Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Vinger, Olson
----Source: Greenwood Gleaner (Greenwood, Clark Co., Wis.) 28 Mar 1963
As long as he can remember, Palmer has enjoyed selling things. As a boy on a farm near Argyle, he trapped mink and muskrats, sol the pelts, and invested the returns in articles for sale. He has to this day a scissors left to him by an aunt. It is a keepsake because he sold it to her for $2.50 when he was fourteen years old. Later, with a pony he rode around from farm to farm, he was selling pocket knives with the customer's picture on one side and his customer's name on the other.
By October 1917 he had saved $500, and his father offered to stake him $2,000, in lieu of a college education. So while Palmer stayed at home to shred corn, Mr. and Mrs. Vinger, together with Lydia Olson, of Blanchardville, took the train to Colby in reply to a newspaper ad. They bought the farm, and returned. In December, Lydia became Lydia Vinger, and the day after Christmas they moved up. A neighbor with a team and sleigh hauled them from the depot to the farm.
A year and a half later, Palmer suffered a ruptured appendix. Three doctors performed surgery right on the dining room table, on his father's farm, and Palmer's life hung by a mere thread. After his recovery, he found it necessary to sell his eighty acres, and he bought a quarter section near Unity. A little later he began selling insurance after the evening chores were done, and in other spare time.
In 1921 Palmer made two significant steps: He traded his farm at Unity for a farm north of Greenwood (Clark Co., Wis.), and he took out a real estate license. He also organized the Greenwood Farm Loan Association and has built it up to $1 1/2 million in loans. Since that time he has sold hundreds of arms. He is not afraid to fail, either. When I asked him his percentage of sales, he though a moment, then answered, "About one out of seven attempts." But the one out of seven makes the other six worthwhile.
He has never paid any attention to hours of work. He wrote much of his insurance while others slept. He admits, though, that he is slowing up now. Some idea of his activity may be gained from the automobiles he has worn out – about twenty four or so. He has owned three planes, and has been an amateur pilot.
He enjoys Greenwood, especially that fact that almost everybody knows everybody by their first name. It is a small town, but he has lived his whole life in small towns. People here care about you personally, more than mere interest in your business, still Palmer has enjoyed life immensely. Perhaps it is as a wise man said, "It ain't work unless you'd rather be doing something else." An Palmer would rather be doing his business than anything else.
