John F. Ernsthausen*

John Ernsthausen, born in 1888 in Ohio, was raised on a small farm and helped with the milking, plowing, and other farm chores at an early age.

Despite the burden of his duties at home, he graduated as valedictorian of his high school class, and his family's meager savings were used to send him to Tri-State Business College in Toledo, Ohio. He was forced to drop out after one semester because of his failing eyesight.

Ernsthausen went to Texas and got a job loading steers on cattle cars. Later, he returned to Ohio and started Norwalk Produce Company. To get his produce to the Cleveland markets faster, he purchased three used trucks for $1,000 and incorporated the trucking operation as Norwalk Truck Lines, Inc. Eventually, Ernsthausen hauled cargo other than produce, and his business flourished.