‘Potato Chip King’: The man behind the empire

DAYTON — A man once dubbed the ‘Potato Chip King’ started a business in two small bedrooms on fifth street, which grew into the oldest potato chip company in the nation. Wednesday that company announced its closure.

In 1910, Daniel W. Mikesell began a business with his wife, Martha, called Mikesell Potato Chip Company. According to online historical archives, Mikesell and his wife made chip deliveries by either a street car or occasionally a bicycle.

>> RELATED COVERAGE: Mikesell’s, iconic Dayton-based snack company, announces closure

As Mikesell was building his chip empire, the Wright Brothers introduced the world to the first manned flight, forever placing Dayton as a place of innovation.

Mikesell was born in Pleasant Hill and attended a one-room school in Tipp City, according to online historical archives. His father’s death forced him to leave formal education and help work the family farm in Monroe Township.

When Miksell went into business for himself, it was initially a sliced dried beef and sausage. When a Springfield business went out of business, he brought his first potato chip machine, according to online historical archives,

The flood of 1913 nearly wiped out the business, and it had to start over again. By 1915, Mikesells was making all of the chips sold in Dayton.

>> RELATED COVERAGE: Miami Valley community, lawmakers reacts to closure of Dayton-based Mikesell’s

In 1925, Mikesell added the ’s to its name, rebranding itself as Mikesell’s which lasted more than 70 years. As a progressive businessman, Mikesell was the first man to use a truck in Dayton to make deliveries. By 1944, the company had 20 trucks in operation.

News Center 7′s Gabrielle Enright visited Carillon Historical Park on Wednesday, where an original Mikesell’s potato chip can is on display. Visitors can also ride in an old Mikesell’s delivery truck or a carved chip bag on the park’s carousel.

“When you think about the local people who come into town, maybe they lived here part of their life, maybe they were stationed at the base... they say ‘I need my Mikesells, my Ester Price, I need my Marion’s.’ Mikesell’s is at the top of the list. So it’s sad, it’s an end of an era,” Brady Kress, President of Carillon Park/Dayton History said.

A man with a progressive business mind, imagination, and sliced dried beef helped launch a successful potato chip empire for more than a century.

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