Christine Whelan FEO, August 18, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 26
The Kraft House, located at 3347 Bowen Road was primarily recognized in 2003 for its heritage value by the Town of Fort Erie for its historical association with James Lewis Kraft, founder of J.L. Kraft & Bros Company (later Kraft Foods Inc).
The two-storey home on the southwest corner of Bowen and Winger Roads stands as a reminder of Kraft’s humble beginnings on a dairy farm in rural Ontario and is valued for its association with an internationally recognized company.
James Lewis Kraft
As often found in historical research, multiple documents present the odd inconsistency. This story is no exception. In cross-referencing sources, I have found three different dates claiming to be the day this businessman and inventor arrived in this world. James Lewis Kraft was born on November 11th, December 11th or December 17th. Take your pick. The year was consistent, 1874.
As the second child of eleven to parents George Franklin Krafft and Minerva Alice (Tripp) Krafft, James was raised on the dairy farm “in a strict Mennonite environment characterized by hard work and strict discipline,” according to the American National Biography website.
As documented on niagarafallstourism.com, “The Kraft of German origin was born to Mennonite parents who attended the Reformed Mennonite Church in Stevensville. A newer Reformed Mennonite Church building can still be found in this small hamlet at the corner of West Main Street and Ott Road. The cemetery outside the church contains the tombstones of his parents and other relatives.” The name on the stones show the family name, at one time, had two “f”s. According to J.L.’s niece, Alice Anderson, documented in Wikipedia, the second “f” was dropped after they went to Chicago probably because such a German name was not popular and one “f” was easier.
Growing Up
James was educated locally. After graduation from high school, at the age of 18, he left the farm to become a clerk at Ferguson’s, a Fort Erie general store.
After all the children moved out, George and Minerva moved out of the homestead and moved into a red brick house on Dominion Road, on the southwest corner of Crescent Road, by the entrance to Crescent Beach.
There are many family members who reside in Fort Erie and surrounding areas.
In 1902, James moved to Buffalo, New York, where, according to American National Biography, he attended a business college while working as a janitor and selling eggs, cheese, and ice. It is also around this time, according to a Town of Fort Erie document, that Kraft invested in a cheese company.
Pushed Out, To Start Over
The following year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois to manage a branch of the company. While there, his partners eased him out of the business.
Stranded in Chicago with only $65 in capital, according to a RootWeb website biographical document on Kraft, he obtained a horse and wagon, purchasing cheese wholesale each day and reselling the cheese to local merchants.
In the Louis McDermott database available on the Fort Erie Public Library website, I found a newspaper clipping of a letter Kraft had written to a man he was inviting to work for him. The year is 1904, in the first years of his own business, he started with $65 after being pushed out by his partners. The letter portrays the ambition, commitment and tenacity that brought him to his success. It paints a picture of just a peek at the business world at the turn of the twentieth century.
Opportunity Knocks
Chicago, August 2, 1904
Dear Wilfred,
Your very kind letter came to me only a few moments since and as I have a few seconds to spare, I think I will answer at once. Yes, my business is growing and I will soon have an opening for an alive, energetic man, who has the nerve to stick and isn’t afraid to work, and I have thought that you are just the man I need. The situation is this, Wilfred: I am not in a position to pay a man much wages to start with. But if you want to get into something that you can grow up with, I have that something right here. Of course, 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.
The man I have now has worked all summer for six dollars a week, a straight salary. He will soon start on commission and he expects to make about twenty dollars a week all winter and possibly more.
I have lost some money this summer, but I have lost it getting customers and it will all come back. My greatest trouble has been to keep up with my business as it grew, on account of my small capital.
To give you an idea of what you would have to do should things work out all right: It is simply a grocery route on a large scale. You take a horse and wagon, (and my wagons are fancy ones and get customers that you can call on once or twice a week and supply them regularly. I am driving one wagon myself, and I am taking care of the horses myself but if all goes well, I think I will have four horses before Christmas. Then there would be too much work for me.
Don’t think it would be an easy job. The work is not hard, but it always takes nerve to sell goods. After a person gets accustomed to it there is a fascination about it that I like. I think if you really want to become a man of affairs and have the nerve and energy to climb, the best place is the west. I think there are ten chances for a good honest man here to one where you are.
So, you can think the matter over and let me know at your leisure what you think. Trusting this will find you well.
Yours respectfully,
JL Kraft
So, my question to you, my reader, is, if you read this letter, not knowing who wrote it or where his initial choices and strategies took him, would you have thought this was a letter of a mere daydreamer?
The new venture was successful and by 1909, his brothers, Charles H., John H., Fred, and Norman had joined the company as permanent employees. In that year, the business was incorporated under the name of J.L. Kraft & Bros. Co., with James L. Kraft as the president.
James became a naturalized citizen in 1911.
Invention and Contribution
Kraft developed a revolutionary process, patented in 1916, for pasteurizing cheese so that it would resist spoilage and could be shipped long distances. The company grew quickly, expanding into Canada in 1919.
He was noted for his philanthropic contributions. According to RootsWeb.com, Kraft helped create one of the first major television programs, the “Kraft Television Theater,” which ran from 1947 until 1958. He also supported the Baptist Church and was a strong proponent of religious education for young people. He gave a large portion of his wealth to religious organizations over the years and was once quoted as saying, “The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.”
James Lewis Kraft died on February 16, 1953, in Chicago, during the company’s 50th year, leaving behind one of North America’s largest food companies.
There are a few places in Fort Erie that bear the Kraft name:
Kraft – an 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 a former driveway for homes at the foot of Kraft Road along the lake.
Photo of J.L. Kraft provided by Louis McDermott and Friends database (FE library)
