Frank Aikman is significant in the history of Nacogdoches for his role as the co-owner of the Mashdeen Hair Tonic Company and for generously donating money for the construction of a gymnasium at SFA. To view or print a brochure about Aikman, please clike the following link Frank Aikman Brochure or for more information, please continue reading.
Frank Aikman
Frank Speir Aikman was born January 13, 1862, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Samuel and Amelia Aikman.[1] Aikman came to Nacogdoches through his job as a travelling salesman, selling drugs and barbershop supplies. Mr. Aikman stayed at the Banita Hotel during his business trips and became friends with the McKinney family who owned the establishment. The McKinneys and Aikman adopted each other as family and were lifelong friends.[2]
The Banita Hotel
Mahdeen
It was through his friendship with John Richard McKinney that Aikman met Ohn Louis Needham, the manager of a barbershop located near the Banita Hotel.[3] Needham had recently created a hair tonic and needed a partner in order to expand his business. Aikman came forward and the two signed a contract and formed a partnership, creating the Mahdeen (Needham spelled backwards) Company on September 3, 1912. This contract stipulated that Needham could keep the secret of his formulas, but he had to place a copy of it at the Commercial Bank of Texas in case of death or incapacitation. Needham continued to oversee production of the Mahdeen products while Aikman was the director and manager whose duty it was to promote sales and expand Mahdeen's market. Under this arrangement, the Mahdeen brand expanded, was sold to all of the big national drug companies, and could be found in every state. Some of the local men from Nacogdoches even reported seeing Mahdeen products in Europe during World Wars I and II.
Mahdeen for Dandruff Bottle
In 1918, the Mahdeen Company moved into a new building located at 204 East Pilar Street, designed by local architect Diedrich Rulfs.[4] This same year, Needham died and Aikman became the owner of the company.[5] Aikman invited John R. McKinney to join the company as the secretary-treasurer.[6] By this time, Frank Aikman was one of the wealthiest men in Nacogdoches and Mahdeen had gained national prominence, selling at the best barbershops.[7] From 1932 until his death in 1939, Aikman also served as a director for what is now the Commercial Bank of Texas.[8] Aikman's friend John McKinney, stayed on with the company until 1941 when W.A. Mize, B.H. Mize, and E.C. Best purchased the company.[9] In 1965 the Mahdeen Company was sold to a drug firm in Dallas and the business was discontinued in Nacogdoches.
Mahdeen Building
Wyatt's Office City Marker - former Mahdeen headquarters
Aikman's Legacy
At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Aikman was listed as being fifty-seven years old, single, a renter, and the manufacturer of hair tonic.[10] Nineteen years later, Frank Aikman passed away on June 19, 1939, in Nacogdoches. Though Aikman's estate covered the charges of the funeral, his friends Mr. J.R. McKinney and Mr. T.E. Baker made his funeral arrangements.[11] The Cason Monk-Metcalf logbook states that Aikman died of "articular fibrillation and myocardial failure" likely meaning an irregular heartbeat and heart failure or a heart attack.[12]
Frank Aikman entry - Cason-Monk Funeral Home Logbook
Frank Aikman was described as a perfect gentleman who was always impeccably dressed, usually wearing a hat and carrying a walking cane, and could be seen riding about town in a black limousine driven by a chauffeur. According to John Richard McKinney's great-grandson, Dr. Tom McKinney, Aikman enjoyed choosing one of his friend's families, taking them out to lunch, and giving them a ride in his limousine, which was a special treat.[13] Aikman was not only generous with his friends but also the community, donating $25,000 to build Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College's first gymnasium, which was constructed in 1924, and contributing other subsequent donations totaling $37,000.[14]
Aikman Gymnasium
On July 9, 2013, Susan Kennedy, a family friend of Frank Aikman, donated one of his paintings to Stephen F. Austin State University. The final location of this painting has yet to be determined. For more information, see this link.
Frank Aikman's grave is located north of the exit of Oak Grove Cemetery. His marker is made of marble and is in the Art Deco style with geometric designs on either side of his epitaph, floral imagery, and urns on each side of the stone. To locate Aikman's grave in Oak Grove Cemetery, visit http://preserveamerica.sfasu.edu/OakGrove/ and enter his name into the serach critera.
Frank Aikman's Grave at Oak Grove Cemetery
Images
- Frank Aikman, Mahdeen Manuscript Collection, B53, B3, F17, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- The Banita Hotel, Photograph Collection, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, http://digital.sfasu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EastTexRC/id/12 .
- Mahdeen for Dandruff Bottle, Mahdeen Manuscript Collection, B53, B3, F17, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Mahdeen Building on 204 East Pilar Street Downtown Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Wyatt's Office City Marker, 204 East Pilar Street Downtown Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Frank Aikman entry in Cason-Monk Funeral Home Logbook, Cason-Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, 1939-1942 Funeral Register, East Texas Reserach Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, http://digital.sfasu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/CasonMonk/id/2178 .
- Aikman Gym, Teutsch Early Nacogdoches Documents, 1800-1973, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, http://digital.sfasu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EastTexRC/id/19080 .
- Frank Aikman's Headstone, Oak Grove Cemetery, Nacogdoches, Texas.
References