Lewis Eugene Beitler

When Lewis entered the workforce a secretary was a high-status position for men who were apprentices to power. With the root word being “secret,” the business owner relied on a secretary who could be a secret-keeper, trusted to guard confidential business strategy, and manage delicate political relationships. Lewis was the right choice for the job.

His education after grammar school including studying at the Franklin Institute, Spring Garden Institute, and a business school where he excelled as a stenographer. He used a system of “shorthand” developed by Isaac Pittman in the mid-1800s to accurately record speeches, conversations, and dictation. It caught on as the foundation of efficient business communication, eventually being paired with the “typewriting machine” toward the end of the century.

For Lewis, who preferred to be called Lew, it simply meant a higher-paying job at first. He started as a clerk with the Pennsylvania Railroad and then with a trust company, but left to study law at his brother Abraham’s practice. There he saw the advantages of knowing the right people and developing inter-personal skills, without which he might have remained in a clerical role.

Whether it was through the connections of a prominent attorney or his exceptional skill in stenography (or both), Lew was selected to be the private secretary of the new mayor, Edwin Fitler, in 1887. He was the first mayor to serve a four-year term, and since Lew did such an outstanding job, he served four more years (1891-95) under the next mayor, Edwin Stuart.

Toward the end of that term Lew found love and exchanged vows with Clementina Beck in 1894. A frequent visitor to the Mayor’s office that year was Daniel Hastings who was running for governor. After his election he tapped Lew to be the governor’s secretary in Harrisburg.

He brought his bride with him during those years, at least for part of the time. The 1900 census hints at who occupied their home at 1923 North 33rd Street during the times they were both gone; his mother-in-law and sister-in-law were there along with two servants.

Clementina was probably in Philadelphia when she brought forth a son in June of 1895, just as Lew was settling into his new job. In honor of the mayor that jump-started Lew’s career, they named the boy Edwin Fitler Beitler. Tragically, he caught pneumonia and died after 18 months. By then Clementina was pregnant again, and when it was time for their second baby’s birth she was with Lew in Harrisburg. That’s where Lewis Eugene Beitler, Jr. was born in April of 1897.

Governor Hastings was succeeded by William Stone in 1899. He had his own personal secretary but he appointed Lew to Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (known today as Deputy Chief of Staff) until his term expired in early 1903. 

One commentator of Lew’s life at this time said, “No man in Pennsylvania of his years knows more men in business, professional, and political life than Mr. Lewis E. Beitler, and his acquaintances are likewise his friends.” That was certainly one reason why he was retained in that position by the next two governors, Samuel Pennypacker (1903-1907) and his former boss, former Philly mayor, Edwin Stuart (1907-1911).

In 1909, with the support of Governor Stuart, the Pennsylvania Assembly created the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg Commission. They were charged with bringing about a 50-year reunion in 1913, and Lew was appointed secretary. It required years of planning and over a million dollars to execute, but that was Lew’s strong suit; he had considerable experience in engineering public celebrations like parades and inaugural events for the governors.  

The next governor was John Tener (1911-1915) who appointed Lew to be one of 13 “aides de camp” who made up his personal military staff, each given the honorary title of lieutenant colonel. The reunion was set to run from June 29-July 4, 1913, with enough facilities to house and feed over 53,000 old veterans, nearly 9000 of them from the former Confederacy. The reunion proceeded flawlessly, and at the last minute President Wilson decided he would make a short speech. 

When it was all over, Lew wrote a report on behalf of the commission. He must have had stenographers like himself on duty to transcribe all of the speeches, and when it was all over he wrote an exhaustive report on behalf of the commission. It was later published as a 280-page book, including this photo of himself in a ceremonially ornate uniform. Until he died at the end of 1920 he was always referred to as Colonel Beitler although he had absolutely no military experience.

The next governor, Martin Brumbaugh, served from 1915-1919 as the nation inched closer to war. Lew was among those who were trimmed from the military staff, giving the Beitlers more time to enjoy their summer cottage at Cape May. But his time away from Harrisburg was brief.

He was serving as the assistant to the lieutenant governor when war was declared on Germany in April of 1917. A few weeks later the governor appointed him to the State Commission on Public Safety and Defense and then put him in charge of registration procedures under the Selective Service Act. Each county established local boards to manage the registration and classification of men and send reports to Harrisburg. 

Gearing up for war meant tons of military supplies had to be sent to port cities, creating freight car congestion on railroads, so Lew had an idea to try using “motor trucks.” A series of Pennsylvania roads had just been named as part of the Lincoln Highway, the nation’s first paved transcontinental highway. The commission coordinated with the Army to send a fleet of their trucks by road and found it was a suitable  alternative to rail.

Lew was also involved in organizing the Liberty Loan Parade in Philadelphia on September 28, 1918 to promote the sale of war bonds. Instead of 10,000 spectators, a crowd of 200,000 packed the streets. Unfortunately, soldiers returning to the Navy Yard nine days prior to the event brought a highly infectious virus that was called the Spanish Flu.

It quickly spread, filling every hospital bed in the city within three days. In the first week, 4500 had died and 47,000 others were infected. The pandemic killed 17,000 Philadelphians before it was finished. 

The worst was over by the time a much smaller Armistice Day parade was held on November 12. Lew organized a column of nearly 2000 members of the Union League, a prestigious private club, to march in the procession.

For what would be his last time, he was named chief of staff of the inaugural parade for the next governor, William Sproul, in 1919. Then there was one last appointment. With the end of the war came a spike in inflation. In April of 1920 Lew was named chief of the State Price Inspection Bureau to work with the federal Fair Price Commission in the Department of Justice. He was just getting started when heart problems developed.

Chronic myocarditis was the official cause of death for Lewis Beitler later that year. Clementina joined him and their first son in their family plot after she died in 1944. Lewis Jr. lived until 1965 and was buried in Michigan.