26 | The Fisher Story
1955 75th anniversary diamond jubilee sales meeting
and celebration in Marshalltown.
Sales representatives
give Edna Fisher a
silver bowl that has
diamonds and
a gold lining.
Marshalltown
factory has 88 turret
lathes, 38 drills, 37
engine lathes, 13
milling machines
and 28 grinding machines.
915 Marshalltown factory and factory office
personnel.
Harold Minard stops the milling machine for
representatives’ wives touring the Marshalltown
plant during the sales meeting, 1955
Oh, What a Party
T
he Fisher family members
were fun-loving and
generous, eager to share the
company’s success and profits
with employees. As a result, the
Fisher Governor Company and in
later years, Fisher Controls,
developed a reputation for
hosting great parties.
Bill Fisher, who loved martinis
made with Plymouth ® Gin,
personally planned and hosted
some of the company’s great
parties.
In May 1955, for example,
the company celebrated its 75th
anniversary in Marshalltown in
conjunction with the grand
opening and dedication of the
new general office building.
In December 1956, 2000
employees and guests attended
the Christmas party at the
Tallcorn Towers (a grand hotel)
in Marshalltown and danced
until 1 a.m. Every employee
received a $10 per year-ofservice bonus plus a profit-
sharing bonus of two weeks’
pay. (Bonuses that year totaled
$300,000.)
For his birthday (July 30), Bill
often treated the Marshalltown
management team to lunch or
dinner at the Elmwood Country
Club. They, in turn, would get
him a gag gift. The best of these
gifts, according to Bill, was a
crate of miniature bottles of
Plymouth gin.