Superior Business Awards Hall of Fame

Historical Business Hall of Fame 2009:

Harry A. Lurye

Harry A. Lurye, was born in Russia. He arrived in Superior, Wisconsin in 1900 at the age of 36. Mr. Lurye was employed as a stove repairer, but the entrepreneur spirit was burning within him. In 1909, Mr. Lurye conceived the idea that he and his two sons, Maurice and Edward, would do well working together, and Lurye & Sons Store on North Tower Avenue became a reality. A man filled with confidence and a spirit of goodwill began building his business in the area he knew best, the North End Neighborhood. The early days found Mr. Lurye and sons going from door to door to seek business for the stove repair section of their business. The furniture portion of the business was taking off and expansion was being considered.

In April of 1919, a fire destroyed the first Lurye Store and it looked like the hopes and dreams of Mr. Lurye were dashed. In an article in the December 16, 1919, Superior Telegram, Mr. Lurye stated: That within weeks the Community offered many assurances of friendship and material help that would allow the family to rebuild the much needed larger Lurye Store. On December 16, 1919 the new Lurye Furniture Store reopened. The store moved one more time to its current site, 1208 Tower. Mr. Lurye’s entrepreneurial spirit and belief in his business led to the Lurye Furniture Store becoming an icon and cornerstone in downtown Superior for 80 years.

Mr. Lurye’s store policy, “Make Friends,” was his policy in life. He was very active in the Superior community and helped build and organize the Jewish Synagogue at 6th and Hammond. His legacy of industrious work, entrepreneurship and community involvement has passed down through four generations of the Lurye family. Mr. Lurye’s great grandson, Harold Grossman, is now carrying on the Lurye tradition with Lurye Furniture Home Fashion Center on Tower Avenue.

Alexander McDougall

When Alexander McDougall died in 1923, he left a tremendous legacy. He was an inventor with patents in several countries, a businessman who founded numerous successful companies including seven shipyards which built 200 ships, and a champion of his adopted Twin Ports communities who was the first to advocate for collaborative efforts between Duluth and Superior to improve the harbor.

With only two years of formal education, McDougall immigrated with his family from Scotland to Canada at the age of nine in 1854. At 16, he went to work on the Great Lakes steamers, first as a deck hand and watchman, then as a mate. He earned his masters papers at 25, becoming one of the youngest captains on the Lakes. He had a prestigious sailing career before coming ashore and settling in Duluth in 1881. There he established a successful stevedoring, marine insurance and cargo business, but he was always looking for new opportunities. He decided to put his experience on the Lakes to work and developed his idea for a new, more efficient generation of lake barges. His design, however, was so revolutionary that he could not attract investors. Convinced his ideas were valid, he built the prototype, Barge 101, with his own money in 1889. The maiden voyage of 101 caused him to modify the barge to correct steering problems, which resulted in what he had envisioned: a barge with more capacity and stability that was cheaper to build and to operate.

The success of 101 attracted the interest of John D. Rockefeller, who agreed to invest in McDougall’s America Steel Barge Company which would build and operate this new class of barges and steamers called “whalebacks.” At the peak of its operation, American Steel Barge Company employed 2,000 workers, which was the equivalent of 15 percent of the population of Superior. Today, the site of the American Steel Barge Company is part of Fraser Shipyards.

As a result of the nation-wide Panic of 1893, whaleback construction was all but halted, and McDougall lost his ownership to Rockefeller in the company he had created. But his career as an entrepreneur and inventor was by no means over. He pursued a variety of projects in mining, shipping on the Mississippi and cold storage and more. He was one of the founders and the first president of Highland Canal and Power Company, a forerunner of Minnesota Power.

Upon the United States’ entry into World War I, he built the town of Riverside in Duluth and its shipyard, launching more than 50 ships in three years for the war effort.

As a measure of his astonishing energy and enterprise, he was awarded 34 United States patents between 1900 and 1928,

Captain Alexander McDougall died in May 1923 at the age of 78.

Business Hall of Fame 2009:

William D. Vinje

William D. Vinje was born in Granite Falls, Minnesota in 1940 and died in 2001.

Bill purchased his first truck and began his career as an owner-operator in 1957. In 1968, he along with four partners (all owner-operators) started Halvor Lines to haul snowmobiles and related products for Halvorson Equipment Co. of Duluth, Minnesota, a distributor for Bombardier Corp. of Quebec, Canada. In 1977 he purchased his partners’ interest in the company.

In 1983, Bill moved Halvor Lines to Superior where it has grown into one of the largest private employers in Douglas County and the largest trucking firm in the Twin Ports, employing over 400 people. He helped establish Superior as a trucking hub for the Upper Midwest.

Bill was known for determination and his drive to succeed. One former customer remembered Bill as “a tough negotiator but always fair and truthful. He was loyal to his drivers, he was loyal to his owner-operators, and he was loyal to his customers. He always believed in giving people a chance.”

Bill’s legacy is carried on by his five children. His son Jon and his daughter Lori Vinje-Pint lead the management team of Halvor lines as president and vice president respectively. His son Joe is a consultant to Halvor Lines. His daughter Sue Vinje owns Sue Vinje Trucking. His daughter Kim BelCastro is a school principal. Bill married Yvonne Wood in 1959.

Albert J. Amatuzio

As a jet fighter squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel Albert J. Amatuzio had ample opportunity to witness synthetic lubricants in action. These oils are used exclusively in jet engines because of three extraordinary performance characteristics: an ability to reduce friction and wear on engine components, an ability to function dependably at severe temperature extremes and an ability to withstand rigorous and lengthy engine operation without chemical breakdown.

Recognizing that these same benefits would prove invaluable in combustion engines, Al Amatuzio
formulated the first synthetic motor oil in the world to meet API service requirements for automobile engines. The new lubricant performed like no other before it. When the first can of AMSOIL 10W-40 appeared on the market in 1972, it signaled the birth of an entire industry. AMSOIL synthetic lubricants have expanded the boundaries of lubrication science and redefined the performance possibilities of modern machinery and engines.

AMSOIL Inc. was founded on Al Amatuzio’s desire for technical innovation, his commitment to high quality and his belief that consumers would respond to a superior product. The company has remained true to these ideals; its history is a checklist of revolutionary products that have withstood the tests of time. As the pioneer corporation in the field of synthetic lubrication, AMSOIL sees its Commitment to Excellence as a historical responsibility, and A.J. Amatuzio’s energy and vision continue to drive the company forward, inspired by aerospace technology.

Al Amatuzio’s induction to the Lubricants World Hall of Fame is the ultimate tribute to the man who started it all. He is firmly established among the giants who have shaped the industry. Al Amatuzio’s desire for technical innovation, his commitment to higher quality and his belief that consumers respond to superior products remain the core of the AMSOIL philosophy.