Archives West Finding Aid

Vernon David Speer was born on December 30, 1901, near Cedar Falls, Iowa. Remaining in Cedar Falls, Speer married in 1923 and he and his wife, Ruth, had three children--Virginia, Edna Mae, and Raymond. Speer found employment in Cedar Falls at the Standard Manufacturing Company, Viking Pump Company, and John Deere Tractor Company

Speer had gained experience in aviation mechanics while operating an aircraft repair station as a sideline during his years with John Deere. Learning to fly in 1928, he soloed in 1929 in a plane which featured a radial engine of his own design and construction. Speer patented his engine, and attempted to find a buyer who would put the engine into production. In 1934, after several years of demonstrating the engine for interested but insolvent airplane manufacturers, Speer donated the engine to a company for research purposes. In 1939, the family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Speer headed the Mechanics' Training Department of Lincoln Aeronautical Institute.

While living in Lincoln, Speer established a factory in his home to manufacture bullets for self-loading cartridges. During the war a scarcity of bullets for hunting and other recreational purposes developed. In response to domestic gun users' demands, Speer expanded his operation, but it remained a home-centered factory. Constrained by the available space in his basement, Speer's production peaked early in 1944 at 8,000 bullets per week. Owing to Nebraska's firearms and munitions regulations, Speer was unable to expand his business as he desired. Attracted by Idaho's more liberal gun and ammunition laws, Speer moved his family to Lewiston in 1944. Following the Second World War, the interest in firearms and hunting provided the opportunity for Speer Bullets to expand; it became a formidable supplier of the world's recreation ammunition. Vernon Speer guided the company until his retirement in 1967. Thereafter, Raymond Speer assumed the corporation's presidency. Vernon Speer remained semi-active in the business, working in an advisory capacity, until Speer Bullets was sold to the Omark Company in 1975.

An avid hunter, flyer, traveler, and fisherman, Vernon Speer was also a member of service organizations such as the Elks, Rotary, and Masonic Lodge. Interested in politics, Speer served on the Lewiston Water Board for a term. He was also interested in recreational land-use planning as it affected Idaho.