Post by Brian on Jan 14, 2014 22:18:22 GMT -5
01/09/08 at 06:49 AM
Maria
In 1918 Jim Lawson, better known as J.J., Charlie Lawson's older brother left his impoverished home and family in Lawsonville and joined the army. Two years later he moved to Ohio and began his own milk company. When he retired and sold Lawson Milk Company in 1959 he walked away with a net worth of ten million dollars. Quite a hefty sum of money for 1959. At that time there were over 100 stores in Akron, Ohio that carried his milk bottles. Jim Lawson did not become a millionaire and a house hold name because he owned and operated a milk company. He became rich and famous for those bottles he put the milk in. He was the first person to come up with the idea of putting his milk in glass bottles. He said that people had always gone to wherever milk was sold, taking whatever container they had on hand, usually old vinegar bottles, and buy their milk which was poured in to those unclean containers which was a health hazard. So he decided to put his pasteurized milk in 6 different size glass bottles, gallon, half gallon, pint, quart, etc. for people to buy. A lady from Walnut Cove called me yesterday to tell me that some man had gone to a yard sale in Lawsonville two months ago and there he came across and bought a complete set of Jim Lawson's milk bottles. They still had the original rolled up piece of paper stuck into the top of each bottle and you can clearly see the words Lawson's milk company on them. She now has that set of six milk bottles. She said she was going to take some photos of them and send them to me for my Scrapbook. The man who bought the set of bottles made a wood crate to put them in. By finding these bottles in Lawsonville that tells me that Jim Lawson's family once owned them. He probably brought them to Lawsonville on the few occasions he visited his relatives back in Lawsonville. I first thought of his and Charlie's parents Gus and Nancy Lawson but it couldn't have been them as Gus died in 1919 which was before Jim Lawson owned the milk company. But someone in Charlie Lawson's family once owned those bottles of milk.
Maria
01/09/08 at 01:32 PM
Angel71242
That's cool!! A Lawson inventor! And $10,000,000??!! Good Lord, that's probably like a billion nowadays!! You just find out all kinds of stuff Maria!! I sure wish you had wrote a book about the Lawson's instead of Trudy!!
Angel71242
01/10/08 at 09:09 AM
Maria
Although Jim Lawson became a multi-millionaire, life was not a bed of roses for him. He totally transformed the way milk companies had always done business. He did so at the expense of violent opposition from other milk companies. His stores were bombed, his trucks blown up, and threats were made on his life and the lives of his family. But Jim Lawson did not back down or cave in to his tormentors. And for that I have to applaud him. His original goal in life before he got into the milk business was to be a mountain missionary. That really intrigues me. He even enrolled in a Bible College. But did not finish because he met the woman he wanted to marry. She was a nurse in the town where the Bible College was and he left college to marry her. Together he and his wife decided they wanted to buy and operate a business. So instead of becoming a poor mountain missionary in rural North Carolina Jim Lawson became a multi-millionaire businessman in the big city of Akron, Ohio.
Maria
01/10/08 at 12:35 PM
Angel71242
Sounds like he was a strong person! Imagine the souls he would have brought to God had he become a missionary, On the other hand, look at how many lives he saved by making milk safer to drink!!!! I know you have a picture of him your going to put in the scrapbook right??
Angel71242
01/12/08 at 11:09 AM
Maria
Yes I'm saving it for the Scrapbook. One thing that Jim Lawson said was that he believed he helped more people by being the owner of Lawson's Milk Company than he would have if he had become a mountain missionary. He was a devout Christian according to everyone who knew him and he was responsible for giving over a thousand people a job in his company. He never forgot where he started from nor did he ever forget his family. He let his mother Nancy Lawson live with him in his home in Ohio for 2 years after her husband Gus, Jim's father died. He also employed his brother Marion and Marion's son Gene. In fact Gene Lawson worked for Jim Lawson in his milk business for 37 years. We can tell from this that family was important to Jim Lawson.
Maria
01/12/08 at 12:35 PM
douglasboulding
My dad also worked for uncle Jim Lawson and also his brother Roy boulding.They worked for him about 2 yrs but they wanted to return home they missed family here. My mom had her family here to. I remember my dad telling about how uncle Jim begged him to stay on with them. I remember uncle Jim coming here at our house to visit you would never know he was rich he was just a plain guy. Oh yea he also gave Rex Humbard the land to build his church in Akron and airplanes to a few missionaries. He also took about 20 or so on a trip to the holy lands with him and his wife.
keneth d boulding
douglasboulding
01/12/08 at 12:45 PM
Maria
Well now, I rest my case. He did indeed care about his family as a family member of Jim Lawson's just confirmed. Thank you Doug for letting us know of other family members Jim Lawson helped.
Maria
01/13/08 at 11:27 AM
Michael818
This is really cool! My Dad collects old-timey bottles and cans. He has several from even before the Lawson era. He once received an offer for $1,500 for one snuff box! He refused because it was his grandpa's. Bet those bottles would fetch a HUGE amount!
Michael R.
Michael818
01/13/08 at 11:45 AM
Maria
Anything from back then directly tied to the murders would fetch a handsome sum of money. The owner of Charlie Lawson's shotgun was offered $5,000.00 but turned it down.
Maria
01/13/08 at 07:57 PM
sissy
Sounds like Jim Lawson was a good caring hard working man.
sissy
01/14/08 at 08:01 AM
Maria
Where have we heard those words before? But I think Jim Lawson very likely was a good man. He was definitely not allergic to work. And he did give $10,000.00 to forty some relatives and hired a number of relatives so we know he was generous. It's just that hearing so many people say Charlie Lawson was a good, kind, loving, hard working man makes me not apt to just believe that about anyone else without question.
Maria
Maria
In 1918 Jim Lawson, better known as J.J., Charlie Lawson's older brother left his impoverished home and family in Lawsonville and joined the army. Two years later he moved to Ohio and began his own milk company. When he retired and sold Lawson Milk Company in 1959 he walked away with a net worth of ten million dollars. Quite a hefty sum of money for 1959. At that time there were over 100 stores in Akron, Ohio that carried his milk bottles. Jim Lawson did not become a millionaire and a house hold name because he owned and operated a milk company. He became rich and famous for those bottles he put the milk in. He was the first person to come up with the idea of putting his milk in glass bottles. He said that people had always gone to wherever milk was sold, taking whatever container they had on hand, usually old vinegar bottles, and buy their milk which was poured in to those unclean containers which was a health hazard. So he decided to put his pasteurized milk in 6 different size glass bottles, gallon, half gallon, pint, quart, etc. for people to buy. A lady from Walnut Cove called me yesterday to tell me that some man had gone to a yard sale in Lawsonville two months ago and there he came across and bought a complete set of Jim Lawson's milk bottles. They still had the original rolled up piece of paper stuck into the top of each bottle and you can clearly see the words Lawson's milk company on them. She now has that set of six milk bottles. She said she was going to take some photos of them and send them to me for my Scrapbook. The man who bought the set of bottles made a wood crate to put them in. By finding these bottles in Lawsonville that tells me that Jim Lawson's family once owned them. He probably brought them to Lawsonville on the few occasions he visited his relatives back in Lawsonville. I first thought of his and Charlie's parents Gus and Nancy Lawson but it couldn't have been them as Gus died in 1919 which was before Jim Lawson owned the milk company. But someone in Charlie Lawson's family once owned those bottles of milk.
Maria
01/09/08 at 01:32 PM
Angel71242
That's cool!! A Lawson inventor! And $10,000,000??!! Good Lord, that's probably like a billion nowadays!! You just find out all kinds of stuff Maria!! I sure wish you had wrote a book about the Lawson's instead of Trudy!!
Angel71242
01/10/08 at 09:09 AM
Maria
Although Jim Lawson became a multi-millionaire, life was not a bed of roses for him. He totally transformed the way milk companies had always done business. He did so at the expense of violent opposition from other milk companies. His stores were bombed, his trucks blown up, and threats were made on his life and the lives of his family. But Jim Lawson did not back down or cave in to his tormentors. And for that I have to applaud him. His original goal in life before he got into the milk business was to be a mountain missionary. That really intrigues me. He even enrolled in a Bible College. But did not finish because he met the woman he wanted to marry. She was a nurse in the town where the Bible College was and he left college to marry her. Together he and his wife decided they wanted to buy and operate a business. So instead of becoming a poor mountain missionary in rural North Carolina Jim Lawson became a multi-millionaire businessman in the big city of Akron, Ohio.
Maria
01/10/08 at 12:35 PM
Angel71242
Sounds like he was a strong person! Imagine the souls he would have brought to God had he become a missionary, On the other hand, look at how many lives he saved by making milk safer to drink!!!! I know you have a picture of him your going to put in the scrapbook right??
Angel71242
01/12/08 at 11:09 AM
Maria
Yes I'm saving it for the Scrapbook. One thing that Jim Lawson said was that he believed he helped more people by being the owner of Lawson's Milk Company than he would have if he had become a mountain missionary. He was a devout Christian according to everyone who knew him and he was responsible for giving over a thousand people a job in his company. He never forgot where he started from nor did he ever forget his family. He let his mother Nancy Lawson live with him in his home in Ohio for 2 years after her husband Gus, Jim's father died. He also employed his brother Marion and Marion's son Gene. In fact Gene Lawson worked for Jim Lawson in his milk business for 37 years. We can tell from this that family was important to Jim Lawson.
Maria
01/12/08 at 12:35 PM
douglasboulding
My dad also worked for uncle Jim Lawson and also his brother Roy boulding.They worked for him about 2 yrs but they wanted to return home they missed family here. My mom had her family here to. I remember my dad telling about how uncle Jim begged him to stay on with them. I remember uncle Jim coming here at our house to visit you would never know he was rich he was just a plain guy. Oh yea he also gave Rex Humbard the land to build his church in Akron and airplanes to a few missionaries. He also took about 20 or so on a trip to the holy lands with him and his wife.
keneth d boulding
douglasboulding
01/12/08 at 12:45 PM
Maria
Well now, I rest my case. He did indeed care about his family as a family member of Jim Lawson's just confirmed. Thank you Doug for letting us know of other family members Jim Lawson helped.
Maria
01/13/08 at 11:27 AM
Michael818
This is really cool! My Dad collects old-timey bottles and cans. He has several from even before the Lawson era. He once received an offer for $1,500 for one snuff box! He refused because it was his grandpa's. Bet those bottles would fetch a HUGE amount!
Michael R.
Michael818
01/13/08 at 11:45 AM
Maria
Anything from back then directly tied to the murders would fetch a handsome sum of money. The owner of Charlie Lawson's shotgun was offered $5,000.00 but turned it down.
Maria
01/13/08 at 07:57 PM
sissy
Sounds like Jim Lawson was a good caring hard working man.
sissy
01/14/08 at 08:01 AM
Maria
Where have we heard those words before? But I think Jim Lawson very likely was a good man. He was definitely not allergic to work. And he did give $10,000.00 to forty some relatives and hired a number of relatives so we know he was generous. It's just that hearing so many people say Charlie Lawson was a good, kind, loving, hard working man makes me not apt to just believe that about anyone else without question.
Maria