John H. Mitchell, Jr. Papers

John H. Mitchell, Jr. was born ca. 1878. Mitchell was initially a schoolteacher who taught in Hennepin County and Anoka during the late 1890s. In 1898, he began working in advertising for Wyman, Partridge Company in Minneapolis. Several years later he took up the position of advertising manager for the Powers Dry Goods Company in St. Paul.

In 1903 he founded the Mitchell Advertising Agency. His firm went on to work on advertising for a variety of companies including Munsingwear, Toastmaster, Anacin, Minneapolis-Moline, Pure Oil and the Waterman-Waterbury Co. His firm eventually gained a reputation specifically for handling accounts related to heating equipment and furnaces. It appears to have dissolved at some point during the late 1950s.

Mitchell was also an active member of his community including decades of service with the Boy Scouts of America, Campfire Girls and the YMCA. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis Athletic Club, Community Chest, the Minneapolis Rotary Club and participated in various other business and social organizations. He was also active in war bond drives during both World War One and World War Two.

Mitchell died in 1963. He was survived by his son, Donald M. Mitchell, and daughter, Mrs. Robert S. Reid.