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But how he gave back with his time – and his money – after he retired from the GM truck assembly plant in 1922, and gave back even more upon his death with the distribution of his sizable estate benefiting a host of local organizations, makes Craig well-deserving today of continued honor.

Pennsylvania farm boy

On Sept. 1, 1867, farmer Hugh Craig and his wife, Mary, had a son, Joseph, in French Creek, Pa.

Years later, Joseph A. Craig made his way 700 miles northwest of his birthplace, first to Illinois where he ran a successful farm implement dealer, and then to Janesville in 1892.

Janesville, population 13,000, β€œhad recently become the center of the leaf tobacco business, nearly 30 firms being engaged in handling that article,” the 1892 city directory reported.

Craig, then 25, could have found work in Janesville improving tobacco yields. He certainly knew how to grow corn.

He applied his farming background, instead, to selling farm equipment for the Janesville Machine Company. Organized in 1881 by James Harris, with its roots going back to 1859 as Rock River Iron Works that had been founded by Harris and others, Janesville Machine Company manufactured various farm plows, corn planters and cultivators.

Craig’s wealth of farm knowledge and personality led to promotions. In December 1897, he was summoned into the Janesville office and offered the position of general manager.

By then, he and his first wife, Maude, had three sons -- Lee Daniel, Lloyd Ingraham and Walter Scott, born in 1893, 1895 and 1896. The family lived on what became known as Craigknoll, off Magnolia Avenue, today West Memorial Drive.

Maude Craig died in 1944. Craig met his second wife, Florence, during one of his annual winter trips to Florida. She’d outlive Craig, dying in 1967.

Art of the deal

In 1919, Craig remained general manager of Janesville Machine Company. It was by then the largest employer in the city, with 300 workers.

In the first of a string of significant moves that would benefit Janesville for generations, Craig that year out-negotiated George Durant, the founder of General Motors.

A wheeler-dealer, Durant had created General Motors in Detroit by buying up struggling auto companies including Oldsmobile, Buick and Oakland (Pontiac).

Durant had also gotten into the agricultural equipment market, purchasing Samson Tractor, a struggling California company.

Durant wanted Craig to run Samson Tractor. He talked him into traveling to Detroit to meet, and offered him a head management position.

Craig made a counterproposal. He suggested Durant merge Samson Tractor with Janesville Machine Company and move its operations to Janesville.

Durant balked at first, not wanting to get in over his head in the farm implement business.

Craig continued his push.

Durant reportedly stared out the window of his Detroit office for a bit. Then he reportedly said, β€œI will cancel all engagements for today and tonight, and we will talk it over.”

Craig won. Durant agreed to the merger and moved Samson Tractor to Wisconsin, merging it with Janesville Machine Company. The resulting company became GM’s Samson Tractor Division. The company then bought the Janesville Carriage Works.

With the new skilled jobs created, the population of Janesville quickly shot up from 14,000 to 20,000, and GM’s Samson Tractor Division soon employed 3,000 people. Housing became tight, and β€œCamp Samson” barracks were constructed for Samson Tractor employees.

In 1920, Durant made another key move that would permanently alter the city’s course, moving GM’s truck assembly operations from Flint, Mich. to Janesville.

City leaders, knowing the importance of courting GM, pledged to provide paved streets, new housing for its workers and good schools for their children.

The city kept that promise with the completion in 1923 of a new Janesville High School, later Marshall Middle school and today the Marshall Apartments and Janesville Performing Arts Center, on South Main Street. Four elementary schools – Roosevelt, Adams, Wilson and Washington schools – were also built between 1929 and 1939. All are still in use today. And significant downtown projects in this era included a new YMCA building constructed in 1926, the Armory built in 1930 and the Monterey Hotel that opened in 1930.

Ultimately, the truck assembly division would save the GM operation in Janesville.

Poor corporate decisions, including a quirky design, and a national farm depression, led to Samson Tractor going belly-up in 1922.

As he prepared to retire in 1922, Craig convinced Durant that General Motors still owed the city something. His negotiating skills would bring production of Chevrolets to Janesville beginning in 1923.

Meanwhile, Craig’s involvement in civic affairs foreshadowed the next phase of his life.

In 1921, he was a principal force in a movement to introduce a city manager form of government in Janesville. It remains in place today.

The 1930s would mark the pinnacle of his civic involvement.

From 1930 to 1957, Craig served as a director of the First National Bank of Janesville. He would also serve as a director for Wisconsin Power & Light from 1934 until his death in 1958.

But the Janesville 4-H program became his main passion in those years.

Craig was named president of the newly-formed Janesville 4-H club in 1929, after he’d informally spent years organizing pig and corn groups for Rock County youth.

With his farming roots and interest in youth of the city, β€œhis idea of a good time is to sit astraddle a corn crib and teach some young farm youth how to grow better corn, a superior hog or a dairy calf that will outproduce average cows,” the Janesville Gazette reported.

In 1929, the Janesville Fair, which had been established years earlier to put on an annual fair, was on the verge of folding. It had accumulated $35,000 in debts – about $680,000 in today’s dollars. A court decision ruled the fairgrounds should be sold to cover that debt.

At a special meeting of the Rock County Board and County 4-H leaders, it was decided that Rock County 4-H Clubs would take the fair over, with Craig leading the way.

The Rock County Board of Supervisors voted to incorporate the 4-H and Livestock Association. Craig was named president of the group.

Craig further stepped up and bought 39 of the 44 acres of the fairgrounds and eventually sold the land to the Fair Association for a nominal fee.

Soon after, in 1930, the first 4-H Fair in the United States, the Rock County 4-H Fair, was held in Janesville. The Rock County 4-H Fair is still held annually today, at the fairgrounds on Craig Avenue, a street named in honor of Joseph A. Craig.

Toward the end of his life, Craig said he considered β€œthe greatest contribution made by me in my lifetime is with 4-H. These things have prevented me from going to seed.”

And he did more than 4-H.

Craig was involved in both the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).

The YWCA was just beginning. In 1950, Craig purchased what was known as the Lovejoy home at 220 St. Lawrence Avenue and donated it to the organization to use as its headquarters.

Craig was honored in 1952 when City Manager Warren C. Hyde proclaimed May 14 as a day to pay tribute to him.

Hundreds of supportive letters were sent. Several speakers at a dinner praised his civic contributions. A bronze plaque was erected at the 4-H Fairgrounds in his honor.

β€œBe nice and kind and gentle with those who grew up with you,” Craig told the audience in a speech at that dinner. β€œBut for inspiration, go back two generations behind you…then you just can’t grow old.”

Craig also recounted a story of a young 4-H member once asking him, β€œWhat do you get out of all of this?”

Craig swept his hand across the front of his audience.

β€œThis is what I have gotten out of it,” the then 85-year-old Craig told the crowd. β€œMore good friends than one man deserves.”

When Joseph A. Craig died on Dec. 30, 1958, his will illustrated what was important to him.

According to probate records at that time, from his estate of $600,000 (about $6.7 million in today’s dollars), he bequeathed:

• $105,000 ($1.1 million today) for general charity.
• $40,000 ($448,000) to the Wisconsin 4-H Club.
• $25,000 ($279,000) to the First Congregational Church of Janesville.
• $15,000 ($168,000) to the Janesville YWCA.
• $10,000 ($112,000) to the National 4-H Club Foundation and to the Janesville YMCA.
• $5,000 ($66,000) went to the Janesville Women’s Club Association.

Coin flip choose high school name

In 1966, a new high school was built on Janesville’s westside. It would be the city’s second high school, joining Janesville Senior High School, that had opened on the eastside in 1954.

The Janesville school board decided to rename the eastside high school at the same time that it gave a name to the new westside high school. The school board was in agreement on naming the schools after two prominent business leaders in Janesville history – George S. Parker and Joseph A. Craig.

The school board couldn’t come to a unanimous decision, however, on which school should be Parker and which school should be Craig.

Board president George Weaver finally said it would be decided by a coin toss.

The result was a new westside school named George S. Parker High School and the renaming of the existing eastside school as Joseph A. Craig High School.

The irony is that Craigknoll, the city residence of Joseph A. Craig, was on the city’s westside, and George S. Parker’s city residence was on the eastside.