Joseph D. Scholtz was Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 from 1937 to 1941. He graduated from DuPont Manual High School, then Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in 1912. After college he worked in his family's fruit and produce company, the Joseph Denunzio Fruit Company, eventually becoming vice president. He served in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and was stationed at Camp Taylor

Camp Taylor

Camp Taylor is a neighborhood and former military base six miles southeast of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA. First announced on June 11, 1917 it was originally a military camp named for former president Zachary Taylor...

 in Louisville.

Scholtz was appointed president of Lousville's Board of Parks in 1933 and was the only Democrat to serve in Republican Mayor William B. Harrison

William B. Harrison

William Benjamin Harrison was mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1927 to 1933. He graduated from Louisville Male High School in 1907 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1910. He served as a captain in the United States Army during World War I...

's administration. He became president of the Louisville Water Company

Louisville Water Company

Louisville Water Company is a municipal water company which provides water to the more than 800,000 people in Louisville, Kentucky as well as parts of Oldham and Bullitt counties. Additionally, they provide wholesale water to the outlying counties of Shelby, Spencer, and Nelson counties...

 in 1935.

He was elected mayor in 1937. During his term a business license tax was enacted and the planning of Standiford Field began, as did the switchover from streetcars to buses in the city. he convinced the Board of Education to increase pay for black teachers in the city's school system.

He left office a week before the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. After directing civil defense in a nine-state area in 1942, he joined the army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 as a Major in 1943 and was sent to North Africa then Italy, where he was a commissioner for the Military Government

Military government

Military government can refer to conditions under either Military occupation, or Military dictatorship.-Military Government:Military government is the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises governmental authority over occupied territory.The Hague Conventions of 1907 specify...

. For his services he received the Legion of Merit

Legion of Merit

The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

, the highest non-combat medal awarded.

After the war he served as postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

 of Louisville from 1947 to 1960. He died in 1972 and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.