Haag, Arthur M.

HAAG, MOORE, LEE, CASON

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 6/30/2019 at 13:32:36

ARTHUR M. HAAG

In any community there is usually one man who is recognized as being preeminent in its commercial circles and it is generally acknowledged in Pleasanton that Arthur M. Haag was the most aggressive and most successful business man of the town. In building up his large general store he won a gratifying share of financial prosperity for himself and also contributed in large measure to the growth and development of Pleasanton.

Mr. Haag was born in Clarke county, Iowa, on the 31st of March, 1875, a son of Dr. William P. and Rosaltha M. (Moore) Haag, both natives of Ohio. The father was an excellent physician and removed to Clarke county, Iowa, in the early days of its history and there practiced his profession until the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted in the Union army and served throughout the conflict as assistant surgeon. Following the close of hostilities he returned to Clark county, Iowa, and located at Murray, where he practiced medicine until his demise in 1892 when but forty-eight years of age. His wife died in 1890.

Arthur M. Haag was reared in Clarke county and received an excellent education. In 1896 he was graduated from the College of Pharmacy of Drake University at Des Moines. Previous to that time he taught school a number of years in Clarke county and by saving his salary secured the funds to pay his college expenses. After his graduation he went to Stuart, Iowa, and for a year operated a drug store, but in 1897 he came to Pleasanton and went into partnership with Dr. I.M. Lovett for the conduct of a drug business. As the years passed the firm added other lines, developing the store into a large general mercantile establishment. Mr. Haag recognized and promptly took advantage of opportunities which others failed to see and was constantly seeking some way in which he might better the service which he gave his customers and the community. His foresight, aggressiveness and fair dealing gained him a patronage which constantly increased, and he became a recognized leader among the merchants of Pleasanton. He was public-spirited to a marked degree and no plan for the improvement of the community lacked his heartiest support and most enthusiastic cooperation. Many times he was the originator of movements for the good of the community, but whether the plan grew out of his ideas or had its inception in the mind of another he was equally ready to do all in his power to bring out its successful execution. He was a potent force in the advancement of Pleasanton along many lines and the influence of his life remains.

Mr. Haag was married on the 22d of September, 1896, to Miss Rosa May Lee, a daughter of James and Eleanor (Cason) Lee, natives respectively of Illinois and of Indiana. They became pioneers of Madison county, Iowa, where the father farmed for many years. He served in the Mexican war and was for four years in the Union army in the Civil war. In that conflict he was wounded in the knee, which remained stiff during the rest of his life. He passed away on the 28th of January, 1897, but was survived until the 1st of January, 1902, by his wife. To Mr. and Mrs. Haag were born four children: Royal B., who died on the 8th of March, 1898, when three weeks and three days old; Merville J., who is now thirteen years old; Thelma L., eleven years of age; and Vera D., nine years old.

Mr. Haag was a republican and served for a number of years on the town council, of which he was secretary at the time of his death. His religious belief was that of the Methodist church and fraternally he was connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Masonic order. Although he had only seventy-five dollars when he came to Pleasanton, at the time of his death he was one of its wealthy men, held title to one hundred and forty acres of excellent land adjoining the town and owned the finest residence in the town. His widow still owns the home, sixty acres of land and considerable business property. The success which Mr. Haag achieved was due to unremitting industry, aggressiveness, vigilance in supervising all of the details of his business and superior foresight and judgment. At no time did he seek to gain by taking undue advantage of another, and there was never the slightest question as to his integrity and unswerving honesty. His demise occurred on the 19th of January, 1913, at a hospital in Centerville, this state.