I’ve followed and enjoyed your lovely personality for many years so this was a delight, to find out how you became the erudite, kind gentleman you are.
I'm a former Newsweek staffer with a father also born in 1922. My parents were a little farther Southeast Siders from Hegewisch, with working class first generation roots and a shared belief in hard work and ingenuity. I have his gold watch that reads "To Frank Gaik, 1948 Star Salesman, Mason Shoes." My parents' primary business was tavern owning. The stories were fantastical, with Polish Mafia run slots and 24-hour craps tables. My parents eventually moved to a Wisconsin border town and brought polka bands like Li'l Wally and Marion Lush to their lake front supper club. I'm so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity for a strong public education and a degree from the University of Wisconsin. I am proud to have inherited their entrepreneurial spirit which eventually led me into advertising sales at Newsweek.
OLD GOATS is grand; I look forward to future reading.
I worked all those years , from the facility on Archer Ave., to the closing of the facility on 35th.St., with your grandfather and father and the rest of the Alter clan and never knew the rest of the family history it's very interesting to read.Was a pleasure to be a small part of this story.
Great to hear from you! I went from time to time to the office on Archer Avenue from when I was very young until the Harry Alter Company moved to 35th St. And I worked in the warehouse on Archer in the summer of 1976. My sister Jennifer worked at the company full-time in the '80s. What department were you in? For others reading this exchange, this was part of my father's story I didn't tell in that piece--his work life running a family business that sold refrigeration and air conditioning parts.
i've something similar but off the cuff poetry i read at my father's funeral, David Branch, to attach. in many ways they were of similar mind and led lives alike.
I will never forget being privileged enough to shoot & edit you & your Dad’s trip to Washington DC and being aboard a plane full of veterans of the greatest generation. What an amazing life he had, what a great American and thinking about it today I am quite humbled. Thank you!
Dana: I haven't looked at this since you wrote. Wonderful to hear from you! That was a spectacular piece you shot and edited. I'm not sure if you remember, but it brought a tear to Savannah Guthrie's eye. It also helped popularize the honor flights.
My Dad bought me the 500 plane ticket I need to fly to LA with a friend in 1984. he was raising 9 kids on one salary at the time but still found money to let me have a trip with a middle school friend. what a guy.
Nine kids! And he thought about what you might want badly in the moment and not just need. It's the quotidian stuff we often remember most. Thanks for sharing that story.....
What a great piece, Jon! It brings Jim (my "dad" for one year) so very much back to life for me. Jim - the nonconformist - with so much to say, a big heart and a very clear moral compass in his life. He was probably 20+ years ahead of his time and was capable of treading these new paths in breeze. I loved your "husband-/father-of" sentence because it tells you much about his unpretentious way of going about.
I’ve followed and enjoyed your lovely personality for many years so this was a delight, to find out how you became the erudite, kind gentleman you are.
I'm a former Newsweek staffer with a father also born in 1922. My parents were a little farther Southeast Siders from Hegewisch, with working class first generation roots and a shared belief in hard work and ingenuity. I have his gold watch that reads "To Frank Gaik, 1948 Star Salesman, Mason Shoes." My parents' primary business was tavern owning. The stories were fantastical, with Polish Mafia run slots and 24-hour craps tables. My parents eventually moved to a Wisconsin border town and brought polka bands like Li'l Wally and Marion Lush to their lake front supper club. I'm so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity for a strong public education and a degree from the University of Wisconsin. I am proud to have inherited their entrepreneurial spirit which eventually led me into advertising sales at Newsweek.
OLD GOATS is grand; I look forward to future reading.
Thanks for sharing your story, Mary Beth!
Lovely story. It's easy to see your face in your father's younger photos.
Thanks for reading, John!
A truly brilliant and always gracious gentleman!
Thanks, Joan!
This brought back so many good memories!
Many from the beach!
Thank you!
I worked all those years , from the facility on Archer Ave., to the closing of the facility on 35th.St., with your grandfather and father and the rest of the Alter clan and never knew the rest of the family history it's very interesting to read.Was a pleasure to be a small part of this story.
Hi, Edward:
Great to hear from you! I went from time to time to the office on Archer Avenue from when I was very young until the Harry Alter Company moved to 35th St. And I worked in the warehouse on Archer in the summer of 1976. My sister Jennifer worked at the company full-time in the '80s. What department were you in? For others reading this exchange, this was part of my father's story I didn't tell in that piece--his work life running a family business that sold refrigeration and air conditioning parts.
I was the lead man who took care of the New York branch. I remember you working the summers there.
Sweet story told with love.
Thanks, John. Hope you are well.
Please write a book about your Father.
What a lovely, charmingly genuine person he was♥️
-tears fill my eyes…….
Linda D [Katie M.’s friend]
well said and hard copy.
i've something similar but off the cuff poetry i read at my father's funeral, David Branch, to attach. in many ways they were of similar mind and led lives alike.
What a guy. Pleasure to have known him.
I will never forget being privileged enough to shoot & edit you & your Dad’s trip to Washington DC and being aboard a plane full of veterans of the greatest generation. What an amazing life he had, what a great American and thinking about it today I am quite humbled. Thank you!
Dana: I haven't looked at this since you wrote. Wonderful to hear from you! That was a spectacular piece you shot and edited. I'm not sure if you remember, but it brought a tear to Savannah Guthrie's eye. It also helped popularize the honor flights.
What a beautiful tribute, Jonathan. He spent his later years "doing nice things for people." I love it!
Thanks, Vicki! I read about your retirement. Congrats!
What a beautiful tribute to your dad! I fondly remember the Alter tradition of singing the "presidents song" in kindergarten.
Thanks, Amy! Nice to hear from you. All of our kids can still sing it!!
What a lovely tribute to your dad. What a great dad (& son)! Thank you.
Thanks, Eli!
My Dad bought me the 500 plane ticket I need to fly to LA with a friend in 1984. he was raising 9 kids on one salary at the time but still found money to let me have a trip with a middle school friend. what a guy.
Nine kids! And he thought about what you might want badly in the moment and not just need. It's the quotidian stuff we often remember most. Thanks for sharing that story.....
What a great piece, Jon! It brings Jim (my "dad" for one year) so very much back to life for me. Jim - the nonconformist - with so much to say, a big heart and a very clear moral compass in his life. He was probably 20+ years ahead of his time and was capable of treading these new paths in breeze. I loved your "husband-/father-of" sentence because it tells you much about his unpretentious way of going about.
Thanks for checking in, Matthias. He was definitely ahead of his time in many ways.