Irene Henrietta Seiberling Harrison, 1890 - 1999

Irene Henrietta Seiberling Harrison, proper young woman of privilege, set in motion the wheels of industry and historic preservation for the citizens of Summit County, Ohio.

Harrison was born on February 25, 1890, in Akron, Ohio. The daughter of Gertrude Penfield and F. A. Seiberling, she is credited with turning the switch on the machines that started the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant in Akron when she was 8 years old. The company was co-founded by her father and her uncle.

Seiberling received her education at the Dana Hale Preparatory School in Wellesley, Mass., where she studied music. Seiberling loved to travel with her family and made several trips to Europe to find material and design information for the Tudor-style mansion being built by her parents in Akron.

A well-known story about the 21-year-old Seiberling recalls that she was given the task of booking return passage for herself and her parents from England to New York in 1912. Because of a change in their sightseeing schedule, however, they were not able to meet the ship she had booked them aboard -- the Titanic.

Early in 1923, Seiberling organized a Tea Day to educate other young women about the need for a unified and coordinated community group. This group was a precursor to the United Way Fund. Harrison also is listed as a participant in the march for women's suffrage and volunteered for community service during World War I.

On Christmas day, 1923, Seiberling married New York banker Milton Whateley Harrison. The couple moved to New York where she raised their children -- Sally, Robert and Gertrude.

It was not until after her husband's death in 1949, and at her father's urging, that Harrison returned to Stan Hywet. Because the 100-room, 1,400-acre mansion needed expensive upkeep and finances were limited, Harrison established a non-profit board to care for the home and the general public was first allowed inside in 1957.

Described as a petit, dainty woman standing just over 5 feet tall, Harrison was a determined force in the causes she held dear. At age 105, she campaigned for the removal of carcinogens, fluorides and chlorine in the drinking water of Akron.

On January 21, 1999, Harrison died at age 108 and the community mourned the loss of a good woman. In reporting her death, The Auto Channel, a website dedicated to the auto industry, was quoted as saying, "she was an outstanding woman who contributed greatly to her community and had a unique hand in Goodyear's beginnings."

Photos courtesy of the Beacon Journal

--Penny Fox