Bradley R. Taylor was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin in 1895 and graduated from the high school there. After attending the University of Kansas for one year, and the University of Wisconsin briefly, he entered Officers' Training Camp, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in 1917. As a second lieutenant of Infantry he was a member of the North Russian Expedition, 1918-1919.
On his return to Rhinelander he joined the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, a firm that has been in the Taylor family since 1891. He served as Vice-President for many years; in fact, he was in this position through the years covered by the correspondence in this collection.
Bradley Taylor has long been active in civic affairs in Rhinelander, is a Mason, a Rotarian, and a member of the Congregational Church. In the 1930's he was chairman of the Wisconsin regional board for the NRA, and served on the Code Authority for the NRA in Washington, 1933-1935.
As a Legionaire Taylor has enjoyed friends and influence among Democrats as well as Republicans, although he is a Republican himself and active in Tenth District politics. During the 1952 presidential campaign he was assistant to the Director of the Veterans' Division, National Republican Party, Washington, D.C. Following this campaign he strongly urged the organization of a permanent veterans' division for the Republican Party.
Taylor has always been aggressive in embracing causes of particular concern to veterans and aviation. He was appointed by Governor Goodland to the Wisconsin Aeronautics Advisory Board. Between 1919 and 1958 he served as a member of the Legislative Committee of the national American Legion. As a member of this committee he was especially interested in the Congressional bill concerning Universal Military Training (1950) and in the Hoover Report as it affected veterans. In 1954 he was made co-chairman of the Aeronautics Committee of the American Legion, Department of Wisconsin.
At the time of this writing, 1961, Bradley Taylor was still living in Rhinelander. His three children, Douglas, Joan, and William P., were grown and had families of their own. Both sons served as pilots during or shortly after World War II.
