Shopsmith Forums

WileyCoyote wrote:Everett,
I have a copy of the letter my father-in-law received in 1957 when he bought his Mark 5, which I still have and use. The letter has a little water damage at the bottom of the page, but signed by R.L. Chambers, the letterhead states the address as Menlo Park, Ca for Magna Engineering Corporation. It also lists at the bottom they have plants located in Berkeley and Cleveland. Menlo Park is now I believe part of Palo Alto and Berkeley is now part of Oakland. If interested I would be glad to scan and email you a copy. I also have copies of the packing list, his first Shopsmith Shavings New Owner's addition, two other Shopsmith Shavings, one dated 1955, the Shopsmith ShopMag winter edition from 1956-1957, and the original owners manual. I would also consider loaning these documents to you instead, if interested. Just let me know and I would be glad to put them in an envelope and send them to you. I think what you are providing is an inspiration to so many people and wish I had half the knowledge and ability you have to complete such a project.
BTW, the phone number for Magna Eng Corp in 1957 was "DAvenport 3-3191". You old-timers should get a kick out of that. The young-ins probably wont have a clue.

Yup, certainly remember that. I remember before there were dial phones in western Pennsylvania. You just picked up the phone and gave the operator the number. Like BR549.

This is great information. It explains Berkerley and Menlo Park for Magna and the division of engineering & manufacturing from sales and why the two locations. Cleveland still being the eastern manufacturing plant. I am going to be rewriting my notes on who did what when for some time. WileyCoyote's documents fill in another piece of the puzzle.

WileyCoyote wrote:Everett,
I have a copy of the letter my father-in-law received in 1957 when he bought his Mark 5, which I still have and use. The letter has a little water damage at the bottom of the page, but signed by R.L. Chambers, the letterhead states the address as Menlo Park, Ca for Magna Engineering Corporation. It also lists at the bottom they have plants located in Berkeley and Cleveland. Menlo Park is now I believe part of Palo Alto and Berkeley is now part of Oakland. If interested I would be glad to scan and email you a copy. I also have copies of the packing list, his first Shopsmith Shavings New Owner's addition, two other Shopsmith Shavings, one dated 1955, the Shopsmith ShopMag winter edition from 1956-1957, and the original owners manual. I would also consider loaning these documents to you instead, if interested. Just let me know and I would be glad to put them in an envelope and send them to you. I think what you are providing is an inspiration to so many people and wish I had half the knowledge and ability you have to complete such a project.
BTW, the phone number for Magna Eng Corp in 1957 was "DAvenport 3-3191". You old-timers should get a kick out of that. The young-ins probably wont have a clue.

I would love a scanned copy of the letter and packing list for starters.
I have a set but they were in rough shape stained by oil, and torn many years ago, long before I acquired them.

I have the Shavings copies, and some of the notes and wire tags. I am pretty sure I have the same manual.

Thank you.

Everett

Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Berkley and Oakland are ALL
different cities. Menlo park and Palo Alto are next to
each other, but in different counties.

And then, there Los Altos Hills, where R.J. Decristiforo
lived, at the end. Close to PA and MP.

steve

Magna has always had a bit of mystique around the name choice for the original companies.

Many have stated that the Chambers brothers promoted the name Magna, the name of the town they lived in and grew up in Utah.

Deeper speculation indicates that it was actually Frank or Bob’s wife who had suggested it initially. I don't have that material with me here.

We know that it was accepted and thus Magna Engineering and Magna Power Tool Corporation sprang from that idea as confirmed by Bob Chambers that it was indeed named after Magna, Utah.

It is an interesting side topic, and one that Utah historians have weighed in on as the name Magna (the town) was not as clearly defined by founding based on a discussion in The Magna Times at http://magnatimes.com/take-a-trip-down- ... 09-119.htm

Based on this account, it seems that the area known initially as Pleasant Green was established as a county precinct July 21, 1874 and the community never incorporated into a city, even to this day.

Magna was a nickname for the area, and it was always called something other than Pleasant Green on period maps of the day.

The tradition it said was to identify its post office with something other than Pleasant Green.

It seems that at a time when Frank Chambers (Frank and Bob’s father) was postmaster there, the federal government actually labeled it Chambers.

Over time numerous things were named Magna, including the School which later became Webster.

In 1915 Renald Woolley became postmaster and the Post Office had relocated across from the Magna School, thus the name Magna was requested and was the name of the new Post Office.

I have read elsewhere some state that Frank Chambers Sr. actually named the town Magna. This news story (and you can’t print anything on the web that isn’t true some say) disputes that with an alternate path to the name.

The Chambers family lived in Magna and their children were born in the area hospital nearby, in Salt Lake City.

So in my closest emulation of Paul Harvey’s voice “And now you know the rest of the story” ….. Or at least, an alternate version of it.

Everett

Everett, I emailed you the documents. They were too large to add them here.

Thanks. I will look at them when I get access to a computer.

Thank you for thinking of me.

Everett

Everett,
We now know more about the locations of San Francisco, Berkeley and Menlo Park in California. Cleveland, Ohio as the eastern manufacturing plant. Where does Fort Wayne, Indiana fit in? It shows up on the belt covers vent/serial number plate on Mark 5's with Menlo Park between 1955 and the change to Yuba when it has Cincinnati.