Joseph Schaffer Foster, Jr. (1917)
Photo from Harless |
| Nickname: | Joe S. |
| Born: | July 11, 1917, Macon, Georgia |
| Died: | November 30, 1978 |
| Buried: | Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Son of: | Joseph Schaffer Foster, Sr. (1890) |
Notes:
• Son of Joe S. Foster (1890-1945) and Maude Bamberg Foster (1890-1974) - Find A Grave, His
• Wife: Louise Gentle Foster born Jan 11, 1918 and died Jan. 15, 2010 (age 92) - Find A Grave, Wife
• The Double Cola Company "was originally founded in 1922 by former Chero-Cola employees Charles D. Little and Joe S. Foster (his father) as Good Grape Company, primarily to market 'Good Grape.'" - Wikipedia, Double Cola
• Published in 1955: "Joe S. Foster, Jr., was born in Macon, Georgia, on July 11, 1917, and moved to Huntsville in 1919, when his father and Mr. Little founded the bottling plant. He was married in September, 1940, to Louise Gentle of Limerock, Alabama, and they have a handsome ten year old son, Joe S. Foster, III. They reside at 1503 Whitesburg Drive. Mr. Foster is part owner of the Chattanooga Double Cola Bottling Company, and serves on its Board of Directors.
After attending Baylor Military Academy from 1928 to 1935 at Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mr. Foster returned to Huntsville and assumed active management of the Huntsville plant. Since that time, with time out for military service during World War II in the Coast Guard, he has assumed one of the most active civic roles in Huntsville. He has served as State Senator, and is presently a member of the State Board of Agriculture and Industry. He has also served on the legislative committee of the Alabama Bottlers Association.
Many honors have been bestowed on Mr. Foster. He has been honored thrice to head the local Elks lodge as Exalted Ruler, and thrice the American Legion as Commander. Other civic affiliations include the Masons, Moose, 40 & 8, and Fraternal Order of Police. He has also served as President of the Shrine Club." - Double Cola
• Alabama State Senator from Madison County 1951-1955 - Record
• President, Alabama Soft Drink Association, 1968. - Record
• Chairman Madison Limestone and Jackson Counties 1949. - Record 2
• State Agriculture and Industry Board. - Record 2
• Received recognition from the Rotary Club for joining the Coast Guard after his military service. - Easterling
• 1952: "State Rep. Joe Foster Jr., in a speech to his fellow Rotarians on March 17, told about 'terrible' conditions at Bryce Hospital for the mentally ill and said the Legislature had appointed a committee to 'get something done,' but that the public needed to concern itself, too." - Easterling
• "He served as president of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce from 1968 to 1970." - Marks
• Charter member of the Huntsville Shrine Club chartered on August 9, 1948. - Uptain
• Alabama 8th District Delegate to the 1956 Democratic National Convention. - PGY
• Radio Station WFUN was one of the first radio stations in the nation to use the 'Music, News and Sports' format of programming, a system that since, has been successfully adopted by hundreds of stations throughout the country.
Under the slogan of home owned, home operated, for home folks, WFUN has enjoyed a phenomenal growth since its inauguration on November 26, 1946.
WFUN subscribes to the full leased wire news service of United Press. WFUN also has one of the largest and most complete record music libraries in the south. These features ascribe to its mission of making WFUN radio station the 'Voice of the Tennessee Valley'."
The station was organized by a partnership consisting of John Garrison, Joe S. Foster and F. L. Mickle. On May 8, 1948, the interest of Foster and Mickle was acquired by J. B. Fait, Jr. The business was incorporated as the Huntsville Broadcasting Company, Inc. with Fait as President and Garrison as Secretary-Treasurer." - W.F.U.N.
• Madison County American Legion Post 37 Officer
1948-1949 Commander
1949-1950 Commander
"In February of 1950 Commander Foster and Vice Commander McDonald resigned in order to become candidates for the State Legislature. Phillip Brocato succeeded Foster as Commander."
"In July of 1954 Joe Foster was installed as Commander for his third term." - Harless
• State Commander, American Legion, 1959-1960 - Record
• State Board of Veterans Affairs, U.S.O - Record 2
• In 1954 The Madison County Boat Harbor suffered a $25,000 fire in which Huntsville's Double Cola owner, Joe S. Foster, Jr., received severe burns. - Record 2
• A Huntsville Elk Lodge was established in 1901 and was active in the life of the community. But when interest waned, the Madison County Lodge charter was surrendered January 1, 1918. Twenty-four years later on October 24, 1941, interested men meet "at the Russel Erskine Hotel to discuss (re)forming an Elks Lodge. The decision was favorable and it was determined that fifty men would be signed up." Joe Foster was among those organizing this new group and was a part of the Membership Committee. The Lodge was instituted on November 21, 1941. - Elkdom, Record
• Elk
Forty-eight references were made to Joe. S. Foster, Jr. in Record's book on Elkdom.
The officer roles are:
Esteemed Leading Knight 1942-3
Exalted Ruler 1947-8
Exalted Ruler 1948-9
Trustee 1948-9
Exalted Ruler 1949-50
Trustee 1949-50
Trustee 1952-3
Trustee 1953-4
Trustee 1954-5
Exalted Ruler 1955-6
Trustee 1955-6
Trustee 1956-7
Trustee 1958-9
Trustee 1957-8
Trustee 1958-9
Trustee 1959-60
Trustee 1960-1
Trustee 1961-2
Trustee 1962-3
Exalted Ruler 1963-4
Trustee 1963-4
Exalter Ruler 1969-70
Trustee 1970-1
Trustee 1971-2
District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler
Alabama State Elks Association, President - Elkdom, Record
• The Elks in 1959: "A project in honor of Joe S. Foster, III, deceased son of Past Exalted Ruler Joe S. Foster, Jr., was approved, and an annual nurses scholarship has been sponsored ever since." - Elkdom, Record
• His only child was Joe S. Foster, III born Jan. 5, 1945 and died Dec. 10, 1958 (age 13 years 11.1 months) - Find A Grave, Son
• JOE S. FOSTER
Joe S. Foster Service Friday
"Joe S. Foster, 62, of 2024 Memorial Parkway, owner of Double Cola Bottling Co. and a former state senator, died Wednesday. The funeral will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Southside Baptist Church.
Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery with Laughlin-Service Funeral Home in charge.
Mr. Foster served in the Alabama Senate from 1951 to 1955 and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952 and 1956.
Mr. Foster won the Distinguished Service Award in 1976 presented by the Alabama Soft Drink Association. He was a member of the Southside Baptist Church, former Commander of the American Legion Post, former president of the Alabama Elks Association, past president of the Huntsville Shrine Club, and was a member of the Helion Lodge, Masonic Lodge and the Disabled American Veterans of Huntsville.
He served as president of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce from 1968 to 1970.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Louise G. Foster; and a sister, Mrs. Florence Broadway." - The Huntsville Times
• At least three Joe S. Fosters were influential in Madison County history. Please let us know if you find where we have assigned a specific contribution to the wrong person. - Editor's note
Related Links:
• Double Cola - Article titled "Double Cola Bottling Company" for the Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 247.
• Easterling - 75 Years of Service: A History of The Huntsville Rotary Club, by Bill Easterling, 1992, pages 35, 43, 50, 52.
• Elk, Record - Article titled "A Brief History of Elkdom in Huntsville" by James Record for the Commemorative Album, Celebrating Our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 182.
• Elkdom, Record - Great Elks in Madison County?? You Better Believe It!! A History of Madison County, Alabama, Elkdom, by James Record, 1972, pages 13, 14, 21, 22, 26, 30, 31, 34, 39, 43, 44, 48, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 64, 69, 72 (on many of these pages he is mentioned more than once).
• Find A Grave, His - His page created by Barbara Lee Parsons
• Find A Grave, Son - Son's page created by Barbara Lee Parsons
• Find A Grave, Wife - Wife's page created by Stormy with tombstone photos added by Barbara Lee Parsons.
• Harless - Article titled "Madison County American Legion Post 37 Inc." by Lee D. Harless, Sr. for the Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955.
• Marks - Alabama Past Leaders, by Henry S. and Marsha Kass Marks, 1982 , page 102 & 103.
• PGY - Political Grave Yard, List
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume I, by James Record, 1970, pages 262, 290, 342. 368.
• Record 2 - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, pages 304, 322, 671.
• The Huntsville Times - The Huntsville Times Obituary Thursday, November 30, 1978.
• Uptain - Article titled "The Huntsville Shrine Club" by Dorsey Uptain for the Commemorative Album, Celebrating Our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 202.
• W.F.U.N. - Article titled "Radio Station W.F.U.N." for the Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 270.
• Wikipedia, Double Cola - Wikipedia, History of the Double Cola Company.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Double Cola
• Elk, Record
• Harless
• Joseph Schaffer Foster, Sr. (1890)
• Record
• Record 2
• Uptain
• W.F.U.N.