Davey Tree Flipbooks

9 8 Growth Rings Chapter 1 A Landmark in Company History It was 1961. Marilyn Monroe's blond locks flashed across movie screens for the last time as her final film e Misfits premiered. Elvis Presley's crooning "Blue Hawaii" sashayed across the airwaves to the top of the music charts. e Cold War and the Space Race were just warming up as the two superpowers faced off on geopolitical and technological fronts. John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural address as the 35th president of the United States, concluding the speech with his most famous sentiment: "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." Martin Luther King, Jr., and his Freedom Riders traveled throughout the American South, continuing their fight for civil rights. Seattle's iconic Space Needle etched itself into the West Coast skyline. Mickey Mantle led the Yankees to yet another World Series championship. Cassius Clay continued his undefeated streak in the boxing ring, and the new Hockey Hall of Fame opened in Toronto at the Canadian National Exhibition. e world bore witness to history in the making. In the meantime, e Davey Tree Expert Company underwent its own historic change. In 1961 Martin L. Davey, Jr., departed from his office as president of Davey Tree. His grandfather, John Davey, had founded the family business 81 years before, driven by a passion for tree care and environmental preservation. Ultimately, the third-generation Davey's exit from the president's office would set the company on a path leading to the departure of the whole Davey family, not just from the company but also from the business of arboriculture. Martin L. Davey, Jr., had ascended to the president's office 16 years earlier in 1946 when his father, the successful business and political leader Martin L. Davey, Sr., died of a heart attack at the age of 61. e younger Davey had just returned from military service in WWII when he was catapulted to the head of the company. His father had taken the grand philosophical ideas and scientifically proven tree care methods of John Davey and used them as the basis for creating a multi-million-dollar firm, which had grown into a community pillar in Kent, Ohio. Beloved by his employees and constituents alike, Martin L. Davey, Sr., had spent a lifetime building a reputa- tion through service to others first as mayor of Kent, then Ohio congressman and governor of Ohio. Without question, he had left big shoes to fill. In a 1996 interview, M.L. Davey, Jr., said it had been a "foregone conclusion" that he would take over Davey Tree upon the death of his father. In fact, his father had declared as much when the younger Davey was born in 1918. When announcing his son's birth, the elder Davey opined in e Davey Bulletin – the Davey Company's employee magazine – of his lofty expectations for his only son. "According to the records, the population of Kent was increased by one on February 7, but […] it was more than that. ere is now a worthy successor […] to the management of the Davey organization." And so, the weight of responsibilities yet to come was laid on a mere infant lying in his crib. 1 A Growing Enterprise (1961–1970) Martin L. Davey, Jr., about the time he would have been appointed president of Davey Tree in 1946. He was 28 years old when he became president and fresh from his service in WWII. Eventually, a heart attack suffered in 1961 would lead him to leave the president's office of his family's namesake company. Alexander M. Smith took over as president of the Davey Company in 1962. Smith was married to Evangeline Davey, who was the daughter of past Davey president and former Ohio governor Martin L. Davey, Sr., and granddaughter of John Davey. Smith took over for his brother-in-law, Martin L. Davey, Jr.

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