[TUHS] Re: Fred Grampp

[TUHS] Re: Fred Grampp

[Brian Walden]

This isn't directly UNIX related, and yes, the thread is 3 years old.  But since it made national news last night, probably due to its proximity to Newark Airport.  The enormous fire in Elizabeth, NJ, I recognized in the local news as the old Singer factory.  That factory was the catalyst that linked me into finding out more on Fred Grampp, and his ancestry.

Here's a non-paywalled link that also mentions it is indeed the old Singer factory:  https://newjersey.news12.com/elizabeth-nj-fire-industrial-building


On Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 11:12 AM M Douglas McIlroy <m.douglas.mcilroy at dartmouth.edu> wrote:
>
> Serendipitous find! I hadn't realized that Fred had been the third
> generation in the hardware store.
> His father ("Pops") retired to Drayton Island in the St Johns River
> about 60 miles south of Jacksonville.
> Fred often visited him, driving the 19-hour trip in one stint.
>
> Doug
>
> On Mon, Mar 15, 2021 at 6:47 PM Brian Walden <tuhs at cuzuco.com> wrote:
> >
> > Amazing coincidences. A week prior I was researching Topper Toys
> > looking for their old factory ("largest toy factory in the world")
> > As there was litte on it's location and it lead me to find out
> > in 1961 it took over the old Singer Factory in Elizabeth, NJ.
> > So looking up the Singer factory led me to "Elizabeth,
> > New Jersey, Then and Now" by Robert J. Baptista
> >
> > https://ia801304.us.archive.org/11/items/ElizabethNewJerseyThenAndNowSecondEdition2015/ElizabethNewJerseyThenNowThirdEditionApril102018607Pages.pdf
> >
> > Which had no information on Topper, but had had this paragraph in it's Singer
> > section on page 28 --
> >
> >     Boys earned money "rushing the growler" at lunchtime at the Singer plant.
> >     German workers lowered their covered beer pails, called growlers, on ropes
> >     to the boys waiting below. They earned a nickel by filling them with beer
> >     at Grampp's saloon on Trumbull St. One of these boys was Thomas Dunn who
> >     later became a long term Mayor. In the early 1920s Frederick Grampp went
> >     into the hardware business at the corner of Elizabeth Ave. and Reid St.
> >
> >
> > When I read it I thought funny, as I know the name Fred Grampp. But beleived
> > just a coincidenental same name. After reading the biography post, I went back
> > to the book as it turns out that Fred Grampp is your Fred Grampps's
> > grandfather.  You can find more his family and the hardware store and
> > Grampp himself on pages 163-164, and 212.
> >
> > -Brian
> >
>

[TUHS] Fwd: Re: Fred Grampp

[Aaron]

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Ah, Fred Grampp—brings back memories.
For several years Fred had an office next to mine in Building 7 @ Murray Hill. I used to come in early to share a pot of lapsang souchong tea and listen to Fred’s stories. I still retell some of them today.

In 1981 Fred picked us up at Newark Airport when my wife and I returned from vacation. He told me my Department Head was perturbed that he couldn’t reach me while we were away (I hadn’t left a contact number). He then (while driving) opened two cans of beer to toast my promotion to supervisor which had been announced. I was duly surprised.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brian Walden <tuhscuzuco.com>
> Date: January 6, 2024 at 6:25:28 PM EST
> To: tuhs@tuhs.org
> Subject: [TUHS] Re: Fred Grampp
> 
> This isn't directly UNIX related, and yes, the thread is 3 years old.  But since it made national news last night, probably due to its proximity to Newark Airport.  The enormous fire in Elizabeth, NJ, I recognized in the local news as the old Singer factory.  That factory was the catalyst that linked me into finding out more on Fred Grampp, and his ancestry.
> 
> Here's a non-paywalled link that also mentions it is indeed the old Singer factory:  https://newjersey.news12.com/elizabeth-nj-fire-industrial-building
> 
> 
>> On Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 11:12 AM M Douglas McIlroy <m.douglas.mcilroy at dartmouth.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> Serendipitous find! I hadn't realized that Fred had been the third
>> generation in the hardware store.
>> His father ("Pops") retired to Drayton Island in the St Johns River
>> about 60 miles south of Jacksonville.
>> Fred often visited him, driving the 19-hour trip in one stint.
>> 
>> Doug
>> 
>>> On Mon, Mar 15, 2021 at 6:47 PM Brian Walden <tuhs at cuzuco.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Amazing coincidences. A week prior I was researching Topper Toys
>>> looking for their old factory ("largest toy factory in the world")
>>> As there was litte on it's location and it lead me to find out
>>> in 1961 it took over the old Singer Factory in Elizabeth, NJ.
>>> So looking up the Singer factory led me to "Elizabeth,
>>> New Jersey, Then and Now" by Robert J. Baptista
>>> 
>>> https://ia801304.us.archive.org/11/items/ElizabethNewJerseyThenAndNowSecondEdition2015/ElizabethNewJerseyThenNowThirdEditionApril102018607Pages.pdf
>>> 
>>> Which had no information on Topper, but had had this paragraph in it's Singer
>>> section on page 28 --
>>> 
>>>    Boys earned money "rushing the growler" at lunchtime at the Singer plant.
>>>    German workers lowered their covered beer pails, called growlers, on ropes
>>>    to the boys waiting below. They earned a nickel by filling them with beer
>>>    at Grampp's saloon on Trumbull St. One of these boys was Thomas Dunn who
>>>    later became a long term Mayor. In the early 1920s Frederick Grampp went
>>>    into the hardware business at the corner of Elizabeth Ave. and Reid St.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> When I read it I thought funny, as I know the name Fred Grampp. But beleived
>>> just a coincidenental same name. After reading the biography post, I went back
>>> to the book as it turns out that Fred Grampp is your Fred Grampps's
>>> grandfather.  You can find more his family and the hardware store and
>>> Grampp himself on pages 163-164, and 212.
>>> 
>>> -Brian
>>> 
>> 

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