Monday, March 14, 2011

Rounding up some reader comments

It's great to get feedback on Papergreat entries. Obviously, what I'm writing most days really only scratches the surface of a particular topic. You could write a full magazine article or even a book about some of this fascinating stuff.

Here are some reader comments on previous Papergreat posts:
  • Delving into Henry K. Wampole & Company: An anonymous commenter writes: "Howdy - it turns out that old Henry had indeed suffered from brain-fag. He had been actively taking his company for a ride. It seems he embezzled a goodly amount estimated at ranging from $200000.00 to as much as $900000.00. According to newspaper articles they never figured out what he did with the money."

    Anonymous is right on the money (no pun intended). I found this partial blurb from the Oct. 11, 1906, edition of The New York Times:

    "WAMPOLE GOT $500,000 FROM BANKS BY FRAUD; Wholesale Deception by Suicide Druggist Revealed by Partners. FIRM SAVED FROM FAILURE Embezzler Was a Hard Worker -- His Associates Do Not Know Where Their Money Went.

    PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 10. -- By a remarkable system of deception Henry K. Wampole, the drug manufacturer whose body was found recently in the East River, at New York, dragged his company to the verge of bankruptcy, realized nearly $750,000 on notes, and by other means robbed his business partners of at least $500,000.
  • Coupons from the E.H. Koester Bakery Co.: Dave Foertsch of Maryland1 asked his father about the former Baltimore bakery and he replied: "Yes, Grandmom Monte sold that bread. I remember the twinpack on the bread rack in front of the meatcase. The wrapper was cellophane which had a colored ribbon of cellophane at the center.... You could pull the tab to split it into two. I remember people buying half a loaf for 10 or 12 cents."

    Awesome info. This also raises the possibility that the coupons I came across aren't quite as old as the 1940s, which was my original guess. Keep the Koester's information coming!
  • Some interior decorating tips from 1969: My mom, a regular reader, checks in on the interior design horrors of the past: "1969 'in' colors: green, brown, orange. And gold. It was the prominent color in the brown/green/orange tableau. Loved them then, hate them now. Current style dictates taste...ugly or not!"

That's all for today. If you need an ephemera fix, you might want to check out a guest post I wrote on my wife's blog, Only in York County, last summer. It's titled: "When vinyl was king: Remembering Record Club of America".

Footnote
1. I used to participate in a fantasy baseball league, the NWBL, with Dave. His teams were usually great and mine were usually downright terrible. My team's name was "Jeltz Fan Club".

1 comment:

  1. Hmm, clearly I need to leave better comments so I can make the next roundup.

    Unfortunately, it's all I can do to keep current on my OWN blog comments! :)

    In all seriousness, don't let me forget to ask the readers of Only in York County about that Koester bread. I bet I'll hear some things!

    ReplyDelete