- What started as a way to get his family through the Great Depression, Harold Cole’s cleaning potion has survived 96 years of economic ups and downs.
Harold A. Cole, a chemist by profession, lived in the middle of a pine forest not far from the city limits of Jackson. While the Great Depression that began in 1929 wreaked havoc on Mississippians’ employment, savings, and livelihoods, Harry proved incredibly creative and resilient.
During that time, Mississippi led the nation in lumber production, with Southern pine being the number one species. As the loggers rapidly cut through the lush areas of mature trees, they left unsightly stumps in significant numbers across vast acres of exploited land. That practice turned out to be a big mistake over time.
Harry knew that pine oil had disinfecting properties, and the oil was only available in over-cut timber that had remained in the ground for 20 years. At his fingertips was everything he needed to concoct his highly effective janitorial product, Pine-Sol. Harry capitalized on the strong pine scent, describing it as “more than clean,” and he founded his company, H.A. Cole Products, Inc., in Pearl, Mississippi. There, he created his potion, manually bottled it, and peddled it locally for the next 19 years!
In 1948, the man who later became Jackson’s wealthiest entrepreneur, Dumas Milner, purchased Harry’s business. The annual revenue at the time of the acquisition was $77,000. Milner was known primarily for building a national financial empire of General Motors automobile dealerships and commercial real estate in the 1950s and early 1960s. By 1954, the Pine-Sol side-hustle yielded a $10,000,000 annual revenue.
Milner’s hire of Howard S. Cohoon, fellow Jacksonian, as head of the company brought revenue and national recognition of the brand. Cohoon’s resume included impressive sales experience as a soap salesman. Milner thought Cohoon would naturally possess an understanding of how to popularize and modernize the product. He was not disappointed. Cohoon proved to be a genius at his job. Suddenly, the entire country was aware of Pine-Sol.
In an interview in the Sarasota Journal in September 1954, Cohoon said, “The first weeks [on the job], I did nothing but talk to everybody I could find who knew anything about pine oil. Then I decided that our best market was the American housewife herself. Why wouldn’t she prefer cleaning house with a fragrant-smelling substance instead of an evil-smelling one?”
The advent of afternoon television drama was an advertising mecca for Pine-Sol. This was the 1950s. Housewives measured their worth by clean houses, healthy children, and happy husbands! (No comment).
Cohoon slightly altered Harry Cole’s original recipe by adding detergent to make it more effective at cleaning. Pine-Sol became the biggest household cleaner in the world and held its own into the 2000s.
The Clorox Company purchased the Pine-Sol brand in 1990, and maintained the Pearl plant until 2009. There is no longer a Pine-Sol factory in Mississippi.
Much has changed since Harry Cole created his first potion, likely in his kitchen in 1929. He would be amazed at the worldwide prominence his little venture has achieved. What started as a way to get his family through the Depression has survived 96 years of economic ups and downs, television, the internet, fads, trends, and a revolution of family roles. Pine-Sol is still with us!
I must mention what Paul Harvey called “the rest of the story.” Although Mr. Cohoon stated in that Sarasota Journal article in 1954 that the abundance of pine oil in Mississippi would survive a long while, but the timber industry’s lack of knowledge on reforestation and conservation eventually depleted that abundance of pine oil.
By 2006, The Clorox Company advertised a special “Clorox Commercial Pine-Sol Cleaner” that promised the same formula as the “Original Pine-Sol Cleaner.” By January 2014, Clorox announced that Pine-Sol products would no longer contain pine oil, due to the limited supply and increased cost.
Today’s Pine-Sol contains no authentic pine oil. Surprised? Synthetic petroleum products, glycolic acid, and pine fragrance formulate the Pine-Sol now sold on retail shelves. And the distinct Pine smell has given way to new options with a variety of fragrances like Lavender, Cherry Blossom and Lemon.
There are still online Pine-Sol “original formula” products available. They contain 8%-12% pine oil, but you would be wise to read the labels. They are pricey.
As a child of the 1950s, I am still able to imagine the pungent antiseptic scent in my dreams! I just might order a bottle for old time’s sake!
Marilyn Tinnin
