In 1903 Teddy Roosevelt fathered the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor, and Orville and Wilbur Wright sired the airplane. In 1903 the Aggregate industry also had a birth of sorts. And like the department of labor and air travel the industry's baby has changed a great deal during the past 100 years. Rock Products' founder and first editor, E.H. Defebaugh convinced 45 quarry owners to come to Chicago on May 19, 1903 for the first official meeting of the National Quarry Owners Association. Although many of the original members were from the Midwest, one member traveled from as far as Arizona and another from Nova Scotia-quite a distance given that the Wright brothers hadn't yet tapped the idea of frequent-flyer miles. Defebaugh wrote that there were nearly 100 interested quarry owners, but many could not attend because of the travel distance and their operation's busy season.
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