Lehigh Southwest Cement

Henry J. Kaiser was born in 1882, the fourth child of German immigrants. He quit school at 13 not because he needed to, but because he was eager to start working. His first job was at a dry goods store. As he had promised his mother, he continued reading and studying on his own. What he lacked in a formal education he made up for with his own inquisitive nature in the school of life. His lack of education never hurt his success; he seemed to be born looking for opportunities. And it didn’t hurt that he was a dreamer, “If I don’t dream I’ll make it,” he once said, “I won’t even get close.”

Henry Kaiser worked with construction companies in Washington and British Columbia while gaining experience and building his knowledge of the construction industry. When the company he worked for suddenly went out of business after winning a roadpaving contract in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kaiser took it over himself. He was able to borrow $25,000 and completed his first project ahead of schedule and made a nice profit of $19,000. Then he incorporated as the Henry J. Kaiser Company, Ltd. His philosophy was: “Do it faster, cheaper, and better.”

R.G. LeTourneau was an equipment manufacturer who changed the construction business. Henry met him while working on a road job. When he heard LeTourneau say, “There is no such thing as a big job, only small machines,” Henry knew he had met his match.
Henry saw the machines as a means to make big jobs small. They worked together building an earthen dam in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the town of Philbrook. This was the first major project in which no mules were used. The heavy work was done with power shovels, mechanized dump trucks and scrapers. The work was completed so fast Kaiser was swamped with offers.

Before the war was over, Kaiser was already planning for peace time ventures with aluminum and steel. Another venture he already had his engineers working on was automobiles. While the war was still going on, they were working on experiments with prototype cars, aluminum engines, and fiber-glass bodies. Joseph Frazer was doing similar experiments at the same time. Mutual associates got the two together and they went into partnership. They leased a war surplus plant in Michigan. Eleven months later the first car rolled off the assembly line. Originally, they had two models, the “Kaiser” and the “Frazer.” The first year they lost $19 million, the following year they made $19 million. That was their best year as profits continued to dwindle until they stopped production in 1955. This was one venture that was not a true success but they were able to sell the manufacturing equipment to South America and eventually recouped their losses.

Bess died in 1951. Henry remarried shortly after. He and his new wife went on vacation in Hawaii in 1954 and never left. When he couldn’t stay in a Waikiki hotel because they were full, he began to plan and build his own hotel. He called it the Hawaiian Village, now known as the Hilton Hawaiian Village. He became one of the earliest and biggest boosters of tourism in Hawaii. He encouraged airlines to increase flights to Hawaii. He bought television and radio stations, both in Hawaii and mainland, to promote tourism.

In 1959, he leased 6,000 acres in East Honolulu and started a $350 million housing project called Hawaii Kai. Then he built a palace of his own along the shoreline of Hawaii Kai.

Although already in his seventies and semi-retired, he was up at 5:30 a.m. and off to work usually until 7 p.m. But he loved the island paradise and made time to enjoy it. He was a supporter of Hawaii’s baseball team, the Islanders, and attended many of the home games at the old Honolulu Stadium. He also supported all sorts of community projects.

He lived the last 13 years of his life in Hawaii. His “retirement” to Hawaii had made a big impact on the islands. He had come to Hawaii with his new wife, not to take it easy but to do his own thing in his own way. His wealth, energy, determination and imagination had him going from one project to another. His mind was always thinking of what he could build, what problems he could solve and how he could create jobs for Hawaiian workers. Although he only slept a few hours at night, he was blessed with boundless energy. He was still going strong at 85 until shortly before his death on August 24, 1967.

Like the rivers he tamed, he was a powerful driving force in America and the world. He brought changes when they were needed most. With his “Find a need and fill it” and “Nothing is impossible” beliefs, he accomplished amazing things. Most of the businesses he started, and the projects he built, are still in place today. Although, like his cement plant, they may no longer carry the Kaiser name, they are forever stamped with his dynamic spirit. The Henry J. Kaiser legacy continues…