gauge at the top limit of the tolerance of the hole
size to be measured. The other end piece he anodized green which held a gauge machined to the
bottom tolerance. If a hole was the correct size, the green end would go in, but the red would not.
This was the “go no go” gauge which was a convenient way of confirming hole size, requiring
little skill for an accurate measurement.
“The company was started on a shoestring, namely $500 for an old cylindrical grinder
that had been left standing out in the weather for a period of about six months. The shop that
was rented was a small building with 2,500 square feet, no doors, windows, or lights, primarily
because G-men had raided there in earlier years and the property had not been renovated since
the raid. Mr. Carroll ran Size Control as a sole proprietor from 1941 to 1945.” 17
On the occasion of the death of business associate and close friend, Pete Sommer, many
years later, Wallace Carroll personally recalled the details of the founding of Size Control in
1941:
Pete was the first one hired at Size Control and without his shop talents, Size could not have gotten off the
ground. We bought our first machine on a cold, sleet, and rainy day in November 1941, from Bendix in South
Bend. The cost? - $500 and covered with grease to protect it from the weather since it was outside in the yard.
We moved it to a 2,000 square foot building that had been raided by the Revenuers because the former occupants
had been piping gas from an abandoned house next door for the stills. The doors were knocked off, light fixtures
and wires ripped out, etc. Pete wired up the machine at night, since he was still employed elsewhere, while the
lights from my car in the doorway gave him illumination. Thereafter the struggle continued with Size and the
Carroll family always being short of money because of continued growth. Machines and equipment of all kinds
were scrounged up here and there and every Saturday afternoon, a buying trip along the used machinery and
junk dealers on Lake Street added more tooling to our magnificent collection. I know Size could never have
gotten going under today’s bureaucratic harassment. Pete stayed with Size for about 37 years, twice taking a
sabbatical to try his wings, the third time being successful with his Diagrind Company. He was part of the saga
of Size Control, the forerunner of American Gage & Machine and eventually Katy Industries, also IMM and
AMSI, and will be sorely missed as a friend and business associate.
Pete was only one of many of Wallace’s employees who started on the shop floor and,
through hard work and merit, went on to become presidents of divisions and subsidiaries, and,
in a few cases, other companies.
Wallace operated on a defense plant status throughout World War II. He broadened the
product line and added his own centerless lapping machine which was developed primarily
to increase his own manufacturing capacity. In 1943, he acquired the Owens Thread Gage
Company, and, with it, a talented young engineer named Tom Owen who joined the growing Size
team. That same year, he acquired the Burdick Thread Roll Die Company to broaden his lines
further. In order to maintain his own gauge standards, as well as satisfy the demand throughout
Chicago for gauge calibration and certification, he soon set up the metrology lab which later
became Midwest Gage Laboratory. It was also during this time that he met Bud Breitenstein
who refers to Wallace Carroll as “one of the greatest, if not the greatest person” he ever met in
his life. Bud first knew of Wallace during the war when the company he was working for, Bally
Manufacturing, had a government contract for manufacturing fuses.
17
Garrison, speech, 1981.
22 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

“We were manufacturing fuses for projectiles, this was around 1942, and we had the need
for plug gages. Size Control came out with this double-ended plug gage so that when one end
wore out you could reverse it and use the other end: you could get more life out of it. I was
running Bally at the time. I was Chief Engineer, and I was in charge of the whole plant as well.
So, after the war terminated, I didn’t see Wallace until he bought the place. He started with Bally
because he had the need for a lot of step tools and I designed the machinery for making the step
tools, also I was really responsible for the overall success and the manufacturing of this fuse.” 18
It was in the postwar period that Wallace began to acquire full-fledged companies rather
than product lines. The gauge business was contracting along with defense production and, while
others expected a resumption of the Depression, Wallace sensed opportunities in an expanding
peacetime economy and decided to diversify instead of shrinking his operations. In addition
to his “luck” and hard work, Wallace attributes the persistent strength of his companies to his
division heads and his employees. He wrote nearly twenty years later, in 1962:
Our real strength is in our division heads. The man I lured away from his first, only and unlamented
partner in 1940 to help found Size Control is today’s president of that division, Pete Sommer, and today’s
manager of the Wacker Sales Division is Jeanne Dodig, who started in 1940 as my first employee. 19
In addition to the hands-on management lessons connected with the development of a
company from its very beginnings, Wallace credits his principles concerning quality control to
experiences at Size Control. In a memo entitled, “Notching Upward in Quality, Deliverance, and
Customer Acceptance,” he wrote:
The Chicago Tribune Article “Industries Pressure Suppliers Over Quality Costs” speaks strongly of a new
era in manufacturing, and that higher standards can be applied to all businesses besides manufacturing. We
are all aware of these higher standards since there is plenty of media attention to it. Some of our companies
are in the forefront of this movement, some make some effort, while others give only lip service or none at all.
What this article says is either up-grade your performance in all phases of your operation or eventually get
sold or go out of business. As has been said from this office, it is easier to do a thing right and cheaper in the
first place than to do it wrong. By upgrading your methods and technology, routine operations become easier
and less costly and tough requirements become easier, in some cases where they were impossible. I recall in our
early days at Size Control we were struggling to make ordinary plug gauges to a tolerance of 50 millionths
of an inch in accuracy in a cold room not much better than a freezer room. Along came Bell & Howell, who
needed 20 millionths inches for the Norden Bomb sight they were making. We geared up for closer accuracy,
put in a constant temperature lapping room, upgraded our instruments and gauge blocks and in no time were
meeting the new standards. The ordinary gauges were duck soup to make and cheaper, our reputation spread,
and we were able to cut even that close tolerance in half to ten millionths and less, a lesson we never forgot.
Size Control now works to accuracy that no one in the U.S. can meet, work coming from England regularly
for finishing.
We urge you, therefore, to raise your sights in all phases of operations: quality,
delivery, promises, cost, personnel, equipment, etc. Be known as a solid dependable
vendor and you will join the elite and prosper.
18
Bud Breitenstein, Interview with Eddie Miller, August 23, 1990. Wallace later acquired Spiral Step Tool from Bud.
19
VIPortrait: Wallace E. Carroll, 1962.
Chapter 4: Depression and War
23

CHAPTER
Five
Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
The Acquisition Strategy of Wallace Carroll: 1945-1968
The career of Wallace Carroll, that modest, yet complex man -should prove fascinating. Here is a great chess
player, moving an extraordinary number of pieces against a formidable adversary, adversity, and the hazards
of business, and creating, in the course of the game, a commonwealth of companies, managers working
toward individual yet common goals. And I suspect, beyond all this creativity, a deeply philosophical thinker.
~ Joe F. Dauber
In 1945, Wallace acquired Walsh Press & Die Company. Size Control and Walsh Press & Die
became the first two operating divisions of what was to become the holding company, American
Gage, and Machine Company (AGM). After the AGM framework was set up in 1948, years of
acquisitions, growth, and success ensued. The acquisitions followed not so much a pattern
of integration in one business or industry as an underlying philosophy, and a wholehearted
commitment to this philosophy, which Wallace Carroll continued to develop and refine through
the years. He consistently relied on his economic insight and his ability to assess and choose a
talented team.
Beginning with the acquisition of Walsh Press & Die Company, Wallace’s approach included
the following tenets:
The company must be well established in its industry; the company must have
a reputation for the highest integrity in all its dealings with personnel, customers,
and vendors; the products should be of the highest quality, and should be sold on the
basis of quality, service, and price; the company and products should demand respect
from competitors; preferably, the company should be owned by a family or by only
a few people.
After an acquisition, Wallace’s operating philosophy was to keep the company as a largely
freestanding, autonomous operation. The division or subsidiary head should have complete
24 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

authority and responsibility for all phases of the operation except major bank loans and capital
investments. These were subject to approval of the board of directors or executive committee of
the home office. In the transition period, any changes were encouraged to be made “by evolution
rather than revolution.” 20
The basic objectives after acquisition of well-established companies included product
improvement and introduction of new products; expansion of manufacturing capacity by
extension of modernization; expanded sales activity to promote growth and profits; and
appending other acquisitions with a common denominator of market. After the establishment
of AGM, acquisitions were frequent. They are presented here in chronological order, covering
the time period of 1945 to 1970, but excluding the merger with Katy Industries.
Wallace acquired Walsh Press & Die Company in 1945. The company was founded in 1907 by
Harry C.H. Walsh. The prospects for this equipment, used extensively for war production, were
uncertain in the coming peace time economy. Upon the sale of the company and the retirement
of Mr. Walsh, Wallace appointed Eugene Weyler, a young German engineer, as president of
the company. Although many opinion leaders voiced fears of an impending slide back into
the Depression, Wallace had correctly anticipated that there would be enormous demand for
consumer goods in the post war economy. Weyler embarked on the development of modernized
and expanded equipment to meet the great growth and demand for this type of machinery:
“When Mr. Carroll took over Walsh Press and Die Co, I was the General Manager. When
the new management took over, orders started to come in and it was necessary to use the 40- to
60-year-old machine tool equipment at its highest possible production capacity. During the first
year and a half, 2 or 3 new pieces of equipment were purchased. Over 90% of our old equipment
was belt driven and, due to large orders, we worked around the clock seven days a week. Walsh
built approximately 3,000 presses between 1907 and 1945. At the time Mr. Carroll took over in
June 1945, 2 to 3 presses were being shipped per month. After 18 months under new management,
we manufactured 110 presses per month, and from 1945 to now [1969], we shipped close to 8,000
presses. Our employee turnover is practically nil. We all are very proud to be able to accomplish
things at Walsh. Our eighteen-year record indicates the operation we have under Mr. Carroll’s
direction. Actually, there is nothing unusual about it: it is strictly common sense, takes good
engineering, good management, and good teamwork with all participating.” 21
Ray Simpson sold Simpson Electric Company to Wallace who borrowed heavily to finance
the purchase of this company which was doing more than one and a half million in sales per
year. Ray Simpson continued as nominal or honorary Chairman of the Board. The company
had operated for many years at a plant on the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Indian Reservation
in Northern Wisconsin employing up to 60 members of this tribe. In 1951, Wallace was inducted
into the tribe and was given an Native American name, which translated as “Chief Blue Sky.”
The company expanded its manufacturing capacity with a string of plants in Flambeau, Mercer,
Lincoln and Eagle River, Wisconsin, as well as Aurora and Elgin, Illinois. When Wallace acquired
the company, he made no changes in Simpson personnel. Throughout the years, Wallace always
maintained an extreme loyalty to his employees:
Wallace’s “luck” and intuitive sense of timing were impeccable as the North Koreans
invaded South Korea in 1951 and war production was again geared up. This time Wallace could
20
Garrison, speech.
21
Report submitted to Wallace E. Carroll by E.J. Weyler of Walsh Press and Die Co: May 13, 1963.
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
25

furnish not just gauges, but presses for stampings, screw machine parts and panel meters, and
electrical test equipment.
Wallace organized Building Management Corporation in 1951 to manage the growing group
of company properties and loft buildings which he had assembled. Morrow Garrison recalls a
story concerning Wallace Carroll’s fiery meeting and dealings in 1941 with Dick Ryan, whom
Wallace later appointed as the first president of Building Management Corporation and later
Illinois Property Management Company as well:
“It seems that soon after Mr. Carroll came to Chicago, he was looking for a place to get his
business started. He contacted a local realtor by the name of Dick Ryan who indicated to Mr.
Carroll that he had a facility which might be adequate for his needs, but he did not have time
at the present to go show him the facility. He let him have the key to go inspect it on his own.
It seems that Dick kind of forgot about turning the key over to Mr. Carroll for a month or so
and finally he had another prospect that was interested in the property. Not finding the key,
after a search, Dick then commented that “now he remembered giving the key to that Irishman
who didn’t return it.” Dick then went to the building and there in the middle of the floor was
one machine going like hell, producing parts. Mr. Carroll then negotiated with Dick to buy the
building. Dick became president of Building Management Corporation and was busy a great
deal of his time finding property either to house the businesses that Mr. Carroll was acquiring
or in purchasing real estate as an investment.” 22
Real estate investments became the cornerstone on which much of Wallaces’ wealth was
founded. In these early days, he began to buy loft buildings on the West Side of Chicago. Old line
family businesses had moved out of the area or closed down. The financing cost often compared
favorably with the rate of inflation and the rental market for the property gave an attractive
return. As Size Control grew, Wallace began investing surplus cash in real estate. At one time,
he owned at least twelve buildings on the West Side and Near North Side. He understood the
use of leverage to generate capital for growth and many of the buildings were mortgaged six
times to obtain cash to finance another purchase. Wallace also acquired land and buildings in
Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Missouri, Florida, Mississippi, Minnesota, and any other place that the
companies were expanding. His standard rule was that when new factories were to be built,
the subsidiary management should always try to buy as much real estate as possible for future
use. After 1955, Wallace began to acquire land near LeWa Farm and by 1990 the Carroll family
owned 675 acres in Lake Forest.
Wallace acquired Affiliated Screw Products Company in 1952. Founded in 1946, Affiliated was
a large supplier of parts to Size Control Company and Simpson Electric Company.
In 1953, Wallace added Batavia Body Company, originally established in 1854. The company
custom built wood and metal refrigerated bodies on motor truck chassis for transporting and
distributing perishable food products.
Midwest Gage Laboratory was established as an outgrowth of Size Control’s metrology
lab in 1953. This expansion reflected Wallace’s lifelong fascination with precision and quality
control going back to his Reed & Barton days. In May of 1973, Midwest Gage Laboratory’s name
was changed to LeWa Company, and the metrology lab operation was continued by Size Control
Company; LeWa Company went on to become an independent real estate holding company of
substantial size with Building Management Company as a subsidiary.
22
Ibid.
26 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Jennings and Company, established in 1906 and located down Lake Street about a mile from
Simpson, was also acquired in 1954. The company specialized in vending machines and gaming
equipment. It later became a division of TJM Corporation. When Wallace Carroll acquired the
O.D. Jennings Company, he was very impressed with the attorney who was handling the estate.
That young attorney was Melvin Jacobs who became Chief Corporate Counsel, advisor, and
confidant of Wallace Carroll, until his death in 1985.
In 1956, Wallace acquired Diehl Machines in Wabash, Indiana. This company was founded
in 1909 and specialized in the manufacture of mass production woodworking machines. Diehl
became a steady foundation for future growth by acquisition. It also brought Wallace his first
corporate aircraft, a modest late model D18 Twin Beech which he promptly put to work. He also
hired Bill Lynch, a World War 2 fighter pilot, who had been a machinist at Diehl, to fly the Beech.
Bill was Wallace’s pilot for many years, until Wallace bought a Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander in
the early 1970s. Bill continued his flying for Diehl in a G18 and a Queen Air until his retirement.
One outgrowth of the newfound flexibility which the corporate plane gave Wallace was a trip
in which he visited three prospective acquisitions in one day in 1957.
Standard Transformer Company of Warren, Ohio was one of these companies. This company
had been established in 1919 and manufactured a varied line of specialty transformers. A
significant event connected with the Standard acquisition was the securing of the services of
Mr. Chet Buckley to operate the plant. Chet shortly thereafter became President of Standard,
eventually President of American Gage & Machine Company, and the first Chairman of
International Metals & Machines, Inc. Chet Buckley was another Taunton Irishman and a
childhood friend who had pursued a career with the local power company in Taunton.
In the late 1950s, Wallace was elected president of the Tool and Die Institute in Chicago. In
1957, he became the head of the metalworking division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
In this position, he developed the mobilization plans for the entire machine tool industry to be
used in the event of another shift to wartime production. Wallace was also a member of the
Economic Policy Committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce from 1959 through
1965, and a member of the U.S. trade missions to India 1958-59, the United Arab Republic in
1960, and Ireland and Portugal in 1966. In one of his many journal entries, he wrote in Ireland:
Eamon de Valera, President of Ireland and retired as Prime Minister, was most cordial and spoke on
many subjects. The President is 77 and celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary last Friday, which is not easy
to do because the Irish marry so late in life, around 30, mostly for economic reasons. He lives on a large estate
adjoining the park and I was shown into his office in his large house promptly at eleven o’clock. He is a mild
and philosophical man, although at one time the most sought-after Irish rebel of his time, having spent many
years in British jails, as did Nehru, whom I saw last year. In fact, the general layout of both houses was quite
alike, and it was a thrill and an honor to meet two such great leaders of their respective people. His mother
was a Carroll from the same general area that my father came from, as was the mother of Chicago’s Mayor
Martin Kennelly, so I’m claiming kinship to both these fine men and I’m sure the claim is valid if we go back
far enough!
Later Wallace served as president of the National Machine Tool Builders Association
(NMTBA) from 1962 until 1964. During these years, he made his mark as a spokesman for the
industry. As president of the NMTBA, Wallace worked with the federal government and other
associations to develop a better climate for capital formation in the nation’s manufacturing base
and to support modernization. Wallace proposed a government credit agency and endorsed
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
27

esearch in all areas of the industry. He predicted that increased sales would mean larger profits
for builders. This profit would improve credit facilities and enable modernizers to build their
own plants.
Wallace also foresaw increased foreign competition as the industry’s domestic backlogs
decreased. He made a point to understand overseas markets and developments in foreign
competition. By 1967, he expected that his operations would spread more into the West Coast
and overseas. He noted that in Europe labor rates were one-third of those of the U.S, while in
Asia they were 5 percent of the U.S. He also noted the tax benefits and unlimited depreciation
of foreign investment. While Wallace preferred to manufacture in the U.S., he knew that a halfforeign
company was better for the U.S. than no U.S. company at all.
Wallace acquired Champion Pneumatic Machinery Company in 1958 from a small ownership
group which included Frank Embs. The company was founded in 1912. Frank continued to run
the company until 1966, when he retired to be succeeded by George McKewen, an electrical
engineer with a strong marketing background in compressors acquired at Westinghouse. Also
acquired at approximately the same time as Champion was Cameron Miller Surgical Instrument
Company in Chicago near the University of Illinois’ Circle campus.
Because of the growing volume of castings used by the group, Wallace acquired the Indiana
Mackay Foundry Corporation in 1958. Established in 1922, this foundry specialized in large
iron and aluminum castings and related products. After considerable investments but chronic
labor problems from a recalcitrant union, the company was disposed of in 1972. Wallace learned
vividly the lesson that a hidebound union could kill off even the most promising enterprise.
Also in 1958, Wallace acquired Hershey Manufacturing Company. Founded in 1939, it
manufactured electronic strobe lighting equipment for photography, airport lighting equipment,
and specialty engineered lighting systems. The company was put under Lou Urban’s wing of the
Jennings Company but was never profitable. It was later discontinued and absorbed into TJM
Corporation, another subsidiary.
In 1958, Wallace started Manufacturers Acceptance Corporation as a service organization
to handle the financing of product sales to customers who preferred to buy on extended terms,
notes or leases, and the off-balance sheet financing of capital equipment by sister operating
companies. It was ably managed for many years by accountant Ed Hayes.
In 1959, Wallace established another service company, Data Processing Incorporated to
provide a computer data processing bureau with the latest technology for all the companies
of the growing group and to act as a service company for commercial and industrial firms.
It acquired the group’s first mainframe computer, an IBM 360, model 20, with a punch card
operating system which replaced Simpson’s unit record accounting machines. It was housed at
Simpson’s Elgin plant under the leadership of Ken Iles and, with the addition of a 360 Mod 30
and later a 370 computer, wound up servicing primarily Simpson Electric and LaBour Pump
Company. Wallace always insisted on keeping up with technology.
In 1960, Wallace acquired Columbia Research & Development Corporation. This corporation
had been organized in 1949 to engage in research, design, development, fabrication and testing
of both prototype and production machinery and equipment.
Snow Manufacturing Company, established by Herman Goldberg in 1920, was acquired by
Wallace in 1961. Morrow (“Gary”) B. Garrison perhaps has the best insight to the importance of
28 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Snow in Wallace’s acquisition history. Gary’s career also lends some personal insight to Wallace’s
character. Gary came to Snow in June of 1964, after working with Arthur Anderson for two
years and then with a twist drill and reamer manufacturer, Avildsen Tools and Machines, Inc.
on Chicago’s west side. He responded and was replaced by Arch Weindorf (then Treasurer and
Vice president at AGM) for a position at Snow:
“I went out there to see the company and I liked the people. Snow was acquired as a
separate company in one of Mr. Carroll’s trusts. Chet Buckley once gave a speech using the Snow
acquisition as a model entitled: ‘How Jonah Swallowed the Whale’.
Snow was acquired with leverage, with a $25,000 capitalization of the acquiring company,
a $303,000 loan from Building Management Corporation and notes to the former owner for
$600,000. In acquiring Snow, Mr. Carroll acquired a company that had cash in the bank in
excess of a quarter of a million dollars and an earning capacity that would allow the company
to pay for itself in three years. It was basically a $25,000 investment: with a lot of debt, but Snow
repaid the debt and acquired seven companies over the next eight years. It was a wonderful
acquisition. Having been in the accounting area, I found Snow a veritable gold mine to apply
some of my theories and techniques for cost control and good management data.
Tom Owen became president of Snow. His company was the first acquisition Mr. Carroll
ever made. Tom owned a little company that his father started which manufactured reversible
thread gauges. Mr. Carroll recognized Tom’s innate ability to analyze and solve problems
associated with very close tolerance manufacturing. Tom headed the thread gauge division of
Size Control until 1961, when he became president of Snow.
It was in June of 1964 that I came to Snow. Most of the company was on vacation at the time
and I had a chance to get into the records without interruption. Snow was very profitable in terms
of percentage of sales. It was always growing steadily. When an acquisition was available, we
were fortunate enough to have the wherewithal to make a down payment. Some of the companies
we acquired in those early years included: Master Machine Tools, Hinz Lithographing, Hinz
Publishing, Gaertner Scientific, the Hawthorne Bank of Wheaton [Snow acquired a controlling
interest in 1966], and the Johnson K-Line Company. We also made an investment in Ordinance
Engineering Associates, known today as OEA and a very successful American Stock Exchange
company. Our investment in OEA was $58,500 and today that investment is worth $15 million.
We made a very good investment in a growing company.” 23
Snow and Building Management Corporation, which were owned independently outside of AGM,
came to form the nuclei of two independent manufacturing groups and extensive real estate
holdings. These two companies experienced internal growth and sought additional acquisitions.
Later, Wallace formed another real estate subsidiary called Illinois Property Management for
a similar purpose. Wallace Carroll used real estate like a savings bank account but got a much
better return.
The early 60s also saw the acquisition of LaBour Pump Company, with branches in both
Elkhart, Indiana and British Labour Pump Company in London, England. With the owners
retired from the business, Wallace relied on two brothers, Englishmen and engineers, Gordon,
and John Bullen to carry on the U.S. and British businesses respectively.
In addition, Wallace negotiated successfully for Elgiloy, a “spin off” from the Elgin Watch
Company in 1964. Under the leadership of Don McLeod, Elgiloy was able to boast that it paid for
itself from profits within 3 and a half to 4 years.
23
Ibid,
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
29

In the early 1960s, Wallace acquired Sterling Salem Corporation in Salem, Ohio from Llyod
Parker. It was the only independent company which, largely because of its connection with
Standard Transformer, was sold with the AGM group to Katy in 1970. It was later sold in 1979 to
another trailer manufacturer.
The birth of American Machine and Science Inc. (AMSI) really began with Wallace’s
acquisition of Snow Manufacturing Co. Snow continued to operate at 435 Eastern Avenue in
Bellwood, Il., primarily in the manufacture and sale of electro-pneumatic drilling and tapping
machinery and related products. The company was always profitable and generated excess cash
to make other investments. “New Snow” purchased Goldberg’s real estate on Eastern Avenue,
and, at the same time (September 1961), the stock of Chelco Corp., an Illinois corporation.
On November 30, 1966, Snow purchased 148,526 shares of Firth-Sterling Inc. common stock
from Pullman Incorporated. Firth made specialty stainless steel and alloy sheets. The stock was
paid for by Snow out of earnings. Consequently, Wallace went on the Firth board of directors.
Several years after the purchase, Firth Sterling merged with Teledyne and Snow received one
share of Teledyne stock for each nine shares of Firth-Sterling stock held. The Teledyne stock was
sold in 1972, and the proceeds of this sale were used in part to purchase 20,000 additional shares
of Katy Industries. In November of 1966, Snow purchased a small business investment company
whose main asset was 177,567 shares of Ordinance Engineering Associates common stock. The
company expanded through the years under the leadership of Ahmad D. Kafadar and his son,
Dr. Charles B. Kafadar. It eventually obtained a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under its
new name, OEA INC.
Snow continued to be profitable and generate excess cash, and on March 8, 1968, Snow
purchased 10,153 of 12,000 outstanding shares of the Hawthorne Bank of Wheaton.
Hawthorne prospered under the leadership of Ken Obrecht and later Bill Davis. In the early
1980s, however, this bank was caught with too large a long-term bond portfolio amidst soaring
interest rates. It was decided by the AMSI board in 1983 that AMSI should sell the bank. Garrison
approached a number of potential buyers but only one, Sears Bank and Trust Company, had
a strong interest. A deal was made to trade the Bank for a troubled real estate development,
Mariners Cove, which the bank had foreclosed several years before. Mariners was to be a highly
successful introduction of Wallace’s group to real estate development.
In 1968, Wallace acquired Triner Scale Company in Chicago, a manufacturer of mailroom
processing lines and the Health-O-Meter line of balance scales for home and medical uses. Ted
Jansey, who sold him the company, continued to run it while playing a very active role in the
local YPO (Young Presidents Organization). In the four months before it was sold, it never made
a single monthly profit.
On October 27, 1969, American Machine & Science purchased Gaertner Scientific
Corporation, a Delaware Corporation. When Robert Steinman chose to leave the company
several years later, Wallace put his old friend Joe Dauber, from his gauge selling days, in charge.
Bill James, successor to Dauber, made an attractive offer for the company and bought it from
AMSI in the early 1980s.
Snow Manufacturing purchased the assets of Hinz Publishing and Hinz Lithographing
Company from Herman F. Hinz in 1969. Hinz Publishing consistently lost money due primarily
to the difficult inventory control problem inherent to the greeting card business, but the printing
30 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

company prospered. On May 29, 1974, the Board of Directors accepted an offer from Gallant
Greetings to sell all of the assets of the greeting card company.
Hinz Publishing was subsequently named Quasar Contemporaries by Gallant after the
name of their most successful greeting card line. In the 1980s Hinz Lithographing expanded
vigorously and profitably under the leadership of Lloyd Shin into the small web printing business,
specializing in high quality four color catalog and direct mail printing, Wallace recalled:
After two disappointments in finding new managers to fill Herman Hinz’s shoes when he retired, we were
ready to liquidate the company when Gary [Morrow Garrison] recalled that Lloyd Shin had been controller
there and knew the business before he moved to the AMSI home office controllership. We decided to give Lloyd
one last shot at turning it around. He had it in the black in six weeks and it has been solidly profitable ever
since.
Lloyd commented on Wallace’s management philosophy:
“The basic ingredient of his management style is autonomous and decentralized operation.
In the 1960s and 70s, most of the management philosophers and teachers taught MBA students
and corporations one thing: how to control. The name of the game was control. At that time,
every business wanted to build a massive organizatoin. There was hardly any room for creativity.
Contrary to all this general trend, Mr. Carroll pursued an opposite direction: autonomy and
decentralization. His concept of autonomous operation came from his deep understanding of
the human mind. He believes that human beings tend to be creative when they are free to think
and act any way they want to without any central interference. People who have worked for him
over the years have enjoyed their jobs and contributed a lot to the growth of his enterprises. His
managers stay with the organization for a long time.
Today, the whole business world is caught up with his management concept. Even Russians
are working with Mr. Carroll’s management style under the name of perestroika and glasnost.”
When Snow purchased the two companies from Herman Hinz, they shared the real estate
at 1750 West Central Road, Mt. Prospect, Ill., consisting of approximately 50,000 square feet
of land and a building of 27,000 feet. At that time, another small AMSI Real Estate subsidiary,
Chelco Corporation, purchased the real estate from Hinz and leased the building to the operating
companies.
In an abortive foray into a new and immature technology, Snow Manufacturing purchased
25,000 shares of International Holographics on December 29, 1969. The company was
established by physicist Dr. Tung H. Jeong of Lake Forest College to manufacture holograms,
primarily for display purposes. This company did not succeed as the technology was still quite
young with few acceptable applications. The shareholders agreed to settle all the bills after three
years and to dissolve the corporation. Garrison later remarked: “Too bad we did not recognize
the potential for holograms being used as anti-counterfeit devices on present day credit cards.”
Also in December of 1969, Snow purchased the stock of Master Machine Tools, Inc., a Kansas
corporation, engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of special machine tools. At
about the time of the Master acquisition, Wallace also bought the Johnson and K-line companies
in Rockford Illinois, two small and closely allied companies that manufactured multiple spindle
drill heads for industry. Gary Garrison commented on the development of American Machine &
Science Co.:
“In early 1970, by virtue of the fact that we [Snow] had made all of these investments, it
was becoming rather unwieldy to administer the holding company activity from Snow, so we
established a new holding company. Snow Manufacturing’s name was changed to American
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
31

Machine & Science Inc. as the holding company, and the Snow Manufacturing division was
spun off as an operating company. Tom Carroll, no relation, one of the former owners of Master,
became president of AMSI and I became Chief Financial Officer. In 1979, Tom Carroll resigned,
and I was elected president. We made a number of acquisitions under my reporting umbrella
which were very profitable. At the time I had joined Snow, all companies had sales in the $30-
35 million range. Today, total sales [including Katy and IMM] are $700 million a year. It’s been a
fabulous career for me, and one which has allowed us to really show what we can do. That has
always been the philosophy of Mr. Carroll.”
It was in early February of 1971 that the home office of AMSI was moved to Elgin, Illinois
from Bellwood, Illinois. Other independent companies also needed the benefit of a home office
operation to centralize the tasks of accounting consolidation, tax return preparation and the
purchasing of various insurance coverages.
International Metals & Machines (IMM), a conglomerate of privately owned companies, was
incorporated in Delaware on April 5, 1966. The original directors were Chet Buckley (also the
first president of IMM), Arch Weindorf, and Vice Admiral Richard F. Whitehead (USN, Ret.).
The conglomerate was owned by trusts set up earlier by Wallace. The new parent company was
formed by trading the stock of Diehl and Champion Pneumatic for IMM stock.
Hodgman Manufacturing Company, a maker of sprinkler heads and valves for fire
prevention and control, was purchased immediately with a loan from Rhode Island Hospital
Trust. Hodgman, in Taunton, Mass., was founded by Willis Hodgman, a fine old gentleman and
former mayor of Taunton. For Wallace, this was a return to his roots and gave him a great deal
of satisfaction. However, the industry was fragmented and dominated by such integrated giants
as Grinnel and, after Willis’ retirement, presidents Bill Gray and Bill Navin tried in vain to make
satisfactory profits. Finally, in the late 1970s, it was sold to its large West German distributor
who had no better luck.
Wallace acquired BM Root on June 5, 1969, for $1.5 million. Root, a manufacturer of
woodworking machines, was a good complement for Diehl. In December of 1969, BM Root was
sold to Ludlow.
In 1970, Deister and Park Rubber were purchased. Later in that same year, on October 15,
the IMM Profit Sharing plan was formed for all nonunion employees of the group not in the
bonus plan. The IMM group coalesced quickly as Chet and Wallace brought George McKewen
up from his highly successful tenure as Frank Emb’s replacement at Champion. George, with
his Westinghouse background was familiar with the management techniques employed by that
large, diversified company. He set up a small headquarters operation on the fourth floor of the
Ludlow building, at 2032 North Clybourne Avenue in Chicago which served both the private IMM
group and the partially public Ludlow Industries Group in which Wallace now had a controlling
interest. This was Wallace’s first attempt at taking some of his interests public.
Deister Concentration was bought from Allan Stone and members of the original founding
family in 1970. It manufactures coal washing tables and other systems for concentrating
mineral ores for the mining industry. This old-line company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a fairly
steady profit contributor under Stone’s able management. Along with the acquisition came a
young mining engineer named Carlos Tiernon who became president upon Stone’ s retirement.
Deister acquired related product lines through the years and developed floatation concentration
technology under Carlos and his successor, John Christophersen. In 1983, Carlos who had done
32 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

an exemplary job of managing Deister through 8 deep recessions in the mining industry was
promoted to Executive Vice President of IMM and continued his outstanding contribution to the
development of the group.
Wallace bought Park Rubber Company in Lake Zurich, also in 1970 from family ownership.
George Field, one of the former owners of the company, continued to manage it.
In 1971, Ludlow purchased Sasmats UK, another small typographic company, and Cowles
Tool Company. Cowles in Cleveland, Ohio, manufactures rotary slitting knives, precision
circular knives used to slit rolls of steel to usable widths. Under the leadership of Ab Rheem of
the founding family, and later his protege Ray Zimmer, Cowles made fairly consistent profits and
improved its manufacturing technology. The next year, Ludlow purchased two more companies:
Dunbar Kapple Inc. and Monitor Manufacturing Company.
In 1973, IMM purchased Timesavers and in 1975, Ludlow bought Grayline Housewares, Inc.
Timesavers, a publicly traded company, was an expensive acquisition at the time at 14 times
earnings. It was under the outstanding leadership of Gordon Schuster. Controller Ray Vold was
promoted to president in 1985 and continues the outstanding track record of the Timesavers’
family of companies expanding into deburring deflashing and mass finishing machine lines,
as well as 5 axis CNC Gantry routers. Grayline was purchased from George Gray who started
the company with his wife Mary in the basement of their home. George continued to run the
company until his death. He was succeeded by Art Meyer who moved up from his sales manager
position and in the mid 1980s by Dean Cobb.
In 1974, IMM and Ludlow also formed Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISCS) to
foster exports on a tax favored basis. Later IMM tendered for the outstanding publicly owned
stock of Ludlow Industries and took that company private. Since its inception in 1966, IMM has
grown internally and by acquisition, consistent with Wallace Carroll’s corporate philosophy at
AGM and AMSI.
During these years and beyond, the livelihood of 10,000 employees and their families
depended on the payroll received from companies established or acquired by Wallace. Wallace
set up several foundations including the American Gage and Machine Foundation and the
Affiliated Industries Foundation. He was later the trustee for the Christine and Alfred Sontag
Foundation for Cancer Research, and the Carroll Foundation. Over 150 charitable causes were
supported through these foundations. Wallace was also a founding director of the American
Ireland Fund, begun in 1963 in a meeting with John Kennedy and Eamon de Valera to promote
peace, culture, and charity in Ireland. Wallace’s friend, John Cosgrove, former president of the
National Press Club, then got him involved in the Pageant of Peace Committee which plans the
National Christmas Tree festivities each year on the south lawn of the White House. Wallace
quietly contributed over $15 million through these charities, always with little fanfare and no
self-promotion.
Chapter 5: Post War Progress: Building a Private Industrial Empire
33

CARROLL FAMILY PHOTOS
illustration of Patrick J. Carroll Smith Shop
Patrick Joseph Carroll at his
Brockton, MA Blacksmith Shop, 1902
34 Trescott Street, Taunton, MA
34 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Patrick and Katherine Carroll and family circa 1911
Taunton High football team 1923. (Wallace Carroll, second row center)
Carroll Family Photos 35

Wallace E. Carroll, 1922 Wallace E. Carroll, 1924
Wallace E. Carroll, 1926 Lelia Caroline Holden, 1925
36 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace E. Carroll rowing near Western Ave Bridge on the Charles River - 1929
Wallace E. Carroll during Cadet training in the U.S.
Army Air Corps, San Antonio, Texas, 1929.
Wallace E Carroll as a cadet with the 102nd
Observation Squadron of the 27th Aviation National
Guard, 1927
Carroll Family Photos 37

Lelia Holden graduating class photo. Morton
Hospital, Taunton, MA, 1930.
Wallace and Le in Taunton, 1933.
Patrick J. Carroll and his three sons: Frank, Howard, and Wallace, 1935
38 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

The Wedding Party with Sykes and Bell families and Father Dan, November 4, 1936.
Wallace and the colt “Trooper” at Bannockburn, the “Lazy C Ranch,” 1951.
Carroll Family Photos 39

Wallace E. Carroll, 1938
Wallace, Lelia, and Barry
at Size Control Company, 1947.
Wallace (Chief Blue Sky) and Ray Simpson at Wallace’s induction into the Chippewa Tribe at Lac Du Flambeau
40 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace Carroll with Simpson Test Equipment, 1963.
Iron Age Cover, 1963, Wallace in front of Walsh Press
Lincoln College. Dedication of the first of two Carroll Halls, March 26, 1963.
Carroll Family Photos 41

(left to right) Felix Harvey, Ed Merkle, Wallace Carroll, Melvin Jacobs, Jake Saliba, Chet Buckley,
Arch Weindorf, 1971.
Martin Glotzer asking questions of Chairman Carroll at the Katy Annual Meeting at Continental Bank, 1979.
42 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace, “The Railroad Man” - 1972
Wallace and Lelia Carroll at Boston College,
May 1978
Wallace and Le at Hue View in Palm Beach,
Florida, April 1969.
Carroll Family Photos 43

Wallace and Wallace Jr., 1938 Wallace Carroll horseshoeing, 1953
The Wallace Carroll family at Duffy Lane, Christmas photo, 1953
44 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace and Lelia Carroll with their eighteen grandchildren in Lake Forest, Illinois, celebrating their
50th Wedding Anniversary, 1986
Carroll Family Photos 45

Wallace Carroll at his Elgin office for an interview with Forbes Magazine, 1987.
46 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

CHAPTER
Six
The Katy Years
On my very first visit to Wallace’s office in Elgin, I could not help but observe
the many citations and mementos in that crowded office, but one plaque
caught my eye. It was entitled “Loyalty” by Elbert Hubbard, and it stated:
‘If you work for a man, for Heaven’s sake work for him! If he pays you
wages that supply your bread and butter, work for him, speak well of him,
stand by the institution he represents. If put to a pinch, an ounce of loyalty is
worth a pound of cleverness.’ Wallace was a man who lived by those words.
-Jake Saliba, Chairman of Katy Industries
THE MISSOURI-KANSAS TEXAS RAILROAD, affectionately called “The Katy” for over 120
years, was originally incorporated as the Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch and became a
legal entity as such on September 20, 1865. 24 On the basis of this relatively small and bedraggled
railroad, Katy Industries was formed three years before Wallace Carroll became involved. Jake
Saliba, Katy Chairman, recalled:
“Wallace became involved with Katy through Nick Salgo. Nick was chairman of Bangor-
Punta, the granddaddy of all railroad holding companies. Punta-Alegre was a Cuban sugar
company: they had a lot of money. When Castro came to rule Cuba in 1958 and threw out a lot
of American companies, these people took their money out and brought it to the United States.
Then they had to find some way to invest it. The Bangor-Aroostic Railroad had a big tax-losscarry-carryforward,
so Bangor Punta was the first to take advantage of it. Under the Railroad
Act of 1862, the railroad’s losses can only be applied against a transportation subsidiary. In other
words, railroads have real estate companies. Katy Industries, for instance, had a company that
made ties - W.J. Smith - yet none of the earnings of those companies could be sheltered by the
railroad, because of the Railroad Act. But, if the railroad was owned by a holding company, then
the railroad’s loss served as an umbrella. So, the Bangor Aroostic is the very first railroad that
24
History of Katy Appendix I.
47

ecame a holding company. They built a conglomerate on that tax-loss-carry-forward. This all
goes back to the early 50s, and the Railroad Act itself goes way back, of course. Today, all the
railroads, whether it’s the Union Pacific, the Burlington Northern, or the Chesapeake: they are
all owned by holding companies. The reason they’re holding companies is that it gives them
more latitude to spin off real estate subsidiaries, to spin off development companies, to spin off
even manufacturing companies.
Going back to Salgo, he introduced himself to Ed Merkle and proposed this idea to him: that
of setting up the holding company for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The Madison Fund
[where Ed Merkle was then president], was the largest shareholder of the Railroad. They figured
the stock was practically worthless, so they came up with the idea of exchanging the stock of the
railroad for the stock of Katy Industries: of course, they had the dreams of utilizing this tax-loss.
Within months after they did that, it was obvious that they could not go forward, because there
were very limited assets there.
Katy Industries’ net worth was next to nothing at its incorporation in 1967 and working
capital funds were desperately needed. Ed Merkle borrowed the funds and acquired three
companies between 1967 and early 1968. He acquired the three by borrowing from the Banque
de Paris de Pays Bas: $5 million dollars without collateral, security, without anything. All he did
was give them warrants to buy Katy stock. Katy was selling at one point at 38 dollars a share,
with a minus net worth. It was just the “go-go” market at that time, you see. It was obvious when
we went in that we had to get some meat on the skeleton, or the thing was not going to last.”
Ed Merkle, who had spent all of his career on Wall Street, began the search for a Katy
president immediately after the company was incorporated as a Delaware Corporation.
Within a few months, Jake Saliba was selected. As chief executive officer of Brockway Motors,
Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, and Sawyer-Tower Companies, Jake Saliba had converted all of
these companies into winners. During his first assignment as President of W.R. Grace’s Frozen
Foods operations, he had further shown his operating skills in managing a very diversified
manufacturing operation.
Jake Saliba, of Lebanese Christian extraction, was born in Canada and came to the U.S. at
age 10. He left school at age 14 to work in textile mills in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He also worked
for a hosiery knitting machinery firm, then returned to high school and graduated from Boston
University in 1941. He was in the management consulting business and served with the Air Force,
before beginning his corporate management career, which finally led to the opportunity at Katy:
“I took over as president of Katy Industries on January 1, 1968. In the first period of our
operation, there were a number of months when we could not meet our home office payroll,
even though our total staff consisted only of Henry Kravis, who was my assistant; Joseph Prizzi,
our Treasurer; and two secretaries. That was Katy Industries’ complete organization. My first
responsibility was to divest ourselves of the three companies that Ed Merkle had acquired in
1967 and we still had little or no earnings capabilities. Henry Kravis and I had arranged to buy
the Bee-Gee Shrimp Group and Main Iron Works, a small tugboat building company in Louisiana
even before we acquired the Carroll companies. These two acquisitions later proved to be the
backbone of Katy’s earnings structure for the next ten years. When Nicholas Salgo introduced
Ed and me to Wallace Carroll in 1968, Wallace had bought a number of private companies and,
in 1969, American Gage and Machinery (which encompasses some of these companies) was
merged into Katy Industries. The principal subsidiaries in this complex were Sterling Salem,
Standard Transformer, Simpson Electric, Size Control, and Walsh Press.”
48 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace wrote in 1969:
A tentative agreement in principle was reached Friday, August 1, wherein Katy Industries purchased
American Gage & Machine Company and its Sterling Salem Affiliate, based on earnings over the next three
years. Voting control of Katy remains vested in Wallace E. Carroll and both AGM and Sterling will continue to
operate as before. Katy is a diversified holding company whose holdings include the Missouri, Kansas City and
Texas Railroad, and several smaller units in the Industrial field. Since this information will probably appear
in the papers this coming week, we want you to be advised first. Details will follow as they develop. Katy is the
vehicle we have been looking for some time and I believe this merger will accrue to the benefit of all.
Wallace later wrote in a more dramatic management newsletter:
The story of Katy is a fascinating tale of the opening of the great Southwest and the Indian Country, by
men of vision and by the blood, sweat and tears of the emigrant laborers that built this railroad with twelvehour
days, seven days a week, at $1.50 a day, a premium wage because of the insects, malaria, and man-killing
work. In spite of corruption, vice and untold hardships, countless numbers of these men saved enough money
to send to the old country to bring their families over, and eventually homestead on the land they opened up.
We became interested in Katy Industries, late in 1968, a holding company for the Katy Railroad, which
had been formed to acquire other companies for the purpose of using up a $30,000,000 tax loss. It suffices to
say that most of my life’s work is now to be shared with over three thousand stockholders, mutual funds, etc.,
with AGM and Sterling Salem being the dominant stockholders. This vehicle provides a better foundation
for growth, a New York Stock Exchange listing makes us more liquid and lendable, provides a structure for
continuity of management, more public recognition and possibly some emoluments not practical heretofore.
Against this, of course, is our operating under glass, 3,000 partners, the vagaries of the stock market, SEC
and government reports and regulations galore, a severe tightening of expenses and costs, since profit is now
paramount, which wasn’t necessarily so when privately held. Separation of the various operations and services
must be more sharply delineated, and a new organization structure must be developed to assign functions and
costs properly. There has been a lot of soul searching in this decision and all in all, it is best for all concerned. As
someone asked how the new Walsh acquisition was going shortly after it was made and before all the butterflies
had settled, the reply was “I’ll tell you a year from now.” I am sure Katy will do as well.
In August of 1969, Wallace Carroll had traded ownership of part of his $100 million
industrial empire for a major stake and top job in the new publicly held conglomerate, Katy
Industries. Wallace did not sell all of his holdings. He retained independent properties that had
produced approximately the same sales volume as those that went into Katy. Art Miller, later to
become Katy’s corporate counsel in the 1980s, offered further insight to the original Katy deal:
“The railroad had some huge tax losses. Just from memory I’d guess about 38 million dollars,
and they weren’t making any money, they were just losing money. The parent company would
now be an unregulated company as opposed to the railroad which was regulated by ICC and
then they would acquire profitable companies and they had this huge tax-loss-carry-forward.
They would use this to shelter the profits. All of Katy was originally a tax shelter. It was created
out of the railroad. The reason only 80% of Wallace’s American Gage Company went in was that
under the tax rules, if he ended up owning more than 50 percent of Katy, there would be what is
called technically “a reverse acquisition,” - meaning that the railroad’s losses would have been
restricted and could only be used again railroad profits. By keeping his ownership down below
50 percent, the losses of the railroad were available to shelter the profits of all the companies in
the Katy Group.”
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
49

Jake Saliba vividly recalled the details of negotiation, between American Gage & Machine
and Katy Industries:
“There are some very interesting stories. First of all, Wallace and I -or mostly Mel and I
-argued so vehemently that we were negotiating to the point where, when we finally made the
deal, I figured there was absolutely no way we could work together because we had argued and
even walked out on each other. The whole deal ultimately hinged on the fact that Ed Merkle
and I kept telling Wallace and Mel that the Burlington Railroad was about to pay a $30 million
purchase price for the Katy Railroad because they, in addition to the $30 million, had a $30
million investment in MKT bonds which were secured. The reason the railroad had not gone
into bankruptcy was that the secured stockholders had all the security: they had the assets, they
had the right of way. The unsecured creditors had no desire to put it into bankruptcy, because
that would mean additional court expenses, and since it was already worth nothing, they still
would get zero. So, they rode along with their unsecured debt, which was very substantial, and
which gave the railroad a minus net worth. Ed and I continued negotiating with the Burlington
Railroad. The President of the Burlington Railroad called us in and said that the board had
finally decided that they “we’re not going to go with this deal.” This was a great shock to Ed
Merkle because he had personally signed some notes guaranteeing about $350,000 dollars’
worth of Katy Industries’ debts. The next morning when Wallace and Mel showed up for the
meeting, we had to tell them point blank that the whole Burlington deal was off. Wallace could
have backed out too, of course, at this point. But he said, “I’ll go ahead with the deal.” I’ll never
forget: Ed Merkle went over to Wallace and kissed him on both cheeks he was so overjoyed -
and we made the deal! Then I went to Wallace and said, “You know Wallace, we fought so hard
making this deal, I thought we could never work together,” and Wallace said, “Jake, if you’ll
fight half as hard for me as you did for the last shareholder, I want you on my team.” The best
experience of my life has been the 22 years I’ve been with Wallace Carroll.”
As a result of the terms of Katy Industries’ acquisition of American Gage & Machine
Company, Wallace became the largest single stockholder with “slightly in excess of 43 percent
of Katy’s outstanding common stock.” 25 One of the major gains for Carroll, it was noted, is that
he is “backing into” a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an important consideration for
estate purposes. 26
The closing of Katy Industries’ acquisition of American Gage took place on Monday, May 11,
1970. Wallace Carroll became Katy’s new chairman and chief executive officer, succeeding Ed
Merkle, who became vice chairman. Ed was also president of Madison Fund Inc., a New York
investment company that owned 12.5% of Katy’s outstanding stock. Jake Saliba continued as
Katy’s president and chief operating officer. Katy headquarters was soon moved from New York
City to the American Gage office at 853 Dundee Avenue in Elgin, Illinois.
Wallace and his associates continued to manage the AGM companies much as before, now
adding the Railroad and three previous Katy operating companies. The American Gage Group
at this time included the following divisions: Walsh Press & Die, Size Control, Standard LP
Stormer Co., Elgiloy Co., Labour Pump Co. (USA), Labour Pump Co. (England), Simpson Electric,
Batavia Body Co., and Wallace’s independent subsidiaries: Sterling Salem Corp. with its Topco
Co division of Sterling Salem and Bach-Simpson of Canada, and Ruttonsha-Simpson Co. of
Bombay (40 percent owned).
25
“Control of American Gage Sold by W. Carroll,” Metalworking News, August 11, 1969.
26
“American Gage Sale Still on Despite Katy Stock Dip,” Metalworking News, May 4, 1970.
50 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

The businesses being retained by Wallace included Snow Manufacturing Co., Affiliated
Screw Products, Cameron Miller Surgical Instrument Co., Champion Pneumatic Machinery Co.,
Cree Coaches, J.C. Deagan Co, Gaertner Scientific Co., Triner Scale Co., and the International
Metals & Machines group: Columbia Research & Development Co., Diehl Machines Co., BM,
Root Co., Ludlow Typographic Co. (about 50% owned), and Hodgman Manufacturing Co., and
Gaertner Scientific Co. 27
By 1970, additional AGM and related holdings included Airtronics division of Size Control,
Process Metals and Salem Magnetics divisions of Sterling-Salem Corp. and Simpson Instrument
Sales & Service Inc. Katy’s other holdings in 1970 included: Berry Bros. General Contractors
Inc.; B-G Shrimp Group; Main Iron Works; M-K-T Railroad Co.; W.J. Smith Wool Preserving Co.;
Transcontinental Leathers Inc.; and E.J. Trum Inc.
With a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Wallace’s business endeavors and successes
began to attract more publicity and attention. Just three years after the Katy merger, Forbes
commented on the enigma of Wallace’s business situation “where losses become profits, and a
$181-million railroad is worth just $1: 28
“Remember the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Wonderland? As it sat on a tree branch spouting
confusion at Alice, the grinning cat all but disappeared. All, that is, but its grin. Now we have a
Cheshire railroad. It is the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad; the perennially down-but never-out
Katy - 2,700 miles of largely unkempt roadbed and freight-hungry track grousing from Kansas
City, Mo. to Galveston, Texas, like a disowned pack mule. The Katy had been notable chiefly for
the fact that 20 years have elapsed since it last paid a dividend in its common stock. Well, the plot
thickens. In 1968, Katy became the largest part of a holding company called Katy Industries. But
although the railroad is still chugging along in the real world - revenue of $80 million in 1972 and
a $7 million net loss - it has all but disappeared from its holding company’s balance sheet. In the
assets column, it is only a grin. The grin is a reference to a note in the back of the annual report.
The note explains how the holding company wrote down the original $17 million equity in the
railroad to a nominal $1 in 1970. The irony behind the grin is something else.
The telling of this wonder goes back to 1969 when private conglomerator (from
Massachusetts) Wallace Carroll took a liking to Katy’s New York Stock Exchange listing and the
railroad’s $34 million tax-loss-carry-forward. Carroll had acquired a parcel of well-run familyowned
companies and built them into a $50 million outfit called American Gage & Machine.
In 1970, while most conglomerates were past their peak, Carroll made his play for the big time.
Katy Industries acquired Carroll’s privately held American Gage - but the acquirer really was
the acquired. Carroll emerged as a 43% owner of Katy Industries and board chairman. Carroll
now had a public listing and no romantic delusions. What he was most interested in was not
Katy, but the Katy’s grin. Today nothing of the railroad - not its negative book value of $9 million
nor its net deficit - is consolidated in Katy Industries’ annual report. But the holding company
does consolidate the railroad on its federal income tax statement. Thus, it gained a credit last
year of $3.9 million, doubling Katy’s 1972 net income - sans railroad - to $7.7 million.
Since 1970, Carroll has spent some $34 million to purchase 15 companies for Katy Industries
- mostly privately owned outfits. ‘Usually, the family is looking for liquidity,’ says Carroll. ‘They
stay on to run the business after we buy them.’ By putting them behind the railroad’s tax shelter,
Carroll virtually doubles their profits overnight. Now, the write-down. That’s sort of a side issue.
The holding company’s original $17 million equity in the railroad had vanished under railroad
27
For more information on the independent companies, see Appendix II
28
“Wallace in Wonderland,” Forbes. September 15, 1973, p. 80.
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
51

losses between 1968 and 1970. So, with Securities & Exchange Commission approval, Katy wrote
off the equity and as a result no longer has to charge the railroad’s losses against its consolidated
earnings. Furthermore, Katy no longer had to carry the railroad’s huge debt on its balance sheet.
There may be yet another kicker for Wallace Carroll and his stockholders. A write-down
after all is only a paper transaction; Katy Industries still controls the railroad. If the western
railroads ever unscramble their merger situation, someone will have to pick up the Katy to
preserve its services. Probably no merger partner would be willing to pay much for the equity in
this battered railroad, but whatever they did pay over $1 would end up as a capital gain for Katy
Industries. The Katy might not be much of a cat, but it sure has a lovely smile.” 29
In contrast with the low-profile Wallace preferred when his businesses were his own businesses,
he was frequently spotlighted by the mainstream press and industry publications alike. As The
Times Picayune once noted, “When Wallace Carroll was working as a railroad section hand to put
himself through Boston College 45 years ago, it never occurred to him that someday he would
have a railroad to call his own.”
The Chicago Tribune further described Wallace:
“Carroll is a one-man conglomerate. The flagship of his empire is Katy Industries, Inc., a
low-profile amalgam headquartered in Elgin. Carroll and his family own about a third of the
holding company, and his presence is a major force in both its peculiar corporate personality and
its operations. Carroll, 69, occupies a den-like suite of offices and is assisted by two secretaries.
If he’s not at Elgin or traveling, he’s likely to be at his 600-acre farm in western Lake Forest,
complete with 200 head of cattle, horses, corn, and hay. Katy employees are permitted to farm
on another 400 acres near the Elgin plant. At the Elgin office, Carroll delights in showing visitors
a 1904 rolltop desk rescued from a train depot and a big, custom-made, curved desk that came
with the building. Visitors to Katy find their names on a large “welcome” board and may go
home with a book of recipes collected from famous people. The book was assembled by a Katy
executive’s wife to help a charity, and Carroll personally bought several hundred copies.” 30
In 1972, the Times-Picayune elaborated:
“Carroll has been at the conglomeration game longer than most, and he has taught himself
the rules. His industrial beginnings were modest . . . His modus operandi was disarmingly simple.
Without exception, be sought to buy family-owned operations that turned out a good product
and were profitable. Usually, he paid cash. He preferred to keep the original management, but
if they happened to be older men, as was often the case, he kept their experience available by
making them consultants or honorary officers. He was generous enough in his purchases to
form a large group of friends. Last week, as is his annual custom, he threw a party for 25 past
presidents of his acquisitions in Palm Beach. ‘Everybody we ever bought out,’ he says, ‘is still
a friend.’
Because of his aversion to acquiring money losing companies, Carroll almost turned down
the deal to buy the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad - the Katy - that was to become the holding
company for most of his interests. One of Carroll’s closest advisers, Chicago attorney Melvin
Jacobs, induced him to look past the obvious financial problems to its more attractive features -
such as a $30 million tax loss and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Carroll decided to
acquire Kary by letting it purchase 80% of American Gage. He emerged as Katy’s chairman and
majority stockholder when the deal was completed in 1970.
29
Ibid.
30
Carroll’s Image Reflected in Katy” The Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1977.
52 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Carroll’s enthusiasm for finding new acquisition opportunities never seems to slacken.
The casual discovery of a small company frequently prompts an immediate look through the
corporate reference books and a call to one of his two secretaries for more information. If he
likes what he sees, he has been known to call the chief executive, make a money offer without
preliminaries, and be on the scene the next day with a signed contract. Says one of his secretaries:
‘With him, it’s just snap, snap, snap.’
A compulsive note-taker, Carroll scribbles messages constantly as he travels or talks on the
phone, using packs of envelopes, pieces of newspaper, napkins, or any handy paper. Carroll’s
roomy office in Elgin, IL., has the comfortable look of a den. On the wall are pictures of him in
India, Ireland, Portugal, and the United Arab Republic, countries where he served as a U.S. Trade
Mission member; pictures of his nine grandchildren, his Angus cattle, and his horses; pictures of
him with three U.S. Presidents, and bureaucrats, including the late Commerce Secretary Sinclair
Weeks for whom Carroll once worked as a time study man.
There is still a trace of the old-fashioned efficiency expert about Carroll, notwithstanding
his informal habits. Studying the operations of one of his shops, he concluded that a wasted
minute cost the company 10 cents and that in the course of a year the wasted minutes could
mount up to $150,000. The managers got the message, and they plugged the leaks. In his gruff,
avuncular way, he also fires off memos to his executives, chiding them for alleged extravagances.
With his organization now reaching the $1 billion level, Carroll admits he cannot keep track of
every dollar, but says he just likes to make ‘a good show of looking like I do.’
The board chairman of Katy Industries Inc. said the federal government will not be able to
nationalize the nation’s railroads. He suggested, however, that the federal government should
take over the operation of the flagging Penn-Central Railroad because of the amount of federal
money already tied up in the line. In three years, Katy has built a 22-industry conglomerateworth
$40 million on the foundations of the then nearly defunct M-K-T Railroad. Carroll and
Katy president Jacob Saliba recounted the remarkable growth of Katy from a loss operation in
1968 to a venture expected to yield $7,000,000 in profits this year.
Using the tax loss credits generated by the railroad, Katy was able to acquire 21 corporations
and save the railroad from collapse. In fact, Carroll said the railroad should be operating in the
black again by the end of this year. Carroll said Katy is an example of how sound and innovative
business management can save some of the nation’s money-losing railroads. “It’s going to be up
to business to pull the railroads out.’” 31
Corporate Structure at Katy Industries: In 1970, Katy Industries’ directors and management
included Wallace as Chairman of the Board; Ed Merkle, Vice Chairman of the Board; Jacob
Saliba, President; Chet Buckley, Director (Board Chairman of AGM Division); John Barriger,
Director and President of the MKT Railroad Division (soon to be succeeded by Reg Whitman);
Mel Jacobs, Director and Corporation Counsel; Arch Weindorf, Financial Vice President; Richard
F. Whitehead, Vice Admiral U.S. Navy (Retired), Director and Vice Chairman of AGM Division;
John S. Gleason, Jr.. Major General U.S.A. (Retired), Director; Donald S. Kennedy, Director; Joseph
M. Prizzi, Treasurer; William Huck, Director; Doyle Berry, Director; and John S. Shad, Director
(also then Vice President of E.F. Hutton & Co. and later to be chairman of the Securities and
Exchange Commission under Ronald Reagan).
During these years, Wallace expressed the faith he had in the management team at Katy:
31
“Government Failure Seen in Trying to Run Railroads,” The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, LA, January 13, 1972.
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
53

Over the years I have had many admonitions to take it easier, to which my reply was that if you like what
you are doing, it is not work but recreation. Although I still hold this to be true, my recent annual physical
examination has convinced me that I am no longer indestructible but that I will be around a long time if I mend
my ways. To me, substituting a new activity for an old an accustomed one is no change for the better, and could
even be worse, so I intend to keep on doing what is best for Katy and other interests, but with more delegation of
responsibilities, less attention to details, and less physical effort from frustrating plane trips, O’Hare, problems
and load toting, with perhaps more time for reading and music which have been neglected for so many years.
As we have grown larger, inevitably the close contacts I have had with our key people have been lessened,
much to my regret. From now on, this will be even more so since all time and energy will be devoted to planning
and working for a stronger company, with more delegation and fewer personal visits. This is written to explain
now, what will gradually become obvious, as I devote more time to policy and less to day-to-day operations
which are superbly covered by the heads of each company and division.
The above memo preceded 18 extremely active and eventful career years for Wallace. Memos
and essays written by Wallace throughout the ambitious 70s and the cautious 80s shed light on
the hectic pace of corporate activities which ensued as Katy added to and divested its holdings.
The period from 1970 to 1980 was one of tremendous growth and Bill Murphy recalled:
“It was tough keeping up with it because we had the tax loss which was expiring on us, and
we had to get income into the company to use up these tax losses before they expired. Looking
back, it was amazing it all worked out so well. Of course, our luck in the 80s wasn’t nearly as
good. The 70s were an exciting time.”
The largest deal with the most far-reaching consequences was Katy’s acquisition in several
stages of Bush Universal (NYSE). Through the efforts of Ed Merkle, Katy acquired about 60%
of the outstanding stock of Bush Universal, Inc. in 1972. The stock was acquired from Donald
Matthews.
During the tumultuous period of the early 1980s, Wallace’s business concerns never
neglected the tenets of good management, although the task of managing so large and diverse
an enterprise seemed overwhelming at times, he always had the best interests of Katy in mind
and he held a firm belief in keeping his Katy executives well-informed, including a memo on
succession plans:
As I mentioned when sending out the forms on this subject, plans have to be made for successors from
top to bottom, which includes me. That day will have to come to all of us, so it is prudent that the organization
be exposed and familiar with all activities, many of which have been handled by me. Heretofore, I have taken
on responsibilities and taken care of things myself since it is easier to do so than to delegate. I also thought in
many instances that I could do a better job in detail since those matters I have assigned to others too often come
back to me with no answers in depth and detail as the result of superficial thinking. Only two in my forty years
could always be counted on to take on an assignment and deliver it back all wrapped up and complete in every
detail with the company interests protected as a result of their incisive thinking, one being Admiral Whitehead.
This is not to say that all others couldn’t do a far better job in their respective fields than I could ever do. It is
when they become generalists and broadview executives that they have not learned to be incisive, detailed, and
creative thinkers.
I find I have too many projects that I have been handling myself to do justice to them and it is time to
delegate them for the good of the organization. The plan, therefore, is for me to initiate programs and projects
but which will be assigned to others for execution. I realize that this will be on top of programs that individuals
have of their own and if the burden is too great, we will have to get more key people in the Home Office to
54 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

take over some of the load. In other words, I will propose, and you will dispose. Who knows - if this plan is
successful, I will have a clean desk - and you will have one like my present one!
Beginning in 1980, the United States and in many respects the world economy had entered
a deep recession that shook the manufacturing business community in particular to its core
and called for incisive actions. From the continuing business reversals of the mid 1980s, several
memos from Wallace recount the challenges faced. In 1987, Wallace wrote a memo entitled
“Rebuilding to Survive,” in response to a Time Magazine article of the same name.
The title of the Time Magazine article enclosed should not be taken lightly by American businessmen, and
it is not, if half the Fortune 1,000 Companies who are now in the throes of implementing it, are any indications
of its wisdom. All are aware of the changes in Katy Industries’ structure and the article explains very well the
whys and wherefores of the reasons that make it necessary. Jake spearheaded a program a year ago which is
right on target. Aside from the fierce foreign competition that cuts into our sales and profit, we were rocked
by the loss of the Midland Insurance Co, the downturn in the shrimp cycle, now being reversed, the collapse of
the silverware market to stainless competition. Those companies that did not respond and who are not earning
the interest on the money we have invested have been sold, but there are still a couple we are working with to
achieve at least a 10% return on invested capital. Financially, we have restructured our banking debts after a
Herculean effort by Bill Murphy. Our future lies in food and consumer products, waste disposal, Indonesian
oil and a few miscellaneous lines that have their own niche and which are doing very well. We expect 1987 to
be a good year, with the years beyond even better. Provided the economy doesn’t tumble into a recession. If it
does, I think we are prepared for it. A company that does not make money is not a safe place to work.
Jake Saliba, then Chief Executive Officer of Katy Industries, offered the following comments
on Katy’s down cycles:
“The downcycles hit us at once. As for silverware, the management as well as the industry
caused us so many losses although it is now profitable. We are all guilty of bad timing with the
casualty business which we could have sold one year earlier for $50 million (but) resulted in a
write-off of $60 million the following year. We (also) had huge write-offs in our Leather Imports
and Katy-Pla’s operations, which contributed major operating losses at a very critical part of
our operation.”
Art Miller also commented on one of the most serious of Katy’s down cycles which included
the final culmination of the nearly 18 years of effort to get the railroad in shape and sell it to a
larger connecting line. The $108 million transaction should have been a very happy outcome.
Instead, it led to near disaster.
“At about the same time, we were trying to sell Katy - we were in negotiations to sell the
railroad and Katy had a lot of debt we were trying to pay down. There were rumors out on the
street [concerning the price the railroad would sell for). The stock of Katy Industries got pumped
up to about $45.00. A lot of directors sold shares when it was in the $30’s. They all said they
checked with Mel [Katy’s corporate counsel]. Mel said it was ok to sell and the shares were sold.
Wallace himself sold 10,000 shares. I think actually Garrison sold them to pay off a little debt
and one of the companies sold 20,000 shares out of a total of about 3 and a half to 4 million. It
was nonsense, just miniscule. When we announced that we had signed an agreement to sell the
railroad, the stock dropped to 12 points, 30% of its value. Naturally, we got sued. The Leventhal
case was a class action suit brought by some Boston lawyers claiming that Katy and 6 of its
directors had violated the disclosure laws by - just about everything you can think of - the case
ultimately focused on the sale of the railroad. That was a case Wallace never wanted to settle
and that everybody else thought that we should try to settle. It was a very passionate thing:
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
55

they were attacking Wallace’s credibility and integrity with this suit. They weren’t talking to an
insurance company or some big corporation, saying pay us a few million dollars to go away. But
everybody else wanted that suit settled, thought it should be settled. And we worked on Wallace
and worked on Wallace, But Wallace said: ‘I want the best lawyer you can get.’ And we hired
Fred Bartlit of Kirkland and Ellis who had a great national reputation, generally representing
General Motors and people of that ilk. Fred [did] an outstanding job and Wallace finally agreed
to start some settlement negotiations. Wallace testified and did a beautiful job. I wish we had
had a video camera because it was just like the best movie you’ ve ever seen. Fred Bartlit stood
up to open the defense part of the case: the defense calls Wallace E. Carroll, the rear doors
opened and in comes Wallace with his battered briefcase in one hand and the cane in the other,
takes about 2-3 minutes to walk from the door to the seat (very dramatic) and you could have
heard a pin drop. Marvelous entrance.”
The only other defendant testifying in the case was the unflappable, down to earth Reg
Whitman. In interviews after the jury found for defendants and Katy, members of the jury
described how the positive impression of character that Wallace and Reg conveyed contrasted
with the arrogance and manipulative impression of the plaintiffs and their attorneys. The jury
found for the defendants on all counts. The stress of the 1980s, however, was taking a toll on
the 80-year-old Chairman of the Board. This time when he wrote a memo on phasing out,
its contents reflected the sense that an era was in fact ending, and that this time he was to be
believed:
The financial and organizational restructuring of Katy Industries began more than two years ago and,
in addition to the writer, the people most directly involved in this program have been Jake Saliba, Bill Murphy,
and Harold Miller. Having reached my eightieth birthday and seeing that the financial restructuring plan is
almost complete, I felt that I should begin a three-year phasing out plan. I intend to reduce my work, schedule,
and compensation each year by 25% annually and, in line with that program, the executive committee and the
Board of Directors have unanimously agreed to have me assume the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors and Chairman of the Executive Committee. Jake Saliba was elected Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer and Bill Murphy was elected President and Chief Operating Officer.
It is with pride that I pass on these responsibilities at a time when your company is in the soundest financial
condition that it has ever been in, and the consummation of the MKT Railroad sale will make us an even
stronger company. We have many exciting plans that should raise Katy to new heights of achievement, which
includes the expansion of our Katy Seghers waste disposal operations, our greater involvement in the consumer
products area, our continued participation in the seafoods venture and a continuance of our fine industrial
companies that have found their niche and are doing so well, and our long-term partnership with Union Oil in
Indonesia. In spite of the many trials and tribulations, the last twenty years have been some of the most exciting
of my business experience and, as you know, my new status will not lessen my interest in our company. I also
know that you will continue to give Jake, Bill, and Harold the same support and loyalty that has been one of
our great assets.
On January 21, 1988, Katy Industries announced a top management realignment. Wallace
stepped down to Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Executive Committee. Jake Saliba assumed
the duties of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Bill Murphy became President and Chief
Operating Officer. Bill Murphy had entered the Katy organization in 1970 as Group Controller
and had advanced on to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. By
January 21, 1988, Katy Industries had consolidated sales in excess $200,000,000. By 1991, Katy
was on an even keel with a strong balance sheet.
56 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Wallace prepared a memo which outlined “Ten Standard Company Principles” of Katy
Industries, Inc. which formed the foundation of his business philosophy.
1. Top Quality Materials and Workmanship: This will preserve our good reputation.
2. Fair Competitive Prices: A consistent and fair price structure will encourage our customers
to continue to give us their business.
3. On Time Deliveries: This is vital to permit our customers’ plans to be fulfilled and also builds
customer confidence in our organization.
4. Excellence in Engineering: Customer satisfaction will be assured because our products will
have a longer life, have easy maintenance, and offer improved productivity.
5. Teamwork: Cooperation between departments and other sister companies will assure a good
workflow within our company and also will provide the resultant benefits to Katy Industries
as a whole.
6. Safety First: By following this rule, your work life will be extended, and your home life will
benefit.
7. Cost Reduction: Everyone should endeavor to find ways to lower manufacturing costs and
other expenses in our Company as our future depends on this.
8. Plan Ahead: Set objectives for each day. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment.
9. Offer New Ideas: If you know a better way to perform a job or to manufacture a product,
present your suggestion to management.
10. Work: If you work for the company, for heaven’s sake work for it.
As the 1980s drew to a close, so did the crisis at Katy precipitated by the insolvency of
Midland Insurance and the banks involved. In an effort to increase liquidity, Wallace, Bill
Murphy, and Jake Saliba had from 1986 to 1989 sold or liquidated the following subsidiaries:
Simpson, Elgiloy, Size Control, Spiral Step Tool, Aetna, Hallmark Jewelry, Elgin, and Waltham
watches. Herman Lowenstein Leathers, Kolb Lena Cheese Company, Bee Gee Shrimp (partial
divestiture), Carbide Products, Oakes Machinery, Kern, Jewell, and Ekru. From 1986 to 1989,
Katy had made a dramatic transformation. In 1986, Katy had over $170 million of funded bank
debt and numerous underperforming assets. By 1989, it was a solid financial institution with
over $100 million in cash, liquid securities, and negligible debt on its balance sheet.
Two events during this period were outstanding in helping Katy achieve the broad goals
of its restructuring program. The first was the sale of the seafood operations in 1987 and the
second was the sale of Katy’s M-K-T Railroad in 1988. In 1989, as Wallace Carroll approached
his 82nd birthday, he stepped down as Chairman of his new solid Katy, becoming Vice Chairman
and leaving Katy in the capable hands of Jake Saliba as Chairman and CEO and Bill Murphy as
President and COO. The public sale of 25% of Katy’s interest in its German subsidiary in 1990
represented the culmination of a broad and highly successful management strategy aimed at
realizing the true values of some of Katy’s understated book assets. 32
32
Katy Industries, Inc. 1990 Annual Report.
Chapter 6: The Katy Years
57

CHAPTER
Seven
Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College
Congratulations on being one of those rare persons who deserve to have an entire
school named in their honor. It was the fulfillment of one of my hopes of many years
to declare the naming of the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston
College. Your name will provide new motivation to future students and inspiration
to others who will emulate your generosity. ~ J. Donald Monan, S.J., President of
Boston College letter to Wallace E. Carroll, March 21, 1989
In 1990, The School of Management at Boston College began its 52nd year as one of the four
undergraduate schools of the 127-year-old Jesuit university. The other three are The College
of Arts and Sciences (1863), the flagship of the institution and the oldest, the School of Nursing
(1947) and the School of Education (1952). 33 In 1969, a young Dr. John Neuhauser joined the Boston
College School of Management faculty as an Assistant Professor in the newly founded Computer
Science department. By 1991, Dean Neuhauser oversaw a faculty of 110 men and women and a
combined student body of over 3100 students. The Dean spoke fondly and positively of Carroll
School of Management’s future noting:
“There are several outstanding universities bearing names of distinguished men upon their
Schools of Management and Business and now, Boston College’s School of Management, which
I consider to be among the nation’s top twenty, has taken its place in a very select group.”
In his support of the faculty of the Carroll School of Management, the Dean secured
external support for several professional chairs. The faculty as a whole, under Dean Neuhauser’s
innovative leadership, increased dramatically both in number and in quality as did the student
body. As the distinguished Jesuit historian, Father Charles F. Donovan, S.J. wrote in his History of
Boston College:
“Assuming charge of a prospering, self-confident School of Management, [Neuhauser] was
to give it humane and cheerful leadership into even more prosperous days. [There is] a healthy
presence of [SOM] faculty in top scholarly journals. . . faculty [are recruited] in competition with
33
For a historical overview of B.C.’s School of Management, see Appendix III.
58 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

the very best schools in the country, and its success is indicated by attempts of Harvard and
M.I.T. to lure away junior faculty.” 34
On March 18 of 1989, Father J. Donald Monan, S.J., President of Boston College, and the Board
of Trustees bestowed upon loyal and distinguished alumnus Wallace E. Carroll a tremendous
and unprecedented honor. The occasion was the invocation held on campus following a Carroll
family gift of $10 million to the university. Father Monan addressed the faculty, the Board of
Trustees, and the family and friends of Wallace Carroll:
“During the fifty-year lifetime of the School of Management, the very intellectual
disciplines that drive the management process have been transformed. The management of
the world’s business has increasingly become a technical science as well as an art. Even more
importantly, business has carved out its own place beside law and government and education
and communications and technology as one of the great formative forces within culture itself.
From its role in creating the conditions of a life of dignity and sufficiency, American business in
the past fifty years has increasingly gained influence in shaping the outlines themselves of what
human aspirations should be.
But with influence and leadership come new responsibilities - responsibility to assure that
the culture business is helping to shape genuinely enriches the human family - and families ~
not impoverish them, Business finally knows as its own the frightening responsibility of every
teacher within society - to assure that the web of values and of relationships it creates nourish
the human spirit as well as its material needs and the professions it makes desirable to the most
imaginative and talented among our young be worthy of their very best selves.
If Boston College did not possess a school of management, it would have to create one in
order to be true to the aspiration of Jesuit education, to reach those who are leaders in each
contemporary generation. Fortunately, we can today look back to a record in which our School
of Management was an important participant in the transformation of business education and
in the role that business itself has assumed in our society. But thanks to the generosity and
dedication of one of our graduates whose career spans the dramatic changes of the past fifty
years, today is not just an anniversary, it is a new beginning of The Wallace E. Carroll School of
Management at Boston College.
The chronological record of Wallace’s full and energetic life you have before you in your
programs. The conferral of a new name, however, means the assumption of a new identity. The
identity of Wallace Carroll and the identity of the School of Management are not captured in
a record of dates and events and transactions. Identity and character lie more in the ideals to
which we aspire as we weave a pattern of events and accomplishments in our lives.
The fact that Wallace Carroll is not with us today is a measure of the modesty of this
distinguished man. Sixty years an alumnus of Boston College, he enjoys the vigor and the
keenness of mind that have been his gifts for a lifetime. If the School were being named in
honor of his mother and father, as Wallace originally desired, I am sure that he would be on this
platform this afternoon. But while I was able to persuade him of the educational advantages
of identifying the school with an individual alumnus, his characteristic reluctance to accept
personal honors of praise remained unchanged. I spoke to Wallace yesterday however, and he
sent this message:
I am sorry I cannot be with you today but wish to express my deepest appreciation
for the honor being bestowed on the Carroll family. What we have contributed
34
Donovan, C., History of Boston College, pp. 494-495. Chestnut Hill: The University Press of Boston College.
Chapter 7: Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College
59

to Boston College is only a small measure of what Boston College has done for
us and the sons and daughters of Ireland and other ethnic groups over the past
one hundred and twenty-five years. Boston College has become one of the great
Catholic universities and we are honored to have our name as part of the School of
Management.
Wallace E. Carroll was the first alumnus I met upon assuming the presidency of Boston
College. Two days before my arrival on campus, Wallace came East to begin an acquaintance.
For two decades before, however, he had been an advisor and strong supporter to three previous
presidents. The devotion to Boston College that made it an integral part of his life showed itself in
the welcomes he and Le extended to young alumni beginning their careers in Chicago, to crosscountry
telephone broadcasts of athletic events, to a significant leadership role - until today
an anonymous role - in every major fundraising effort the University has undertaken. Boston
College owes much gratitude to Wallace Carroll and to Le who has extended her hospitality
and shared our fortunes for decades, and to the family that so clearly are heirs of their profound
dedication to Boston College.
But in permitting us to forge this new association of the name of Wallace E. Carroll and the
School of Management, Wallace has enriched the school in an entirely new way. He has given
us a new source of pride. Wallace was perhaps the first Boston College graduate to fashion a
leadership role in a conglomerate business whose reach extends from eastern Europe to the
Far East. Wallace did not assume command of a ship that was already afloat. He assembled it
plank by plank while the winds shifted around him and while newly recruited hands needed an
inspiration they could trust, as much as they needed professionally sound direction and results.
The record of Wallace’s business acumen, of his courage and judgment, is written on the
pages of his business career. The motives that urged him have to be inferred from the actions
rather than the words of this strong but reticent man. Wallace’s business associates are his circle
of personal friends. His weekends away from the office are occasions to develop personal and
family familiarities with company colleagues. His imposing financial success has left him both
as appreciative of and as detached from material goods as in his student days when he worked
as a telephone operator in St. Mary’s Hall in return for his room in Philomathia Hall. Most of all,
Wallace is a person for whom ownership is stewardship, who is a steward, and steward only, of
his extraordinary resources. He is a person who expects to be asked because he understands he
is there to help.
Wallace Carroll’s business career had its start at almost the same time as the School of
Management was founded. He witnessed and helped create within the market place the
transformation in the intellectual discipline and in the cultural importance of American
business. Our School of Management that now bears his name and the individual students who
come after him, will certainly not repeat the chronological record of his career but I trust that
the ideals he gained at Boston College and took to the world’s marketplace will serve to enrich
in a way our educational process and the careers of our graduates ~ loyalty and creative fidelity
to values -the recognition that business and all of its imposing power stands in service to human
development and that those who benefit generously from business are stewards of possessions
and power rather than their captives. It is with great pride and gratitude that I today establish
the new name of The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management!”
Wallace’s son, Barry, spoke on behalf of the Carroll family at the ceremony:
60 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

“The Carroll family, for whom I will attempt to speak today, has had for three generations
a deep affection and profound respect for Boston College, its aspirations, and its ideals. So as
not to belabor Wallace’s unique and fascinating career (he would not want me to do that), I
will say that he worked hard and to paraphrase one of his favorite expressions: The harder he
worked the luckier he got. He realized the Horatio Alger story and the American dream. And he
has acknowledged his debt of gratitude innumerable times and in many ways for the part this
University played in his success. I will attempt to describe the essence of what he brought away
from B.C. that served him so well.
Though I graduated from a tiny maverick “Great Books” school called Shimer College, I
regard with hindsight the A&S program of B.C. as being of a very compatible if not the same
classical tradition. My two brothers, Denis, who serves on B.C.’s Board today, and Pat, who is
a loyal and active alumnus in Denver, both graduated from the School of Management and
their wives from the Newton College of the Sacred Heart. Several of our respective children:
Kathy, Bridget, and Patrick, and Susan and Margaret, along with my daughter Megan are either
attending or have graduated from B.C. You might say our lives and this institution are closely
intertwined.
Visiting the campus several years ago, I paused to take in the searing beauty of Gasson
Hall, the first building on this campus. I am on the boards of three smaller colleges and a
music institute, and I know the stringency with which we consider each dollar in the budget in
private institutions today. No doubt there was a great temptation to build a simple, efficient, and
functional structure to serve the immediate needs of the small staff and student enrollment.
What an incredible leap of faith, I thought, that instead the board and administration had erected
a structure embodying a standard of architectural excellence nearly 1,000 years old. They built
in stone, they built to inspire and uplift, and not just to enclose the offices and classrooms of
a fledgling institution. And it is because of that faith in the future that similarly far-sighted
individuals laid the foundations of the schools of this great University, including those of the
School of Management fifty years ago which we commemorate today.
The feature of the University’s undergraduate programs which I most admire is the core
Arts and Sciences curriculum in every college at B.C., the common experience which all students
share. Many young people, in my experience, are impatient to get on with the functional and
practical courses leading to a degree and saleable skill. Too often they look at the Liberal
Arts component of each program as an extravagance that interferes with the object of their
education. I think of this as being not unlike the temptations of that committee which worked
on the design of Gasson Hall. Let me assure the management students here today that, although
the specifically management skills such as accounting, finance, marketing, production, etc., are
useful if you aspire to be a journeyman manager, the knowledge of our culture, in the humanities,
social sciences, and natural sciences, and practice in the modes of thought of logic, analysis and
rhetoric will serve you best in the long run and inspire you with the stonework of sound values
and broad general skills applicable to the problems in life for which no technical curriculum can
prepare you.
The Carroll family is proud to be associated with B.C.’s School of Management because its
vision of excellence goes beyond the mechanics of business and attempts to instill a moral and
ethical foundation in its graduates. Like Gasson Hall, it refers back to examples which have
stood the test of time and will inspire generations. At too many business schools, this reference
to values is superficial or legalistic. At B.C. it is profound. It is the basis on which Wallace Carrol
built his career, and the lesson my generation wishes to instill in our children.”
Chapter 7: Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College
61

CHAPTER
Eight
The Goldenrods: Wallace E. Carroll’s Corporate Pearls of Wisdom
Wallace E. Carroll was a visionary entrepreneur and thinker, a luminary whose legacy has been
immortalized in his collection of remarkable writings, “Goldenrods: Memos and Essays.” Also
known as his “Pearls of Wisdom,” Wallace issued these memos to both business associates and
family members on distinctive golden paper. Through his writing, Wallace shares the philosophy
that underpinned his approach to business – a fusion of strategic acumen, ethical considerations,
and a genuine concern for the betterment of both enterprises and individuals. Wallace’s writing
was not confined to the boardroom; it spilled over into the realm of life lessons. He believed that
the principles driving success in business were often congruent with those guiding a fulfilling
life. Wallace’s legacy continues to shine as brightly as the golden paper on which his thoughts
are immortalized, inspiring generations to come.
On Innovation and Imagination - December 20, 1967
The true test of whether your mind is open to news is the notebook in your pocket.
If at the end of a trip, a ride to the office, after a lecture or a meeting, or even after
casual conversations, your memo book isn’t full of new ideas to work on further, then
you have no imagination or creativity. Your only hope is to try to get someone in
your organization or to listen to others who do have their minds open to new ideas
and creative thinking. One of the most fruitful sources of ideas is garnered from the
new product of a competitor, or from older products that you know enjoy good sales.
The technique is simple: just start in where he left off and apply new and creative
thinking to improving it. That will obsolete the competitors’ product fast and break
his heart…and he has already prepared the market for your new and better product.
On “Cut-backs” - December 27, 1982
Too many of our companies are chronically not cutting back fast enough, not just
in this period but in other periods of falling shipments at this or that company. For
instance, shipments fall off 40 percent, and overhead personnel are cut not at all or
perhaps only 10%. If you can’t see letting them go, at least go to a four-day week, thus
cutting 20% and keeping a little abreast of the greater reduced sales. The same is true
62 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

of other overhead items, T&E, telephone, power, and lights, etc., etc., are not cut back
or by very little. If this was your own money as an entrepreneur, would you allow
these inner costs to go on the way you are doing! Some presidents do a splendid job
keeping pace with the falling shipments, others stay in a dream world and continue
running things as if in a boom period. We all have compassion at Christmas time and
so do not want to let people go before Christmas, thus paying for people not needed
but worse, paying for several holidays at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s,
when they produce nothing at all under the circumstances when the cut back should
have been made in September, October, or November.
I can tell you why some mediocre company presidents are guilty of the above
-they do not read and analyze their monthly reports as they should and which you
can bet your life they would read if they were real entrepreneurs running their own
business and depending on its success for survival. It is so evident that these monthly
reports are not read ~ comments on glaring deviations from a reasonable norm are
never mentioned in their remarks. One, for instance, mentioned what a great sales
month he had but no mention that his profit was only one percent.
Another sign - month after month, reports will come in without the line under
the corresponding month of the previous year. If the boss read these, he would see
that the line was there because it makes it much easier to read. Another sign -reports
come in here barely legible ~ which should not be if the boss read them. And so, it goes
on and on… At times like this, good managers are separated from the boys! Where do
you fit?
How to Make Employees More Productive - and Happier - August 24, 1984
The enclosed speech was given 20 years ago at the University of Chicago Seminar for
Small Business. It seems as good today as it was then….
Give an employee a feeling of accomplishment in a good company, with a good
product, in pleasant surroundings, and you will have a more productive and happier
employee. I am active in several different manufacturing companies. In order to get a
broad range of ideas from men who are on the firing line every day, I asked our division
heads to give me five or ten suggestions on what they do to make employees more
productive. Their ideas break down into three general groups: Internal Operations,
External Operations, and Leadership.
On Internal Operations: one technique is to make your foreman TIME CONSCIOUS.
One of our superintendents, in an effort of self-improvement, took a night course in
time study. My own background had been in time study and my talking to him about
the importance of saving minutes and seconds never seemed to register. I would
point out that every wasted minute by a productive worker cost us 10 cents and that
wasted seconds on repetitive operations are lost up to perhaps an hour a day. That
was $6.00 each in a shop of one hundred workers, $600 a day, $3,000 a week, or
$150,000 a year. Far greater than the profit we eked out of the company. After taking
the course, however, he did become time conscious and did everything possible to tool
an operation or instruct the operator on the best way to handle material and do the
operation to save seconds. Eventually, he had all his foremen take time study courses
at night, who likewise became time conscious and did a far better job. I’ll enumerate
and elaborate on a few of the pertinent ideas used by our division heads:
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63

One is to establish an objective. Call it profit, sales quote, or pieces per hour. Give
everyone a goal to shoot for. Everyone strives for something and feels satisfaction
about hitting the day’s required production. Time goes faster and there is more
application to the job. If you can post it on a scoreboard so others can see, and perhaps
engender a little competition, your production will go higher.
Another is to provide opportunities for growth. If you can pick your lead man,
foreman, department head, superintendent, or advance someone to the sales
department from your own organization, by all means, do it. Your people will not feel
that they are trapped in their jobs and that better positions usually go to someone
outside. Try to have one more raise in front of the man. He is happy when he has
something to look forward to and it makes him feel good when he can go home and
mention that he just got another raise.
Let’s not kid ourselves, however, there are many guys who are impossible to
improve. Their attitudes are wrong, and in general they are undesirable. Those men
should be gotten out of the organization as soon as possible. However, if you’ve got
someone who doesn’t quite measure up, who is really trying, give him every chance
in the world. Not only because it is the human thing to do, but because it has a good
effect on the morale of the rest of your people.
Another technique that is conducive to a higher output of work is to keep plenty
of work available ahead of the man and let him see that it is available.
Such things as safety precautions, clean and well-lighted facilities, food and
drink vending machines, adequate wages and incentives, clear instructions and
worksheets are helpful. Training that will raise him to as high a degree of proficiency
as possible, training that will enable him to make his own set ups, little extra jobs
that the operator can do when the machine is in a long cycle - all these things help
make an employee more productive.
There are a lot of little things - like communication with employees. Bulletin
boards, notices of births, marriages, and deaths are posted on spot news as well as
in our employee newspaper. Copies of our latest ads are shown to let the employee
know that we are actively pushing our products which will help ensure steady work
and more opportunities. Another way of communicating is to remember occasions
important to the individual: i.e., every one of our employees gets a birthday card at
home “from your friends at such and such a company.” Do you know that this is the
only card some people ever get? At Christmas, they also get a note of greeting with
their check, saying that instead of sending an elaborate Christmas card, money has
been donated to an institution for the purpose of buying a wheelchair or some other
need. They feel good about it and to those who have an affliction in their family, the
bond between them and the company is just a little stronger.
Another means of communication is the company newspaper. It can be simple or
more elaborate depending on what you want to make of it. It is a good means of getting
employees’ names into print with anniversaries, birthdays, and so forth, something
all people like.
Picnics are good. Christmas parties are good. Services awards and so forth. Also,
open house, when families can visit and see what the family member makes and where
he spends one-third of his life. Suggestion systems of course are desirable. Ideas must
be encouraged, nurtured, and be given credit for.
64 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

In the area of other personnel techniques, don’t overlook the aid of aptitude tests
which can be more or less elaborate and costly depending on the level of job being
tested. For $15 you can get a good test for a man up to foreman level, which will give
you some idea of his strengths and weaknesses. Too often, we spent years on trying
to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and finally when we started to use tests, found
that we never could make anything more out of man than what he then was.
External ideas are what you employ outside the plan to give your employees the
feeling that their future is closely bound up with the company’s success. Some ideas
are to
1. Make him feel that his part in the operation and company is important. For
example, the failure of a transformer can make a hospital operating room go
dark. This failure could be caused by someone who did not put the insulation
in the proper place or did not tighten a nut in the proper manner. If he is proud
of his company and his part in it, when he is driving down the street with his
family or friend, he will point out the transformer up on the utility pole and say
that is what he makes.
2. Give him the feeling that he is working for a progressive company, one that
comes out with new products; one that is driving hard for business and is not
wasteful in any level of the operation. He will notice that the boss puts out the
lights that aren’t being used and he will be less wasteful. He will notice the boss
straighten out a tote pan on the floor or pick up a crumbled cigarette package
to make the shop look neater and in general, he will follow the boss’ example.
3. When you are in an area where there is a local newspaper or weekly community
magazine, you can quite often get news of a company in these papers. It gives the
employee a little feeling of pride that he is part of something that is favorably
being called to the attention of his neighbors.
There is a third area I mentioned called Leadership. Now, I left this for last because
it is really the beginning. Without this, nothing of what I’ve said counts for much
because little will have lasting effect if leadership is not present. Interestingly enough,
this is the one point that none of my division heads mentioned specifically in their
notes to me, even though all of them possess it to a marked degree. In management
techniques, this deserves to be in BIG, BOLD, BLACK, LETTERS.
By leadership, I meant the head man who sets the pace of an organization – in the
small company in particular, he gets in on time - often the first one there - and is one
of the last to leave. He sets an example of work that others naturally follow. When the
founder of the business is still the active head, this quality of leadership is generally
present, since it is sheer drive and work along with the other virtues which helps
make his business successful.
Good leadership is that indefinable thing that is in the air when you walk into
a plant. I remember years ago, when I was out selling, I could generally tell when I
walked into a small company, where pretty much the whole office is in front of you
when you talk to the switchboard operator, I could sense whether it was a harddriving
outfit, if it was indolent, if it was good spirited, or if it was browbeaten.
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If the head man is on time, everyone starts on time. If he walks in with a smile
and a pleasant “good morning,” the same is fed right back to him. If he is hard driving
all day, his organization mirrors the same energy. If he is abusive, his organization is
rife with buck passing.
There are a lot of good managers - I believe a 100 percent score can only come
from the experience of opening the shop, store, or office every morning, dealing with
the employees all day, and closing it at night after walking around to see that all
windows and doors are locked and bolted, with machines, electricity, faucets shut off.
Once one has that feeling of a business, he never loses it, and it is reflected throughout
his organization as long as he is running it.
On Bureaucracy, September 12, 1984
As we get larger and the more personal touch gets diluted, there is always the danger
of BUREAUCRACY creeping in. The headlines from a Wall Street journal article of
September 10, 1984, tells of the failure of so many acquisitions by large companies…
we do not want to lose or dilute entrepreneurship and if any division president thinks
we are diluting their successful operation by bureaucracy, we’d like to know about it.
The Strength of Human Assets, August 26, 1985
The 1966 article by Peter Drucker ‘Staffing for Excellence’ has many gems of truth in
it, the essence being that “there is no perfect manager and good ones must be supplied
what they lack to make them better or outstanding managers.”
That has always been our philosophy from day one when our first employee, Pete
Sommer, was long on shop skills but short on management and selling skills. These
were supplied to him, hence the success of Size Control with other successes following
based on the same philosophy. He eventually became president.
One of our early acquisitions, Walsh Press, was headed by a fine engineer - Gene
Weyler - who ran a one-man show which was a cash cow. We could have insisted on
growth, with an engineering department, sales manager and all the trimmings.
Instead, we left him alone. He did his own engineering and was on the phone everyday
cajoling, kidding, selling, and getting ideas that resulted in high profit because of low
overhead, and the cash that enabled us to acquire a much larger company, Simpson,
that had all the trimmings which were needed to grow 15-fold over the subsequent
years.
As I look over the list of companies, I see manager after manager who is superb
in some areas and weak in others. We have all gradations in that spectrum, some
managers being near perfect and need no help from the home office. Others are in
between all the way down to the near neophyte who needs all the help he can get, and
use, if he is wise.
That is one reason for the orange management letters that flow through the
office - to fill in gaps here and there in our managers’ techniques in areas where they
are weak or not too experienced. Another reason is to try to inculcate a feeling for
the human aspect in dealing with people and to try to understand the other guy’s
problems that may be causing some friction or poor performance.
Those memos are a distillation of 50 years in management, sent with full
recognition that the writer has people all around him who can do a far better job in
their field of expertise than can the writer, whose job it is to pull it all together.
66 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

All this philosophy sometimes gets fuzzy around the edges because of the
lengthening of the management chain as we grow, and new and diverse elements
get into the chain, and which are not quickly assimilated into our thinking. Or even
some of our proven managers sometimes digress and get rid of good people simply
because the weakness of the subordinate gets magnified, and the strength and good
performance of the individual is overlooked. You probably would hire him if you were
looking for someone.
Unfortunately, the division suffers, the president has egg on his face, and too late
he realizes that he weakened his own performance by succumbing to the weakness
of his staff instead of building on its strengths. There is no perfect manager, and we
must supply what he lacks.
The manager in turn must do the same with his key people. Only then will the
full effect of all the strengths in an organization come to the surface and the human
effort be maximized for our success. There are many styles of management. This is
the one that has worked for us.
The Life Cycle of Organizations: Beware the Seeds of Failure, November 1, 1985
Every successful enterprise, be it business, military, government, banking, individual
personal living, or other social entity, has the seeds of human failure planted within
it, some from the weakness of human nature, others from events beyond one’s control.
The seeds are over-confidence, egos, complacency, ambitious empire building,
money carelessness, vulnerability to jealous outside barbs and rumors, government
and political actions, do-gooding, bad judgements and ventures, mediocre successor
management, excessive overhead and management costs, greed, and foreign
competition. These organizations are fraught with potential reverses and very few
escape the consequence over their lifespan. Many disappear and some survive only
to go through the lifecycle again.
The high and mighty banks are now going through it. The proud agricultural
equipment companies such as International Harvester and John Deere have been
reaping the seeds of failure these last few years. General Motors is suffering after
many years of unparalleled success, and numerous other prominent corporations
have gone into bankruptcy the last couple of years. Many business tycoons of all kinds
have ended up in ignominy, bankruptcy, prison, or even committed suicide because
of the seeds of failure implanted in their makeup, their modus operandi, or events
beyond their control. Witness the failure of the Hunt brothers, once worth over $5
billion; John Connolly, former Governor of Texas, and political tycoon; Samuel Insull;
and James Bakker the evangelist.
Such instances can go on and on, the message being that all successful enterprises
have the seeds of failure within them. Are those of us who read this sufficiently
wise and cautious enough to profit from these lessons to survive the vagaries of the
consequences of these seeds of destruction within us? I doubt it, since each of us is the
last to see these consequences developing.
On Discrimination - July 13, 1987
We exercise no discrimination at any time for race, gender, or creed, and that is
absolute with us. An amusing sidelight was the rumor that swept through Simpson
Electric in 1950 that I was going to get rid of all female employees over 40. You should
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67

know the ages of some of those women who are still with us and were then, some of our
best people. The other day at the Island, a Black captain who flies with Pat’s airline,
came over with his wife to Pat’s place for a delicious bluefish dinner with us. He was a
first-class guy and it occurred to me that we have few if any Blacks in staff in middle
management positions. We should do a better job recruiting. This memo is to reaffirm
our policy in this regard. All hires should be made on the basis of merit and no other.
On the “Post Stock Market Crash” ~ October 23, 1987
People are wondering what the next few years hold for the economy, Katy, and the
consequences to themselves.
• Katy is in good shape, having paid off all its bank loans last week.
• The personal consequences call for job security for everyone through solvency
and success of their company. If the past is the prologue, this one man’s opinion is
that we are in for three years of recession and depression.
• The government’s fiscal sins of spending the next generation’s substance now by
living high on the hog is catching up with us.
• With a fall-off in business and jobs, many bank loans will default, causing more
banks and savings & loans to fail. Income tax revenue will decrease, and the
federal deficit will increase. Ten percent of all federally insured banks are on the
trouble list and 150 more banks will fail this year.
• The foreign money that has powered the recent boom in the United States will go
back to the countries of origin, thus worsening the situation.
• The government support of FDIC and FSLIC, unemployment benefits, social
programs and pump priming will cause the federal debt to skyrocket.
• The only hope in future generations to cut government debt, and their own, for
that matter, is inflation.
• Which for several years means a recession and probably 4 depressions with
inflation at the same time.
What course to follow, business wise?
• Probably your guess is as good as any, but prudence dictates the following:
• Immediately cut back on purchase of any material for manufacturing purposes
since your sales could drop off by 25%.
• Eliminate or postpone as long as possible all other purchases.
• Double and triple your credit vigilance; even now we have too many bad accounts.
Do not ship to a new account until credit is checked. Ship C.O.D. in the meantime.
• Keep your A/R down. At the end of thirty days nag the hell out of your overdue
accounts and get your money in. Have all of your acknowledgments state interest
at prime will be charged after thirty days. Overprint your present supply and put
it into effect now.
• Tighten up on work rules, early clean-up time, late rest periods, tardiness, etc., etc.
• No raises.
• Eliminate the myriad of little wastes that add up to big sums.
68 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

• Cut down on travel, phone calls, etc, cut down on overhead and capital employed
which will cut your costs and enable you to get more of the scarce business that
is out there.
You can no doubt think of many more steps to take in preparing for the worst while
hoping for the best.
On “Information” ~ August 14, 1989
This is what General Powell, new Chief of Army Staff, says about information:
Information is the lifeblood of an organization. If you are not on top of the
information system, you’re not dealing with the lifeblood of the organization. The
more senior I have become; the more information gets screened from me. I want to be
able to know what is happening in my organization. The only way to do that is to get
lots of information, not only through formal channels, but through informal channels,
by calling down to junior people, by discovering non-traditional, non-organizational
means of finding out what is going on. I drive my staff crazy. If they never know how
much detail I might ask for, it instills a certain discipline.
The above is only too true. Any head of an organization worth his salt wants to
know what is going on in his organization, otherwise he loses control, can’t make
proper decisions nor plan short- or long-term policies.
This even applies to department heads and foremen. Even though in a loose
organizational structure we try to foster, though often cutting across the lines, the
leader of the group short-circuited should be informed for the same reasons. A corollary
of the above is the leader, at any level, must dig, dig, dig looking for trouble spots no
matter how serenely the Ship of State is sailing. In this way potential Big Troubles can
be detected and avoided. Every phase of the business should be constantly reviewed
in the leader’s mind for possible areas of investigation and improvement. Nothing can
be taken for granted.
What Determines Success?
You will get back exactly what you put into your life. Too often, managers today look
for a quick fix. We all know from experience that real achievements in life take time
and hard work. There is no quick fix in the real world. If you want efficiency, you must
spend on equipment and planning. If you want new products, you must spend on R&D.
If you want a good workfoce, you must spend on fairness, decency, fair wages, and
incentives. If you want satisfied customers and repeat business, you must spend on
service, quality, contacts, and follow-ups. Some of the key points are:
1. Energy - you have to have a lot of it.
2. It’s helpful to have parents who set an example of “the worker.”
3. It goes without saying: you have to have ambition; you have to have that drive.
4. I was never happy through my business career until I was in business for
myself, on my own.
5. Intuition is very important and much of that comes from working all your
life in various jobs from a newspaper boy to shoveling snow, to cutting grass.
You learn to work with people, you learn to show respect, you learn to react
to their impressions as you talk to and work with them. It is very important
to have intuition.
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6. Luck is very important.
7. Having respect and listening to older people. Try to profit from their
experience. Not all young people do that.
8. Selecting good -not mediocre -people.
9. The paper today mentioned the richest man in the world - Japanese - he is
worth about 41 billion dollars. His comment was “he needs mediocre people.”
The head guy is the intelligent guy. He tells the other people what to do. That’s
an entirely different philosophy than I have, and most people have, but you
should read that -the ego of the man who has 35,000 employees and wants
them all mediocre!
10. Try to put yourself in the other guy’s place. That’s a very important attribute.
11. Responsibility! You take on a job, you are responsible for it. I have a xerox
from one of our division heads and it says: “If you want to hit the jackpot, you
have to put the nickels in the machine.” That’s not only true when investing
but also in people, effort, and energy. Not only the money: you get back what
you put in and more regardless of what the input is.
12. Sacrifice: you have only 24 hours in a day, so you have to gage your time
between your family and your work and recreation.
13. Creativeness: some people never have it. Some people see an opportunity
everywhere they turn. Success is where opportunity and ability meet.
14. You can’t start something and stop it. You have to have complete dedication.
Success takes complete dedication!
Time is a Business Dimension - January 22, 1988
The gist of this memo has been sent out many times in the past but bears constant
repeating. That is - if you are going to do something that will save you money, every
month’s delay costs you that amount of saving. This applies to every expenditure that
will save money, including machine tools, tooling, cutbacks, new methods, systems,
computers, plant locations, buying and selling of assets. In the latter case, delays
in negotiations, then delays in getting the legal work done can be very costly and
sometimes can even kill the deal. If we have a deal that means $3,000,000 to us,
every month’s delay at 10 percent cost of money means $25,000 which realistically
must be added onto the legal or brokerage costs because of the delay. The only way
to do a deal is to get all the principles in a room until all issues are settled and a
rough draft is worked out. Marathon sessions are helpful, hunger is an incentive, and
deadlines are wonderful. If you need an answer, don’t write a letter, or wait until
you see the guy - reach for the phone, get your answer, and then go on with your
business! If you are going to do it, do it!
70 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

CHAPTER
Nine
Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
In years past, most of you have heard me say that if you would start where I left
off, there is no end to where the Carroll family could go. - Wallace E. Carroll,
memorandum, February 9, 1989
The first family home of Wallace and Le Carroll was a modest apartment in downtown Chicago,
where the couple lived for one year. They moved to a summer cottage in Winnetka where
Pat and Denis were born. In 1941, Wallace and Le purchased their first home on five acres in
Bannockburn. Barry, in 1944, and Lelia (“Sis”), in 1949, were born in Bannockburn. In 1946,
Joseph Gifford visited with Le and Wallace while on business in the Midwest. He told them that
the cottage next door to his own - where Le had lived with the Giffords in the 1920s - was for sale
and that the owners, the Huletts, hope to sell it to a friend of the Giffords. Soon after, Wallace
and Le purchased their first summer home on the corner of Winemack and Green avenues in
the East Chop section of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.
In 1954, Le and Wallace purchased the A. Watson Armour estate in Lake Forest, Illinois,
about four miles north of Bannockburn. They named the 125-acre property the “LeWa Farm.”
The home had been designed in the mid 1920s by famed architect David Adler for the Armour
family. The Armours had run into a bad spell in the market however and instead of building the
planned main residence, they had Adler expand the floor plans of the two gate houses. This made
for an unusual home with dining in one house, and the living and bedrooms in the other with
a tunnel under the driveway connecting the two buildings. This home came with considerable
land and beautiful farm buildings and Wallace saw it not only as a bargain and comfortable
home, but also an attractive long term land investment.
In 1952, Wallace and Le bought another home on Martha’s Vineyard. The “Cook” cottage,
located across the street from the Winemack and Green cottage, was much larger and overlooked
the Vineyard Haven Harbor. Le remembers when she was first invited to see that home that she
felt as though she could fly - it was so big and spacious. The Carrolls later commonly referred to
71

the original cottage as “The cottage.” The big house continues to bear the name Mr. Cook gave
it, “Breezy Top.”
In 1961, Wallace and Le experimented with other vacation and business entertainment
options such as charging a 55-foot Chris Craft and renting the home of retired Commander
Fulton Ringer in Essex, Connecticut, but eventually settled down to the regular routine of
summers on the island. In 1962, Wallace and Le purchased a home in Palm Beach, Florida. 1080
South Ocean Boulevard was a stately home located near the Bath & Tennis Club, and Mar al
Lago. Wallace made up his mind to purchase the home in about five minutes and named it “Hue
View” because of the spectacular view of the ocean. Wallace and Le’s family, close friends, and
business associates enjoyed informal meetings and vacations in both Palm Beach and Martha’s
Vineyard for many years.
Wallace E. (“Pat”) Carroll, Jr. was born on August 24, 1937, in Aurora, Illinois. Wallace called him
“Pat” because of his strong resemblance to his father, Patrick J. Carroll. Pat began his schooling
years at the public Bannockburn Grade School. He then attended ninth grade at Campion, a
Jesuit secondary school in Racine, Wisconsin. He later transferred to Cranwell Prep, a new
Jesuit school in Lennox, Massachusetts whose president was Father Joseph R. N. Maxwell, S.J.
(later president of Boston College). He finished his high school studies at Lake Forest Academy
following the family move to its new home in Lake Forest, Illinois.
While Pat was in high school, he had a summer job working on the barges on the Mississippi.
He graduated from high school in June of 1956 and joined the Marine Corps shortly after. He
reported for duty at the San Diego Recruit Depot in September of 1956. Infantry training at Camp
Pendleton, California followed boot camp. His next Marine Corps assignments included eight
months in Japan and six months with the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa and the Philippines.
He was discharged in September of 1958 and worked for several months at a dry in Illinois. He
then began classes in January of 1959 at Lincoln College, a junior college in central Illinois.
After two years at Lincoln, Pat gained valuable experience with Building Management
Corporation under real estate expert, Dick Ryan. Upon his acceptance as a sophomore at Boston
College in January of 1963, he enrolled full time at his father’s Alma Mater, which by that time
had a large resident student body. At B.C, Pat majored in marketing in the School of Management,
never dreaming that twenty years later, this undergraduate division would become a major
graduate school bearing the name of his father - the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management.
One month after Pat began study at Boston College, he was admitted to St. Elizabeth’s
Hospital in Brighton for an emergency appendectomy. Across the hall, Amelia (“Mimi”) Maine
was recovering from the same operation and upon the urging of the floor’s nursing staff who
repeatedly told her of “The cute young man from B.C. across the hall,” Mimi introduced herself
to Pat. Besides sharing the same birthday, they found they had other interests in common. Mimi
was a student at Newton College of the Sacred Heart - located a mile away from the B.C. campus.
Mimi graduated from Newton in June of 1965 and she and Pat were married in Pleasantville,
New York at Holy Innocent, Mimi’s parish church. They honeymooned on Nantucket.
Pat had previously taken flying lessons while at Lincoln College and had a pilot’s license.
While studying at Boston College, he continued to log hours as an apprentice flier out of Hanscom
Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. He landed an odd job as part of a Harvard research project
on how pigeons navigate and chase radio equipped pigeons, earning the nickname “Captain
Carroll of the Pigeon Patrol.” He talked Mimi into taking flying lessons and she also earned
her solo pilot’s license during her undergraduate years. Pat graduated from B.C’s College of
72 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Business Administration in January of 1966. Shortly after graduation, he applied for the position
of commercial airline pilot with Frontier Airlines. In May of 1966, Frontier offered him a job.
Pat recalled:
“My father’s flying had a great deal of influence on me, and he encouraged me to fly. I love
flying. He also had a great deal of influence on my going to Boston College - and Dennis and
Barry as well. His loyalty to Boston College came through strongly.”
Pat and Mimi moved to Arvada, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, where he began his duties as
a co-pilot with Frontier Airlines in DC-3s and Convair 580s. Pat stayed with Frontier for 21 years,
rising to the rank of Captain in 1979 and flying Boeing 737s until Frontier’s demise in 1987. Pat
displayed his Carroll entrepreneurial inclinations when he started the Carroll Land Company
in 1969. The founding of this company followed the purchase of 1,206 acres east of Franktown,
Colorado. He developed the land there into 189 5-acre sites and named it “Bannockburn”:
a sentimental choice after his boyhood hometown. Pat was asked to join the board of Bank
of the West, a new bank in Parker, Colorado. He became an investor and one of the founders
and stayed on the board until 1987. He then had an opportunity to invest in a subsidiary bank
through the Bank of the West. Pat was one of six major investors of Savings Industrial Bank in
Parker, Colorado. A short time later, he bought out his five partners and he and Mimi Carroll
eventually owned 100% of the bank. In early 1991, they applied for a change in the charter from
an industrial savings bank to a commercially chartered state bank. The charter was approved,
and the bank is called “The Community Bank of Parker”. Asked if his father approved of his
banking interests, Pat remarked:
“My father owned many banks, some small banks and some rather large - he doesn’t own
any banks now. But he’s always been a major stockholder. As a matter of fact, he did not approve.
My father - when I got into the banking business - advised me to get out; he said I’d never make
any money in it. Well, so far, his prophecy has been true, up until recently. Now we’re finally
starting to make some money after the industry suffered from a very poor economy in Colorado
for the past five years. Everyone’s been struggling just to make ends meet. Now the economy’s
turning and we’re doing well.”
In June each year, Pat and Mimi leave Colorado to enjoy their summer months on Martha’s
Vineyard. For years, they spent several weeks each summer at Wallace and Le’s cottage. In 1983,
they purchased their own home on East Chop Drive, across from the East Chop Beach Club. In
1988, they doubled the size of their Island home from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet.
Pat and Mimi are the parents of four children. Pamela Holden Carroll was born on March 28,
1965. Her middle name “Holden” is in honor of her grandmother’s maiden name, Lelia Holden.
Each one of Le Carroll’s four children bestowed this middle name on one of their daughters. She
attended Milton Academy where she met her husband-to-be, Jeremy Crigler. Pam graduated
from Duke University in June of 1988, while Jeremy graduated from Tulane University that same
year. They were married on June 11, 1988, at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Edgartown on Martha’s
Vineyard Island. Father J. Donald Monan, President of Boston College officiated at the marriage.
Their reception was held at the Edgartown Yacht Club.
Susan Sweringen Carroll was born on June 10, 1966. She graduated from the Boston College
School of Education in May of 1988 and earned her master’s degree in Elementary Education
from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She married Robert Leonard in June of 1992.
Margaret Brent Carroll was born on May 20, 1968. She too graduated from Boston College
in May of 1990 with a B.A. in English.
Chapter 9: Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
73

Wallace Edward (“Ward”) Carroll, IlI, was born on May 30, 1972. He graduated from
Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 1994.
Pat served on the Board of Trustees of Lincoln College for 10 years. The Carroll Family
Foundation has been a strong supporter of the school, and two dormitories bear the name
“Carroll Hall.”
Denis Holden Carroll, the second child of Wallace and Le Carroll was born 14 months after their
first on October 31, 1938l. Denis attended the same Jesuit preparatory school that his brother was
attending in Lenox, Massachusetts, Cranwell Prep, where he was a boarding student in both
eighth and ninth grades. He transferred in the tenth grade to Lake Forest Academy. He graduated
from Lake Forest in June of 1957. Denis had joined a United States Naval Reserve Unit in 1956 and
spent the summer between his junior and senior years of high school going through boot camp
at the Glenview Naval Air Station. He was released from active duty in time to return to Lake
Forest Academy for his fourth and final year, where he was also the captain of the football team.
Denis returned to active naval duty following graduation to enter aviation electronics school at
Wold Chamberlain Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He remained on active duty until January
of 1960, spending much of his two years in Washington D.C. at Naval Air Station Anacostia as
an aviation electronics technician. Seven hours after his release from active duty in January
of 1960, Denis arrived at the family home in Lake Forest. He unpacked his sea bag, packed a
suitcase and was off to Lincoln College in central Illinois, having made the transition from the
Navy to civilian life and the start of his college education in less than 24 hours. After three
semesters at Lincoln, having established a firm educational foundation, Denis applied to his
father’s Alma Mater, Boston College, as a transfer student. He was accepted as a sophomore and
graduated from Boston College in June of 1964.
While at Lincoln College, Denis was president of the student senate. He was also a two-year
letterman on the tennis team. At Boston College, he was the business manager for the school
magazine of the undergraduate College of Business Administration (renamed the School of
Management in 1969 and the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management in March of 1989.)
His major was Marketing and in the spring of his senior year, he began interviewing with
companies for an entry level position in the field of Marketing. Continental Can Company invited
Denis to its New York office for a second interview and hired him. He had a choice of reporting
to the sales force of the paper products division in Syracuse, Cleveland, or Chicago:
“After thinking about it long and hard, I chose Chicago, because I really hadn’t spent a lot
of time in my hometown from the age of 12, with the exception of having gone to Lake Forest
Academy for two years. I really had been away from home for most of those years from age 12
to 25.”
After four good years with Continental Can Com, Denis was recruited by the American
National Bank of Chicago in 1967 and began a brief but invaluable experience as commercial
loan officer for the bank. In January of 1970, Denis seized the timely opportunity to purchase
the American Couplings Company, which manufactured brass hose fittings and couplings. The
company grew substantially over the next twenty years.
Denis is an avid golfer with a handicap of 10. He is also an excellent skier, who skied well
enough as a semi professional, after his college days, to be named to the National Ski Patrol.
Recently added to his repertoire of hobbies, all of which revolve around his love for the outdoors,
is the rodeo sport of team roping. He is also a horseman of considerable expertise:
74 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

“I’ve had a lifelong interest in riding horses. At the age of eight, I received a horse as a gift
from my mother and father. I got away from it while I was in boarding school, in the Navy and
away at college, and while starting a business career. In the past eight or nine years, I have
resumed my interest in horses. I live next to the farm where I was raised and have the room
to keep horses. I have 12 to 14 horses, 6 mules, and about 40 head of cattle. They’re Corriente
Mexican cattle, and they’re all steers.”
Denis’ sense of horsemanship brought him membership in the prestigious club of horsemen,
“Rancheros Visitors”, a group of 800 men who ride through the mountains of California, near
Santa Barbara, the first week in May each year. The club has countless distinguished Americans
listed among its members, including former President Reagan.
Denis and Patti Carroll are the parents of five of Wallace and Le’s 18 grandchildren. Patti
Carroll (Patricia Ann Sullivan) grew up in neighboring Wilmett, Illinois. She is one of three
children of the late Catherine Fitzgibbons Sullivan and the late Honorable Arthur A. Sullivan,
distinguished Chief Justice of the Appellate Court of the state of Illinois. Judge Sullivan was
well-known, admired and held in high esteem, all through his thirty years on the bench.
Patti Carroll graduated from the Sacred Heart School in Lake Forest in 1960. She continued
her college education under the guidance of the same Madams of the Sacred Heart when she
chose to matriculate at their flagship school, Newton College (of the Sacred Heart) in Newton,
Massachusetts. She graduated in 1964. Newton College became part of Boston College in 1974.
Patti was a classmate of Mimi Carroll, Pat’s wife.
Although Patti and Denis were undergraduate students on campuses which were just a mile
apart, they met in Illinois following their respective graduations. They were married on May 7,
1966, at the Church of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity in Winnetka, where the Sullivan family
was living and where Patti was working for the investment brokerage house, A.G. Becker.
The first of Patti and Denis’ five children is Cathy (Catharine Ann Carroll), born March 5,
1967. Cathy attended Lake Forest Country Day through the ninth grade and then the Westminster
School in Connecticut. She graduated from Westminster in June of 1985. She then enrolled at
Boston College, Cathy was a double Math/French Major and an honors student in both. She
graduated from Boston College in May of 1989.
The second and third children are twins, born on March 19, 1969. They were christened
Patrick Joseph Carroll, Jr. (after Wallace’s father), and Bridget Ann Carroll. They received their
education, from grade one through high school, first at Lake Forest Country Day School and
then at Lake Forest Academy, graduating in June of 1987. Patrick and Bridget were members of
the class of 1991 at Boston College. Patrick majored in English in the College of Arts & Sciences,
while Bridget is in the School of Education. Following the twins is Mary Patricia Holden Carroll,
better known as Molly. Molly was born on July 14, 1971. Molly also attended Lake Forest Country
Day School and Lake Forest Academy, graduating from high school in 1989. She graduated from
Boston College in May of 1993. The fifth of Patti and Denis’ children, Allison Fitzgibbons Carroll,
was born on May 3, 1976. She graduated from Boston College in 1998.
Barry Joseph Carroll, Wallace, and Le’s third son was born on January 22, 1944, at Highland
Park Hospital. He lived with his parents, two brothers and sister in Bannockburn for ten years
until the Carrolls made their move to Lake Forest in November of 1954. Barry remembers the
twenty acres of their Bannockburn home and once wrote to his father:
Chapter 9: Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
75

Dear Dad,
“I will always remember an afternoon when we were on horseback checking the fences in
the “back 10” [acres] of the Lazy C Ranch in Bannockburn. You were on Big Red, that monster of
a horse that I had to do splits to even ride, and I was on Penny, the brown horse that was always
a little flukey. Penny apparently had other priorities on that light overcast Indian summer day.
. . Penny got her head around and took off at a gallop back towards the barn. . . I remember
the well-worn horse path {which led under a grape arbor just high enough for a horse to pass
under. . .] The first bar of the trellis caught me square across the forehead just above my glasses.
I only remember staring up at the sky... Then came the thunder of that horse of yours, more like
a Clydesdale than any other breed. . . I looked over in time to see you heading straight for that
same trellis at a full gallop. . . you let go of the reins and the cross piece with both hands and
swung off the back of Big Red and came to a standing halt about six feet away from me. You had
executed a maneuver which in retrospect should have required the grace of a gymnast coupled
with the strength of a blacksmith. ‘Are you alright son?’ You asked. ‘I’m all right.’ I spoke. Dad
always liked a lot of land. We also had a barn with about five stalls. Pat and Denis had two
horses named Junior and Jeff. When we moved to Lake Forest, we all rode horseback from
Bannockburn to Lake Forest. It was about five miles, but it seemed like a long five miles.”
Barry attended seventh and eighth grade at St. Mary’s School in Lake Forest. He then went
to Lake Forest Academy for two and a half years and graduated from Lake Forest High School
in 1961. He was accepted at both the University of California at Berkeley and Boston College, and
clearly remembers the Dean of Admissions at Boston College, Fr. Edmond D. Walsh, S.J., visiting
him in Lake Forest and declaring that “Boston College could use more Carrolls.”
Barry stayed at Boston College for two years and was quite impressed with the Jesuit faculty.
He was sales manager of the campus radio station, WVBC,which operated at a profit during his
tenure. However, he decided to take some time off and from the spring of 1963 until February of
1964, he played with a folk singing group, “The Careless Lovers” and later with “The Mandrell
Singers” with whom he performed numerous times on television, college concerts and at such
notable clubs as The Bitter End in Greenwich Village and The Unicorn and Club 47 in Boston.
Folk singing was very lively in Boston, particularly in coffee houses. Barry’s Irish ancestry as
well as Wallace Carroll’s abilities on the piano may have played a role in his inherited musical
talent. In Ireland, the Carroll clans were also noted for their musicians. Donslevy MacCarroll is
described as a “master of music” during the 1300s. Mulroy Carroll was called the chief minstrel
of Ireland and Scotland.
In February of 1964, Barry enrolled at Shimer College and graduated two and a half years
later with a concentration in Humanities. While still in high school, Barry met Barbara Ann
Pehrson. Barbara was one of two daughters of Edwin Donald and Kathryn Biedron Pehrson.
Barbara’s father Ed was the Vice President of Real Estate with Montgomery Ward. In 1964, he
left Montgomery Ward to develop his own regional mall shopping center in Lombard, Illinois,
called the “Yorktown Shopping Center,” which he managed until his death in 1978.
Barry Carroll and Barbara Pehrson dated while in high school and corresponded
throughout their college years; Barbara attended the Colorado Women’s College in Denver. In
1963-4, Barbara spent her junior year abroad in Vienna. Barry also spent his junior year from
Shimer abroad, in 1964-5, at St. Clare’s Hall in Oxford and at Crosby Hall in London.
While Barry was in England, Barbara was finishing her senior year. Barry wrote to her
that “if she would come to England and marry me, I would take her punting on the Thames
76 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

with champagne and strawberries.”! They were married in Oxford, England on July 16, 1965. Ed
Pehrson, both of their mothers, Barry’s sister, Sis, and Barbara’s sister, Marilyn flew to England
to witness the ceremony.
Following the customary European civil and church services, Barry delivered on the
promise by taking his new bride in a punt, a small flat bottomed wooden boat, festooned with
flowers and carrying the appropriate provisions, on the Isis, that part of the Thames which runs
by the Oxford colleges, while family and friends tossed sweet pea blossoms from the bridge at
Magdalen College. Barry recalled that “Dad had just been in the Far East on a trade mission and
so, with all the traveling and jet lag, he couldn’t make the wedding.” Barry and Barbara had a
lovely, extended honeymoon and traveled by car and boat throughout Europe and the Greek
Islands. At the end of August, they returned to Illinois.
Barry finished at Shimer and recalled a particular course that year entitled “Thesis”. The
purpose of the course was to do original work such as writing a play or major essay or starting
a business and Barry chose to do the latter. He and Barbara started a coffeehouse in Mt. Carroll,
Illinois which is located 120 miles west of Chicago. The coffeehouse was in the basement of the
poolhall in town and called “The Golden Shovel.” The two ran the coffeehouse for the winter
and spring terms of 1965-66.
Upon graduating from Shimer in 1966, Barry applied to Harvard Business School. The Dean
advised him to acquire some work experience and encouraged him to reapply. Over the next
year, he worked in advertising and industrial filmmaking. Consequently, Barry produced the
first corporate film for AGM:
“I learned a lot about how to make movies. We make a new one now every five years or so
and it’s very helpful to show new management, banks, stockholders, or companies we want to
acquire.”
After that year, Barry reapplied to Harvard Business School and was accepted. He graduated
in 1969 with a concentration in small business management. Barry and Barbara’s first daughter,
Megan Elizabeth, was born on September 7, 1967, in Lake Forest. Barbara joined Barry following
Megan’s birth at their new apartment home in Central Square, Cambridge.
Their second child, Sean Pehrson Carroll, was born in Cambridge at Mt. Auburn Hospital
on March 21, 1969. The remaining three children were all born in Lake Forest, to which Barry
and Barbara returned following Barry’s graduation from the Business School. Deirdre (DeDe)
Holden was born on January 1, 1973; Colleen Patricia on August 10, 1975; and Oona Kelly on
January 23, 1978.
With a Harvard M.B.A. in hand, Barry interviewed with Kodak and, as photography was a
passion and talent of his, this option was appealing. However, he was disenchanted with Kodak’s
“seven miles of plants and no windows.”
While still enrolled at the Business School, Barry had worked the summer in Operations
Research for a valve company in Worcester, Massachusetts. His second year, he performed a
management audit (consulting study) at Gaertner Scientific Co., prior to its acquisition by Snow
Manufacturing Co. He applied these skills back in Lake Forest working with AGM’s Chet Buckley
and doing some operations research work at Champion Pneumatic, one of Wallace’s small
independent companies, J.C. Deagan Co., which, with about 40 employees manufactured high
quality musical instruments, had been in constant financial distress since its acquisition in 1966.
Jack Deagan, a third generation Deagan, had inherited management and, although he was very
presidential, he didn’t like to work very much; three years after the acquisition the company
Chapter 9: Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
77

kept losing money. Chet Buckley asked Barry to do a study on Deagan’s management, which he
completed in two and a half weeks. Barry recalls Chet saying: “This is a really nice report, with
a lot of good recommendations. Now, why don’t you go do it!”
Thus, Barry ran Deagan from 1969-1970 and in 1970, Wallace and Chet offered him the
opportunity to buy out their interest. Barry owned and ran Deagan from 1970 to 1976, when
after hiring a new president for the company, he moved to Des Plaines, Illinois. While Barry
ran Deagan, he expanded the product line considerably and added several major distributors;
however, because of a good offer from a drum company and an even better opportunity for him
in the corporate world, he sold Deagan, the company and building,
“It was an opportunity to work close at hand with one of our best managers (George
McKewen of International Metals and Machines) at IMM. I had run a small company and was
eager to see the workings of a large conglomerate. I worked closely with George McKewen, and
it was a valuable and educational experience.”
In 1970, Barry was invited to join the board of his Alma Mater. He was named one of the
“Outstanding Young Men of America” and in the late 1970s became a member of MENSA. Also
in 1970, he was invited to join the Lake Forest Symphony Board. In 1979, he helped form the
Music Institute of the Symphony Association.
Recalling his father’s style and success in the business world, Barry noted a particular
conversation he had with Wallace in the mid-70s:
I said, “You know you’ve really achieved remarkable success. You’ve got some very valuable
properties, we could always have another recession and maybe this time you won’t be able to
renegotiate a loan or something - wouldn’t now be a good time to consolidate your position,
maybe sell off some of the companies that aren’t pulling their weight, boil it down to a more
manageable size where you can keep closer control over it and just pay off the banks and have
a more secure position. You don’t have to go on constantly mortgaging everything and buy
something else, like you have been doing. It’s a good time to take it easy. Why don’t you do
that?! Wallace’s answer was: ‘Because it’s what I do best.’ I’ll always remember that answer: it
told me a lot about him and what drove him. His knack in managing people had always been to
find what they can do best in spite of their weaknesses. He would always try to put them in a
position where what they did best worked for the benefit of the organization, and what they did
worst didn’t matter much because he positioned them that way. This was his strongest talent as
a manager.”
Barry set up the IMM groups risk management function and oversaw four of the operating
subsidiaries as well as negotiating several acquisitions and consulting occasionally at Katy. In
1983, Barry accepted an appointment by the president’s Commission on Executive Exchange and
worked for a year in the first Reagan administration as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of
Education, Terrel Bell. He continued his involvement in education, joining the boards of Barat
College and later St. Xavier in Chicago, speaking on authoring, and editing a monograph and
book on business partnerships with education. Since 1983, he has been an underwriting member
of Lloyds of London.
Barry and Barbara live in Lake Forest. Barry sails a 41’ ketch and flies a single engine Mooney
aircraft and occasionally scuba dives. He helped plan and went on a scientific expedition to
an unusual dry valley in Eastern Antarctica in January 1989. Their oldest daughter Megan,
graduated from Phillips Academy at Andover, and from Boston College.
78 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Lelia (“Sis”) Kathleen Holden Carroll was the fourth child born to Wallace and Le Carroll and
their first daughter. She was born January 5, 1949, and was baptized Lelia after her mother. She
was called “Sis’ since her teenage days by her mother, father, and three older brothers.
The first five years of Sis’ life were spent at the Carroll’s Bannockburn home. In November
of 1954, when Wallace and Le and the four younger Carrolls moved to Lake Forest. Sis began
grade school in Bannockburn and continued her elementary education at St. Mary’s Parish
School. She moved on in grade nine to Lake Forest High School, graduating in 1966. Sis began her
college studies at Northern Michigan University and transferred after two years to University of
Denver. She met her future husband, Philip Edward Johnson, while they were both students: Sis
at University of Denver and Phil at University of Colorado, Boulder.
Phil joined the Peace Corps two weeks after he graduated and was assigned to Panama
where Sis visited him in December of 1969. Sis graduated from University of Denver in March
1970 and she and Phil were married in May of 1970. They spent a week on Martha’s Vineyard for
their honeymoon and then returned to Panama. Sis was the first non-Peace Corps volunteer to
be married to a Peace Corps volunteer.
After returning from Panama, Phil then took the Law School Achievement Tests (LSATs)
and was accepted to the University of Denver Law School from which he graduated in 1974.
Upon passing the Bar Exam, Phil accepted a position at The Oil Shale Corporation (TOSCO), a
New York Stock Exchange Company. From April of 1975 until August of 1976, he was TOSCO’s
Environmental Counsel. When the corporation relocated the environmental department to Los
Angeles, Phil opted to stay in Colorado with his family. On August 1, 1976, he joined the firm of
Mosley & Wells. On January 1, 1980, he became a partner with the firm, Mosley, Wells, Johnson
& Ruttum. Phil was also a director of CRL, Inc. and served as a director of and litigation counsel
for Katy Industries.
Sis and Phil’s first child, Brooke Holden Johnson, was born on December 15, 1972. Brooke
enrolled at Boston College in 1991. The second Johnson child, Brandon Carroll Johnson, was
born on August 13, 1975. Dara (“Mo”) McDowell Johnson was born on July 18, 1978, and the fourth
child, Bryce Carroll Johnson, was born on April 8, 1982.
Chapter 9: Carroll Family Growth: 1936-1990
79

CHAPTER
Ten
The Goldenrods: Wallace E. Carroll’s Family Pearls of Wisdom
Over the years, while Wallace Carroll developed a strong business and management philosophy,
highlighted by humanitarianism, he strove to inculcate a similar philosophy to members of his
family, often expressed through memos and essays. One such essay advises:
Every once in a while, some family member rises from the average, either by hard
work, brains, luck, or combination of all three, garners together sufficient means
or fame to form what is sometimes termed a dynasty. . .. It is the progeny of the
founder of a material dynasty that this essay is concerned with. . . The old maxim
is that there are three generations between shirtsleeves, we see examples of this
around us all the time. . .. One’s business is the most important thing in a man’s
life if he wants security for his family: ... Complete dedication to one’s business is
essential for success.
Values are placed in ephemeral standards that are set by the succeeding generations, peers
who are brought up in similar circumstances rather than on those of the dynasty founder. Peer
approval is sought by doing the things they do without redeeming requirements of a want that
is unfulfilled, asking for what they get, applying themselves to school instead of settling for a
gentleman C average, if that. Spending money that is not earned weakens character and hastens
dissolutions, as do the bad habits formed by conforming to those of their peers.
There is nothing wrong with a family sinking back into mediocrity. The whole world is full
of it and is mostly contented and happy by their own standards. It is just tougher to have had it
and lost it. As one wit has said: “I’ve been poor, and I’ve been rich, and rich is better.”
On “Getting Overextended”
Never get into any commitments that, if they go wrong, you will be ruined. It is all
right to take calculated risks if the potential gains are substantial and the amount
involved is of a size you can absorb if it is lost.
80 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Do not take a risk that will bankrupt you if it goes wrong. In today’s world the
odds of a venture going sour are about 10 to 1. Things happen you never dreamed of.
Keep your feet under you at all times. Don’t take major risks. You don’t have to. It is
much harder to hold on to what you have than to get it in the first place.
On “Handling Wealth”
Wisdom is the mist of a thousand experiences. Wisdom is an acquired virtue, gaining
in substance the longer one lives. At age 80, wisdom has 100% consensus on the
following precepts for handling wealth.
• You will never have the full satisfaction of having wealth unless you earn it
yourself.
• The next best degree of satisfaction is when wealth is inherited and made to grow
and not spent recklessly, which often leads to decadence and/or impoverishment.
• Since the die has been cast as to the second point above in our family, what now
is the best course to follow?
• Live on what you earn.
• View yourself as the custodian of your inherited wealth.
• Make it grow so that your children inherit at least the equivalent of your
inheritance after inflation at 5% a year.
• That is not only unselfish, but it continues your family’s substance for future
generations.
• Live unostentatiously, secure in your knowledge of having a solid financial base
and security.
• It is true that it is easier to earn wealth than to protect it after earning it.
• Do not speculate much. Allocate a little, maybe 5-10% of income for venture capital.
• Following the above, you will go a long way to build character, provide for future
generations and live a satisfying and full life without financial regrets.
On “Charitable Foundations”
Denis has a good idea - establishing his own foundation. Probably all the Quads should
do the same? This permits independent decisions without checking with anyone. It
also puts all in the ranks of public-spirited citizens making some sacrifice in giving
some of their own substance away.
On “The Carroll Name”
I never liked my name on anything of a public nature for fear of the false values
often visited on one’s kids. Such visibility sometimes attracts those who tend to fawn,
the other extreme being good solid kids who tend to shy away. In either case, one’s
children are the losers.
On “Family Celebrations”
We were completely surprised for our 75th birthday celebration which was linked with
our 46th wedding anniversary of November 7. I walked into the large library at the
Onwentsia Country Club where we were to meet with Le shortly behind when the Happy
Birthday song greeted us with Barry’s lights and video camera recording sight and
sound. All the old timers from our early days in business were there, back to our first
days, about 40 in all with spouses and eight of our grandchildren. David Crohan, the
Chapter 10: The Goldenrods: Wallace E. Carroll’s Family Pearls of Wisdom
81

lind pianist, came in from Boston, Pamela from Milton Academy in Massachusetts,
Pat, and family from Denver…Greetings with old friends and cocktails led into a nice
dinner where Le and I sat with our grandchildren. Appropriate remarks, cakes and
mementos of the occasion followed. Then to the library again, where David played
magnificent Viennese waltzes and those who could dance and whirled away. As Barry
soon announced, David’s forte is more than background playing and soon we were
listening to a concert by David which everyone enjoyed thoroughly. This description
is quite inept. To really appreciate the happy occasion, one had to be there.
Wallace Carroll died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, September 29, 1990. It was seven
months after he had suffered from the first serious illness in his lifetime. In reflecting upon
Wallace’s character, many of his business associates, close friends, and family members have
remarked that Wallace had a unique talent for surrounding himself with good people. This
talent is best captured in his own words:
I look for a man with imagination and creative talents, someone who can be selfmotivated
to get the job done and not wait for someone to tell him to do it. He must
be loyal to the company and be planning his future there. However, he must also be
loyal to himself. That is, I want a man who has reasonable self-interest. He must
have his own personal reasons for being aggressive, not just to benefit the company.
If he is going to help himself when he helps the company, he will work that much
harder and do a much better job, and he will get more satisfaction from it. 35
35
Wallace E. Carroll Memorandum, “Manager Criteria,” October 1973
82 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

EPILOGUE
Barry J. Carroll
Two eulogies were delivered on October 3, 1990, at the funeral mass for Wallace Carroll and are
reproduced in part for readers of this biography to share in the spiritual celebration of the life
of Wallace Carroll.
Father J. Donald Monan, S.J. President, Boston College
Today we celebrate not individual events of a life, however dramatic, but the strong timbers
that run through the course of life and give it shape and structure. The shape of those strong
timbers has never been in doubt. The Wallace E. Carroll, Chairman of Katy Industries, was the
same Wallace Carroll whose imagination and prodigious industry impelled him to secure an
education and to turn his eyes west more than 50 years ago. The strong timbers of his life were
cut from many forests from the faith and courage of his Irish parents, from the optimism of his
college years in the late twenties and the sober realism of the thirties.
In this liturgy of the resurrection, I want to point to one element in the formation of
Wallace’s young manhood that remained identifiable through his life and will perhaps strike a
familiar note to all who knew him. Last week at Wallace’s Alma Mater, the bells of our Gothic
towers chimed in the anniversary year celebrating the 500th birthday of St. Ignatius Loyola and
of the Jesuit order he created. A hallmark of the Jesuit education Wallace received was each
year to make the spiritual exercise of Ignatius that shared the Saint’s outlook upon God and the
entire world around us, with its talents and possessions; exercises that encourage each one in
the individuality of his or her own freedom to choose a path.
The essentials of that world view are both simple and profound -the recognition in faith
that you and I are made for union with God, but that all else in the world, our talents, the world’s
abundance, come from the hand of God and are also good -but they are not God -they are for
us to the extent that they help us to serve -and to be avoided to the extent that we allow them
to assume the place of God in our lives -that wealth and public recognition are goods that can
be used to serve -but more so than slender means and lack of public distinctions. And perhaps
most importantly of all -at the conclusion of Ignatius Spiritual Exercises, Wallace was asked to
consider two things -that love should be his response, in return for the love that God showed
him in his life -and that love is shown in deeds more than in words.
83

The Wallace Carroll you and I knew was captivated by wonders, the goodness of the world
around him. The profound respect Wallace had for human talent, for the intricacy of the world’s
workings, for the marvels of organization were an index of his near reverence for the world
about him. His fascination and seriousness about the world of nature and of business around
him brought dramatic success and endowed him with substantial means-and yet he lived as a
steward of his means, rather than their subject. If Wallace respected the goods of the world, in
his personal life he lived with little. His pleasures were not those of luxury, but the simplest of
things -a picture, an emblem, a memento associated with a friend or a loved one. His career made
him a national, indeed an international figure, yet Wallace was an intensely private person who
accepted honor and recognition grudgingly -and only if provided a benefit to a cause, or person
other than himself. A strong-minded man, familiar with authority, in his philanthropy and in
his advice, Wallace never attempted t0 impose his way of proceeding, but provided the material
means and the encouragement for others to carry out their responsibilities.
Wallace was an undemonstrative man, yet his deeds left no doubt where his loves lay -or of
how intense they were. Love is a form of self-dedication of constant, perduring self-dedication.
All of us realize that Wallace stood at the center of an ever-expanding family -not merely in
terms of blood relationship, but in terms of familiarity, admiration, and genuine affection. His
business associates were not only associates in business; they were friends to enjoy on extended
business trips, confidants who grew to know each other’s strategies through gin rummy games,
persons who both experienced and displayed a bond of personal loyalty. Beyond the circle of
business enterprises, none of us will ever know the incalculable number of individuals who
shared his exceptional generosity, for, if in business Wallace was an efficiency expert who made
each dollar count, when it came to measuring the human need in worthy causes, he worked by
the generous standards of the heart.
At the center of these concentric circles of almost familial friendships were Le, the children,
and eventual grandchildren. A father’s love takes many forms; it expresses itself in firmness and
in tenderness; but it has one unmistakable mark which always identifies it as love: his hopes and
ambitions and efforts that his children’s good be complete, equals their own. Wallace was an
unshakeable rock who gave much to many. The strong source of understanding and of gentility
and of good sense to whom he always looked for support was Le. That support was the constant
in his life for more than 50 years. With her, and with all members of the Carroll family, we thank
God for the blessings of Wallace’s good life and commend him to God’s loving care.
Barry J. Carroll on behalf of the children of Wallace E. Carroll
The feeling between fathers and sons is a complex one. Its turns and twists throughout life
and finally, in the waning days, becomes something like Dan Fogelberg sang in his song which
became popular several years ago.
The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old.
But his blood runs in my instrument and his song is in my soul.
This refrain made me sad while I listened to the radio on my daily commute. I could not
recall a single song on such a subject ever attracting such popular attention. It evoked in me
memories of when our family was young. We had a band of sorts. Dad could play anything on
the piano, Pat played the trumpet, I played the saxophone and Denis played drums (we made
him quit the violin). Sis was so much younger that she could only find a role as an occasional
audience or critic. Our music was sort of jazz and probably that which only a mother could love.
84 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Mother being tone deaf, usually stayed away denying us even that plaudit, but we certainly had
fun putting our music together.
The Carrolls never went in much for public displays of affection, but Dad let us know how
he felt about us in simple ways like those jam sessions on the sun porch, or by stuffing our mail
boxes whether we were at home or away with notes, articles and memos, ones which would be
of interest to each one of us, or encourage, or instruct. He communicated a constant confidence
in our ability to improve ourselves, an abhorrence of idleness, and habits of thrift, loyalty, selfdiscipline,
and humility. He could see through us in a flash, and we knew when we were giving
it less than our best. He was generous, but mindful that too much gratification of wants takes
away from children a more than equal measure of such gifts as self-esteem, self-reliance, and
ambition.
His improvisations on the piano were not always perfect but they were better than ours
most of the time and he set a good tempo and gave us some good ideas to build on when it came
our turns to solo. The reason that song made me sad was because I had watched several other
members of that earlier band he put together in wartime on the West Side of Chicago dropping
out and I knew there would be more. There was Dick Ryan, then Pete Sommer, Ray Simpson,
then Jean Dodig and Tom Owen. He attracted good people and brought out the best in them. I
realized that no matter how well they all worked together, their eyes were getting tired and one
day it would be the leader of the band’s turn to rest.
And the chorus goes: My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man.
I’m just a living legacy to the leader of the band.
Epilogue
85

APPENDIX I - Katy Industries: History, Directors & Background
Key Dates:
1948: Wallace Carroll establishes American Gage and Machine Company.
1967: Katy Industries incorporates.
1968: The company goes public.
1972: The firm expands into European and Canadian markets.
1988: The company sells MKT to Union Pacific.
1993: Katy Industries fends off takeover attempts.
1998: Five companies are acquired and six are sold during a restructuring effort.
2001: The company completes a recapitalization.
Katy Industries, Inc. operates as a manufacturing company with two main business segments:
Maintenance Products and Electrical/Electronics. The company manufactures a wide variety of
products including consumer storage, janitorial supplies, scouring pads, electrical cords, surge
protectors, and garden lighting. The firm’s customer base includes commercial and consumer
retail outlets as well as original equipment manufacturers. Katy Industries has facilities in
eleven states and three countries.
Katy Industries was born out of an acquisition of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad (MKT),
a financially troubled operation that needed a profitable parent company. Wallace Carroll,
whose knowledge of railroads dated back to his job as a section hand that helped pay his way
through Boston College became acquainted with MKT many years later when he was persuaded
that the ailing railroad had some attractive aspects that outweighed its reputation as a moneyloser.
In particular, Carroll was attracted by its New York Stock Exchange listing and the $30
million tax loss it would provide for his own company, American Gage. Katy Industries became
the parent holding company of MKT because the railroad company purchased 80% of the stock
of Carroll’s American Gage. With this purchase, Wallace Carroll became the chairman and
majority stock owner of Katy Industries, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1968.
Carroll’s experience with company acquisitions and expansions began in 1940 when he
established a gauge business in Illinois. He had left New England for Chicago in 1963 after he was
hired as a salesman for a Rhode Island precision gauge maker. Four years later, he was selling
gauges on his own. However, producing the gauges seemed a more profitable business than
selling them, and thus Carroll borrowed $6,000 and took on a partner to start his manufacturing
business. Carroll did not regret moving into the manufacturing business, but he did regret going
into a partnership. “I promised myself I’d operate alone from that moment on,” he stated, and he
has held to that promise ever since. Carroll’s entry into the gauge manufacturing business was
timely. As with most manufacturing companies during World War II, Carroll’s American Gage
grew rapidly because of an insatiable wartime demand for products such as gauges. By the end
of the war, American Gage was doing so well that Carroll was able to begin purchasing other
small manufacturing businesses. Carroll wisely made his acquisitions based on a peace-time
economy. In particular, one of the companies that he bought after the war was a manufacturer of
pots and pans. By 1948, Carroll’s holdings had grown large enough that he established American
Gage and Machine Company, of which he became sole owner, as a way in which to contain his
holdings.
86 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

During this time, Carroll’s formula for acquiring companies, as a general rule, was to pay
cash. He looked for small, family-owned businesses that produced both a good product and a
substantial profit. His preference was to keep the original management, but if the management
was composed of older men, then his policy was to make them consultants or honorary
officers and hire a younger generation to manage the company. While Carroll was successfully
developing American Gage, the MKT railroad was having its share of problems. Several years
before the creation of Katy Industries, MKT was on the verge of bankruptcy. The “Katy,” as
the railroad is nicknamed, included 2700 miles of damaged roadbed from Missouri to Texas on
which derailments were likely to occur if the cars were moving faster than 25 miles per hour.
Shipment of stock would often be damaged, and very few shippers would allow their products
to be transported on the Katy. As a result, by March 1965 only 600 cars were moving on a daily
basis.
However, by October 1965, one thousand cars were moving daily. The cause for this
substantial increase in activity on the Katy lines was John Barriger, who came on board to save
the railroad from its bankrupt condition. Barriger had spent many years around the railroads of
the country. After his graduation from MIT in 1921, he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and
then moved on to Calvin Bullock, Limited, a Wall Street firm where he worked as an industry
analyst and inspected the nation’s railroads. During World War II, he was associate director of
the Office of Defense Transportation. After the war, he headed the Monon railroad, which was
almost bankrupt. When he left in 1953, Barriger had managed not only to save the railroad from
bankruptcy but also to establish a sound financial basis for its future operations.
As the new president of MKT, Barriger relied on his friends to help improve the railroad. By
repairing the roadbeds as much as he could within the first few weeks of his presidency, and by
making deals with his numerous railroad friends to the effect that their use of the Katy would
be returned through payment of back damage claims and improved service, Barriger was able to
increase the number of cars moving on the Katy lines within a short period of time. The return
to creditable service on the Katy was a difficult task. The poor condition of the roadbed meant
spending any profits on the railroad. Still, its reputation as a money-loser had not prevented
Barriger from saving it from bankruptcy, and although his hope that a merger with a larger
railroad would take place was not realized, the railroad company looked strong enough for a
parent company to give it the kind of support it needed. Barriger continued his presidency only
long enough to get Katy in a strong operating position.
Katy Industries quickly began to diversify after the acquisition of the MKT. Carroll separated
the company into four very different groups: the Electrical Equipment and Products Group; the
Industrial Machinery, Equipment, and Products Group; the Consumer Products Group; and
the Oil Field and other Services Group. By 1972, the company was expanding into European
and Canadian markets, particularly within the oil and gas exploration fields. One of the most
important acquisitions for Katy Industries in the late 1960s was that of Bee Gee Shrimp, a
collection of companies that operated a 100-trawler fleet off the coast of Georgetown, Guyana,
that harvested and sold shrimp. Bee Gee Shrimp was primarily responsible for doubling the
sales and earnings of Katy’s Consumer Products Group in 1979, and this allowed Katy a degree
of comfort during the recession years. Even though the MKT was showing a profit for the first
time since 1963. In 1971, the Katy made a $21,000 profit, which proved its ability to operate on a
break-even basis. However, the profits were put back into the railroad, particularly in the area
of track maintenance, which was a high 16 percent of operating costs that year.
Appendix I - Katy Industries: History, Directors & Background
87

By 1971, another man with a reputation of being able to tackle tough jobs was at Katy.
Reginald Whitman became president and chairman of MKT in 1969 and is credited with
keeping the company headed in a profitable direction. Whitman’s confidence that the Katy
would not only be profitable but that it would also grow was an important aspect of the future
earnings of the company. By 1973, neither the railroad’s negative book value of $9 million nor
its net deficit was consolidated in Katy’s annual report. The company did not have to write
off the railroad’s losses against its consolidated earnings. In addition, Katy no longer had to
carry the railroad’s large debt on its balance sheet. For Katy, the railroad provided a shelter
that was important to its acquisitions. Between 1970 and 1973, Katy purchased 15 companies for
approximately $34 million. Most of the companies were small and privately owned. Once they
were put behind the tax shelter of the railroad, their profits increased significantly. By this time,
Katy was considered to be a diversified investment fund, which was different from others of its
kind because it usually owned a majority, if not 100 percent, of its affiliate’s stock. W.H. Murphy,
Treasurer of Katy, regarded this policy as one which allowed a “uniformity of overall corporate
policy as well as the exchange of technology, marketing, purchasing, and financial assistance”
within the companies.
Katy’s formula for acquiring companies did not change significantly over the years. Carroll
continued to purchase small companies that had good product lines and presented small risks.
As Carroll stated, “If it is profitable or we could make it profitable, we buy it.” It was also Carroll’s
policy to buy companies that already had good management in order to give the division manager
a sizable amount of autonomy. In addition, Katy offered incentives to its subsidiaries, which
were based on earning increases as a means of keeping the companies productive and efficient.
This formula was a successful one for Katy. Its net growth increased from $2 million in 1971 to
$18 million in 1981. Katy managed to increase sales throughout the recession years of the early
1980s. In fact, its earnings were so good that Katy expanded its pump manufacturing company,
LaBour Pump, which was located in Ireland.
In 1983, Katy began to expand into the silverware business. Carroll first purchased Wallace
Silversmith Inc. in August and then purchased Insilco Corporation’s international unit around
October of the same year. These new acquisitions and investments in the early 1980s represented
some of Katy’s efforts to offset the uneven earnings of the company’s railroad and machinery
operations. By 1985, plans were in the air to sell MKT. Union Pacific had made an offer that
required MKT to obtain 60 percent of the outstanding income certificates of the company. MKT
had only purchased 41 percent by mid-1985. Union Pacific then terminated the offer. Chairman
Carroll’s comment on this turn of events in early 1986 was that Katy would “keep on running
the railroad; it’s a good property.” Katy needed to increase its earnings. The company had some
significant losses, which were blamed on the casualty and property insurance business, Midland
Insurance. Midland’s problems were caused by difficulties in the market. Katy liquidated the
insurance company in the early part of 1986, but net sales dropped from $4.3 million in 1984 to
$3.9 million in 1985. In other areas, however, Katy was experiencing new developments. Early in
1985, Katy announced that its subsidiary, Katy-Seghers Incinco Systems Inc., had been awarded
its first contract to build a waste-to-energy plant. It had taken the company six years to win a
contract since the start of the business in 1979, and the subsidiary was expected to see some
profits in 1985. At the time, Carroll saw the waste-to-energy plants as the “future direction” of
Katy Industries and expected that there will be great demand, and competition, for these plants
because of the increased environmental concerns of the nation. Specifically, state, and local
88 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

governments were considering this form of incineration, and if the trend continued in this area,
Katy expected to be in the midst of the development of these plants.
During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the direction of Katy Industries would change
dramatically. Carroll retired, leaving Jacob Saliba as chairman and CEO and William Murphy as
president. Under new leadership, Katy began its transformation, which was marked by takeover
threats, restructuring, and divestiture. In 1988, the company finally sold the MKT--which was in
financial crisis--to Union Pacific. Katy also divested its seafood business, and by 1990 its main
business segments included industrial machinery and components, consumer products, and
energy resources. As Katy streamlined its operations, it became attractive as a takeover target.
During this time, Katy elected a new management team. John Prann was named president while
Philip Johnson became chairman. Saliba was named chairman again in 1997 when Johnson left
the firm. The company also moved headquarters to Englewood, Colorado. In order to maintain
its independence, Katy distributed a $14 per share dividend to its shareholders to reduce its
available cash and make it less attractive as a target. The plan worked, and Katy was left to focus
on a new restructuring effort that left consumer products, electronics testing equipment, food
packaging machinery, and specialty metals as its core business units. The firm continued to sell off
unrelated subsidiaries including Panhandle Industrial Co. and also made strategic acquisitions.
In 1995, Katy purchased GC Thorsen Inc., an electronic parts distributor. The following year, the
firm made a $47 million purchase of Woods Industries Inc., another electronics-related concern.
During 1998 and early 1999, Katy made five acquisitions that included Contico International
Inc., a manufacturer of consumer storage, home and automotive products, and janitorial and
food service equipment and supplies; specialty abrasives firm BayState State Grit Cloth; Wilen
Products Inc., a professional cleaning products concern; the consumer electrical division of
Noma Industries Ltd.; and Disco Inc., a cleaning products manufacturer catering to the food
service industry. By this time, Katy had also divested six companies and its machinery division.
As Katy prepared to enter the new century, it adopted yet another focus--maintenance
supplies and electrical and electronic products. Revenues jumped from $382 million in 1998
to just under $600 million in 1999 as a result of its aggressive acquisition strategy. In 2000,
however, sales fell to $579 million, and the company reported a loss of $5.4 million. Then, in
2001, the firm reported a loss of $63.3 million. That year, the firm took $58.4 million in charges
related to restructuring and the write off of certain assets. In addition, sales fell by 12.7 percent
in 2001 due to weakening demand and the slowing economy. As part of the company’s cost
cutting efforts, it moved headquarters from Colorado to Connecticut and closed an office in
Chicago. It also completed a recapitalization with KKTY Holding Company L.L.C. It sold $70
million in stock--700,000 shares--which was mainly used to pay off debt. Saliba retired from
his post in 2001 and left C. Michael Jacobi as president and CEO. In 2002, Jacobi continued to
focus on cutting back on expenses, improving profit margins, and new product development.
Competition remained fierce, and the recovery of the U.S. economy was crucial to the success of
the firm. While Katy had come a long way in restructuring itself since the early 1990s, its future
held many challenges.
Principal Subsidiaries: American Gage & Machine Company; Contico International, L.L.C.;
Contico Manufacturing Limited (U.K.); Contico Manufacturing (Ireland) Limited; CRL Export,
Inc. Glit/Disco, Inc.; Hallmark Holdings, Inc.; Duckback Products, Inc.; Primary Coatings, Inc.;
GC/Waldom Electronics, Inc.; Katy International, Inc.; Glit/Gemtex, Inc.; Hamilton Precision
Metals, Inc.; HPMNC, Inc.; HPM of Pennsylvania, Inc.; Hamilton Metals, L.P.; Wabash Holding
Appendix I - Katy Industries: History, Directors & Background
89

Corp.; Wilen Products, Inc.; Katy International, Inc. (British Virgin Islands); Katy Oil Company
of Indonesia; Katy-Teweh Petroleum Company; Katy-Seghers, Inc.; Savannah Energy Systems
Company Limited Partnership; PTR Machine Corp.; W.J. Smith Wood Preserving Company;
Woods Industries, Inc.; Thorsen Tools, Inc.; Woods Industries (Canada), Inc.; Glit/Gemtex, Ltd.
(Canada).
Principal Competitors: Ecolab Inc.; The ServiceMaster Company; Unilever.
Further Reading:
• Aven, Paula, “Katy Industries Buys Five Supply Companies,” Denver Business Journal, February
26, 1999, p. 21B.
• Beaven, Stephen, “Woods Industries Sold Again,” Indianapolis Business Journal, December 16,
1996, p. 4.
• Berenson, Alex, “Katy Industries Regroups,” The Denver Post, July 21, 1994.
• “Katy Industries Completes Sales of Its Seafood Operations,” PR Newswire, October 15, 1987.
• “Katy Industries to Consider $252 Million Takeover Bid,” The New York Times, December 7,
1993, p. D5.
• “Katy Industries to Sell Subsidiary to Okla. Firm,” The Denver Post, September 10, 1994.
• “Katy Looking at Buyout,” Denver Business Journal, November 10. 2000, p. 7A.
• “Katy Reports Loss,” Denver Business Journal, April 6, 2001, p. 6A.
• Lewis, Al, “Katy Industries Acquires Contico,” Denver Rocky Mountain News, January 12, 1999,
p. 4B.
• ------, “Katy Industries Decides Not to Sell Electrical, Electronics Business,” Denver Rocky
Mountain News, December 16, 1999, p. 6B.
Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 51. St. James Press, 2003.
Directors of Katy Industries
Wallace E. Carroll: Chairman of the Board 1970-1988; Vice Chairman of the Board 1988-1990
Jacob Saliba: President, 1968-1988; Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, 1988-1993
William H. Murphy: Vice President, Treasurer and Controller 1974-1988; Chief Operating Officer
and Chief Financial Officer 1988-1992
Doyle G. Berry: Director 1969-1975
Barry J. Carroll: Director 1975-1991; Vice President CRL, Inc. 1974-1992
Denis H. Carroll: Director 1974-1991; Vice President CRL Inc. 1980-1992
Jacques E.J. Fesq: Director 1984-1991.
C. Felix Harvey: Director 1971-1993
Philip E. Johnson: Director 1991-1993
Donald S. Kennedy: 1968-1993
Charles W. Sahlman: 1972-1993
Reginald N. Whitman: 1970-1993
90 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

Appendix II - Wallace E. Carroll’s Independent Companies
American Machine & Science, Inc, 1969-1990, including the Snow Manufacturing
TJM Corporation including Triner Scale and Manufacturing Company
OTX
Johnson K-Line
The Hawthorne Bank of Wheaton
Master Machine Tools
Hinz Lithographing Company
Gaertner Scientific and International Holographics
Taft Pierce Manufacturing
Standard Automatic
Chicago Helicopter Industries
Nosco Inc.
Mariner’s Cove
Quinlan & Tyson, Inc
International Metals & Machines
Timesavers
Gaylord East
Tuxxon, Inc.
Florida Express Airlines
Ludlow Industries
Park Rubber Company
Dunbar Kapple Co, Inc.
Monitor Manufacturing, Inc.
The Williams Steel & Supply Company
Vac-Con
Latini Machine Company
Cowles Tool Company
Zimmerman Equipment Company
91

Appendix III: Historical Context
The Carroll Family Name & Lineage: 461 A.D. to 1688
The family name “Carroll’’ includes variations of O’Carroll, Karwell, Garvill, and MacCarroll.
Wallace Carroll’s surname is taken from the personal name of Charles, which the Teutons gave
to their emperors. The original Irish bearer of the name was Cearbhall, son of Aodh. Cearbhall’s
son, Monach Carroll, was the first to bear the name in its modern form; however, the line can be
traced back a dozen generations. One of the forebearers of the Carroll variation, Oriel Carrol,
was a descendant of the King of Oriel in the era of St. Patrick, “The Archbishop of Armagh,
Apostle of Ireland ‘’, A.D. 461. (Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater, eds., Butler Lives of the
Saints. New York: P.J. Kennedy and Sons, 1956, p. 612). The Oriel Carrols’ family coat of arms was
a black cross with crosslets on a silver background. This Carroll family ruled the Monaghan and
Louth areas to the north of Ireland until they were conquered by the Anglo-Normans under the
rule of Sir John de Courcy Donough O’Carroll. The O’Carroll’s of Ely in North Tipperary and
Offaly ruled until the seventh century. Their coat of arms was two gold upright lions on either
side of a sword with the blade uppermost. The famed Carroll of Carrollton Manor in Maryland
are descendants of this family. Charles Carroll, the second son of Daniel O’Carroll, received a
grant of 60,000 acres in Maryland and arrived there in 1688 as attorney general. His grandson,
also named Charles Carroll, died in 1833; he was the last survivor of those Carroll’s who signed
the Declaration of Independence. While the Carroll lineage began to proliferate in America
with the family of Charles Carroll, the (O’) Carroll presence remains strong in Ireland. At the
end of the 19 th century more than 15,000 acres of Irish land were still owned by the O’Carroll’s
throughout Ireland. (“The Family Name Carroll,” Prepared for Wallace E. Carroll by Hugh L.
Weir, 1987)
The Art of Blacksmithing: 1600-1830
Patrick J. Carroll’s shop had previously been run by blacksmith Samuel Caswell, as far back as
the 1830s. But the history of the building dated back as far as the 1600s. Located on the corner of
Franklin (now Mill River Parkway) and Cohannet Streets (site now of the Taunton YMCA), it was
“one of eight garrison type houses [post and beam held together by trunnels, or wooden pegs,
without a nail in its original form] built there. It was constructed in this manner so that early
settlers (1600s) could fight off any attacks by Indians.” (“Landmark Stirs Memories,” by Bob
Williams, Taunton Daily Gazette. July 27, 1977, p. 2.) Cohannet Street, in fact, was named for Indian
chief Canonchet (diminutive of Cohannet), whose forces represented “an unbearable threat to
the towns and villages of Puritan settlers.” (“Great Swamp Fight Revisited,” by Nicholas King.
Wall Street Journal. New York: January 27, 1988.) The building had to be torn down in 1977. The
art of blacksmithing dates to before the days of the Romans. In most Iron Age societies, the
workers of iron, along with the priests or medicine men, were afforded the highest esteem for
the magic they wrought. The “black” in blacksmithing is derived from the color of the metal as it
is heated in the very high temperature of the smith’s fire. A smith is one who forges a metal such
as gold, silver or, in this instance, iron. The Romans worshiped many gods, including Vulcan,
the god of fire. In ancient Rome, blacksmiths were known as “Sons of Vulcan.” The vast Roman
army depended on swords, spears, and shields, all of which were forged by the blacksmith.
The horses of the Roman legion needed bits forged by blacksmiths and the ironclad wheels of
the legion’s chariots and wagons were made and repaired by these artisans as well. As Roman
armies invaded the nations of Europe, incorporating one after another into the Roman Empire,
scores of blacksmiths were taken into battle and stationed with the garrisons as indispensable
parts of the Roman army. They performed “the three arts of a blacksmith” which required that
92 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

he “must weld, forge metal and be a farrier, or horseshoer.” (“Heyday of Taunton Blacksmithing
Recalled” by Fred Foubert. Taunton Daily Gazette. May 29, 1965, p. 3.) The trade played a key
role in the lives of people throughout the following centuries in Europe, and in cities and towns
throughout the Middle Ages. When the English colonists migrated to America, blacksmith shops
appeared in every town and hamlet of the new world.
St. Mary’s Parish of Taunton: 1828-1958
St. Mary’s Church is located at St. Mary’s Square, a triangle near the intersection of Washington
Street and Broadway. The original church dates to 1832 and was the first Catholic Church in
Taunton. Father John Corry was St. Mary’s first pastor. He was “an energetic Irishman and a
determined priest.” (“All in the Family,” by May Dell Murphy. An Informal Sketch of St. Mary’s Paris
1828-1958. Ed. William T. Hurley Jr. Taunton: C.A. Hack & Son, 1959). He was assigned to the
“mission” that was Taunton in 1830, In March of 1832, Father Corry purchased a lot of land on
Winslow’s Lane for $1500, he paid $800 and maintained a mortgage of $700. He supervised
the building of a small wooden edifice, and on October 28, 1832, St. Mary’s of the Assumption
Church was dedicated. It was christened such “probably because the first [Roman Catholic]
bishop o¢ the United States, Bishop John Carroll (a close relative of Maryland’s Charles Carroll),
chose the feast of the Assumption as the patronal feast of his vast diocese, of which Boston and
vicinity were originally parts. (Ibid.) Members of the parish have always referred to the Church
informally and simply as “St. Mary’s.” “The Catholics of Taunton,” noted the Bishop of Boston,
Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J., in 1832, “deserve great praise. They are not over 150 in number as yet,
and notwithstanding have erected a Church, poor as they are, which has cost over two thousand
dollars. (Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J. personal journal, 1832).
Life in 1907
In 1907, Pope Pius X occupied the Vatican as spiritual head of the Universal Church. Theodore
Roosevelt was President of the United States which was emerging as one of the great world
powers. Orville and Wilbur Wright were busy in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio refining
the design of the first flying machine. Curtis Guild Jr. was the Governor of Massachusetts and
John B. Tracy was the Mayor of Taunton. The November 4, 1907, Taunton Daily Gazette ran a story
announcing the arrival of the steamship Lusitania, the greatest of steamships, “speeding across
the Atlantic to pour their yellow treasure into the crevices of Wall Street…the Lusitania with
$10 million in gold bore fresh from the mines of South Africa, having been delivered to London
just one week before.” (Taunton Daily Gazette, November 4, 1907, page 1.) The November 4,
1907, Boston Daily Globe, which boasted 16 pages for two cents, ran mostly political stories on
its front page (as election day was at hand). An advertisement on the front page announced a
noon day rally for “Businessmen” at Faneuil Hall where Governor Curtis Guild Jr. and Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge, among others, would speak. One column of the sports section heralded a
Princeton victory over the legendary Carlisle Indians. Another announced Harvard’s upcoming
game against Yale. The Andover-Exeter game was already termed a “fixture”: “Old Rivals Meet
on Gridiron This Week”. In the days before “Dow Jones Averages” and “the Big Board”, stocks
were listed simply as “Boston Stocks” and “New York Stocks.” Railroads, which would become
so important in the life of Wallace Carroll, dominated both listings. A share of the Boston
and Maine Railroad stock sold at $129, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford at $128, the
Illinois Central at $120, the Pennsylvania at $108, and the Union Pacific sold at $109 a share.
M-K-T stock sold at $24 a share. Eighty years later, the Union Pacific would purchase the MKT
(Missouri-Kansas-Texas) Railroad for $108 million in cash and stock, providing Wallace Carroll
and Katy Industries with a sizable profit and making him, through Katy, the Union Pacific’s
largest individual shareholder. The Taunton Agricultural Fair, also known as the Bristol County
Appendix III – Historical Context
93

Agricultural Society Fair, has a long history dating back to the 19th century. The last such fair
was held in 1907, just two months before Wallace Carroll was born.
The Great Depression: 1929 to 1939
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic crisis that lasted from 1929 to the
late 1930s. It was one of the most devastating economic downturns in modern history. The
commercial cycle defined by Lord Overstone as “a state of quiescence; improvement; growing
confidence; prosperity; excitement; overtrading; convulsions; pressure; stagnation, distress;
ending again in quiescence.”! (The History of Business Depressions. New York: Birth Franklin, 1022,
p. 82) The Great Depression included the Roaring Twenties, a period of economic prosperity
in many industrialized nations, particularly the United States. The end of World War I and
advancements in technology led to increased production and consumption, contributing to a
sense of optimism and excess. This was followed by the stock market crash of October 29, 1929,
known as Black Tuesday, and officially marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Black
Tuesday was triggered by a combination of factors, including speculative trading, excessive
borrowing, and economic overextension. The crash resulted in a rapid decline in stock prices
which had a cascading effect on the banking sector. As investors lost confidence, they rushed to
withdraw their deposits from banks, causing a wave of bank failures. The economic collapse in
the U.S. triggered a worldwide recession. Many countries responded to the crisis by implementing
protectionist policies, including tariffs and quotas on imports. This further reduced global trade
and exacerbated the economic downturn. Unemployment rates soared to unprecedented levels
during the Great Depression. By the early 1930s, around a quarter of the U.S. workforce was
unemployed leading to widespread poverty, homelessness, and social upheaval. In response to
the crisis, governments implemented various interventionist measures. In the U.S., President
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs aimed to provide relief, recovery, and reform. The
Great Depression began to ease in the late 1930s, and it was ultimately ended by the massive
economic mobilization of World War II.
Boston College and the Jesuit Tradition of Learning
Boston College is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and has a deep-rooted history
derived from the Jesuit tradition. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, commonly known as
the Jesuits, Boston College has consistently upheld the principles of Jesuit education, fostering
intellectual rigor, moral development, and a commitment to social justice. The establishment
of Boston College was guided by the Jesuit commitment to education as a means of fostering
holistic growth and inspired by the teachings of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of
Jesus. The Boston College School of Management, commonly referred to as BC’s Carroll School
of Management, stands as a prominent institution within the landscape of business education.
Founded in 1938, the school has grown to become a respected hub for innovative business
learning, research, and ethical leadership. The School of Management was renamed in 1989
in honor of Wallace E. Carroll whose $10 million donation was the largest private grant to the
university at the time.
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS), established in 1908, stands as one of the most renowned and
influential business schools in the world. The foundation of Harvard Business School was a
response to the growing demand for specialized business education in the United States during
the early 20th century. Prior to HBS’s establishment, business education was often an informal
apprenticeship or taught within general educational institutions. The school’s case studies,
authored by HBS faculty, became essential teaching tools in business schools worldwide.
The case method’s global adoption helped disseminate Harvard’s pedagogical approach and
contributed to a standardized framework for business education.
94 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
• Annual reports to stockholders, company correspondence, Carroll family letters, personal
interviews including:
• Author interviews with Le Holden Carroll: Martha’s Vineyard, July, 1987
• Author interviews with and notes from Wallace Carroll: 1987-1990
• Author interviews with Pat Carroll and Barry Carroll: 1990.
Newspaper and Magazines cited and referenced
• Elwood Kansas Free Press, April 28, 1860
• Taunton Daily Gazzette, November 4, 1907; 5/29/65; 3/4/72; 3/27/90
• The Boston Globe, November 4, 1907; 3/2272
• Business Week, March 5, 1960; 9/65; 2/19/72, 10/3/83
• American Machinst/Metalworking Manufacturing, December 10, 1962
• Iron Age, July 25, 1962
• Sperryscope, Fourth quarter, 1963
• Metalworking News, December 20, 1967; August 11, 1969
• Harvard Business School Bulletin, March-April, 1968
• Railway Age, September 9, 1968; 5/2972; 7/2476; 1/8/81; 1/87
• The Journal of Commerce, February 11, 1970
• Highland Park News, February 18, 1971
• The Times-Picayune, January 13, 1972
• Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1972
• Elgin Courier News, July 21, 1973
• Barron’s, July 24, 1972; 3/20/89
• Forbes, September 15, 1973; July 25, 1988
• Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1977; 11/30/78; 6/18/84; 9/19/84
• Free Press, February 28, 1978
• The Wall Street Journal, February 8, 1979; 1/27/88
• Crain’s Chicago Business, May 12, 1980; 6/23/80; 6/25/84
• Daily Courier-News, May 16, 1980
• Industry Week, May 31, 1982
• Vineyard Gazette, July 22, 1983
• The Daily Herald, June 20, 1984
• Handle Shipp Manage, January 1987
• Traffic Manage, January 1987
• The Chicago Catholic, January 2, 1987
• Fortune, March 13, 1989
• Boston College Magazine, Summer, 1989
• Town & Country, December 1989
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96 THE ENDURING LEGACY OF WALLACE E. CARROLL