{"title":"Dennis M Larsen","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"hop-king-book-dennis-m-larsen-9780874223422","title":"Hop King","description":"Two of Ezra Meeker's defining traits were his ability to recognize business opportunities and his willingness to take risks. In 1852, the Washington Territory pioneer traveled west over the Oregon Trail, finally settling near Tacoma in the Puyallup Valley.In the mid-1860s, he planted his first hops, and despite wild price fluctuations, attained modest success. Then he met beer brewer Henry Weinhard and began selling to him directly. Approximately twenty-five acres of hop roots led to $9,000 in sales--$154,000 today. Inspired, other farmers slowly joined in, shipping produce to San Francisco.  Ezra served as a broker and traveled to New York and London to open new markets. Convinced Northwest hops were superior, he hired a respected chemist to analyze the quantity of extract produced from Bavarian and New York hops as well as his own. The results confirmed his claims.  Then in 1882, Meeker quietly bypassed California middlemen, sending Washington hops directly to New York. That same year, Pacific coast growers benefited from widespread crop failure elsewhere. Desperate brewers offered astronomical prices and Puyallup farmers were rich. E. Meeker and Co. became the largest hops exporter in the country, and Ezra the official \"hop king.\"  Rarely idle, Meeker also managed a large family, became involved in philanthropy and development schemes, promoted Washington and Puget Sound, was active in politics and women's suffrage, and tried to manufacture sugar from beets. Impulsive and pugnacious, he was an intimidating business opponent who became entangled in numerous lawsuits. Sadly, a combination of bad investments, lack of diversification, the 1893 depression, a financial betrayal, and an aphid plague brought Meeker's boom years to a close.  In his newest book, Dennis M. Larsen recounts Ezra Meeker's profitable years as well as the intertwined histories of hops, Puyallup, and Washington Territory.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50116253057297,"sku":"CIN0874223423G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51009136525585,"sku":"NIN9780874223422","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51602381504785,"sku":"CIN0874223423VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0874223423.jpg?v=1761389184"},{"product_id":"saving-the-oregon-trail-book-dennis-m-larsen-9780874223743","title":"Saving the Oregon Trail","description":"Ezra Meeker lived ninety-eight highly productive years. At times endearing and captivating, he could also be exasperating and irrational. Once he committed to a cause, he was an unabashed promoter. Meeker devoted his final three decades to commemorating the Oregon Trail. A part of his story no one has previously told, this volume begins in 1901 and completes an epic biography.One of Washington Territory's earliest pioneers, Meeker first came west on the overland trail in 1852. He became a Puyallup community builder, agricultural tycoon, and world traveler before hop lice and the Panic of 1893 devoured his fortune. He dallied in mining and joined the Klondike gold rush, spending four years as a Yukon store proprietor.  At age 75 he trekked east over the Oregon Trail with oxen and a covered wagon, setting markers along the way, and became a national celebrity. He visited New York, Washington, DC, and the White House, and managed to convince regular citizens, the rich and famous, governors, legislators, and even three U.S. presidents to support his trail preservation schemes.  Never one to shy away from adventure, his other exploits included publishing books, lecture tours, additional Oregon Trail expeditions (one in a bi-plane), attending the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, experimenting with motion pictures, founding societies, cruising in what may have been the first motorized RV, performing in a Wild West show, and roaming the country selling commemorative coins. In the end, Meeker's extraordinary efforts were crucial to saving the trail.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52099413541137,"sku":"CIN0874223741G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52934731235601,"sku":"CIN0874223741VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53518266433809,"sku":"NIN9780874223743","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780874223743.jpg?v=1761386523"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-dennis-m-larsen.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}