The Mysterious Otto Rhoades - Founder/President of Sun Electric Corporation

There are a number of stories about Otto Rhoades and the beginning of Sun Company which later became Sun Electric Corporation. The story I always heard from my dad and other long-time employees is that Mr. Rhoades owned a Cadillac dealership in the Chicago area and saw the need for test equipment in the mid-1920s. After deciding to write a book about the history of Mr. Rhoades and Sun I began to research both subjects. 

My research led me to the PrairieView Education Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois. This center serves thousands of residents annually by offering nature programs, youth group programs, summer camps, school field trips, and nature-themed birthday parties. 

Prairieview's main building was once the elaborate home of Otto and Hazel Rhoades, built-in 1945. Otto was the founder and president of Sun Company, which later became Sun Electric Corporation. The couple built the 7,500-square-foot home, a state-of-the-art barn, and machine shop. They farmed much of the land, growing crops and raising beef and pork. Otto passed away in 1986, followed by Hazel in 1992. 

The trail about Otto and Sun's beginnings started to dry up from here. The Prairieview Education Center's personnel had run into the same situation. Very little information about Sun's beginnings, and Otto Rhoades's life. It was their understanding that Otto owned a Cadillac dealership in the Chicago area, but they had not confirmed this fact. 

I then was contacted by a gentleman that was Otto and Hazel's neighbor in Crystal, Lake. It was his recollection that Otto owned a large taxi company that had Cadillacs and Cadillac in the fleet. He also thought Otto had a large repair shop located at the same facility. From this information, I dug up an ad from a Chicago newspaper with an ad stating; 2 SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES! Owner - Otto Rhodes - Find out the real story.