Beatrice’s Girls

Of all of her many accomplishments (and there is quite the lengthy list), Beatrice Fox Auerbach was probably most proud of her role as a mother and, later, grandmother. Mrs. Auerbach had two daughters, Georgette and Dorothy. Georgette was born on May 14, 1916 when the family was still living in Salt Lake City, Utah and Dorothy was born on October 14, 1919 after the family had returned to Hartford. It is quite clear based on the materials in this collection that Mrs. Auerbach adored her children, as did her husband, George. As a matter of fact, in the Graphics Department, along with this photograph of Beatrice with Georgette (at left) and Dorothy, there is also the sweetest photograph of George Auerbach holding a thirteen-week-old Georgette!

There is also a lovely letter written by Georgette and Dorothy in January of 1925 (they were 8 and 5, respectively) to their mother while she was away in Washington. They write about attending a concert with their grandpa (Moses Fox) and that “Daddy” surprised them by showing up unexpectedly at their cousin’s birthday party. (I find it especially interesting that they address the letter as “Dear Mother” and yet refer to their father as “Daddy.”)

Mrs. Auerbach remained close to her daughters from the time of their births until her own death in 1968. In addition to adoring her daughters, however, she was certainly also a doting grandmother. Mrs. Auerbach had twelve grandchildren. Georgette and her husband, Richard Koopman, had three boys and three girls: George, Rena, Harry, Dorothy Brooks, Richard, and Beatrice. Dorothy and her husband, Bernard Schiro, had five girls and a boy: Susan, Linda, Robert, Helen Beatrice, Elizabeth, and Jean. In case you missed it, check out our previous posting, Happy Birthday, Beatrice!, for a look at the entire clan!

Theresa Stern Fox and her Eyeglasses

Theresa Stern Fox was the wife of Moses Fox and mother of Beatrice and Fannie. In my opinion, the neatest thing we have that belonged to Theresa is her eyeglass prescription along with a pair of her old lenses. I don’t know how historically significant this item may be, but I think it’s still incredibly nifty!

The eyeglass prescription is from 1917, written by Dr. E. Terry Smith of Hartford. Evidently, Theresa needed a new pair of reading glasses. The lenses are most likely from her previous prescription and were removed so that the lenses from the new prescription could be placed in her existing frames.

Without this prescription, we may never have known that Theresa wore glasses and, while I don’t know the relevance of having that information, I am certainly happy with having added another detail to the life of one member of the Fox family.

Moses Fox’s Household Expenses

Beatrice Fox Auerbach’s father, Moses Fox, became president of G. Fox & Co. upon the death of his father, Gerson Fox. Like his father before him, Moses Fox was a pillar in the Hartford community. Very few materials concerning his private life have made it into our collection, probably because he was an extremely private man who shunned all personal publicity. We do, however, have some of his financial papers detailing his household expenses between 1928 and 1937 for his home on 1040 Prospect Ave in Hartford. These expense lists offer an interesting look into the private life of a man who was at once both well-known and not known.

The household expense lists do not cover the entire period between 1928 and 1937, but do offer fragments of his financial life. Moses was somewhat meticulous with his finances. He always itemizes his expenses by month, totals each month, and then provides totals for a set number of months. At the end of the list, under the total house expense for the given months, is a listing for what half the total expenses would be. I believe he does this because he and his wife, Theresa, shared their home with Beatrice and her daughters during this time period and Beatrice would have contributed the other half of the household expenses.

A typical month in 1935 finds the household expenses totaling about $1500. Of that, about $415 a month (sometimes slightly more) is spent on domestic help and there is almost always a line item of miscellaneous totaling exactly $400. Other expenses include repairs, which are often further broken down by the type of repair like plumbing, chimney cleaning, or awnings, garden & lawn, laundry, and other usual expenses like electricity, gas, telephone, and groceries. While it may be typical of the time, I thought it was interesting that “milk” was listed separately from “groceries” and often exceeded $50 a month.

I wonder how future researchers will use these lists and if the kind and amount of expenses will tell us anything about how the Fox family was affected by the Great Depression. I find them very interesting, as well as a wonderful source of information, and sincerely hope that other people will also be interested in them. Feel free to stop by the CHS and check them out!

Confused sexual orientation

Pearson Kipp was a bank loan officer who lived in Wallingford and commuted to New Haven in the 1940s. The Historical Society just acquired two of his diaries, from 1947 and 1948. On March 14, 1947, he wrote “On the train coming home there appeared to be a strange reversal of my traditional yearning. I desired a woman. I desired normal marriage. We shall see how far this is a true change. The old way seems damp and cold as it always did; but I am not pleased too highly with the change.” This is the first instance that I know of where someone’s thoughts and concerns about his sexual orientation appear in a diary, at least among those in our collections. I was thrilled when I found the entry. I think it vital that the Historical Society document “alternative” life styles, particularly when gay marriage is such a political issue today.

Kipp admits later in his diary that his sexual problem would only be solved by death. Fortunately, we know from the records, he did not take his own life–he died in Jackson, New Hampshire in 1985, at the age of 76.

The Ephemeral Side of Fox’s

Ephemeral is not generally a word that comes to mind when thinking about G. Fox & Co.; afterall the store was in operation until a few months after its 145 anniversary! Fox’s was a Hartford institution. And yet, despite the fact that the store was a fixture in downtown Hartford for such a long time (or perhaps for that very reason), there aspects of G. Fox & Co. that were very short-lived.

Advertisements, gift certificates, charge cards, shopping bags, shoe and hat boxes, stationery, envelopes, bills and receipts, even matchbooks. All of these items, and many others with the G. Fox logo, are represented to some extent within the collection. Generally speaking, materials like those listed here are classified as ephemera, or items designed to be useful for only short periods of time. Because of the very nature of the material, ephemera is often discarded once the objects are no longer of use. For that reason, our collection doesn’t contain large amounts of G. Fox ephemera and most of the items we do have are from the later periods of the store’s operation.

Pictured below are some examples of the ephemera in our collection. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Tauber Co. and Tauberlak kefir

Articles have been written about the Jewish farmers of Connecticut, but it was only recently that the CHS received its first related records. Benjamin and Mary Tauber operated a farm in Uncasville. In the 1930 census his primary language is listed as Yiddish and hers was Russian.  These Russian immigrants developed a “honey malt tonic” called Tauberlak, a name they trademarked. There are letters in this relatively small collection from school principals in New London and from the United States Coast Guard attesting to the value of Tauberlak and their intent to continue providing it to their students or sailors. Two other letters are orders for more Tauberlak kefir and some regular milk for the Coast Guard. To these are added several advertising post cards and a sample label. The few items we have only whet one’s appetite to learn more about this “niche” market.

Housatonic Valley Pomona

It seems agriculture is really on the wane in this state given the closing of local and regional granges. The records of the subordinate or local grange in Gaylordsville were the first to be preserved at the CHS. And now we have the records, 1902-2006, of the regional grange known as the Housatonic Valley Pomona. Granges were an integral part of rural life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They provided social interaction, political lobbying opportunities, and education in new agricultural practices. We are probably all familiar with the Grange fair where individuals competed for the prize of the best vegetable, the best jam or pickles, the best pie, etc. These local, personalized grange fairs are now eclipsed by such behemoths as the fairs in Durham or Woodstock. The CHS is very pleased that it has been able to preserve these records of the state’s very recent past.

Auerfarm is Now Our Farm

In July 1925, George Auerbach, Beatrice Fox Auerbach’s husband, purchased a 220-acre farm property on West Simsbury Road in Bloomfield. After his death in 1927, Mrs. Auerbach took charge of the farm.

Under her leadership, the farm thrived. Mrs. Auerbach even received accolades for her award-winning Guernsey cows! The milk and eggs produced on the farm, along with other food items, were sold in the employee cafeteria and in the restaurants frequented by customers. Employee picnics were also held at the farm.

In our collection, we have a menu from the Connecticut Room, one of the two customer eateries at G. Fox & Co., that lists the price of “Auerfarm Pure Guernsey Milk” as $0.15 a glass. We also have the early Auerfarm account books that begin in George Auerbach’s hand and continue in Mrs. Auerbach’s handwriting. Auerfarm was also in the news quite frequently and we have a number of newspaper clippings concerning the farms activities. While most of the news is positive, in 1955 the Hartford Courant reports the fire that destroyed the main barn. Fortunately, all 96 cows, 18 calves, and the prize-winning bull were rescued from the conflagration.

Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a guest on the farm on more than one occasion, sent her condolences to Mrs. Auerbach upon hearing about the devastating fire. In her other letters, Mrs. Roosevelt often thanks Mrs. Auerbach for sending fresh eggs from Auerfarm to her in New York.

Before her death, Mrs. Auerbach donated her prize-winning cattle herd to the University of Connecticut Agricultural College. In 1977, her family donated the Auerfarm to the Connecticut 4-H Development Fund. Today, the Auerfarm is the 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm and, partnered with the UCONN College of Agriculture, continues the Auerbach tradition of humanitarianism by educating area youth while providing them with hands-on experience. For more information about their current programs, you can visit their website at http://www.canr.uconn.edu/ces/fourh/farms.html.