Louis Phelan was born on February 10, 1884, in St. Louis, Missouri and came to Beloit in 1928. In 1924 he married Harriet Snow (Pompano Beach, Florida). They had two sons and two daughters. He was a Beloit inventor and industrialist. He was responsible for the mercury switch, soft ice cream with Taylor Freezer and the fast cooking system of the Broaster Corporation. He had been owner of the Absolute Contractor Corporation, Taylor Freezer and Broaster Company and operated the Miracle Freezer Company.

Mr. Phelan had purchased the rights to the Charles Taylor counter freezer in 1926 and then formed the Taylor Freezer Corporation in 1928 on Fifth Street. These freezers were used extensively in restaurants, drugstores, hotels, department stores, hospitals, bakeries, con-fectionery stores and battleships.

In 1935 Mr. Phlean incorporated the X-Ray Quality Company tubes for application in hospitals, clinics, laboratories, doctor and dentist offices for x-ray photography, fluoroscopy and therapy. His inventive genius was used in building machines for manufacturing paper cartons, oil burners for locomotives and automobiles, annealing furnaces, automatic electric time switches and mercury contactors. He also invented safety appliances for calenders used in the rubber industry and promoted a means for equalization of static on dirigibles.  Mr. Phelan moved from Beloit to the Ledges in 1961 and then retired in Florida in 1968. He died at age 87 on October 1, 1971.