Correspondence indicates that as early as 1897, Roy Woolverton, the son of a Methodist minister, was filling a need he had perceived --providing printed supplies for pastors and churches. By 1900, Woolverton Printing Company was firmly established in Osage, Iowa as an independent church publishing company.

A need to find a commercial base to augment the church line and the desire to locate in a college community where his daughters could receive a college education prompted Roy Woolverton to move to Cedar Falls. In 1920, Woolverton Printing Company became established at the East Fourth Street location in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Local industries, such as Viking Pump, Diamond Brothers, Standard Manufacturing, Universal Hoist and Clay Equipment provided the commercial base. An "Every Sunday" church bulletin Service, probably the first in the United States, was conceived in the 1920´s. This dual thrust helped Woolverton Printing survive through the depression years.

In 1943, William Lynch (husband of Cornelia Woolverton) left the teaching profession to join his father-in-law in the family business. On December 21, 1945, tragedy struck in the form of a noon-time fire which burned and smoldered for three days. Only the brick and cement block walls remained standing. After the fire, William Lynch dedicated himself to rebuilding the business. As a result, the Fourth Street building was a much stronger and safer structure. Salvageable equipment was taken apart, cleaned and rebuilt. In the meantime, Matt Parrott and Sons Company of Waterloo, Iowa, provided printing equipment at their location so a skeleton crew of Woolverton employees could work in the evening to provide limited printing services. Within five months, the business was again operating at the Fourth Street location.

In 1959, Richard Lynch, son of William Lynch, became involved in the business after a brief teaching career.

Dramatic changes took place in the late 1970´s and 1980´s. A pre-press department was planned and designed in 1979 by Jack Scott. A staff artist was added along with computerized typesetting, a 20" x 26" Robertson/Logi camera, a Kodac film processor, and a plate processor. Printing capacity greatly increased with the addition of two small 2-color presses and an 18" x 25" single color KORD Heildeberg press. A "Quick Print" center was also added.

In 1984, Mrs. Richard Lynch(Delores) became Church Marketing Director and through a creative and intentional marketing plan, tripled sales in three years. There is a current base of approximately 14,000 active churches. The second floor had been remodeled to house the Church Marketing Division. Incoming Watts lines bring as many as 200 phone calls a day at peak seasons. A network computer system handles all orders, invoicing and inventory. Woolverton designs and publishes its own exclusive seasonal bulletins that sell nationwide. The Church Marketing Division constitutes about 30% of total sales.

During the 1990´s, the most dramatic changes took place when John Lynch (son of Richard and Delores Lynch) and Mitchell Weinberg (son-in-law) came to the business. A 19" x 25.5" 2-color SORKZ Heildeberg press changed our printing complexion allowing us to do longer run 2-color work and increase our 4-color process capacity. Equipment that followed was a 36" programmable cutter, a 22 bin Bourg collator, a 20" x 26" continuous feed Baum folder, complete electronic publishing system with Macintosh front ends, and a Varityper 4000/5300 imagesetter. A second shift began in September of 1992.

Continual updates to our electronic publishing system, our first 5-color 19" x 25.5" MOFP Heildeberg press, and a six station multibinder marked the major purchases of the mid 1990´s. The mid-90´s saw the advent of a multiple sales force and the addition of photo yearbook publishing. A third shift was added in 1997.

A print management program (Programmed Solutions, or PSI) was implemented and automated the estimating and ticket-writing functions. It has also given us detailed cost and sales information on a job by job basis.

In 1999, Woolverton made its biggest step toward the future when it moved into their newly constructed building. At the same time, a 6-color Shinohara was added to the expanding press lineup. The building is located in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park and is shown in the picture at the top of this page.

Efficiency of production, a good marketing plan, sound equipment purchases and a dedicated work force has laid a good foundation for continued success. Quality of work is a must and pricing must be fair and competitive - but most of all, service keeps businesses in business.
The family business is currently managed by Richard Lynch, Chairman of the Board; John Lynch, President/Chief Executive Officer; Mitchell Weinberg, Vice President/Operation Manager.