Contest 210 No.2

About Ozark Pencil Co.

Established in 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri, Ozark Pencil Co. produced a pamphlet in 1928 stating they were the largest manufacturer of advertisement pencils and enameled whistles. According to the St. Louis Star and Times, the company's founder, Harry W. Brewer, was responsible for developing many of the machines and methods for producing pencils in the early 1930s. For example, he invented the first machine used to print two or three colors on a pencil at one time. The Ozark Pencil Co. also produced mechanical pencils and eyebrow pencils. It had a second manufacturing plant in Lewisburg, TN, that was destroyed by fire in 1935 (six employees were severely burned in the fire). Later that same year, Mr. Brewer filed for bankruptcy, but news reports indicated it was for him as an individual and did not involve the pencil company. He died in 1938.