Why Erie Sauder belongs in industry's Hall of Fame
By Ray Allegrezza, Editor in chief -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2001
Furniture/Today recently published a story announcing the 11 latest nominees for the American Furniture Hall of Fame. Invariably, when the list is published, people are sure to say someone has been overlooked. While everyone on this year's list is a great choice, I would have added Erie Sauder, the founder of Archbold, Ohio-based furniture maker Sauder Woodworking.
Candidates, if I understand the criteria correctly, are judged on their impact on the furniture industry, as well as for their personal contributions and humanitarian efforts.
Erie Sauder, who died in 1997 at 92, has stellar credentials on all fronts. First, consider his work ethic. In 1934, during the Depression, the then-30-year-old furniture maker found himself with a family, a mortgage, a few home-made tools, an eighth-grade education and few prospects.
However, as he told me, "It's amazing what you can do when you don't know it can't be done." With the help of his wife and an order from a local church for a set of solid oak pews, Sauder Mfg. was born. However, it was a small table that Erie made from wood scraps that ultimately put him on the map.
In 1940, a traveling salesman passing through Archbold on his way to a furniture show in Chicago saw the tables and took them with him to the show. The next day, the salesman called and placed an order for 25,000 tables. On paper, there was no way to fill the order. Sauder had neither the workers nor the manufacturing capability. But the town pulled together, the local bank supported Erie, and the order was filled.
In 1951, a retailer asked Erie to create a piece of furniture that could be shipped and stored in flat boxes. His response: a snap-together table that met the customer's needs and gave birth to ready-to-assemble furniture.
Not all of Erie's accomplishments centered on furniture. In 1953, Sauder, a devout man, joined a group of other Mennonite businessmen on a mission to Paraguay, where many German and Russian Mennonite refugees landed after World War II.
Erie shared his knowledge of technology, agriculture and industry to help breed special cattle that could survive the harsh conditions. He also helped plant special grasses for the animals and helped develop small industry. All in all, Erie made 18 trips to Paraguay to help the refugees and native Paraguayan Indians become self-sufficient.
Erie also had a heart for his heritage. Concerned that the hard work and hand craftsmanship of his ancestors might be lost to future generations, he created Sauder Village, a nonprofit living museum, and collected century-old homes, tools and equipment. Today, working craftsmen at Sauder Village tell the stories of settlers who transformed the Ohio wilderness into some of the nation's finest farmland.
Erie was a man ofindustry in every sense of the word. Above all, he was a man of vision, integrity and a credit to our industry. In short, a hall of famer.
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