REALTOR© moved from the real estate office to the Governor's office
NOVEMBER 2006 - By 1928 Myers Y. Cooper had accomplished much in 55 years. He was president of the Hyde Park Lumber and Supply Company and president of two banks. He was the permanent toastmaster of the Cincinnati Real Estate Board. In November 1928 REALTOR© Cooper was elected Governor Cooper by the people of Ohio.
REALTORS© throughout the state cheered one of their own. The National Real Estate Journal wrote, "The training that Mr. Cooper has received in the real estate business has made him very conversant with the governmental functions of the state of Ohio; particularly is this true of the taxation problem which faces the property owners."
It was a good month for the Cincinnati Board. Another member, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nicholas Longworth, was re-elected to Congress.
A farm boy, Cooper learned responsibility early. His father died when Myers was 16, and the boy had to sell books and buggies to continue his education. He went into real estate with his brothers before striking out on his own. According to the Journal, Cooper first focused on building moderately priced houses in the suburb of Hyde Park, where he promoted a "small down-payment-and-the-balance-as-rent plan" of buying homes.
Cooper's service didn't end with his term as Governor. Before he died in 1958 his company built nearly 7,000 homes in Cincinnati. He served as president of the Cincinnati Board from 1936 to 1938.
