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Survey Reveals 86 Pratt Read & Co. Employees
Aggregate 3,176 Years of Active Service
A recent review of the personnel rec-
ords of Pratt. Read & Co., Inc., Ivory-
ton, Conn., shows that 86 factory em-
ployees have worked for this oldest
and largest of the piano supply houses
On Sundays they would get on their
bicycles and ride to one of the shore
towns over the dirt roads which were
rutted by the many horse-drawn ve-
hicles. At that time Pratt, Read used
River plants each morning.
Not to be too far outdone by the fac-
tory help, the office personnel numbers
11 individuals who have worked for
the company 25 years or more. The
veteran, with 53 years behind him, is
Edward M. Hilley. Purchasing Agent,
and former manager of the Comstock-
Cheney baseball team which was one of
the outstanding semi-pro units in Con-
necticut during the early days of the
century.
HART
(Continued from page 24)
6—The first triad is made up of the
first, third and fifth tones of the
scale.
Another reason for the employment
of the augmented fifth is, we have es-
tablished through its use that A b can
be joined with the Key of C, i.e., A b
C and FA
Counting eight halftones instead of
nine, we have another major fifth, as
an additional proof for further tests.
{To be continued)
JAMfci, A. o O U L D ( C E N T E R ) P R E S I D E N T OF P R A T T , READ & CO., I V O R Y T O N , CONN.
S U R R O U N D E D BY S E V E R A L OF T H E OLDEST E M P L O Y E E S OF T H E COMPANY I N -
C L U D I N G A T HIS R I G H T ERIC CARLBERG. 87. W H O HAS BEEN W I T H T H E COMPANY
63 YEARS.
a total of 3.176 years. All the individ-
uals making up this impressive total
have been on the payroll for 25 years
or better.
Heading the list is Asa Gilbert who
entered the company's employ on April
3rd. 1888. This hardy individual still
turns in a good eight hours' work each
day and operates one of the "sticker"
molding machines in the action mold-
ing department.
Mr. Gilbert is closely followed in
seniority by Eric Carlberg who came to
work for the Ivoryton firm in Novem-
ber of the same year. Like Mr. Gilbert,
Mr. Carlberg enjoys good health and
hardly ever misses a day at his job of
packing the keyboards which go out to
the leading piano and organ manufac-
turers in this country and abroad. Two
other workers have also completed over
60 years of continuous service.
The fondest remembrances of these
oldtimers is the bicycle rides they used
to make into the country on weekends.
Most of the young men in those days
lived in boarding houses near the fac-
tory and worked long hours with little
chance for relaxation during the week.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MAY, 1952
to provide sheds for the horses of those
that drove to work and a horse-drawn
bus used to bring the workers from
nearby Essex to the Ivoryton and Deep
Ralph D. Janney
Ralph D. Janney, at one time con-
nected with Wm. Knabe & Co., New
York and later head of the Janney-
Bowman Inc.. Detroit. Mich, passed
away in Cincinnati on May 13th at the
age of 63. At the time of his death he
was Federal Area Rent Director in the
Cincinnati area. He went to Cincinnati
from Cleveland where he had been in
the Regional Office of Price Administra-
tion. When in the piano business Mr.
Janney married the daughter of the late
Albert Behning who passed away sud-
denly soon after their marriage.
Wurlitzer Executives Address NAPT
Members At Grand Rapids, Mich.
SEEN IN THE ABOVE PHOTO: JOE DAURER, GEORGE GROOT, RICHARD GROOT, ROY
CHIPMAN C. M. COOPER WM. BORGMAN, MARTIN KOLKMAN, P. DATEMA, DAVID
DEJONG, PERCY LUNDBERG, SPENCE SWANBUM, LEE DePREE, JOE WARNERS,
GEORGE SNYDER AND A. M. CRAWFORD.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., Division
of the National Association of Piano
Tuners recently held a highly construc-
tive meeting in the store of Leon Becker
Piano and Organ Co. of that city. Percy
Lundberg. Chief Inspector of Wurlitzer
Co. was the main speaker and demon-
strator for the evening. Joe Daurer,
Wurlitzer Adv. Manager, was moderator
and Spence Swanbum, demonstrator.
25