Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in 1921 & 1922 Ralph Day Hunt

"The Fairfield Tribune"
Thursday, January 12, 1922
Page SIX

NO. 42 (sic - should be 44)

RALPH DAY HUNT

It's just a whim of the cartoonist to depict Ralph Day Hunt here as an artist who has just completed painting his masterpiece. The thought is suggested by the fact that Day has painted, having been an art student with Pat Shriner, you know, and by the additional fact that a picture of a big factory building with high smokestacks and lots of smoke coming out is one which Day has been drawing, in the back of his head, for a good many years. In fact, Day probably had this picture of such a factory in his mind all of the time he was painting the landscapes, and trees, and old walls and such things that Pat had him painting.

Not but what Ralph Day liked the more artistic things, you understand, because he is mighty fond of art, although he doesn't think it necessary to spell it with a capital A. But in the days when Pat taught painting here in Fairfield he wasn't building any particularly strong bank account, and as Day was a pretty practical young chap he made some comparisons of Pat's financial success with that of some of our local manufacturing princes. The vote was unanimous in favor of the manufacturers. Then the picture of a big factory building began forming in Day's mind. And the idea stuck. The big Dexter washing machine plant which had been built under Day's management is the completed picture which Day began sketching years ago.

As has been intimated, Ralph Day inclines at a considerable angle to art. Has a natural talent and love for the beautiful, but this love of art used to get in his way considerably when he had work to do. He went to work in his father's shoe store. Wasn't much of anything in the job to appeal to Day's artistic sense and it didn't look as though he would ever be in a class with the shoe merchant princes of Fairfield. Day thought there should be a greater artistic atmosphere about, so he built a flower garden out in the back yard behind the store. Looked mighty fine and Day spent most of his time out there when there was something in the way of work to be done in the store.

"Day," his father would say, "our shoe stock will have to be gone over and rearranged; there's a month's work on it."

"Gosh, that's too bad father," Day would answer, "I'd like mighty well to do it but the bugs are getting pretty bad on the geraniums and I'll have to keep a close watch on them. Ought to be watched for about a month."

Pretty hard to get Ralph Day's artistic temperament concentrated on such prosaic things as dusting shoe boxes.

The name Ralph is one you probably never knew that Day owned. He's never worn it to speak of. But, having a very distinguished uncle whose name is Ralph, Day makes a slight concession rather than hurt the uncle's feelings, and occasionally signs himself R. Day Hunt. But he doesn't care much for frills, even to the extent of parting his name on one side.

But, returning to Day's love of the artistic, recalls that he one time was given the opportunity to make a try-out as a shoe salesman for one of the big factories of the east. They sent him out to the Pacific coast territory trade. Day kept the mails heavy with orders all the way through Nevada, Utah, Wahsington, Oregon and northern California. Biggest coast business the house had ever enjoyed and they sent Day several telegrams of congratulation. Everything was going find until Day struck the southern California territory. Then the orders stopped coming in. House waited a couple of weeks and then wired Day a carefully worded, diplomatic message of inquiry asking what conditions were in southern California.

"Southern California conditions glorious," Day wired back with a telegram that cost the firm $11.60. "Flowers blooming everywhere, thousands of beauty spots where whole days may be spent most happily. Lots of wonderful old buildings to see; been making sketches of one fine old mission that is 300 years old--will send you some of them. Native Indians are very picturesque--great subjects for sketching."

Day was so enchanted with the beauty of the place that he had forgotten entirely that he was supposed to be selling shoes. When he came back to the house the firm told him they were satisfied that he would make a cracking good salesman and they wanted to keep him on their sales force, but that his territory would be northern Canada. Day gave up the shoe selling business.

But Ralph Day's art is what you might call applied art. He applies the principles of art to business, and does so with telling effect. The washing machine advertising that he puts out is so artistically attractive as to be classic. And the constantly increasing sales of the Dexter washer is evidence enough that this advertising is highly effective. And Day uses the same principles of art in and around the big washing machine factory with good results. He has his flower gardens in the back yard there too, only Day lets some one else pick the bugs off the geraniums now when he has work to do for he has work that interests him.

Ralph Day Hunt has the unique distinction of being one of those rare chaps possessed of a highly developed artistic temperament combined with a practical business mind. He hs made a great financial success of his manufacturing business, and the Dexter washing machine is known and used from coast to coast not alone because it is the best washing machine made but also because Day has the business acumen and ability to let this fact be known in the most effective manner. The Dexter advertising betrays not only Day's artistic thought, but presents also his keen business judgment. And this business judgment of his, by the way, is something sought by the biggest business men of this community. Some people have thought that Day is even big enough for the job of councilman from his ward, but of course, we would scarcely go so far as to say that.

But, however you want to put it, Ralph Day Hunt is a pretty heady kind of a chap and a mighty good asset to Fairfield, and the whole community is glad he is fond of artistic things; otherwise, he might yet be selling shoes for that wholesale house and Fairfield wouldn't have had either Day or the Dexter factory.