James L. Kraft

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For other people named James Kraft, see James Kraft (disambiguation).
James L. Kraft
James Lewis Kraft.jpg
Born
James Lewis Krafft

(1874-12-11)December 11, 1874
Stevensville, Ontario, Canada
DiedFebruary 16, 1953(1953-02-16) (aged 78)
Chicago, Illinois, US
Resting placeMemorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois, US
NationalityCanadian-American
Known forKraft Foods Inc
Spouse(s)Pauline Kraft
Children1

James Lewis Kraft (December 11, 1874 – February 16, 1953) was a Canadian American entrepreneur and inventor. Kraft was the first to patent processed cheese.

Life and career[]

J. L. Kraft[1] was born on December 11, 1874 near Stevensville, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Fort Erie, to parents Minerva Alice née Tripp (1848–1933) and George Franklin Krafft (1842–1914), a farmer[2] of German-descent. He was the second of eleven children. Kraft was educated in the Stevensville area (S.S. No. 9) and worked nearby at Ferguson's General store in Fort Erie, Ontario[3] from 1901 to 1902.[4]

According to J.L.'s niece, Alice Anderson nee Kraft, with a photograph from the late 1800s, or beginning of 1900, the Krafft Bros. were delivering dairy products in the Pleasant Point area of Fort Erie in their first horse drawn wagon. The photograph shows the original family name of Krafft. This was the real beginning of the Krafft Bros. She explains the second 'f' was dropped after they went to Chicago "probably because such a German name was not popular and one 'f' was easier". This was then the beginning of Kraft as we know it today.

Kraft emigrated to Buffalo, New York in 1902, taking a position as secretary and treasurer of the . He became a partner in the company the following year, but his partners abruptly dissolved the agreement while he was on a business trip to Chicago — either to inspect the local branch of the company[5] or to supervise it.[6] Stranded in the big city, Kraft used his remaining $65 in capital to rent a horse and wagon and established his own business of buying cheese wholesale and selling it to local grocers.[7] A year later, he would write to a friend: “I haven't got a comparatively large business now, but I know what I can do and in less than five years I am honest in saying I expect to have one of the best wholesale cheese businesses in this City.”[3] His business faltering, company tradition has it that Kraft decided to “make God a partner” in his business in 1907; as business improved in the next few years, he brought his brothers Charles Herbert, Frederick, Norman and John Henry into the business .[3]

By 1914, J.L. Kraft & Bros. Company, which later became Kraft Foods Inc opened its first cheese manufacturing plant in Stockton, Illinois.[8] Kraft developed a process, patented in 1916, for pasteurizing cheese so that it would resist spoiling and could be shipped long distances. The company grew quickly, expanding into Canada in 1919.[3] Kraft saw a large increase in business during World War I when the United States government provided cheese in tins to their armed forces.

J. L. Kraft served as the company's president from 1909 until his death in 1953. Over the years, Kraft introduced many innovative products and used progressive marketing techniques to make his company one of North America's leading food producers. The company introduced Miracle Whip in 1933 at the Century of Progress world's fair.

Kraft was an amateur jewelry maker; he also supported the Baptist Church and was a strong proponent of religious education for young people.

In the mid-1920s, Kraft began a venture to create a fashionable golf and tennis resort community in Lake Wales, Florida, along with Carl and Bertha Hinshaw. The Florida land bust and the stock market crash in October 1929 spelled the end of the Kraft connection. The Chalet Suzanne opened in the worst year of the Great Depression, 1931,[citation needed] and has been run by successive generations of the Hinshaw family ever since. Even though Kraft bowed out of the development, a 1920s era Spanish Revival house on the property continues to be called "The Kraft House".

Kraftwood[]

In 1926, Kraft Foods opened a manufacturing plant in Antigo, Wisconsin.[9][10] Back then, there was a train route running from the north woods to Chicago which facilitated both industrial shipping and personal transport for the area. It reminded Kraft so much of his childhood home – the trees, the lakes, the wildlife – that he decided to purchase some land. This decision would lead to building a sprawling estate, and spending his summers there with his wife Pauline, his family and friends. Kraftwood was built along the edge of the Lake Mashkinosiew, just 20 miles north of downtown Antigo.

Kraft was a close friend of the president and founder of the Orange Crush company, C. J. Howel.[11] Howel, his wife and daughter Annie Jo spent every Summer at Kraftwood from 1927 to at least 1934.

Personal life[]

J. L. Kraft and his wife Pauline had one daughter, Edith (c. 1916–2012). The Krafts' home, built in 1930 by architect Abraham Epstein, stands at 17 Canterbury Court in Wilmette, Illinois. Kraft has living family members in Illinois and in Fort Erie, Ontario.[4]

A few of Kraft's brothers including, Charles Herbert, Frederick, Norman and John Henry, were executives in Kraft Foods.[7]

The Kraft family farm (located at Bowen Road at Winger Road) in Stevensville, Ontario still exists as the area has remained agricultural.

Kraft died on February 16, 1953 at the Wesley Memorial Hospital in Chicago.[12] He is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.

Legacy[]

Kraft was born at 3347 Bowen Road at Winger Road. Known as Kraft House it was built on land farmed by Francis Krafft.[13]

There are a few places in Fort Erie that bears his or his family name but none are located near Stevensville where he was born and resided:

  • Kraft - unincorporated area in the southwest end of Fort Erie along the shores of Lake Erie
  • Kraft Drain - a short drainage canal located within Kraft and flows out to Lake Erie east of Crescent Creek Beach
  • Kraft Lane and Kraft Road - two roads located within Kraft with former a driveway for homes at the foot of Kraft Road along Lake Erie; the latter is a local road

References[]

  1. ^ "Ontario, Canada Births 1832-1914".
  2. ^ Ingham, John N. (1983). Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. ISBN 9780313213625.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "J.L. KRAFT 1874-1953 — Featured Plaque of the Month, December 2003" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Trust. December 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Ferguson, Sarah (March 30, 2015). "Famous cheese maker has Stevensville roots". Fort Erie Times/Niagara This Week. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. ^ McLeod, Susanna (July 2, 2013). "Kraft, King of Cheese". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  6. ^ Kraft, James Lewis. "JESUS IS MY ROLE MODEL!". Full Gospel Businessmen's Training. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "James L. Kraft (1874-1953)". Kraft Foods Group. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. ^ Kraft Foods website
  9. ^ "Kraftwood | Historical Information & Photos". Kraftwood. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  10. ^ "Search the Wisconsin Historical Society's collections". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  11. ^ "Orange Crush--a Soda Pop Developed in Los Angeles". www.metnews.com. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  12. ^ "Obituary: James Lewis Kraft". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. February 19, 1953. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  13. ^ https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=16344

External links[]

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