A Real Live Niece of Uncle Sam

Among Karen Wright’s pleasing attributes is that she may have a keener interest in Independence Day than most. Why might that be? Well, it can be hard to keep track. After all, Wright, an Ohio business titan, is many things. She is an innovative executive who engineered the awesome growth of Ariel Corporation. Under her leadership, it became the world’s largest gas-compressor manufacturer, an institution vital to America’s energy industry, and an integral part of getting natural gas from wellhead to stovetop. She is a mother of four — and grandmother of seven. She is a philanthropist. But, most relevant for our purposes, she was born on July 4. So was her son (named Sam, of course). So was her grandfather.