Bill and Betty Hoffman Carlson and the Founding of Carlson Craft
Betty Bernice Jane Hoffman: 1920-1988 (Maternal Second
Cousin 1x Removed)
William Dewey Carlson: 1915-2012 (Husband of Maternal Second
Cousin 1x Removed)
Growing up in Southern Minnesota, I was familiar with the
Carlson Craft Company, located in nearby Mankato. They were the premier
printing company in the region, and along with business stationary and
publications, they printed many of the wedding invitations and graduation
announcements families sent out and received. I think I ordered my own wedding
invitations from Carlson Craft. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that
the founders of Carlson Craft were in my family tree.
Betty Hoffman was born in Mankato on February 22, 1920, to
parents Howard Christian Hoffman and Clementine Morrison Hoffman. She was their
only child. Howard’s father, Henry Jacob Hoffman, was my great-grandfather
William Hoffman’s brother.
Betty married William “Bill” Carlson on September 15, 1946.
She was twenty-six and he was thirty-one. He had served in World War II, and in
an interview with Connect Business Magazine in 1988, he recalled that when he
returned home from war, he wanted to start a business; he didn’t want to work
for someone else.
Bill considered several types of businesses, including a
small hotel and a diaper service business. He said that “in early 1948… I got
the idea for a letter copying service, from a US Dept. of Commerce booklet that
was filled with ideas for returning servicemen for operating their own
business. In those days, of course, there weren’t any copying machines, so
flyers or invitations had to be copied either by offset printing or, as in our
case, by mimeograph.” (see 1 below)
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| Bill Carlson operating early printing machine |
The business fit his and Betty’s needs, he said. In 1948, she
was still recovering from cancer treatments, and he wanted a business that wouldn’t
risk her recovery. Also, both Bill and Betty had experience with mimeography,
and as a prior accountant, Bill had experience managing finances.
They started the Carlson Letter Service in the family room of their home, mailing business pitch letters to fifty potential client companies.
 |
| The Carlsons' Mankato home where they started their business |
Within a few years, they decided they wanted to focus on the wholesale wedding
invitation market. Bill recalled that, “The profits in being in business for
myself did not come overnight. In fact, it took seven years before the profit
of my business exceeded what I would have earned at my prior accounting job.” (1
below)
While Bill and Betty tried to get the printing business off
the ground, they also started their family. Their daughters Nancy and Patricia
were born in 1949 and 1951.
 |
| First Carlson delivery truck |
The business grew, moving into a building on Front Street in
Mankato, eventually employing 500 people.
Bill and Betty tried to treat their employees well, providing some benefits
even to part-time employees. They also pledged to donate five percent of their
profits to charity.
In 1959 Bill impulsively hired a young college student named
Glen Taylor, which turned out to be one of the best business decisions he ever
made. Taylor worked his way up in the business, and in 1972 Taylor bought the
business from Bill and Betty Carlson, changing the company’s name to Carlson
Craft.
 |
| 1970 Newspaper ad (See 3 below) |
According to the company’s website, under Taylor’s
leadership, Carlson Craft has grown to become one of the “largest privately
held corporations in the US, with more than 80 companies and 12,000 employees.
The Occasions Group was formed in 1998 to bring together five Taylor facilities
as one company with one goal: to be the preferred social print partner for life's
events.”(2 below)
As for Bill Carlson, he stated in 1998, “I retired at 59 and
haven’t regretted it because it allowed me to give more time to my family,
civic organizations and my church.” (1 below) Betty had continued to have
health problems over the years, so they prioritized travel and time together in
retirement.
Betty Hoffman Carlson died January 10, 1988. She was
sixty-seven. Bill Carlson remarried and died in 2012.
Learning about the history of Carlson Craft and my cousin’s
role in founding and growing the company was a real delight. Bill and Betty
built a company that just celebrated its 75th anniversary, and still
brings joy to brides and grooms nationwide.
Sources:
1.
“How Carlson Crafted His Business.” Vance,
Daniel. Connect Business Magazine May 1998
2.
https://www.navitor.com/blog/the-history-of-navitor/
3.
Carlson Wedding Service advertisement. Estherville
Daily News, Estherville, Iowa. Tue, May 12, 1970
