Frederick O. Olson
Americans are very proud of their prominent and successful business men, but they are equally generous in awarding praise to natives of other lands whose ability enables them to reach the front rank in any line of endeavor. It is the man who counts, instead of the land of his birth. These few remarks are given as an introduction to the sketch of F. O. Olson, one of the leading railroad men of Ohio. He has been a residentof Lima since 1903, but he was born in Sweden, in 1869, and is a son of the late John Olson.
John Olson was for many years a right-hand man to President Hill of the Great Northern Railroad, whom he assisted by his practical advice and was most useful to him because of his long experience in railroad building in Sweden. His death occurred in 1903.
F. O. Olson was reared and educated in Sweden until he was 15 years old, and immediately after coming to the United States secured a position in the auditor's office of the Great Northern Railroad Company at St. Paul, Minnesota. After two years worked as a machinist in the locomotive works. The next three years were spent in Chicago, with the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad one year as a working machinist and two years as foreman. Then he accepted a position in the emergency department of the Great Northern road, and 18 months later went to Duluth, where he took a contract for railroad building. From there he came to Ohio and constructed the greater portion of the Toledo & Western Railroad, still later becoming one of the active promoters of the Sandusky & South- Western Railroad and the Lima & Eastern Railroad. His knowledge of railroading covers every detail and, in addition, he is a practical electrician, having spent six months with the Westinghouse Company. His present railroad connections are important, and, considering that he is yet a comparatively young man , indicate the possession of a very high order of ability. He is president and general manager of the Sandusky & South-Western Railroad a line projected from Wapakoneta to Sandusky and from Lima to Bellefontaine, 40 miles of which is already graded; vice-president of the Lima Eastern Railroad, a line to run from Lima to Kenton, via Marion; president of Missouri, Oklahoma & Western Railroad, and a controlling director in the Guthrie & Oklahoma Railroad.
In 1896 Mr. Olson was married to Edith Sturdeven, of West Virginia. They have three daughters: Melba, Emily and Gene. Fraternally Mr. Olson is a member of the Elks. He takes no active personal interest in politics, but is always ready to assist the political ambitions of his friends.