Bird W. Housum

Bird White "B.W." Housum (1860 – March 25, 1927) was an American merchandise broker, businessman, and government official based in Cleveland, Ohio. He founded B. W. Housum & Company and became active in the wholesale grocery and commission industries. During World War I, Housum served as an administrator of the United States Food Administration, where he was chief of the Brokers Section, senior trade advisor, and the federal government's wartime cannery czar.

Early life Housum was born in 1860 in Piqua, Ohio. He moved with his parents to Cleveland in 1866 and was educated in the city's public schools.

At the age of fifteen, Housum began working for George A. Stanley, a Cleveland oil dealer. He worked as a salesman and gained experience in the oil trade.

Career

Business Career In 1885, Housum entered business for himself as a representative of the oil department of Armour and Company. In 1889, he and a partner organized B. W. Housum & Company.

Housum remained active in the wholesale food industry and served as president of the Ohio Wholesale Grocers Association from 1904 to 1908. He was also a member of the advisory board of the Citizens Savings and Trust Company.

Federal service On October 1, 1917, Housum joined the Distribution Division of the United States Food Administration, which had been established to regulate and conserve the country's food supply during World War I. He initially served on the staff of division chief Theodore Whitmarsh, and later worked directly for Herbert Hoover. His responsibilities included maintaining contact with merchandise brokers across the United States and coordinating their participation in campaigns for food conservation and more economical distribution.

Housum subsequently acted as chief of the division's Brokers Section and as a trade advisor. He remained with the Food Administration until January 15, 1919. An official history of the agency credited him with helping to secure the cooperation of merchandise brokers with the agency's wartime programs.

In the 1920s, Housum served on the legislative committee for the National Canned Foods and Dried Fruit Brokers Association.

Personal life Housum married Ada Weber in 1882. They had one son, Charles Robert Housum. The Cleveland Museum of Art has maintained a fund bearing his name, reflecting his connection with Cleveland cultural philanthropy.