Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JUNE 23, 2021 Page 3 Continued on page 7 Fathers and Sons of the PSAI…continued from page 1 Bill Reynolds, Sr. and Bill Reynolds, Jr. "I have never worked for anyone else besides my father" states Bill Reynolds, Jr. of Rent-A-John, Columbus, Ohio. This is a common occurrence in a great majority of family- owned businesses. "My dad got into the portable restroom business completely by chance." This is another statement that is also characteristic of many of the early companies in our industry. Bill Reynolds, Sr. was born in 1915 in New York. Since both his parents died when he was young, he grew up in Columbus, Ohio with his aunt. He joined the Army, served proudly, and then began his career. Bill, Jr. relates the interesting story of his father, Bill, Sr., entering our industry: "My Dad was working in the reclaimed metal business in Ontario, Canada in the 1950s. They used their bulldozers to cover up the human waste as there were no other facilities in the area. The owner of Canadian Steel told Dad that 'proper' sanitation facilities were required. So, Dad took a 55-gallon drum, four pieces of plywood, and a funnel and made his own restroom!" "Another contractor drove by the job site and asked Dad about the wooden restroom. He liked it and said 'Build me one.' Dad built that one and then started the business!" Bill Reynolds, Sr. developed one of the most iconic sales tools in our industry—a small scale wooden restroom unit. When making a call, he would place small model on the customer's desk and then ask for the order. In fact, on his tombstone is a rendering of his model. Bill, Sr. developed an interesting growth model for his company. In 1959, with his company named "Johnny On the Spot," he opened offices in locations where he had been awarded large jobs. From his original base of operations in Ontario, Bill, Sr. expanded into two other locations in Canada as well as Buffalo, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, and, of course, Columbus, Ohio. "Johnny On the Spot" certainly earned an amazing reputation in the early days of special events. Among their "most famous" special events, as listed in a July 1, 2006, article in Pumper Magazine were: • Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" in 1963. It was here that Dr King gave his famous "I Have a Dream Speech." Johnny On the Spot provided 350 wooden units for the crowd of approximately 250,000 people. • First Lady Jackie Kennedy's horse farm • Robert Kennedy's pool in Virginia • Woodstock Music Festival (1969)—Bill Jr. was nine years old and remembers this event "quite well." (This event is also profiled in the 1960s Decade section of the PSAI's 40th Anniversary Booklet.) This photo from 1994 shows Bill Reynolds, Sr. and Bill Reynolds, Jr. on either side of Michael Lang, the co-creator and concert promoter for Woodstock in 1969. The occasion was the 25th anniversary Woodstock concert.

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