30
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
July/August 2019
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Above left: Pictured is the management group for the Davey Tree Surgery Company in 1984.
From left are: Robert J. Oyen, vice president, finance; A.B. "Mac" McKinstry, vice president, tree
care; Gene Haupt, vice president and general manager; and Paul Daniel, vice president, operations.
Above right: A Davey Surgery crew works in the vicinity of the Hollywood sign in the 1980s.
Right: Wellington Davey poses with an example of early tree surgery. Wellington founded the
Davey Tree Surgery Company in California in 1939.
A GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY IN THE GOLDEN STATE
This year the Davey Tree Surgery Company celebrates 50
years of incorporation since the primarily western-based
operations rejoined the fold of the larger Davey Company
in 1969.
It all started when Wellington Davey traveled west in 1928.
His task had been to manage the calls for work coming to
Davey Tree from far beyond the Mississippi River. Wellington,
the oldest son of John Davey, had studied his father's
methods since the company's earliest days and joined the
business operations in 1900.
Eventually, Wellington founded the Davey Tree Surgery
Company in 1939. Its operations encompassed much of
California and parts of other states, including Washington,
Nevada, Arizona and Oregon. It grew to be a successful
company due to the technical skill of Wellington and the
management and organizing skills of his son, Keith L. Davey.
In 1969, Keith Davey sold the Surgery Company to the
Davey Company, which was headquartered in Kent and
managed the operations in the East and Canada. In May
of 1969 the Davey Tree Surgery Company was incorporated
in the state of Ohio as a wholly owned subsidiary of
The Davey Tree Expert Company, officially reuniting the
western and eastern operations.
The company named Eugene W. Haupt general manager
of the surgery company in 1969 to oversee operations.
Haupt worked with veteran employees Robert J. Oyen, A.B.
"Mac" McKinstry, Paul Daniel and others to steer the ship
toward success. Waiting in the wings to eventually lead
the surgery company were long-time employees Howard
Bowles, who retired in 2012 as senior vice president and
general manager, and Larry Abernathy, who retired in 2018
as vice president and general manager.
The surgery company enjoyed great success under the
leadership of Haupt, Oyen, McKinstry, Daniel, Bowles and
Abernathy. At the end of 1982, the company's annual report
credited the surgery company as being responsible for a
major portion of Davey Tree's increased volume on the heels
of the employee-acquisition of 1979. "They have become the
pacesetters for the entire company," the report states.
Today, the Surgery Company accounts for 1,340 of the
Davey Company's approximately 10,000 employees and
has operations
in nine states;
California, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, Montana,
Colorado, Texas
and Oklahoma.
