977.349 
 Oml 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN 
 February 1953 
 
 Galesburg, Illinois 
 of the burthplace of 
 Carl Sandburg 
 
 story 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in2012wftHWri§ingfrom 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/omarcaravanOOomar 
 
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 1LLIN 
 
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 #ST PAUL 
 MINNEAPOLIS 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 CINCINNATI 
 
 CLEVELAND 
 
 ILLINOIS 
 
 The city holds tight to its share of the "Lincoln" legend and a 
 
 claim as the ''center of Western Illinois." 
 
 THERE IS MUCH OF HISTORY in Gales- 
 burg. It is a town set on the foundation of the 
 Bible — unique in its founding — and built in a later day 
 almost exclusively of brick. Carl Sandburg is acknow- 
 ledged its most famous son and it's one of the many Il- 
 linois communities holding a part of the Lincoln legend 
 close to its bosom. 
 
 Here stands the last surviving site of the famous 
 Lincoln-Douglas debates — the original "Old Main" of 
 Knox College. Here is the birthplace of Carl Sand- 
 burg. And here is Knox College itself, whose host of il- 
 lustrious graduates have made the name famous in 
 American history. It's the original "Old Siwash" of fic- 
 tion fame. And here today is the same Knox, the same 
 history steeped traditions and the same solid concepts of 
 Galesburg's original "colonists." 
 
 Here today are also the world's biggest one railroad 
 switch yards, three glorious man-made lakes, an outsized 
 retail business for a city of 32.000, two main line rail- 
 roads and a compact but growing industrial community. 
 Liking to be considered the "center of Western Illinois." 
 Galesbur<ji is surrounded at a discreet distance by several 
 giants. Rut it holds its own. Modern Galesburg is not 
 only the county scat of Knox County, but thrives on a 
 rural trade from many miles beyond. 
 
 "Old Main" on Knox College campus has been made into 
 a national shrine for here Lincoln stood in the shadows 
 for one of his famous debates with Steven A. Douglas. 
 
 10 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN— February, 1953 
 
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 RETURN OF THE YOUNG STRANGER 
 
 In its heart Galesburg 
 shares the fame of its 
 favorite son and native 
 poet. It is the more so 
 with the publication of 
 Carl Sandburg's latest 
 book — "Always the 
 Young Strangers." His 
 first try at autobio- 
 graphy, "Young Strang- 
 ers" is the record of his 
 early memories in Galesburg, 
 of the town as it is Sandburg. 
 
 Still a youth at 75, the poet, Lincoln biographer and 
 novelist returned to the accolades of his townspeople 
 on the occasion of his birthday. Actually in Galesburg 
 January 8 and 9, a few days late, be was heard by four- 
 teen hundred enthusiastic townsfolk crowded into his- 
 
 He came to us from the people whom Lin- 
 coln LOVED BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY OF 
 THEM, AND THROUGH ALL OF HIS LIFE, IN VERSE AND 
 PROSE, HE HAS SPOKEN OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE. 
 
 A great American, we have just reason to be 
 
 PROUD THAT HE HAS LIVED AND WRITTEN IN OUR 
 TIME. 
 
 — tribute by Steven Vincent Benet placed Just 
 inside the birthplace of Carl Sandburg. 
 
 It is as much the story 
 
 public appearances and 
 of seemingly unlimited 
 
 toric Central Church. 
 They could have used 
 another thousand seats. 
 This, said Carl, was to 
 be his last public appear- 
 ance in Galesburg 
 though not his last re- 
 turn. 
 
 For Sandburg wor- 
 shipers it was a busy 
 time with presentations, 
 interviews with the man 
 opinions. Few remain 
 
 who share the memories first hand, but his 
 birthplace, restored in 1945 principally through 
 the efforts of Mrs. Adda George, keeps alive 
 the local memory for the two men of the common 
 people — the poet Sandburg and his President, Lincoln. 
 
 Galesburg is the story in turn of Knox, the Bible, 
 the "Q" — as its citizens call the Burlington — bricks, 
 Knox County farming, and now the coming of industry. 
 
 Galesburg was founded on the work of three men. 
 George Washington Gale, Presbyterian clergyman who 
 conceived the idea. Sylvanus Ferris, Herkimer County 
 cheese maker, who gave financial aid and administered 
 the funds. Nehemiah West, pioneer farmer, who did the 
 spade work, selected the site, and was first on the grounds 
 
 to help the colonists get settled. Dr. Gale himself laid 
 the plans and wrote the prospectus which brought in 
 funds and recruits for the new venture. 
 
 Most of the colonists came from the Mohawk Valley, 
 of New York. They came with Dr. Gale with the 
 avowed purpose to set up a Christian College in the 
 western prairie. Site for the town was selected with this 
 in mind and the land apportioned accordingly by Rever- 
 end Gale. He was one of the first teachers at the school. 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN— February, 1953 
 
 11 
 
About 200 settlers came out and spent the winter 
 of 1836-37 waiting to build their city. It was called 
 after its founder. The colon) bought nearly a whole 
 township of land at the government price of a dollar and 
 a quarter an acre. Here Dr. Gale exhibited the financial 
 vvizardly essential to a college head — the colonists hought 
 the land back from themselves at five dollars an acre. 
 The profit went to hack, the school. 
 
 Even today the hand of Dr. Gale is evident in the 
 city's planning. Within a few short blocks are the busi- 
 ness district, Galesburg's principal buildings and the 
 Knox College campus. Most of the business section lies 
 within the original six by seven block city area. 
 
 It's a town where you could easily walk to work, 
 and where a trip to another office or store is just a quick 
 step. "Downtown" is a five block long stretch of Main 
 Street that ends at the Public Square. Just across the 
 street is the old Central Congregational Church, the 
 first which the settlers organized. Its building is not 
 the original but the site is the same. Within a few blocks 
 to the south you come across the college campus and the 
 ever present Burlington. Along the way lay most of 
 the public buildings. Most are brick and of that age 
 nicely described as "warm with tradition." 
 
 One building escapes finding, even for townspeople. 
 That is the police station. It's hidden behind the city 
 hall and fire station in an alley way. There is no secret 
 about the fact that Police Chief George Fuller would 
 like a new one. By "new" though, he means only 
 more spacious and fitting quarters. Whether or not he 
 would get the one he had in mind depended upon a lot 
 of things in the complexities of municipal affairs. 
 
 Saturday night is the busiest night of the week. 
 
 KNOX 
 
 Memorial Gymnasium is newest and finest building on the Knox campus. 
 
 KNOX COLLEGE and the town of Galesburg are inextri- 
 cably linked together in the web of history. For indeed, 
 at the beginning they were one and the same in the mind 
 of Dr. George Washington Gale. 
 
 Today, for a liberal arts college of only 766 enroll- 
 ment, it has an astounding list of impressive alumni. 
 Modern Knox, too, is markedly different from its first 
 limited inception as a "manual labor" school to train 
 young men for the clergy — though working your way 
 still prevails. 
 
 Though Knox once was linked with both the Presby- 
 terian and the Congregational ist faiths, it is today a 
 
 Christian but non sectarian school. 
 
 Included in the list of distinguished ex students are 
 at least four ambassadors, six Supreme Court Justices, 
 six college presidents, more than twentj Senators and 
 Representatives, a host of famous doctors and a parade 
 of literary America. Samuel S. McClure created his new 
 type magazine: John S. Phillips founded The American 
 Magazine; Ellen Browning Scripps with her brothel 
 founded what is now the Scripps-Howard newspaper 
 chain. And, Robert J. Bender, son of a Knox orator, 
 is a forgotten man of V. S. polities. He became \ ice 
 President. 
 
 12 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN — February. 1953 
 
Galesburg's Lake Storey was a recent gift from the Santa Fe railroad which used it as a source of soft water for its engines. 
 
 COLLEGE 
 
 .............. . mother of fame and letters 
 
 Alumnus George Fitch put Knox into the American 
 language as '"Old Siwash" in his series of famous maga- 
 zine stories. And it was here that poet Edgar Lee Mas- 
 ters paid brief call to flunk his Horace. Don Marquis 
 called it his ""step-College," and Eugene Field "one of my 
 numerous alama matres." Carl Sandburg — the native 
 poet of Galesburg — is Knox's by adoption. He attended 
 rival Lombard college, whose tradition is now linked with 
 Knox by its absorption. 
 
 Knox of old was no less a power that it is today 
 under its fourteenth president. Dr. Sharvy G. Umbeck, 
 whose direction has resulted in the resumption of the 
 Knox building program — beginning with its new Memor- 
 ial Gymnasium. 
 
 The 
 and 
 
 Henry 
 Tudor 
 
 M. Seymour Library adds its English Gothic 
 architecture to the tradition draped campus. 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN— February, 1953 
 
 13 
 
Fertile Knox County spreads away 
 toward the horizon. Business life in 
 heart of Galesburg is linked closely 
 with this region which ranks fourth 
 in the state in hog production, 
 16th in corn. In addition there 
 are two coal mines and exten- 
 sive strip mining in the country. 
 
 Fortunately inhabitants for the 
 jail section are few and space from 
 two of the cell blocks can be used 
 for the scientific police methods in- 
 stalled over the past several years. 
 None-the-less, though, a cell block 
 is hardly the place for an average 
 citizen to pay his traffic fine or 
 transact ordinary police business. 
 
 Just a few steps away Mayor 
 Ralph B. Johnson and his successors 
 meet with the recurrent problems of 
 city fathers everywhere — money, 
 taxes and services. February saw 
 the city facing a five way primary 
 race for the mayoralty. Mayor John- 
 son was not running to succeed him- 
 self and the contenders were Owen 
 W. Budd, Paul M. Lindberg, Wayne 
 M. Christy, Floyd Childers and Leo 
 W. Morrison. 
 
 The present Mayor- Alderman form 
 of city government was sustained last 
 fall when a city manager plan was 
 up for referendum vote. It was de- 
 feated by a narrow margin. Though 
 the city votes normally Republican, 
 in this case they apparently didn't 
 think "it's time for a change.*' 
 
 That's often the case in a conser- 
 vative city like Galesburg which 
 likes to make haste slowlv. The citi- 
 zens are currently circling 'round 
 and having a good look at a proposal 
 which might someday change the 
 city's water supply. At the present 
 time deep wells suck water up from 
 about 2450 feet. Seemingly there is 
 plenty but they must go deeper every 
 time to get more. Some people point 
 to the example of the railroads who 
 build artificial lakes for their water 
 supply. 
 
 Natural "Flouridation" 
 
 Galesburg water is. incidentally, 
 today quite hard and makes the city 
 one of the few unique localities in the 
 nation with a naturally "fluoridated" 
 water supply. In recent years arti- 
 ficial fluoridation of water has re- 
 ceived considerable attention by den- 
 tists and public health authorities as 
 a preventer of cavities. Mayor John- 
 son chuckles over his requests from 
 all over the country from folks who 
 want to sample a gallon or two. 
 
 Galeshurg's three unusual recrea- 
 tion areas are already based on man- 
 made lakes. All were built to obtain 
 soft water for railroad boilers. One, 
 Lake Storey north of town, was re- 
 cently presented to the city b\ the 
 
 Santa Fe which converted to diesels. 
 The other two. Lake Bracken and 
 Lake Rice, are owned by Burlington 
 but their shorelines add much to the 
 city's pleasure. 
 
 Lake Storey was created in 192o 
 and with surrounding property total- 
 ing 136 acres was valued at $750,000 
 when given to Galesburg. Final ar- 
 rangements were just completed in 
 January. Actually the area has been 
 open as a city park for a number of 
 years, making Galesburg a favorite 
 destination for picnicker, swimmers 
 and boating fans from as far awav 
 as the Quad Cities and Peoria. It is 
 rated as one of the finest parks in 
 the state. 
 
 Bracken and Rice are used for pri- 
 vate country clubs and ("amp Shau- 
 bena. Altogether the city has seven 
 parks totaling 647 acres and three 
 fine golf courses. 
 
 Bricks for Panama 
 
 Many of the familiar red brick in 
 Galesburg came from the Purington 
 brick works which still flourishes 
 in a nearby suburb. It is the larg- 
 est in the midwest and still em- 
 ployes 200 people. In the real 
 brick making days though, it was 
 much larger and other companies 
 dotted the clay banks. 
 
 Bricks were part of the life work 
 of Omer N. Custer. He was a for- 
 mer publisher of the Daily Register- 
 Mail and was a powerful figure in 
 local and national politics around 
 the turn of the century. It was 
 through his efforts that Galesburg 
 earned the distinction of supplying 
 more bricks than anyone else for the 
 Panama Canal. 
 
 The (luster Hotel bears his name, 
 but strangely enough he never owned 
 it nor had any financial interest. 
 Builder Charles Schimmel— father of 
 Schimmel hotel chain simply 
 
 named it after one of the town's lead- 
 ing citizens. 
 
 The Burlington put Galesburg on 
 the track to becoming the center 
 point of Knox County. Knoxville— 
 population 2000 and five miles east 
 
 vt&S once the count) seat. Its role 
 is all but forgotten. The situation 
 could have been reversed except for 
 Chauncey S. Colton and an enter- 
 prising group of promoters. They 
 switched the route of the "Q" from 
 Knoxville to Galesburg. A gilt of 
 four acres for the depot from the col- 
 
 14 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN — February. 1953 
 
lege and $300,000 from Colton and 
 his associates turned the trick. It is 
 also reported that some Knoxville 
 citizens objected to the racket the 
 trains would bring. Galesburg got 
 the railroad — noise, smoke and all — 
 but with it came the trade and 
 eventually the seat of government. 
 
 The Sante Fe 
 
 The Santa Fe takes a back seat in 
 Galesburg. although in most cities 
 this size the road's sixty or more 
 trains a day on its main line would 
 make it quite a high spot. 
 
 The Burlington ranks as Gales- 
 burg's biggest employer with 2.500 
 people and an annual payroll of 
 eight million. It is the "Q's" largest 
 division point and has two awesome 
 switching "humps." Both are elect- 
 rified and between them handle 
 some 181.000 cars a month on 212 
 miles of switch track. Here cross 
 country freight trains are broken up. 
 put together in different order and 
 dispatched over Burlington tracks in 
 six different directions. The line's 
 ''tie plant" here is also the largest of 
 its kind. Fast direct passenger ser- 
 vice over the Burlington fans out here 
 for all principal points in the mid- 
 west. Thirteen round trips a day 
 connect with Chicago. Fast schedules 
 make the 163 miles in as little as two 
 hours and twenty minutes. 
 
 Four faces show on the scene in- 
 dustrially — Gale Products, Rowe 
 Manufacturing. Admiral Corporation 
 and Butler Manufacturing. 
 
 Not that the four represent by any 
 means all the industries in Gales- 
 burg. but they are the ones that catch 
 the eye. Smaller plants and retail- 
 ing boost the total employment in the 
 city to 11.000. The Chamber of 
 Commerce has a record membership 
 and President Quint Johnson explains 
 their current project is to bring in 
 not one overwhelming industry but 
 many small ones of diversified na- 
 ture. 
 
 But Quint, who's in the tractor 
 business, is the first to admit that 
 farming is "the industry" of the city. 
 '"Sixty cents out of a dollar" come 
 from the farm he'd guess. And 
 County Farm Advisor Arnold Kemp 
 put it simply, "Take out the farming 
 and there wouldn't be anv Gales- 
 burg." 
 
 Since those days when the colon- 
 ists paid $15,000 for a 10,747 acre 
 plot, many a citizen has gone forth to 
 
 Mayor Ralph Johnson. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce President 
 Quint Johnson discusses current Red 
 Cross fund drive with fellow commit- 
 teeman, Frank Cunningham. Both are 
 local business men. 
 
 Food man extraordi- 
 nary Bernard 
 Schimmel cracks 
 eggs with the 
 agility of a sur- 
 geon's hand. He's 
 member of the 
 famous Schimmel 
 clan v/hich owns the 
 Hotel Custer, 
 making eating 
 out at Galesburg 
 on a par with any 
 metropolitan cen- 
 ter. 
 
 Reqister-Mail Publisher W. C. Priichard sits 
 before picture of grandfather O. N. Custer. 
 
 Police Chief George Fuller's 
 force is working for a new home. 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN — February, 1953 
 
 15 
 
The "Q" — Galesburg's first and foremost industry — gives city trie distinction of the largest 
 switchyards owned by one railroad anywhere in the world. There are two humps, 212 
 miles of track and a business of over 180,000 cars a month. 
 
 Spoon River near Galesburg was im- 
 mortalized by Poet Edgar Lee Masters. 
 This, one of the last surviving covered 
 bridges in Illinois, some say is the 
 Spoon River bridge in the poem. 
 
 Ceniral Congregational Church opposite 
 the central square and is one of the historic 
 buildings. This is where original band of 
 colonists built the first church in Galesburg. 
 
 Lincoln Park north of town is one of seven 
 beautiful parks with a total of 647 acres. 
 
 Sandburg birthplace was restored with 
 a special "Lincoln Room" chiefly through 
 personal efforts of Mrs. Adda George. 
 
 make the name of Galesburg famous 
 
 as his home. Two df them were 
 Ferrises. 
 
 Home of ihe "Ferris Wheel" 
 
 George Washington Gale Ferris in- 
 vented and gave his name to the "Fer- 
 ris Wheel." It was a sensation at 
 the Columbian Exposition in 1893. 
 Forty \ears earlier another Ferris, 
 Olmsted, raised pop corn and pre- 
 sented it in a command performance 
 before Queen Victoria. 
 
 No tour of the city is complete 
 without a look at what used to be the 
 army's Mayo General Hospital for 
 neurosurgery. It spreads just north 
 of the city and is presently operated 
 as a state mental hospital. The De- 
 partment of Public Welfare has plans 
 for its expansion into one of the best 
 mental research centers in the coun- 
 try. 
 
 W orkirig hard to keep alive the 
 traditions around Galesburg are two 
 of the towns first ladies. Mrs. Adda 
 George was singly responsible for the 
 rebirth of the Sandburg home in 1945 
 as a shrine to the poet and Lincoln. 
 Mrs. Janet Greig Post, the good angel 
 of Knox Gollege and former Dean of 
 Women, shares in the Lincoln legend 
 with her restoration of Old Main at 
 the -college in 1937. She is also the 
 sponsor, guide and benefactor of the 
 city's cultural fare, introducing the 
 ''Adventures in the Arts*' series in 
 1938. 
 
 There is another name. Mary Ann 
 Hickerdvke. which seldom crosses the 
 memory in modern Galesburg. True, 
 a statue bears her name and 
 stands in the Court House Square. 
 But to most, the statue of Mother 
 Hickerdvke kneeling beside a wound- 
 ed Union soldier is only a memento 
 of a war gone by. In her time 
 Mother Hickerdvke was a Galesburg 
 name associated with the Heechers 
 and the Stowes of anti-slavery fame. 
 
 Dr. Edward Heceher was pastor of 
 First Church. Mother Hickerdxke 
 went from the congregation to be- 
 come messenger of mere) to the 
 whole of Sherman's army. 
 
 When you look at Galesburg you'll 
 somehow still sense the selflessness 
 of those like Mother Man Ann 
 Bickerdyke. You'll see the brick. 
 you'll see the Bible and breath the air 
 of tradition. Deeper still, you'll feel 
 and see its people who live so close" 
 to the land of the Lincoln legend. 
 
 16 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN — February. 1953 
 
Branch Manager Tom Leach checks 
 over advance orders for Omar's 
 new cake mix at Galesburg with 
 Omar Men James Patterson (seated 
 
 Bob Livingston (without hat 
 and Ray Dalton who serves Abington 
 and Avon. 
 
 BELOW: Routemen Wayne Williams 
 (Oleta and Middlegrove) , Lyle Keifer, 
 Dick Bainbridge and Joe Windsor. 
 
 RIGHT: Omar Men Lowell Fuller, 
 
 Ernest Schmidt and Dwayne Fowler 
 
 (seated). Supervisor J. R. Hub 
 
 bard and Omar Men Mac McDowell, 
 
 Ralph Hollister and Verner Ander 
 
 son (standing). 
 
 PaiJ hlohner, not pictured, was attending an Omar training program. 
 
 "here's OMAR 
 
 V 
 
 introducing the Galesbin 
 
 'g 
 
 m g 
 
 Omar man and those who help him 
 
 FRESH BAKERY PRODUCTS right to the door are carried throughout Knox Count} 
 and beyond by the 15 Omar Men serving routes fanning out from the Omar branch 
 at 162 West Main in Galesburg. They serve the citv. the country and neighboring 
 towns like Knoxville. Monmouth. Abington. Keewanee. Avon. Oleta. Kirkwood and 
 Middlegrove. In all. there are twenty one Omar employees at Galesburg sharing an 
 annual payroll of nearlv $107,000. Branch manager is Tom Leach. Galesburg- 1730. 
 
 Dale Emery is 
 
 one of the two 
 
 supervisors. 
 
 Omar Man 
 Clyde Bennett. 
 
 Bernice Hilli e r 
 handles the sur- 
 plus store, office 
 and return goods 
 room. 
 
 Responsibility for keeping Omar's fleet of 15 trucks safe and in top shape 
 belongs to Clyde Powell (left) and Garage Foreman Andy Small (right). 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN— February, 1953 
 
 1/ 
 
VERNON J. SIEBERT, Rushville 
 routeman, has been promoted to sales 
 supervisor at the Indianoplis east 
 branch. "John" has been with Omar 
 since March of 1948 when he started 
 in the Connersville branch. In 1949 
 when this branch was relocated he 
 was transferred to Rushville where he 
 has been until his promotion. 
 
 He and his wife Joyce have a four- 
 year-old daughter, Cheryl June. 
 John's favorite past time is fishing. 
 
 • Edward Wilson, Lafayette route- 
 man, was recently promoted to super- 
 visor and transferred to the Green- 
 castle branch. Ed has been with 
 Omar since 1947. 
 
 He is interested in all sports and 
 especially likes to hunt. Ed and his 
 wife, Rernice, have five children: 
 Terrence, Larry, Sharon. Robert and 
 Charlotte. 
 
 • Dclhert L. Simonson, a salesman 
 at the Madison branch from Decern- 
 
 is 
 
 her, 1950 until this year, has been 
 promoted to supervisor in the Mil- 
 waukee district. 
 
 Del assisted in the sales develop- 
 ment program in Auroa from July 
 14 through August 16 and again from 
 September 2 through October 1 1 of 
 1952. 
 
 Del and his wife, Eleanor have 
 twins — Gary and Gael. 6 years old. 
 
 Besides enjoying all sports Del is an 
 accomplished musician. 
 
 • Bill Robinson has been promoted 
 to foreman of the Omaha north 
 branch garage where he was previous- 
 ly a mechanic. He started with the 
 company January 22. 1947. as a gar- 
 age helper. The Robinsons have 
 three children. 
 
 BOX SCORE FOR OPPORTUNITY 
 
 Opportunity knocked, not once, but 224 times for Omar 
 people so far this fiscal year. This is the number of advancement 
 opportunities — upgradings. promotions or transfers to a new 
 Omar location — filled in the company during the past pre months. 
 Twenty-six of them were in the last month reported. 
 
 1952-53 FISCAL YEAR 
 
 Columbus 
 Indianapolis 
 \i ilwaukee 
 Omaha 
 Peoria 
 
 All Omarland : 
 
 MONTH OK JANUARY 
 Upgrading Promotions Transfers 
 
 SEVEN MONTHS TO DATE 
 
 Upgrading Promotions Transfers 
 
 Columbus 
 Indianapolis 
 
 Milwaukee 
 
 ( lllKlll.l 
 
 Peoria 
 
 19 
 22 
 
 4!t 
 U 
 
 17 
 
 IS 
 
 '11 
 
 All Omarland 1 5] 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN — February. 1953 
 
toO 
 
 mar 
 
 Thousands join a swing to 
 Modern bakery shopping 
 
 ■ r "Wtftt i 
 
 */£& 
 
 ^T\ 
 
 you get the best! 
 
 Wc do as you would — wc use the best ingredients — and plenty of them! 
 That's why Omar breads and pies and cakes hiuc like home-made baking 
 at its best! 
 
 you get it without effort! 
 
 No matter what the weath- 
 er, the Omar man comes at 
 about the same time every 
 other day. You can select 
 whatever you want with- 
 out leaving your home! 
 
 you get it fresh! 
 
 Omar baked goods are guaranteed fresh, they're oven fresh. Omar bread 
 now has the date of baking stamped right on the wrapper! All Omar baked 
 goods are rushed direct from the Omar ovens to your door! You can taste 
 the difference! And what a difference! 
 
 BREADS AND PASTRIES 
 
 162 West Main, Galesburg, Illinois 
 Phone 4730 
 
QmRR. 
 
 Porm 3547 Requested. 
 
 977.319 
 
 Oml 
 
 1910 H a r n • y S t r • • t 
 OMAHA, NEBRASKA 
 
 Sec. 34.66 P. L. & R. 
 U. S. POSTAGE 
 
 PAID 
 
 Permit No. 46 
 OMAHA, NEBRASKA 
 
 An historic step! "Cleveland" represents the greatest addition to Omar- 
 land in the entire 27'/2 years of Omar's bakery experience. Purchase of the 
 
 Laub bakery there adds $5 million in sales, 142 routes of all types and 465 
 employees. Not even the original purchases by Founder W. J. Coad Sr. of bakeries 
 at Columbus and Indianapolis added so much at one time. This, indeed, makes 
 
 Omar "the world's largest bakery-to-home service" and the fastest growing 
 in the industry. For "Quick Facts" on our current picture see below. 
 
 QUICK FACTS ABOUT OMAR 
 
 SALES— $38,000,000 
 
 CUSTOMERS— 577,000 
 
 EMPLOYEES — 4.018 
 
 RETAIL ROUTES — 1.311 
 WHOLESALE ROUTES — 78 
 STOCKHOLDERS — 1.070 
 
 TOTAL 
 
 PAYROLL— $16,360,000 
 TRUCKS & CARS — 1.770 
 MILES 
 
 PER YEAR— 31.047.000 
 BRANCHES— 46 
 
 DISTRICT OFFICES— 6 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 
 977 3490M1 C001 
 
 OMAR CARAVAN OMAHA. NEB 
 
 llll 
 
 025392165