Goodhealth Shoe Company

Cash Book, November 15, 1921 to January 17, 1939
Stock Certificate Book, November 26, 1921 - May 17, 1943 issues

These are corporate records, mostly minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors and shareholders, of the Goodhealth Shoe Company of Carthage, MO. Its purpose was to manufacture children's footwear and, later, to lease its factory to other manufacturers.

On November 14, 1921 a preliminary meeting of shareholders was held in Carthage to organize the Goodhealth Shoe Company. On November 16 "Articles of Association" were adopted, and the firm was incorporated by the state of Missouri on November 21. Capitalization was $50,000 distributed in 500 shares of stock. The first president was C F Reith, and the firm located in the former site of the Howard-Hulme-Dittrich Shoe Company at the northeast corner of 4th Street and Lyon.

The new firm contracted with the Juvenile Shoe Corporation of America to "take on the sales work" for a commission of 7¢ per pair for the first 200,000 pairs of shoes, and 5¢ per pair thereafter. However, before operations could get under way, President Reith on January 19, 1922 "urged that some steps be taken in an effort to correct labor conditions which prevailed in the community..." whereupon the Board established a committee of three "to confer with other factories with a view to developing a plan which will obviate the present competition in labor." By late summer that year the plant was still not in operation, although the Board was told on September 13 that it would be up-and-running by October 15. "Mr. Market," the factory superintendent for Juvenile, would also supervise Goodhealth's operations, and the production of Juvenile's "Boys and Little Gents" footwear would be shifted to Goodhealth's facility. By July 18, 1923 the entire building had been leased to Juvenile, followed by a near three-year gap in the corporate records.

In June 1926 Goodhealth leased its building for $150 per month to Smith Brothers (Big Smith), a manufacturer of work clothing, and in January 1927 the firm's shoe-making machinery was put into storage. This arrangement lasted about five years, for in September 1931 the lease with Smith Brothers was terminated. At this time, in the depths of the Great Depression, the Carthage Chamber of Commerce assumed the rental payments on Goodhealth's building for a new tenant, the United Wood Heel Company. Also at that time the Chamber of Commerce offered to buy the factory for $18,000 but the sale was not effected.

In July 1933 Goodhealth began paying occasional dividends to its shareholders, never less than $1 per share and never more than $2, until the dissolution of the company. The Carthage Loan and Investment Company (see page 61), through Walter E Carter, became the single largest shareholder in the firm, owning 70 shares in 1934 and 124 shares when the company was dissolved eleven years later. Another, minor, shareholder was Joseph D Perkins, Marlin Perkins' father. In October 1934 the factory was leased to the Carmo Shoe Manufacturing Company, and this lease was renewed in March 1938.

A financial statement dated 31 December 1938 indicated that rental income from the factory building was essentially Goodhealth's only commercial enterprise, but by December 31, 1941 the financial statement suggested that the edifice was vacant, because income for that calendar year had been "none." There was also no income in 1942, and only $370 for 1943, during which year the firm sustained a loss of almost $1500.

In February 1944 the factory was leased to Fred M. Sears's Carthage Furniture Manufacturing Company, for only $75 per month, and the treasurer was authorized to execute notes for $1000 with the Bank of Carthage. Rental income of $1085 in 1944 constituted the company's profit for the year. Finally, in February 1945, H W Putnam, Jr., offered to purchase the company's real estate, essentially its only asset, for $12,000. The Board recommended to the shareholders that they accept the offer, and, furthermore, that they vote to dissolve the corporation. On March 1, 1945 the shareholders approved both propositions, and the firm was dissolved, paying a final dividend of $23.03 per share. On June 29, 1945 "Articles of Liquidation" were filed with the Missouri Secretary of State, and the Goodhealth Shoe Company, which had produced few shoes in its nearly of 24 years of corporate life, ceased to exist.

Besides C F Reith, other presidents of the firm were Dr R W Webster, F C Hodson, and O E Proctor, all of Carthage.

Microfilmed: Yes

**Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Rolla in 2001.

Description above written by WHMC-Rolla staff and edited by Powers Museum Director/Curator.

Subjects:
Carthage, MO
Bank of Carthage
Carmo Shoe Manufacturing Company
Carthage Furniture Manufacturing Company
Carthage Goodhealth Shoe Company
Walter E Carter
Carthage Chamber of Commerce
Carthage Loan and Investment Company
O A Dittrich
F C Hodson
Goodhealth Shoe Co
Howard-Hulme-Dittrich Shoe Company
Juvenile Shoe Corporation of America
William Kaut
Knell Family
F Levy Shoe Store
Allen McReynolds
Joseph P Perkins
O E Proctor
Professional Building
H W Putnam, Jr
C F Reith
Fred M Sears
Carthage Furniture Manufacturing Company
Shoe Industry in Carthage
Smith Brothers Manufacturing (Big Smith)
United Wood Heel Company
Vogel Shoe Company
Dr R W Webster

Note: Note all shareholders have not been indexed in certificate book.

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