April marks the 142nd anniversary of Peter Kroehler’s birth. Kroehler was employed with the Naperville Lounge Company in 1893 as a stenographer and general assistant to the company head, James L. Nichols. In 1915 Kroehler, then president of the board of directors, merged the Naperville Lounge Factory with three other furniture factories in Kankakee, Ill, Binghamton, N.Y., and Cleveland, Ohio thus creating the Kroehler Manufacturing Company. Peter and his sons built the Kroehler Manufacturing Company into the world’s largest furniture company with plants in the US and Canada. This Naperville-based company employed hundreds of men and women across the country, often multi-generational within the same family.
In 1942 and throughout World War II, all Kroehler plants were converted to war work. Craftsmen trained to make sofas, chairs, dining and living room furniture now made office and barrack’s furniture, target plane propellers, folding chairs and ammunition boxes. Upholsters spit out their tacks to join the ranks of the cutters and sewers to make airplane turret seats, army rucksacks, life preserver cushions and canvas tool kits.
Bound copies of The Kroehler News, a company newspaper and magazine housed in the Archives at Naper Settlement, contain many stories and pictures of Kroehler men and women who served in the armed forces during the war. War production in the factories, letters from soldiers, and even how-to guides for planting a Victory Garden or managing rations are among the highlights of the 1942 – 1947 issues. These resources provide an invaluable look into how the community of Naperville worked together during World War II.
Kroehler War Work
Naperville Plant
- Chairs & settee for USO Recreation Centers
- Visible Index File Cabinets
- Standard Filing Cabinets
- Wood Typist Chair
- Storage Cabinets for governmental agencies
- Airplane Turret Seats for Martin Bomber
- Army Rucksacks and Camouflage Covers
- Dispatch Case (canvas)
- Dummy Shells, 105 mm
- Target Plane Propellers
- Shipping Trays for Artillery Fuses
- Folding Chairs
- Life Preserver Cushions
- Pulpit Chairs
- Living Room Furniture for Federal Housing Projects
- Cable Drums for Signal Corps.
- Camp Tables
- Map Cases
- Artificial limbs
- Shepard Chair
- Wardrobes
- Sewed Knapsacks
- Canvas Tool Kits
- Ammunition Boxes
- Wood Bearings for Farm Machinery
Binghamton Plant
- Cable Drums
- Shoulder Pads
- Harness & Straps
- Link Liner Fuselage Parts
- Wooden Lockers
- Knapsacks
- Office Chairs
- Ozalid Duplicating Machine Cases
- Quartermaster Furniture
Kankakee Plant
- Wood File Cabinets
- Cable Drums
- Bedroom Suites for Quartermasters
- Davenports & Chairs in leather for Quartermasters
- Army Cots
- Bed Rolls
- Wings, Flaps, Ailerons for Howard Aircraft Trainer Planes
- Complete Interior Furnishings for Kaiser Liberty Boats
- Camp Tables
- Rucksacks
- Canteen Covers
- Shoulder Pads
- Shell Cases for Joliet Arsenal
- Link Trainer Desks
- Stratford, Ontario Plant
- Rifle Cases
- Folding Chairs for Army and Air Force Depots
- Chests
- Target Stands
- Mortar Boxes
- Stock Racks for Victory Aircraft
- Back Boards
- Wooden Components for Mark IV Anson Aircraft
- Wooden and Upholstered Components for Lancaster Bombers
- Front Spars for Mosquito Bombers
- Small Pads for Curtis Helldiver
- Small Wooden Parts for Mark V Anson aircraft
- Small Wooden Parts for Harvard Trainer
- Boxes and Packing Lancaster spare parts for export
- Bomb Bay Doors, Spinners, Panels
Dallas, Texas Plan
- AT6C North American Fuselage
- AT6C North American Stabilizer
- Field Tables
- Smudge Pot Covers
- Shoulder Pads
- QM50 Quartermaster Furniture
- Flights Holders
Inglewood, Calif. Plant
- Wings for Reginald Denny Radio Controlled Target Plane
- Antenna Masts for the AT6A North American Advance Trainer
- Monocoque for the AT6A Trainer
- Bomb Bay Doors & Floor Boards for the Vultee BT-13 Aircraft
- Pilot Seats for Aircraft
- Laminations for the Main Spars Used in Construction of the Hughes Flying Boat, The Mars
- Carrying Cases for the Norden Bombsight
Cleveland, Ohio Plant
- Aircraft Fighter Plane Auxiliary Tank Holders
- Gun Shoulder Pads
- Frames for Kayaks
- Army Lockers & Reels for the Signal Corp.
Montreal, Quebec Plant
- Norsemen Components
- Harvard Repairs
- Mark V Anson Components
- Harvard Components
- Cushion & Pads for Parachutes
