Foster A. Reynolds

Foster Adolph Reynolds was born at the end of 1884. At age 18, he began an apprenticeship at the J.W. York and Sons Company and quickly mastered valve production techniques. He attracted the attention of the H.N. White Co. and started work in Cleveland in 1904 as a shop superintendent. By 1927, he was the Plant Manager and part of the executive team at H.N. White. He left in 1935 after 30 years work with White and set up his own company, F.A. Reynolds Co., to pursue his own independent design work.

After 10 more years of instrument manufacturing, including providing brass instruments for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, Foster Reynolds sold his company to Scherl & Roth (also in Cleveland). He took a short break before leaving for California to run the factory at F.E. Olds, which had been newly acquired by CMI (1948). Reynolds oversaw the factory's move from Los Angeles to Fullerton (1954) and made many technical improvements and introductions to the Olds catalog before his sudden death in 1960 at age 75.

Click one of the thumbnails below to learn more about Foster A. Reynolds: