MarionMade!: Stull family sees Marion progress
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For generations, the Stull family of Marion has been a part of its thriving business community. Reuben Stull owned a grocery store with his brother, Will, at 132 S. Main St. in the late 1800s. He married Minerva Smeltzer, whose family operated a blacksmith shop.
Their son, Leroy Daniel Stull, graduated from Harding and became a civil and electrical engineer at the Scioto Power Plant.
“He surveyed and designed power lines all the way to the Ohio River,” said his son, Dan Stull.
Leroy met his wife, Viola Kennedy, when she attended Marion Business College.
“I liked growing up in Marion. There were a lot of fun kids around to play with,” Dan remembers.
Dan graduated from Harding in 1961. He took after his maternal grandfather, Frank Alva Kennedy, a music teacher, coronet player and band director in Athens County. Dan was one of just 144 members of The Ohio State University marching band.
“It was a real treat. The first game, to perform in front of 80,000 people — it was quite the experience,” Dan said.
Dan stopped college to work to earn money to finish his degree. He transferred to Tri-State University in Indiana where he earned a mechanical engineering design degree.
Marion Power Shovel hired Dan in 1966. He designed mining shovels and draglines. He performed field tests on the equipment while it was running.
“I climbed all the way to the top of the 300-foot dragline boom with no safety harness. We just had to hold on and hope for a smooth operator!” Dan recalls.
He worked on the world’s largest shovel, the Marion 6360. The crawler frame became the basic design for the NASA crawler-transporter.
“As a kid, they were talking about space exploration. It seemed like a dream. Then It became reality!” Dan exclaimed.
Like his father, Dan loved engineering. In addition to his full-time engineering job, he owned and ran Mid-Ohio Engineering Services on the side.
“It’s a very challenging and interesting field. Mechanical, electrical, chemical, aeronautical — let your mind run wild! Think outside the box. Think of how to make a process or a product better. Let your imagination take over. That’s how we develop new products,” Dan said. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes but learn from them.”
Dan moved to Fairfield Engineering and Fairfield Service Companies of Marion. He worked his way up to president.
Dan had an idea to take some new technology from Sweden and adapt it to the wastewater industry in North America. He entered his new concept at an WEFTEC International Trade Show. He won the prestigious Innovative Technology Award with the SICON conveyor in Los Angeles in 2000.
“It is like the Emmy or Oscar Awards for our industry,” Dan recalls. “This helped revolutionize the industry.”
The SICON conveyor negotiated sharp 90-degree turns and climbed 30-degree inclines. This reduced environmental spills and odors, benefitting all customers. This state-of-the-art technology is still in use today.
While president, Dan continued to develop new products. After a new owner bought Fairfield, he jumped to E&I Corporation to manage international sales.
Dan retired briefly. At a job fair on the Marion Campus, he ran into two former CEOs. They worked together to offer an executive coaching and leadership program at the Alber Enterprise Center at The Ohio State University to mentor younger business leaders.
Dan was married to Claudia Chamberlain for 46 years. Dan lost his wife in 2019, but he delights in his daughter, Cindy Fritch; granddaughter Danielle Miller; and great-grandchildren Braelyn, Kinslee and Della.
“Marion is a good place to raise a family,” Dan says.
Dan loves looking back at Marion’s accomplishments and what that means for Marion’s future.
“I’m a lucky guy. I’m blessed to be here. I like to share anything I can with others,” Dan said. “I’m glad to see the progress in Marion. New businesses are popping up in downtown Marion. We’ve entered a new era.”
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Stull family is a witness to Marion's business growth
