Reuel Durkee Harmon (1904-1994) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 6, 1904. He was the son of Albert H. and Carolyn Durkee Harmon. The elder Harmon was one of the founders of Webb Publishing Company, a St. Paul-based publisher of farm and agricultural magazines.
Reuel Harmon attended Saint Paul Academy (1916-1922), and earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1926. He joined Webb in 1926, and in 1937 was made publisher of its Farmer's Wife magazine. During World War II Harmon served with the United States Army (1942-1945), where he attained the rank of Major. In 1945 he returned to Webb, and in 1946 was made vice president and treasurer of the company. He later served as president (1952-1968) and as chairman of the board (1968-1978). In the 1940s he served on a number of "fact-finding commissions" for the Division of Conciliation of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, helping to investigate Minnesota labor disputes.
Harmon served as a trustee of the St. Paul, Amherst Wilder, and Archibald Bush foundations, Carleton and St. Thomas colleges, and the Charles T. Miller Hospital. He was on the boards of the First National Bank of St. Paul and the First Trust Company of St. Paul, president of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the St. Paul Civic Center Authority, and a member of the Governor's Advisory Commission of the Minnesota Department of Economic Development. He was involved with the Minnesota Parks and Trails Council, the Fort Snelling State Park Association, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Minnesota Zoo, the Carpenter Nature Center (Hastings), and the Dodge Nature Center (West Saint Paul).
Harmon died on April 26, 1994 at his home in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. He was survived by his wife Margaret (b.ca.1910), and a daughter, Ann Clapp.
From the guide to the Reuel D. Harmon papers., 1919-1994 (bulk 1964-1994)., (Minnesota Historical Society)
