Christian Frederick Wilhelm Jaeger

   Another name for Christian was Chris.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: salesman and one of three brothers who owned the Arial Cutlery Manufacturing Company, 1910, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁵

• Publication, 1924, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁶  
Christian Frederick Jaeger, President of the Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Co. of Marinette, is enjoying the confidence and esteem ever accorded the self-made man. A native of Marinette, his birth occurring on the 21st of January, 1887, he is the son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Kraft) Jaeger, the father being deceased. Frederick Jaeger was horn in Germany and came to America in 1881, locating in Marinette, Wjs. He was a general workman and acquired a comfortable competence. Mrs. Jaeger was also born in Germany and came to this country with relatives, locating in Marinette during the year 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger were married in Marinette and to their union seven children were born, four sons and three daughters, of whom one son died in infancy.

Christian Frederick Jaeger, the second member of the family was educated in the public schools of Marinette and later attended a Business College there. His father died when he was sixteen years of age and the responsibilities of assisting in the care of the family descended on his shoulders. For two years he worked in the drug business, being associated with H. G. Thompson, and subsequently he learned the trade of a bar-ber, being thus engaged for two years also. At the end of that time he became conn-ected with the Aerial Cutlery Supply Co., traveling out of Duluth, selling cutlery and various specialties and in 1912 he was made a member of the firm, taking over the duties of Treasurer. In 1913, as a result of influence exerted by Mr. Jaeger and the Chamber of Commerce of Marinette, the factory was moved from Duluth to Marinette, and the name was changed to the Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Co. Two years later Mr. Jaeger became President of the enterprise, and he and his two brothers have entire control of the company. Promotion from a minor position to that of executive of one of the most successful enterprises in the state, came to Mr. Jaeger as a result of his innate business ability, integrity, honesty and close application to the thing at hand and he holds a position of prominence among the leading citizens of Marinette and the county, who are proud to number him among their native sons. The Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company engages in the manufacture of pen, pocket, jack and hunting knives and advertising specialties. It likewise does a large jobbing business in all lines of cutlery. The firm ships it's products throughout the United States and to all parts of the world, and in the united states alone has two hundred and thirty-five agents. The business has increased tenfold in ten years and a new modern factory building, an addition to the old ones was built some time ago in order to enable the company to supply the steadily increasing demand for it's products.

At Menominee, Michigan, on the 26th of January, 1914, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jaeger to Miss Emma Herbst, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. B. Herbst of that community. To Mr. add Mrs. Jaeger four children have been born; Gardner who is nine years of age, Joyce, who is seven, Alice, aged four, and Frederick, one year old.

In his political views Mr. Jaeger is a Republican, and he maintains an active interest in party affairs. He is president of the library board and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of which organization he was at one time director. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masons, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club and one of it's board of directors, and for some time was treasurer of the club. His religious faith is English Lutheran and he was one of the founders of the St. James Lutheran Church.

During the war Mr. Jaeger was chairman of the Liberty Loan campaigns for the first ward, and was ever successful in raising his quota. He is a man of genial and pleasing personality and is a friend to all.

• Social Security Number: 392-03-1491, Bef 1951, , , Wisconsin, USA. ⁷

• Obituary: in The Marinette Eagle Star, 10 Jun 1968, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁸  
C.F. Jaeger, 81 Taken By Death

A native of Marinette who operated a Twin City business for more than 50 years, Christian F. Jaeger, 81, died at 2:15 a.m. Sunday at Marinette General Hospital after a long illness.

He was the former president of Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company and, until recently, owner of the C. F. Jaeger Company, an electric shaver service and barber supply business.

Mr. Jaeger was a lifelong resident of Marinette and had lived for 55 years at 108 Hosmer St., next door to the Aerial Company plant, which he brought from Duluth, Minn., in 1913 with the help of the Marinette Chamber of Commerce. The company manufactured pen, pocket, hunting and jack knives as well as, advertising specialties. During World War II it filled government contracts for bayonets and commando knives. It also has been a large jobber of cutlery and barber and beauty supplies.

Mr. Jaeger's parents were married in Marinette in 1881, soon after their arrival from Germany. Mr. Jaeger became associated with Aerial as a salesman in 1907 when it was known as the Aerial Cutlery Supply Company of Duluth. He later became its treasurer and influenced its transfer to Marinette, where it expanded and at one time employed 125 workers.

After serving the company as president for 15 years and establishing it in the barber Supply business, Mr. Jaeger sold his interest in Aerial in 1949 and established the C. F. Jaeger Company which he operated until his retirement in 1965. During the early years of his career he traveled extensively as a salesman and was known widely in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Mr. Jaeger was born Jan. 21, 1887, and married the former Emma Herbst of Menominee. They observed their 50th anniversary in 1964. He was a member of the F and AM Blue Lodge and a 32nd degree Mason, a past director of the Marinette Chamber d Commerce, one of the original board members of the Marinette Kiwanis club and one of the founders of St. James Lutheran Church.

Survivors include Mr. Jaeger's widow, three sons, Gardner of Milwaukee, Chris Jr., Youngstown, Ohio, and Edward of Kankakee, Ill.; two daughters, Mrs. Gerald Mueller and Mrs. Gerald Bartell, Madison; 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 tonight at McLain, Thielen, Langer funeral home. There will be a Masonic visitation at 7:30.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with the Rev. Ivan H. Miller of St. James officiating. Burial will be in Riverside cemetery in Menominee.

• Cemetery: Riverside Cemetery, 11 Jun 1968, Menominee, Menominee, Michigan, USA. ⁹

• Publication: Knife World: Aerial Cutlery - A History (Pg 1), Dec 1989, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. ¹⁰  
AERIAL CUTLERY - A HISTORY

Shortly after the turn of the century, an industrious salesman named Fred Jaeger began a career that would grow into a very successful family business ­­ one that continues to this day, A "drummers" compact sample case and an almost magical sales talk marked the inception of Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company. That company was to become a major factor in the production of knives for the next four decades and its knives are today considered among the better collectibles.

While working as a paper mill employee, Jaeger began selling cutlery products to fellow employees. His sales success motivated him to quit his job and take to the road with his cutlery satchel containing knives, razors, scissors, and barber supplies. His "territory" was wherever he recognized sales potentials and his travels took him into the back­country mines, mills, and lumber camps. His background as a "mill hand" offered Jaeger something in common with plant guards and managers so that he was often able to get onto a plant's grounds while other salesmen would be left outside the gates. His reputation as an honest and reliable supplier grew as did his fame for good salesmanship.

Jaeger used his ingenuity and hard work so successfully, in fact, that the cutlery manufacturer in Morris, Illinois was unable to fill the demand created by his sales efforts. In order to be able to supply the increased demand, the Morris plant was purchased by another enterprising individual- J. D. Phillips.

Super salesman, ''Fritz'' Jaeger's business continued to grow. It grew so much that, in 1910, Fred Jaeger was joined by his brothers, Chris and Richard, and by Thomas Madden in forming a company to buy out Phillips. The purchased company was re-organized in Duluth, Minnesota and was given the new name ­ Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company.

Perhaps the name was unusual but it had a great deal of significance for the new owners. The Aerial Bridge, located in Duluth, was the first suspension bridge of its kind in the United States. In addition to sharing its name with the new company, the bridge became the company trademark because it was a symbol of stamina, hard work, sacrifice, and determination against all odds.

The name ''Aerial'' would remain even though, in 1912, it was shortened to Aerial Cutlery Company. The name change was current with a major move of the company's manufacturing facilities to Marinette, Wisconsin. According to Jaeger family accounts, the factory was moved "lock, stock, and barrel". Equipment and tools, whether large or small, was, loaded on a train load of flat cars for the journey from Duluth to Marinette. Seventy yeas later, in 1982, some of that original factory equipment was still in use at Olsen Knife Company.

In addition to the name Aerial being consistent through the years, another name has been consistently associated with the company's management and leadership. That name is Fred Jaeger. It was Fred ''Fritz'' Jaeger Sr. whose sales success provided the impetus for starting the company in 1909. Fred Jaeger Jr. assumed command of the company in 1966. He has since been joined by two other ''Fritz'' Jaegers - III and IV. But, let's go back to knives and to the approximate 40 year era during which Aerial was once of the major factor in the U. S. knife industry.

During the early part of this century one of the popular types of pocket knives were those that featured pictures within transparent handles. Most collectors have seen these knives and several collections are based upon these unusual pieces. Picture knives or transparent handled knives were made by several companies including Canton Cutlery Co., Morris Cutlery Co., Novelty Cutlery Co., Lackawanna Cutlery, Golden Rule, and Aerial Cutlery Co. Of these companies, Aerial was undoubtedly the most prominent and certainly the one with the longest history.

As evidenced by some of the photographs included here, picture knives by Aerial covered an extensive range of subjects. And, they came in practically all sizes and patterns from small pen knives to folding hunters and on to sheath knives. Among the more popular picture knives were those with natural
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• Publication: Knife World: Aerial Cutlery - A History (Pg 4), Dec 1989, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. ¹⁰  
Continued from page 1
and wild life scenes and, of course, the ''naughty lady'' patterns. But the unique designs go on and on--from farm livestock to Cars, trains, and ships; from cartoon characters such as ''Maggie and Jiggs'' to Presidents of our country; from commercial advertising logos to fraternal order emblems; and, if you want you could have knives made with a picture of your choosing. One Aerial catalog quotes a charge of ten cents for the use of a personal photograph on a knife handle. How's that for a ''customized'' knife?

One should not, however develop the opinion that knives made by Aerial were cheap advertising knives. The company had reputation for quality and a commitment to live up to that reputation. They had an excellent guarantee to back their product line and a written guarantee accompanied each knife sold. Whether the knife was for hard use or for a souvenir, it was made from quality materials and to rigid specifications ­ it took well over 200 different operations to make most of their knives. Of special interest is the handle materials. The company claimed that their knife handles were practically indestructible especially when compared to other commonly used materials such as ivory, stag horn, or wood.

In addition to picture knives, Aerial made quite a few other patterns ­­ some using other brand names of their own such as ''Jaeger Bros.'' Or ''A. C. Mfg. Co.''; others were made for mail order firms such as Sears­Roebuck, Belknap Hdwe., and Butler Brothers. In addition, Aerial's sales were large enough so they would contract with other manufacturers to have knives made with the Aerial stamping.

One of Aerial's major undertakings was the manufacture of the military trench knife and M-1 bayonets during World War II. Company histories indicate that a plant superintendent, Fred Faubel Sr. designed the trench knife and presented it to ordinance personnel in Chicago where it was adopted (with a slight change to the handle guard) as a standard pattern. Many thousands of these military knives were made by Aerial for the Armed Forces during the war. For its outstanding contribution the company was awarded the Army­Navy E Award.

The last Aerial cutlery catalog that I am aware dates to the later half of the 1940's. Unfortunately I have only photocopies of a portion of the catalog but I find no listing of picture handled knives. It appears that the extensive line of knives had been reduced to
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• Publication: Knife World: Aerial Cutlery - A History (Pg 5), Dec 1989, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. ¹⁰  
Continued from page 4
a few pocketknife patterns with Pyralin and to leather washer handled fixed blade knives. Noteworthy among the non­folders were four military types, ''Commando'' or bayonet knives; no doubt a carryover from the company's wartime production activities. Just as the war had changed much of our way of life, it had changed major industries; and, it had changed Aerial. Before the war, most of the company's knife sales had been in their picture knife line. The war effort had diverted their machinery and talents to military type knives. Also of major significance was the fact that the materials which the company had used in producing their primary knife line were no longer available or feasible to use.

Since the 1920's, Aerial had been actively involved in barber supplies and, in the 1930's added beauty supplies to its line; not an unusual complement to the cutlery business in those days. In 1965, Fred Jaeger decided to direct his company's business exclusively to that industry where they were already leaders. Under the guidance of a Fred Jaeger and operating under the founder's ideals of quality and service, that leadership continues today.

There are conflicting dates for Aerial's ceasing cutlery production. In his book, Pocketknives ­­ Markings of Manufactures and Dealers, John Goins dates the company's tang
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• Publication: Knife World: Aerial Cutlery - A History (Pg 6), Dec 1989, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. ¹⁰  
Continued from page 5
stampings until 1944. He states, however, that the company's knives ''were still in production as late as 1944''. The catalog mentioned above is not dated but there is good justification for the assumption that it was current during the last half of the 1940's. From one statement within the catalog ­­ ''Our knives have enjoyed a reputation for excellent quality and workmanship since the beginning of their manufacture over thirty years ago,'' we know that the catalog would date no earlier than 1940. Another statement ­­ ''During the recent World War…'' tells us that the catalog dates to after 1945. One article, author and publication unknown, credits Aerial with the manufacture of knives for 50 years; thus until the late 1950's. Bernard Levine, in Knife World's July 1979 Whut­Izzit column states that the company ceased regular cutlery production in the early 1950's. Based upon the above reference as well as other information made available to me by collectors Jack McAllister and Bob Cargill, I have concluded that the early 1950's is correct.

Regardless of which date is correct for the company's termination of cutlery manufacturing, collectors can be assured that Aerial knives have something to offer. Their quality is very good, they are quite unique, and their prices aren't ''out of sight'' ­ all the makings for an interesting collection.
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• Publication: Knife World: Aerial Cutlery - A History (Pg 7), Dec 1989, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. ¹⁰  
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Knives from an Aerial Manufacturing Catalog

• Publication: The Eagle-Herald, 12 Nov 2006, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ¹¹
Blaze destroys landmark

MARINETTE -- The former Aerial Co. building at 116 E. Hosmer St. is a total loss, following a late-night fire on Saturday.

The Marinette Fire Department received the call at 10:53 p.m.

According to the department's report, "Upon arrival we found flames breaking through the front entry way and shortly after that, the fire broke through the second story roof."

All off-duty personnel were called to the scene. The Menominee Fire Department responded under the terms of the Automatic Aid agreement, which became effective earlier this year.

An engine and crew from the town of Peshtigo also responded to the call.

According to the MFD report, ladder trucks from both Marinette and Menominee were set up to fight the flames.

Wisconsin Public Service was contacted to turn off electrical and gas to the brick building. The Marinette Water Utility was notified because of the large volume of water used to fight the blaze.

Emergency medical crews and personnel from the American Red Cross stood by during the fire. Crews worked through the night to battle the blaze, returning to their firehouses at 5:42 a.m.

Once the fire was under control, an excavator from MJB Industries pulled down the outer shell of the building. The structure and its contents were a total loss.

The building, former corporate home to Aerial Co., which is now located on the south side of Marinette near Pine Tree Mall and the Marinette Industrial Park, was occupied by Fabricators Plus. It is located near several homes and other businesses, none of which were damaged in the blaze.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

During the blaze, two Marinette firefighters and town of Peshtigo firefighters responded to a fire in a pile of tires at 303 Dousman St., about seven blocks from the Aerial Building fire. That fire is also under investigation.

• Publication: The Eagle-Herald, 21 Nov 2006, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ¹²
Arson bureau joins in fire investigation

MARINETTE -- Investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Justice Arson Bureau are in Marinette this week assisting the Marinette Police Department with its investigation into the cause of the fire that destroyed the former Aerial building, 116 E. Hosmer St.

Police Chief Jeffrey Skorik said the presence of the arson bureau does not mean the cause of the fire has been determined to be arson. "The reason that we've asked for their assistance is in hopes of determining the cause and origin of the fire," Skorik said.

The two-story structure that was at least 100 years old was destroyed by a late night fire Nov. 11.

At the time, the first floor of the building was occupied by Fabricators Plus.

During the blaze, a second fire was discovered in some discarded tires on the former Charon Building Supply property on Dousman Street, a few blocks away. Fabricators Plus was in the process of moving into a building on that site.

Skorik said investigators from the arson bureau are also examining that fire scene to attempt to determine the cause.

• Letter: to Fritz H. Jaeger Jr concerning the fire at the old Aerial building, 19 Nov 2006, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ¹³
I remember helping to put a new hot tar and gravel roof on the building. I stoked the fire on the tar heater.Tar came in a tin barrel which was cut with an axe into small pieces which were put in the pot and melted. Hot tar was put in 5 gal. buckets and hoisted to the roof by rope and pulley on an "A" frame on the roof.

In 1936 4 Link Belt stokers were installed. 2 for the boilers at the factory [Your dad already had an Iron Fireman installed at your house] 1 at Uncle Chris', house and an extended feedscrew worm unit at our house. This was the cause of an awful lot of problems for years. My father bought shear pins by the 100's. I was really good at replacing shear pins. He always believed it was the extra length of the feed screw that was the cause as there never was anything at the "special opening" where a cause should be found. When the stoker was removed to put in a gas fired boiler in the late 60's the special wrench to free a jam of the feed screw inadvertently left in the feed tube, when assembled, was removed. It had been grooved almost in two by the turning of the screw over the years and frequently would bind and shear a pin. Mystery solved!!

During the installation at the Aerial boiler room, I crawled through the flue opening and cemented a 12" metal smoke stack thimble from the inside of the chimney as I was the one small enough to crawl out after the installation. It was scary looking up from the inside. It was like being at the bottom of a well.

I can remember my father when last to leave the Aerial after locking the door at night would go back two or more times to recheck the door to make sure it was locked and secure after starting his truck to go home.

There are a lot of memories of that building. I guess cremation was a good way for it to go!!!

Christian married Emma Anna Herbst on 26 Jan 1914 in Menominee, Menominee, Michigan, USA.¹ (Emma Anna Herbst was born on 23 Sep 1889 in Green Bay, Brown, Wisconsin, USA, died on 01 Jan 1979 in Madison, Dane, Wisconsin, USA and was buried in Jan 1979 in Menominee, Menominee, Michigan, USA.)