Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Thursday, August 08, 2024
And Iowa Penn signs the charter. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Eat up the summer with an Iowa Soybean Association Farmer Membership powered by the Soybean Checkup. Access timely industry info, engage in on-farm research, and join producer programs all designed to support your operations' unique needs. Activate or confirm your membership before August 31st and be entered to win one of many unique prizes, including a solo stove. Visit isoybeans.com today to learn more. The Iowa Soybean Association, driven to deliver for Iowa's nearly 37,000 Soybean Farmers! Walter Shafer was running a successful jewelry business in Fort Madison in 1907 when he came up with the idea of making a new kind of fountain pen. Most pens at the time were ink droppers, but Shafer designed a self-filling fountain pen with a lever on the barrel. He patented the design in 1908 and went into the pen business full-time. The W.A. Shafer Pen Company was incorporated on January 1st, 1913, with a value of $35,000. Shafer sold the jewelry business and expanded manufacturing in Fort Madison. Soon, Shafer pens were popular across the country. A full-page ad in the Saturday evening post in 1914 proclaimed "Big Business Demands Shafer's Pen". The pens became status symbols. They cost three times more than their competitors, with the lowest-priced pen selling for $8.75 back in 1920, but the more expensive pens had lifetime guarantees. Fast-forward to August 8th, 1945, the day as best known as when the U.S. dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan. But it was also the day when the United States became the first nation to complete the ratification process and join a new international organization, the United Nations. Given the war circumstances, there was no pop and circumstance associated with the signing just a small ceremony. President Harry S. Truman signed first for going the ceremonial pens, typically used for such things, and using a 10-cent desk pen. Secretary of State James F. Burns also signed the document. Burns used a pen he pulled from his coat pocket. A Shafer Pen, made in Fort Madison. And so it was that a document that brought the United Nations into being bears a signature made using a pen manufactured by an Iowa company. When the U.S. Secretary of State pulled a Shafer from his pocket to sign off on this date in 1945. And that's Iowa Almanac for August 8th. Follow us on Twitter @IowaAlmanac. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.