The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

H.O and H.W. Hem Toledo Scale Papers, 1910s-1960s

MSS-176

Size: 5 linear feet

Provenance: Gift of Mr. James Meredith, Toledo, OH

Access: open

Related Collections: The Toledo Scale Collection (MSS-153) and Toledo’s Attic

Processing Note:

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Deborah Marinski, August 2003

 

Biographical Sketch

            Halvor Olsen Hem was born August 14, 1863, in Saude, Norway, to Ole and Aste Hem.  H.O. Hem was born into a family of engineers and mechanics, and before the age of fifteen had designed numerous mechanical devices including scales, steam engines, and sewing machines.  In 1882, H.O. Hem came to the United States where he became an engineer with the H.N. Strait Manufacturing Company of Kansas City, Missouri.  It was in 1890 when he became the chief engineer, superintendent and vice-president of the company.  H.N. Strait Manufacturing Co. produced scales under the name Monarch for twelve years under H.O. Hem.  In 1902 the company was sold to Fairbanks, Morse and Company where H.O. Hem created a complete line of scales. H.O. Hem remained there until 1915 when he became a consultant to the Toledo Scale Company, and in 1928 he became the chief engineer of Toledo Scale.  Some of his developments in scales were in the area of heavy capacity, mechanical devices for World War I and II, wind tunnel measuring systems, and the automobile industry.
            During his tenure as an engineer, H.O. Hem received various awards and honors.  He received the John Price Wetherill medal in 1932 for his perfection of pendulum scales.  In 1936 he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Toledo.  H.O. Hem was also part of many associations and organizations.  One such group was the Yards and Terminals Committee 14 of the American Railway Engineering Association, which determined the rules and regulations for scales and their installation.  He was also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Railway Engineering Association, and the National Scale Men’s Association. 
            H.O. Hem retired from the Toledo Scale Company in 1947, but he still helped the company as a consultant.  H.O. Hem was married twice, first to Lillian with whom he had two children, H. Warren and Verona, and second to Helen Vaughan.  He died on November 11, 1952.          
            Halvor Warren Hem was born on September 25, 1892, to H. O. and Lillian Hem in Kansas City, Missouri.  H.W. Hem followed in his fathers footsteps with his passion for creating scales and mechanical devices.  He held over 100 patents by the time he was sixteen years old.  He also came to the Toledo Scale Company where he became the chief design engineer.  While at Toledo Scale, he designed and oversaw the creation of many important scales.   H.W. Hem retired from Toledo Scale in 1960 (1963?) after 31 years of service. 

            H.W. Hem was married to Madeleine and had three children, Clarice, Paul, and H.W. Jr.  H.W. Hem passed away on February 3, 1988 at the age of 95.

Scope and Content Note

            The papers of H.O. and H.W. Hem consist of 5 linear feet and broken into four primary series: blueprints and engineering drawings, photographs, publications, and miscellaneous H.O and H.W. materials.  These materials give an in-depth description of the engineering side of the Toledo Scale Company during the two Hems’ terms as chief engineers.  The collection consists of blueprints and drawings, scale newsletters, photographs and catalogs of scales, instructions, other companies’ products, sales information, articles, and correspondence materials documenting the daily engineering of scales.
            The four series are arranged alphabetically then chronologically.  Also, those materials specifically designated by H.O. or H.W. have been arranged first by father (H.O.) then by son (H.W.), followed by those materials without designated ownership.
            Many items may be duplicated in the Toledo Scale Collection, MSS-153.

Series List

S1

Blueprints and Engineering Drawings
1910s-1960s, 1 linear ft.
This series is arranged with drawings of H.O (1913, 1921), followed by drawings of H.W.  For blueprints where no producer is noted, they are arranged by decade with the last folder containing those drawings with no date or illegible dates.  The beginning date of the drawing was used were applicable, but when one was not available the completion date was used for filing.  There is also one folder with graded drawings by Paul Hem, son of H.W. Hem.  The blueprints and drawings are of scales and mechanical parts.

S2

Photographs
Not dated, .75 linear ft.
The photographs in this series are arranged first by ownership by H.O. Hem then by model number.  The first three folders are photographs from catalogs of scales that H.O. Hem kept, while the other folders are pictures of specific scales presumably from catalogs but not kept together as such.  The photographs are arranged first by those with model numbers, followed by those with no model numbers.  The photographs are of scales or mechanical devices.

S3

Publications
1920s-1960s, 1 linear ft.
The materials in this series are arranged alphabetically then chronologically.  There are a number of Toledo Scale newsletters such as Scale Journal, Service, Toledo Scalemen, Toledo System, and Toledo System Jr.  There are also magazines, pamphlets, and articles pertaining to engineering.

S4

Miscellaneous, H.O. and H.W. Hem materials
1920s-1960s, 2.25 linear ft.
This series contains materials that do not fit specifically into one of the other series.  The contents are arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically with possessions of     H.O. first, then H.W., then materials not designated as belonging to either.  In this series can be found company catalogs, data books, instructions, handbooks, parts catalogs, financial data correspondence, price information, posters, and scale information.

 

Folder List

Box

Folder

Title

S1. Blueprints and Engineering Drawings

1

1

Blueprints, H.O. Hem, 1913, 1921

2

Blueprints, H.W. Hem, 1925, 1926, 1940-41

3

Blueprints, 1908, 1910

4

Blueprints, 1920s

5

Blueprints, 1930s

6

Blueprints, 1940s

7

Blueprints, Paul Hem, 1949

8

Blueprints, 1950s

9

Blueprints, not dated or illegible

2

S2. Photographs

10

Photographs, scale catalogs, H.O. Hem (1 of 3)

11

Photographs, scale catalogs, H.O. Hem (2 of 3)

12

Photographs, scale catalogs, H.O. Hem (3 of 3)

13

Photographs, scale catalogs

14

Photographs, model number

15

Photographs, no designation

S3. Publications

16

Magazines, American Miller and Processor, December

17

Magazines, The Vancoram Review, Fall 1955

18

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1924, 1926

19

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1930, 1932,

20

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1940-41, 1942,

21

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1950

22

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1950

23

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1952

24

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1953

25

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1954

26

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1955

27

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1956

28

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1957

3

29

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1958

30

Newsletters, Scale Journal, H.W. Hem, 1959

31

Newsletters, Service, 1926-27, 1933, 1939

32

Newsletters, Toledo Scalemen, H.W. Hem, 1932

33

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1915, 1922, 1924

34

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1930

35

Newsletters, Toledo System,  1931

36

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1932

37

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1933

38

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1934

39

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1937

40

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1938

41

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1939

42

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1940

43

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1950

44

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1951

45

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1952

46

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1953

47

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1954

48

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1955-1956

49

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1957

50

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1958

51

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1959

52

Newsletters, Toledo System, 1960

53

Newsletters, Toledo System, Jr., 1930

54

Pamphlet, H.W. Hem, “Effects of Shock Loadings”

55

Pamphlet, H.W. Hem, “Terminology,” 1955

56

Pamphlet, “A Comparison”

57

Pamphlet, “After 36 Successful Years”

58

Pamphlet, “How to Weld Aluminum,” 1946

59

Pamphlet, “Indiana Association of Inspectors of Weights and

Measures Annual,” 1939

60

Pamphlet, “Metric System,” 1973

61

Pamphlet, “Shot Peening and the Fatigue of Metals,”1944

62

Pamphlet, “Upgrade your Weights and Measures Department,”

1956

63

Pamphlet, “Weighing Machine Pivots,” 1946

64

Pamphlet, “Which Scale for your Weighing Job?” 1954

65

“Toledo Weight Control in Industry”

S4 Miscellaneous H.O and H.W. Hem Materials

66

50th Anniversary, 1951

67

100% Club Roster, 1957

68

Annual Convention and scale show

69

Bibliography of scales, 1950

70

Book, H.W. Hem, Design worksheets, 1933

71

Building lists, 1950-1957

72

Bulletin, H.W. Hem, Custom Industrial, 1955, 1958

73

Bulletin, Government Division, 1958

74

Bulletin, Martin-Decker

75

Bulletin, Service, 1958

76

Catalog, H.O. Hem, Industrial Automatic Dial Scales

77

Catalog, H.W. Hem, Barden Precision Ball Bearings, 1948

78

Catalog, Chatillon, 1937

79

Catalog, Copeland

80

Catalog, Miniature Precision Bearings, 1950

4

81

Companies, Baldwin, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955

82

Companies, Bushings, Inc.

83

Companies, Chatillon

84

Companies, Electro-voice

85

Companies, Fairbanks-Morse

86

Companies, Fleet, 1955-1956

87

Companies, Fluid Controls Co. Inc.

88

Companies, Groove-Pin Corp.

89

Companies, Hardy

90

Companies, Howe

91

Companies, Jensen

92

Companies, Lindberg Steel Treating Co.

93

Companies, Metco

94

Companies, Mettler

95

Companies, Morehouse Machine Co., 1932

96

Companies, Nelson

97

Companies, Osborne Register Co.

98

Companies, Sanborn

99

Companies, Statham Instruments, Inc.

100

Companies, U.S. Automatic Corp.

101

Companies, W.C. Dillon and Co., Inc, 1954

102

Companies, Yale and Towne, 1948

103

Data, H.W. Hem, 1947

104

Data, 1942

105

Data booklet, H.W. Hem, 1931-1939

106

Defiance Scales

107

Department of Agriculture, 1949

108

Engineering for standard parts, 1955

109

Instructions for salesmen, 1943

110

Instructions

111

Instructions, Conversion

112

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Guardian “70” 1948-1949

113

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Heavy duty scales, 1928

114

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Model 31-1800 Type scales and ratio

counting, 1938

115

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Model 2041-2061-2071-2081, 1953

116

Instructions, H.W. Hem, New unit weight cabinet

117

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Salesmen mechanical information

118

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Streeter-Amet type Mt.-14 recorder, 1941

119

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo Bench scales, 1928

120

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo dormant type scales-1500 line,

1928

121

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo fan type

122

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo Person weigher, 1928

123

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo portable type scale, 1800 style

124

Instructions, H.W. Hem, Toledo printweigh, 1937

125

Instructions, B & I Gem maker

126

Instructions, Decitron Electronic counters

127

Instructions, Load cells, 1955

128

Instructions, Portable Contractors scale, 1960

129

Instructions, SR-4 load cells

130

Instructions, Yale scale, 1947

131

Letters, H.W. Hem, 1943, 1945, 1958-1960

132

Manual, H.W. Hem

133

Massa–Cohu Electronics, Inc.

134

Mechanical Engineers handbook, 4th ed., 1941, H.W. Hem

5

135

Miscellaneous

136

National Bureau of Standards, Book, 1929

137

National Conference on Weights and Measures, 1956

138

Organizational correspondence, 1939, 1951, 1958

139

Parts Catalogs, H.O. Hem, Fairbanks, 1931

140

Parts Catalogs, H.W. Hem, Fairbanks, 1960

141

Parts Catalogs, H.W. Hem, Toledo, 1935

142

Parts Catalogs, H.W. Hem, Toledo Guardian “70,” 1948

143

Parts Catalogs, H.W. Hem, Toledo Styles 1074, 1075, 1076, 1020,

1030, 1040

144

Parts Catalogs, Toledo Yale and Towne Dormant scale

145

Parts Catalogs, Detecto scales

146

Parts Catalogs, General Electric

147

Parts Catalogs, Jacobs Detecto Scales

148

Parts Catalogs, Toledo, 1922-1923

149

Parts Catalogs, Toledo model 5200, 1948

150

Parts Catalogs, Toledo Printweigh, 1939

151

Poster, 100% Club, 1941

152

Poster, Toledo Scale

153

Post-Graduate industrial school, 1939

154

Price lists, 1955

155

Product engineering, 1952

156

Profit insurance, H.W. Hem, 1927

157

Project budgets, H.W. Hem, 1959-1960

158

Product information, Automatic dial weighing

159

Product information, Lever system, #1700-3700 styles

160

Product Information, New fan type scales

161

Product information, Overhead track type, #2200 style, 1927

162

Product information, Toledo motor truck scales

163

Ruler

164

Sales data, Fairbanks-Morse, 1930

165

Sales data, Toledo Printweigh, 1934

166

Sales data, Toledo Printweigh, 1937

167

Sales data, Toledo Printweigh, 1942

168

Scales, Ametron electronic scale

169

Scales, Avery road vehicle weighbridge

170

Scales, Berkel, 1959

171

Scales, Chopper line, 1960

172

Scales, Decitron

173

Scales, Detecto, 1958

174

Scales, Hopper

175

Scales, Howe, 1959

176

Scales, International Accounting Scale

177

Scales, Load cells

178

Scales, New “S” self-contained floor scales

179

Scales, Portable motor truck scale, 1960

180

Scales, Toledo butter print scale, 1940

181

Scales, Toledo computagram

182

Scales, Toledo dormant type platforms

183

Scales, Toledo guardian “70” duplex

184

Scales, Toledo heavy capacity

185

Scales, Toledo mural scales

186

Scales, Toledo valueprint system

187

Scales, Trescomatic

188

Schoolastic contest

189

Service bulletin, Toledo scale, 1956

190

Service manual, Fan scales, 1956

191

Soweigh Scale Co.

192

Statham Laboratories, 1956

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22