1. History

2. Recognition

3. Academic scholarships

4. Today

5. References

6. External links

History

R.M. Wade & Co. was founded by Robert Morris Wade in 1865, fifteen years after he crossed the Oregon Trail as a teenager. In the midst of the California Gold rush in the year 1855, he arrived in California and set up a supply store in a gold mining camp. Following this, he moved to Salem, Oregon and founded R.M. Wade & Co.^[5] The company primarily sold farming equipment and buggies to agricultural dealers in the state of Oregon. By 1888, it had branches in Tillamook, McMinnville, Salem, Corvallis, Independence, and Portland. Mr. Wade's son-in-law, Edward J. Newbegin (spouse of Susan Wade), became president in 1915.^[6]{{verification needed|date=October 2014}} Under his leadership, the company produced the Wade Drag Saw, the predecessor of the common chainsaw, which was sold internationally for several decades. In 1927 R.M. Wade & Co. purchased Multnomah Iron Works, later to become R.M. Wade's subsidiary company, Wade Rain. In 1929, upon the death of Edward J. Newbegin, his son Wade Newbegin became the President of the company, and remained so until 1991. During his time as president, the company distributed the Ford-Ferguson tractor throughout the Northwest, New Holland Farm Equipment, Howard Rotavators and Goulds pumps. During World War II, R.M. Wade & Co. focused primarily on manufacturing ship component parts, most notably for the Kaiser BB-3 Airplane Carrier as well as Kaiser ships and tugboats produced at Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver, Washington.

In 1937, the company established the Wade Rain Division, one of original irrigation companies in the United States. Wade Rain is currently operated by Edward Newbegin, Wade Newbegin's son.

Recognition

In 1945, R.M. Wade & Co. won the Maritime M award for production excellence during World War II.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

In 1979, Wade Newbegin won the Irrigation Association's Industry Achievement Award^[7]

In 1999, Edward Newbegin, great-grandson of R.M. Wade, was elected President of the Irrigation Association{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

Academic scholarships

The R.M. Wade Foundation provides an annual scholarship for excellence in teaching at Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences.^[8] It further provides academic scholarships for students enrolled in agricultural studies in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain region.^[9][10]

Today

In 2004 the company was divided into two separate corporations. R.M. Wade is a distributor of agricultural equipment and a real estate holding company, while Wade Rain, based in Tualatin, Oregon, continues as an operating company selling irrigation and mining products, currently headed by Edward H. Newbegin and John Wade Newbegin.

References

External links

• {{Official website|http://www.rmwade.com/}}
• Wade Rain

• Philip Nevill Green
• Philip Newcomb
• Philip Newman
• Philip Newport
• Philip Newton
• Philip Ney
• Philip Ng
• Philip N. Howard
• Philip Nicholas
• Philip Nicholson (cricketer)
• Philip Nicholson (disambiguation)
• Philip Nicolson
• Philip Nikodem Jagielka
• Philip Nind
• Philip N. Johnson
• Philip N. Johnson-Laird
• Philip N. Krasne
• Philip Noel Pettit
• Philip Nolan Voigt
• Philip Noon House
• Philip Norris Pare
• Philip North
• Philip Norton (disambiguation)
• Philip Nossmy
• Philip Novak