Olin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Merton and Ann Olin, where his father was an executive with the J. C. Penney Company. He attended seven different grade schools, graduating from high schoolwith honors in Grove City, Pennsylvania in 1946. He joined the United States Army in 1946 and served two years in the military police in Japan, where one of his primary assignments was protection of the area surrounding General Douglas MacArthur's command headquarters in downtown Tokyo. After being honorably discharged, Olin attended the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor of arts degree in economics, with minors in political science and speech. At the suggestion of a professor, Olin joined the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., where he worked in clandestine operations in 1952 and 1953. He maintained relationships with the government throughout the 1960s, including serving as a consultant in American foreign relations for several years, before retiring as a Major in the United States Army's Transportation Corps in 1969.
Archway Cookies
In 1964, Olin joined the Archway Cookie Company as bakery general manager in Ashland, Ohio. Putting an emphasis on product freshness and quality, he expanded the bakery - originally a converted Tucker car dealership - into the largest Archway facility in the nation, producing nearly ten million cookies per week. Olin purchased the company as a partner in 1983, and took the role of Chairman of the Board and co-Chief Executive Officer; he served in that capacity until his death in 1996. By that time, Archway Cookies had become the third-largest cookie brand in the United States, with retail sales reaching a third of a billion dollars annually.
Olin was named Ashland, Ohio's first "Citizen of the Year" in 1991, and received the Sigma Chi"Significant Sig Medal" at the fraternity international grand chapter meeting in 1993. He served as Honorary National Chairman for Junior Achievement in 1996. In 1988, Olin was the keynote speaker at the Ashland Chamber of Commerce Industrial Appreciation Dinner, where he was recognized for his contributions on behalf of the city of Ashland. In 1986, he received an honorary membership in the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society in Business Administration at Ashland University. A Junior Achievement of Southwest Michigan matching-funds endowment, managed by the Battle Creek Community Foundation, was also established in 1999. A Habitat for Humanity home, located at 10 Rose Street in Battle Creek, Michigan was dedicated in Olin's name on January 24, 1999.
