Background
Herschel Loveless was born on May 5, 1911, in Hedrick, Iowa, United States. He was the son of David H. and Ethel (Beaver) Loveless.
Ottumwa High School
governor of Iowa mayor of Ottumwa
Herschel Loveless was born on May 5, 1911, in Hedrick, Iowa, United States. He was the son of David H. and Ethel (Beaver) Loveless.
Herschel Loveless spent his early years attending rural schools before graduating from Ottumwa High School in 1927 at age 16.
Herschel Loveless worked on a farm for a year after graduation before gaining employment for most of the Great Depression with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad, which employed several hundred workers in Ottumwa. During the 1930s, he also hauled coal and established and operated a petroleum products bulk plant as well as petroleum retail service outlets.
In 1939 Herschel Loveless took a position in Ottumwa’s John Morrell and Company meatpacking plant as a turbine operator in the power plant before returning to the Milwaukee Railroad in 1944. While on a leave of absence from the railroad, he organized Ottumwa’s street and sanitation departments and then served as the city council’s emergency chief organizer during the disastrous flood of the Des Moines River in June 1947. His success in leading that effort garnered him a large following among Ottumwa residents. That support propelled him to two terms as Ottumwa’s mayor (1949-1953). During his years as mayor, Herschel Loveless oversaw significant development of the city’s street and sewer systems. He was particularly concerned with controlling the Des Moines River and helped to develop plans for a sewer and river wall. He promoted building a new sewage-disposal plant and undertook studies of highway relocation and improvement plans. Herschel Loveless established a city planning commission, youth center, and local youth activities council.
Herschel Loveless was a champion of working-class interests and worked closely with the city’s large labor unions. On the state level, he chaired the First Class Cities Division Section of the Iowa League of Municipalities, and as a member of the Cities, Legislative Committee helped to revise and modernize municipal codes. In 1952 he made his first run for governor, winning 48 percent of the vote against Republican William Beardsley.
After completing his term as Ottumwa’s mayor, Herschel Loveless in 1954 organized the Municipal Supply Corporation, which manufactured, installed, and serviced traffic control devices. His campaign for governor in 1956 was successful in part because he capitalized on Iowans’ general displeasure with the hike in the state sales tax from 2 to 2.5 percent during Governor Leo Hoegh’s tenure. Many Iowa farmers liked Loveless’s support for the national Democrats’ emphasis on high, fixed agricultural price supports. He gained urban residents’ support by advocating changes in Iowa’s liquor laws. He also challenged the state’s growing AFL-CIO membership to align itself more directly with the Democratic Party. He won his greatest support in industrial cities with a population of 25,000 to 50,000. During his first term (1957-1959), Herschel Loveless successfully championed the repeal of the half-cent sales tax extension and then spent considerable energy addressing the legislative reapportionment issue, although implementation of reapportionment would not occur until the 1960s and early 1970s. Iowa’s weak governorship and Republican-dominated legislature limited his potential for success.
In 1961 President Kennedy appointed Herschel Loveless to the Federal Renegotiation Board, which handled revisions of military contracts, a position he retained until 1969. He then became a vice president for government affairs for the Chromalloy Corporation, an Iowa soft drink manufacturer.
Herschel Loveless retired in 1978 and moved to suburban Washington, D.C. He, and his wife, Amelia (Howard) Loveless, had two children and six grandchildren. He died one day shy of his 78th birthday in Winchester, Virginia.