Edgar E. Rand

Edgar E. Rand (c. 1905 – 1955) was an American heir, business executive and philanthropist. He served as the President of the International Shoe Company from 1950 to 1955.

Edgar E. Rand
Born	c. 1905 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	October 26, 1955 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting place	Bellefontaine Cemetery
Education	Webb School
Alma mater	Vanderbilt University
Occupation	Businessman
Net worth	US$2,523,854[1]
Spouse(s)	Sarah Frances Moore (divorced)
Parent(s)	Frank C. Rand Nettie Hale
Relatives	Philip Henry Hale (maternal grandfather) Oscar Johnson (paternal uncle) Henry Hale Rand (brother) William R. Orthwein, Jr. (brother-in-law) J. Washington Moore (father-in-law)

Early life

Edgar E. Rand was born circa 1905 in St. Louis, Missouri.[2][3] His father, Frank Chambless Rand, served as the President of the International Shoe Company. His mother was Nettie Hale, the daughter of British-born Texas rancher, publisher and composer Philip Henry Hale.

Rand was educated in public schools.[3] He went to Webb School, a prep school in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.[3] Rand traveled in Europe and studied in Lausanne, Switzerland from 1922 to 1923.[2][3] He returned to the United States and enrolled at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1923, graduating in 1927.[2][3]

Career

Rand started his career at the International Shoe Company in 1927.[2] He initially worked at their plant in Sikeston, Missouri.[3] In 1939, he was elected to their Board of Directors.[3]

At the outset of World War II, Rand joined the Office of Price Administration and the War Production Board, where he worked until 1944.[2] From 1945 to 1946, he was an assistant to Democratic Senator Stuart Symington, the head of the War Assets Administration.[2]

Rand returned to the International Shoe Company in 1947.[2] He served as its Vice President from 1947 to 1950, and as its President from 1950 to 1955.[2] In his first year as President, in 1950, he was forced to raise all prices up 10% for women's and children's shoes and up 20% for men's shoes due to the higher cost of raw materials.[4] Meanwhile, in 1953, he decided to close down their plant in St. Charles, Missouri and restructure their operations in Flora, Illinois, Windsor, Missouri and Kirksville, Missouri.[5] However, that same year, the company sales had gone up by 22% under his leadership.[6] That same year, he opened a new plant in Bryan, Texas.[7] A year later, the company acquired Savage Shoes Limited, a Canadian shoe manufacturer, in 1954.[8] However, by 1955, members of the United Shoe Workers of America and the Boot and Shoe Workers of America, two labor unions, were striking against the company, demanding a 12% wage increase.[9]

Philanthropy

Rand served on the Board of Trustees of the Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.[2] Additionally, he served on the Board of Trust of his alma mater, Vanderbilt University.[2]

Personal life

Rand married Sarah Frances Moore,[10] the daughter of politician J. Washington Moore.[11] They had three daughters: Mrs. Owen H. Mitchell, Jr., Mrs Donald S. Wohltman, and Miss Helen O. Rand.[10] Rand and Moore divorced in 1951.[10][11]

Death and legacy

Rand died of a heart attack on October 26, 1955 while staying at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.[2][12] His funeral took place at St. John's Methodist Church, and he was buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.[13]

At the time of his death, he was worth US$2,523,854.[1][14] In his will, he bequeathed his estate to his three daughters via trusts.[1][10] Meanwhile, his brother Henry Hale Rand served as the President of the International Shoe Company from 1955 to 1962.[15]

References

1. "Estate of 2 1/2 Million.: Inventory Filed On Holdings of Edgar E. Rand". The Kansas City Times. December 10, 1955. p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Edgar E. Rand, Shoe Company President, Dies". Mt. Vernon Register-News (Mount Vernon, Illinois). October 26, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Head of International Shoe Company Dies From Heart Attack". The Daily Standard (Sikeston, Illinois). October 27, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Shoe Company Raises Prices". Mt Vernon Register-News (Mt Vernon, Illinois). July 24, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "International To Close Shoe Plant At St. Charles". Mt Vernon Register-News (Mt Vernon, Illinois). August 10, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "International Shoe Sales 22% Higher Since Last October". Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, Missouri). February 25, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "A Multi-Million Dollar Plant". The Eagle (Bryan, Texas). January 13, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "International Shoe Co. Buys Big Canadian Firm". Mt. Vernon Register-News (Mount Vernon, Illinois). September 27, 1954. p. 3. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Strike Called By Shoe Workers: Walkout By 19,000 International Co. Employees Set For Monday". Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri). November 6, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Shoe Company Head Leaves Million to Three Daughters". The Daily Standard (Sikeston, Missouri). November 3, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Lady Indignant on Indignities". Kingsport News. Kingsport, Tennessee. June 21, 1951. p. 7. Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Deaths Last Night". The Bee (Danville, Virginia). October 27, 1955. p. 26. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Rites For Shoe Firm Head Set". Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois). October 27, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Names In The News". The Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah). December 10, 1955. p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "International Shoe Co. President Dies". The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune. January 18, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.