John A. Bush*
Class of 1954
- Chairman of the Board Brown Shoe Company
Every time I got a job I worked hard at it, make friends with everybody, and surprised myself.
John A. Bush started working for the Brown Shoe Company in his late teens, assisting in shoemaking and cost supervision of the factory office. He was promoted to assistant in the advertising department and then sold shoes on the road in southern Ohio. He later became superintendent and then buyer.
Bush persuaded his company to purchase the rights to the Buster Brown name, and the brand was introduced to the public at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Bush went on to serve as the company's chairman of the board.