Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/723

 H1STOKY OF GOODHUE COUNTS 63] fancy in this country, and unless all presenl and past indications fail, marvelous developments may be looked for in the uear future. This building material has already taken its place among the other t ime-honore<l building materials and lias gained a most enviable reputation. The iargesl municipalities in the East, prominent architects and building inspectors and even the United states governmenl engineers' have recognized the great merits of sand lime products. When properly manufactured they are proof against all action of the elements, including i'rost and tire. This has been conclusively demonstrated by practical ob- servations and extensive laboratory tests. Recent statistics published by the United States Geological Survey show that there is a rapidly increasing demand Tor good common brick, which fact largely accounts Tor the rapid growth of the sand lime brick industry. Most factories confine their efforts to the production of this grade, which is invariably far superior to the low grades of common clay brick, which have gone from bad to worse in the last few years until now they really contain no structural values, either for compression, tensile strength, tire resistance or density." John J. Bovy. secretary and general manager of the lied Wing Brick Company, has made a success of life as an educator, from which profession he is now retired, and as a business man. in which he is still actively 'engaged. lie was born in Carver county, .Minn., in the town of Norwood. December 1, 1872. His parents. John and Lucy (Schafer) Bovy. were natives of Cologne, Germany. They came to America in 1852 and settled in Kenosha county, where the father followed his trade as a blacksmith. In 1858 they removed to Norwood, Carver county, this state, and there remained until the death of the father in January. 187o. The mother died in January, 1896. John J. re- ceived his early educational training in the public and parochial schools of his neighborhood and graduated from the commercial department of St. Joseph's College. Teutopolis, 111., and the Nor- mal School at Milwaukee, thoroughly fitting himself for the pro- fession of a Catholic teacher. He also made a special study of music, particularly that of a devotional character, from the old masters, and became a proficient performer on the pipe organ. Thus equipped for his chosen life work, he started teaching at the age of twenty-two years. He taught at Fort Jennings, Ohio. and Mankato, Minn., with marked success, being admired by the citizens of the locality and loved and respected by the children placed in his care. In 1895 he accepted his present position in Red "Wing, where he has since become one of the leading citizens of the city. In recognition of Ids educational qualifications he has been placed on the board of the Carnegie-Lawther library.