The following paragraph was submitted by Ann Stroupe, great-granddaughter of Robert L. Reed

Robert L. Reed entered the hardware business in 1898 in Montrose. In 1908 he sold the business and organized the Standard Garden Tool Company with Willard Hancock, manufacturing hand garden plows and seeders. In 1918 the business was sold to True Temper Corp (Cleveland based company). He continued with the company in an executive capacity until 1939 when he retired and moved to California. (Keokuk Daily Gate City, Dec 30, 1969)

I transcribed the following from the History of Montrose book located at the Montrose Library. Information on The American Fork and Hoe Company compiled in January 1986.

The following article was taken from the August 23 and November 15, 1917 Evening Democrat:

STANDARD GARDEN TOOL CO.
The largest enterprise in Montrose is the Standard Garden Tool Company, owned and operated by Robert L. Reed and Willard Hancock, pioneer garden tool manufacturer.

The business was established in 1907 in a large two story brick building with a cellar, located at the corner of First and Cedar Streets. T.T. Hitch of Ft. Madison was the General Manager of the Ft. Madison and Montrose plants.

The annual output will now run to 25,000 tools which are sold direct to jobbers in carload lots. When running full time, the plant employs 15 men. The entire output of the Company is sold practically over the entire world. Recently, however, the firm has found it necessary to work the territory around Los Angeles, California, and Ogden, Utah, direct, but as soon as this territory has been developed it will be turned over to the jobbing interests.
{Jobbers buy goods from importers or producers and sell to other dealers.}

{Egner Christensen was sent west in the early 1920's to contact the farmers of those areas. He and his family took the train to Los Angeles where Carrie and Owen stayed while Egner went to the Imperial Valley where he saw the vegetable growers and then on to the potato growers in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, and the Red River Valley, North Dakota. These farmers were having trouble getting the right kind of tools for their needs. Egner was sent to see what they needed as he could tell them on the spot whether the American Fork and Hoe Company could manufacturer such a tool, thus eliminating the long delay of having their requests interpreted and answered.}

Again the wheels are whirling and men are busy getting out plows. Tuesday morning the engines in the American Fork and Hoe Company began turning the wheels of one of the best factories in Lee County. The passers by could see the busy men, the turning shafts, and hear the rattle of working parts of this systematic plant. Everything has been put in first class order, and there will be from this time on till the close of the season, plenty to keep their men busy. Last year, this company was unable to fill all orders because of the scarcity of material. We hope they may be able to secure sufficient material to keep their men busy all the time.

When Reed and Hancock established the factory in this section of the country, there were but two other such plants in the U.S. In those days, wheeled garden tools were sold through seed men and were regarded more of a luxury than a necessity. Things have changed, however, and now the wheeled garden tool is universally used, the development of its use being due in a great measure to the efforts of the Montrose factory owners and its employees.

Not long after the foregoing statements were made, the following news article was printed:

"The firm declares it has nothing to sell for years to come, the entire output of the factory being sold out, so orders are daily turned down because of a scarcity of material.{During World War I} However, it is expected that in the near future, or when conditions become normal again, the plant will be enlarged and a greater output secured."

Reed and Hancock started the Standard Garden Tool Company in 1907. They eventually sold the business and the name was changed to the American Fork and Hoe Company, Montrose Works, who manufactured True Temper Tools. However, the name 'True Temper Tools' originated in Montrose. In the 1930's the company was sold again and the new owners took the name of True Temper Corporation.

Local men were employed and one of them who lived in Galland skated to and from work when the ice was safe. Quite different from walking that distance! Some of the employees were quite young, one of whom was Egner Christensen, a skilled workman and inventor, who was responsible for much of the success of the company. Howard S. Reed and Arthur J. Maxwell were among the office employees at the Montrose Works.

With but two buildings on that block, the Montrose Hotel on the corner of Main and First Streets and the factory on First and Cedar, there was a quite a sizable and convenient playground for the youngsters of the town.

In later years, on Saturday evenings during the summers, crowds of young and old brought folding chairs, etc., for seating and gathered there to enjoy the free movies provided by Montrose businessmen. The north side of the brick factory building was used as a screen for these movies.

With the Depression, business began to drop and two plants could not be maintained. The Montrose plant was forced to close in 1933. Some of the employees were transferred to the Ft. Madison factory, (site of the Gleason Corp in 1986). Others sought employment elsewhere or became handymen in town and a few retired.