The Loomans Lumber Company
While most of his siblings stuck with farming as their primary profession, Richard ‘Derrick’ John Loomans, popularly known as D.J., pushed himself into one of the most lucrative industries at the turn of the century.
Education & Business Career
Born in 1864, making him Henry’s older brother, D.J. was reared in the original cabin that sat on the Loomans property at the corner of Oak Grove and Lake Maria Roads in Alto Township. D.J. was taught in some of the earliest public schools in the State of Wisconsin until the age of 15 when he moved to Waupun and found employment in a livery barn.
Portrait of D.J. Loomans, Circa 1919
In the early 1880s, D.J. served as a cigarmaker, working in that capacity for six years while he gradually built up savings of $1,000 to pay for college expenses. Given how rare it was for lower- and middle-class farmers to earn a formal degree at this time, D.J.’s achievements are even more impressive.
He received a two-year degree from a business school in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (the school was likely the Oshkosh Normal School, a precursor to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, which taught students to be teachers).
Following graduation, D.J. held a teaching position for six months, after which he was employed in the lumberyard of Waupun-based W.E. Caldwell from 1888 to 1890. At age 26, D.J. bought an interest in the business and served in partnership with Mr. Caldwell for the next several years prior to buying the remaining stake.
Between 1895 and 1915, D.J. gradually added businesses to the company’s portfolio, including a lime yard, a coal and a wood business, among others. The expanding enterprise of the Loomans Lumber Co. positioned the young magnate as the largest distributor of these products in Wisconsin.
Through hard work, D.J. became a well-known icon in the Midwest for his contributions to the lumber trade. He served as President of the Wisconsin Retail Lumbermen’s Association for two terms, and as a director on the organization’s board for several years. D.J. was a director of the National Bank of Waupun and a member of the fire and police commission in Waupun.
Personal Life & Death
On October 24, 1895 he married Blanche Cross, who also was active in her community, using her influence and fundraising prowess to support various causes.
She served as President of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Wisconsin Retail Lumber Dealers’ Association. The objective of the Auxiliary was “to establish mutual acquaintance, promote sociability, and provide entertainment for the Association and for all visiting ladies in connection with the convention,” according to the group’s bylaws and an article published in the St. Louis Lumberman in 1910.
While the couple never bore any children, they did enjoy several travels during the 1910s, including trips to Hawaii, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Cuba, Jamaica, Guinea, and a smattering of European countries. One of the most notable journeys the pair made was to the Netherlands (circa 1909) for D.J. to see the birthplace of his parents, a small village in the Dutch countryside named Winterswijk.
On August 21, 1919, D.J. died of apoplexy at his summer home in Green Lake, Wisconsin. His quiet funeral was said to be attended by a large number of lumbermen and officials from both Waupun and the State of Wisconsin. While he may have been one of the first of his matured siblings to pass away, D.J.’s legacy lived on in his communities.
A brief biography of his life written in Fond du Lac County Wisconsin: Past and Present notes that D.J. was “a man always interested in every public measure intended to improve the conditions of the people of his county and state.”
He was the first of the Loomans family to obtain a formal education and own an enterprise of significant size. He served on the boards of state and regional institutions, and supported efforts of the local community. He traveled far beyond his homeland (for pleasure rather than requirement), and likely held a strain of curiosity about the world around him.
LEARN MORE:
Fond du Lac County Wisconsin: Past and Present by Maurice McKenna, 1912 (Pages 560-561): Link Here