Beating the odds: Roy J. Carver the Bandag founder
The Muscatine magnate Roy Carver rose from a perilous childhood near Preemption Illinois to wealth as the Bandag Inc founder. Born to James and Laura Ann Carver, he survived a near drowning as a child and built a vast estate once valued around 150 million dollars. Carver’s early ingenuity and risk taking shaped a life of vision, chance meetings, and a rapid rise in the tire industry.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Roy J. Carver
Iowa
Bandag, Inc
Muscatine
Lazette
Roy Carver
Edwards River
Roy
Mabel Cunningham
Rock Island
Ill
CIA
Germany
Bandag
Carver
James
Laura Ann Carver
Ford
Deac’ Carver
Roy Carver an Unyielding Spirit Shapes Early Pump Firm
The account describes Roy Carver’s relentless optimism and evolving career from Illinois medical studies to engineering. He faced money shortages, worked at Ford, then built a WPA project, and in May 1938 started his own pump company in Matherville with $100 and his grandfather’s machinery. He believed, “Sure you can do it,” driving his later ventures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carver
University of Illinois
Michigan
Ford Motor Co
Davenport
Mississippi River
Roy Carver
Matherville
Ill
Germany
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Pearl Harbor
U.S. Army
Iowa
Muscatine
Muscatine Central State Bank
Army
Federal Reserve Bank
Chicago
Bandag
Martin Carver
Carver Pump Co
Roy Jr
Iowa City
U.S
Keller
Leyb
Michelin
Big Boys
Roy Carver’s rise and fall from Bandag to an oil scam
The article traces Roy Carver's rise from a cash pumping entrepreneur to founder of Bandag after discovering a tire retread process in Germany. It notes his aggressive expansion, language learning, and management flaws, ending with his conviction in a $15 million Middle East oil scam in 1980.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carver
Des Moines
Fortune
Chicago
St. Louis
Kansas City
Omaha
Germany
Bandag Fortune
South
Frankfurt
CIA
America
Europe
Bernard A. Nowak
Darmstadt
Rommel
North Africa
U.S
Bandag
Incorporated
Nowak
Roy Carver
Nixon cites 42 years of marriage based on compatibility
Former president Richard Nixon says his 42 year marriage to Pat rests on compatibility and shared beliefs. He credits her intelligence and hosting skills while noting she prefers meaningful conversation over social clocks. He recalls proposing in 1938 after meeting in Whittier California and marrying in 1940.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
UPI
Richard Nixon
Pat Nixon
Good Housekeeping
Nixon
Aileen Mehle
Suzy
Pat
Patricia Ryan
Whittier
Calif
Also Mentioned on This Page
By Dale Kueter
Rock Island, Ill
Dijon
France
Gene Seyb
Seyb
Stephen Keller
Minneapolis
J-Tec Associates
Cedar Rapids
Pump Company
Alexandra Carver
Gre
Rocky Shore Drive
Hwy. 6
Connie Boyd
Linda Edwards
Dist
Call
Tom Walsh
Johnson County
Howard Fine
Disijn Huo
Third Avenue
S.E. Cedar Rapids
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!