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Beer In Ads #4462: Miss Rheingold 1958 Peeks At The Past

June 8, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Thursday’s ad is for “Rheingold Beer,” from 1958. This ad was made for the Rheingold Brewery, which was founded by the Liebmann family in 1883 in New York, New York. At its peak, it sold 35% of all the beer in New York state. In 1963, the family sold the brewery and in was shut down in 1976. In 1940, Philip Liebmann, great-grandson of the founder, Samuel Liebmann, started the “Miss Rheingold” pageant as the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The winning model was then featured in at least twelve monthly advertisements for the brewery, beginning in 1940 and ending in 1965. Beginning in 1941, the selection of next year’s Miss Rheingold was instituted and became wildly popular in the New York Area. Miss Rheingold 1958 was Madelyn Darrow, who came from a prominent Hollywood family. Her father was motion picture landscape artist and her mother had been a silent screen actress. She was the youngest of three daughters, and her sister Barbara Darrow was a B-Movie star, mostly with RKO. After graduating from Hollywood High, she became a cover model and landed a small part in the film “Guys and Dolls” in 1955 and the following year in “The Ten Commandments.” But her career as an actress was slowing, so she moved to New York for modeling work, and was elected Miss Rheingold shortly thereafter. After her Rheingold year, she married tennis star Pancho Gonzales and they had there daughters together, divorcing in 1968, remarrying in 1970, but divorcing again the following year. She stayed in California for the remainder of her life, staying out of the public eye, until she passed away in 2015. This ad, from late October, Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow, is about to board a horse-drawn stagecoach. At first I thought she might be visiting Westworld, but that won’t be written for fifteen years. Instead she’s traveling back in time to 1837, the year the telegraph was introduced, and so was Rheingold beer. As Darrow says. “For a peek at the past, partner, travel by stage!”

And below is the same in the full page layout.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Rheingold

Historic Beer Birthday: Pedro Rodenbach

June 8, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

rodenbach-logo
Today is the birthday of Pedro Rodenbach (June 8, 1794-January 20, 1848). He was a military officer and fought in the Battle of Waterloo. When he left the army in 1818, he married a brewer’s daughter, Regina Wauters, who was from Mechelen in Belgium. After Pedro’s father died, he and his brothers, Alexander, Ferdinand and Constantijn, bought a brewery in Roeselare. When their agreed-upon partnership ended after fifteen years, Pedro and Regina bought them out. It was originally called Brasserie et Malterie Saint-Georges, but later became known as Brouwerij Rodenbach.

Pedro_Rodenbach_001

This is a translation of his Dutch Wikipedia page:

Pedro Rodenbach was the youngest brother of Alexander and Constantin Rodenbach. Like his older brothers Ferdinand Constantin and he enlisted in the French army. He joined there in February 1811 as a volunteer the Imperial Guard. He made the disastrous Russian campaign note (1812), and was second lieutenant in the 14th regiment of cuirassiers under in March 1813 Colonel About that last action came during the Battle of Leipzig (1813). Back in Belgium, he joined as a lieutenant (Belgian) carabineers, which were integrated into the Dutch army and battled in the Battle of Waterloo (1815).

Rodenbach took in 1818 resigned from the army. He married that year in Mechelen Regina Wauters, a rich brewer’s daughter. After the death of his father in 1820 he began working with his brothers Alexander and Ferdinand and his sister a company which included a distillery and a brewery.

In preparation for the Belgian revolution made by Pedro name to King William I to hand over a petition in June 1829, drawn up by his brother Alexander, the release of Louis de Potter and other political prisoners. At the outbreak of the revolution he was in the front row, he founded the “Reunion Central”, a revolutionary club including Rogier, Chazal and Ducpétiaux. He took charge of a company of volunteers, and drove at the September day gallop to Lille to the exiled Louis de Potter back to Brussels to accompany.

Pedro Rodenbach joined the new Belgian army as a colonel and was tasked to organize the 1st regiment of hunters on horseback. From August 1831 to February 1839 he was the military commander instead of Brussels.

In 1836 he bought the fortune of his wife Regina, his brothers share in the joint venture over. It was renamed Brasserie et Malterie Saint-Georges, later known as Brouwerij Rodenbach. However, he continued to live in Brussels, after his discharge from active military service in June 1839, and the effective management of the company was owned by his wife in Roeselare.

rodenbgeschonder

And this is the history currently on the brewery website:

The Rodenbachs moved from Andernach am Rhein to Roeselare in West Flanders. The Rodenbach line boasted numerous military men, poets, writers, brewers and entrepreneurs, as well as pragmatic revolutionaries and politicians.

Pedro Rodenbach took part in Napoleon’s Russian campaign and was instrumental in the Belgian revolution in 1830, which led to an independent Belgium. Three Rodenbachs were members of the constitutional congress when Belgium was founded. Constantijn Rodenbach was the author of the “Brabançonne”, the Belgian national anthem.

In 1836, Pedro Rodenbach, together with his entrepreneurial wife Regina Wauters, founded the brewery. However, it is Eugène Rodenbach whom RODENBACH has to thank for its unique quality and masterful character. Not only did he study the vinification of beer, but also optimised the maturation process in oak casks, or “foeders” (maturation casks). The world-renowned cask halls with their 294 oak casks, some of which are 150 years old, are protected as part of the industrial heritage of the Flemish Community.

rodenbach-time

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: Belgium, History

Historic Beer Birthday: Johann George Moerlein

June 8, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Johann George Moerlein, who went by “George” (June 8, 1852-August 31, 1891). He was the son of Christian Moerlein, who founded the Christian Moerlein Brewery in 1853, when his son was one year old. He later joined the firm and was the vice-president at the time of his untimely death at 39.

And while he was obviously involved in the family business for all of his life, he’s perhaps more well-known for something else.

Christian-Moerlein-Beer1890

In 1884, he “got the idea to take a trip around the world. Ten days later he was on his way to traveling a total distance of 35,194 miles by railroad and steamer. Throughout his trip, Moerlein wrote letters documenting his journey which were published in the local papers, The Commercial Gazette and the Volksblatt. The Krebs Lithographing Company of Cincinnati created 110 color illustrations, chosen from a collection of over 800 original pictures gathered during Moerlein’s travels. In 1886 George Moerlein’s “A Trip Around the World” was published.”

George Moerlein (seated) in India.

While having little to with their brewery, the book is still fascinating. Here’s a few more of the illustrations from it:

Singapore.
Constantinople.
Japan.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio, Travel

Beer In Ads #4461: Miss Rheingold 1958 At The Football Game

June 7, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Wednesday’s ad is for “Rheingold Beer,” from 1958. This ad was made for the Rheingold Brewery, which was founded by the Liebmann family in 1883 in New York, New York. At its peak, it sold 35% of all the beer in New York state. In 1963, the family sold the brewery and in was shut down in 1976. In 1940, Philip Liebmann, great-grandson of the founder, Samuel Liebmann, started the “Miss Rheingold” pageant as the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The winning model was then featured in at least twelve monthly advertisements for the brewery, beginning in 1940 and ending in 1965. Beginning in 1941, the selection of next year’s Miss Rheingold was instituted and became wildly popular in the New York Area. Miss Rheingold 1958 was Madelyn Darrow, who came from a prominent Hollywood family. Her father was motion picture landscape artist and her mother had been a silent screen actress. She was the youngest of three daughters, and her sister Barbara Darrow was a B-Movie star, mostly with RKO. After graduating from Hollywood High, she became a cover model and landed a small part in the film “Guys and Dolls” in 1955 and the following year in “The Ten Commandments.” But her career as an actress was slowing, so she moved to New York for modeling work, and was elected Miss Rheingold shortly thereafter. After her Rheingold year, she married tennis star Pancho Gonzales and they had there daughters together, divorcing in 1968, remarrying in 1970, but divorcing again the following year. She stayed in California for the remainder of her life, staying out of the public eye, until she passed away in 2015. This ad, from October, Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow, is tailgating before a football game, though that’s some pretty fancy tailgating. He’s got a plat and is using a fork, while she has a bowl of something with probably a spoon.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Rheingold

Beer In Ads #4459: Miss Rheingold 1958 Plays Tennis

June 5, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Monday’s ad is for “Rheingold Beer,” from 1958. This ad was made for the Rheingold Brewery, which was founded by the Liebmann family in 1883 in New York, New York. At its peak, it sold 35% of all the beer in New York state. In 1963, the family sold the brewery and in was shut down in 1976. In 1940, Philip Liebmann, great-grandson of the founder, Samuel Liebmann, started the “Miss Rheingold” pageant as the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The winning model was then featured in at least twelve monthly advertisements for the brewery, beginning in 1940 and ending in 1965. Beginning in 1941, the selection of next year’s Miss Rheingold was instituted and became wildly popular in the New York Area. Miss Rheingold 1958 was Madelyn Darrow, who came from a prominent Hollywood family. Her father was motion picture landscape artist and her mother had been a silent screen actress. She was the youngest of three daughters, and her sister Barbara Darrow was a B-Movie star, mostly with RKO. After graduating from Hollywood High, she became a cover model and landed a small part in the film “Guys and Dolls” in 1955 and the following year in “The Ten Commandments.” But her career as an actress was slowing, so she moved to New York for modeling work, and was elected Miss Rheingold shortly thereafter. After her Rheingold year, she married tennis star Pancho Gonzales and they had there daughters together, divorcing in 1968, remarrying in 1970, but divorcing again the following year. She stayed in California for the remainder of her life, staying out of the public eye, until she passed away in 2015. This ad, from September, Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow, is playing doubles tennis, though I’m not sure who her partner was. Given that she later married Pancho Gonzales, I suspect she may have been at least an okay tennis player in real life.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Rheingold, Sports

Beer In Ads #4458: Miss Rheingold 1958 Has Half The Work And Twice The Fun

June 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Sunday’s ad is for “Rheingold Beer,” from 1958. This ad was made for the Rheingold Brewery, which was founded by the Liebmann family in 1883 in New York, New York. At its peak, it sold 35% of all the beer in New York state. In 1963, the family sold the brewery and in was shut down in 1976. In 1940, Philip Liebmann, great-grandson of the founder, Samuel Liebmann, started the “Miss Rheingold” pageant as the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The winning model was then featured in at least twelve monthly advertisements for the brewery, beginning in 1940 and ending in 1965. Beginning in 1941, the selection of next year’s Miss Rheingold was instituted and became wildly popular in the New York Area. Miss Rheingold 1958 was Madelyn Darrow, who came from a prominent Hollywood family. Her father was motion picture landscape artist and her mother had been a silent screen actress. She was the youngest of three daughters, and her sister Barbara Darrow was a B-Movie star, mostly with RKO. After graduating from Hollywood High, she became a cover model and landed a small part in the film “Guys and Dolls” in 1955 and the following year in “The Ten Commandments.” But her career as an actress was slowing, so she moved to New York for modeling work, and was elected Miss Rheingold shortly thereafter. After her Rheingold year, she married tennis star Pancho Gonzales and they had there daughters together, divorcing in 1968, remarrying in 1970, but divorcing again the following year. She stayed in California for the remainder of her life, staying out of the public eye, until she passed away in 2015. This ad, from September, Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow, is playing doubles tennis, though I’m not sure who her partner was. Given that she later married Pancho Gonzales, I suspect she may have been at least an okay tennis player in real life.

And below is the sam ad in the full-page layout.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Rheingold

Historic Beer Birthday: Frank Leonard Eppig

June 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

eppig
Today is the birthday of Frank Leonard Eppig (June 4, 1864-February 11, 1923). He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the son of Leonard or Leonhard Eppig, who owned the Leonard Eppig Brewing Co., but traded under the name Germania Brewery. When his father died, his sons, including Frank as president, continued running the brewery until it was closed down by prohibition in 1920. Frank died in 1923, but the rest of the remaining family reopened the brewery after repeal, but in 1935 sold it to George Ehret Brewery.

zimmermans-salooon-1877
Zimmerman’s Saloon, located at the corner of Graham Ave and Moore Street, in Williamsburg, New York, in 1877, advertising that they carried Leonard Eppig beer.

I’ve been unablt to find any photos of Frank, or much information, but this is Eppig’s obituary from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, for February 13, 1923:

Eppig-obit

Leonhard_Eppig_Brewery_Poster_Historic

Recently, a descendant of the Eppig family opened a craft brewery in San Diego, which they named Eppig Brewing, and included this infographic in their website:

eppig-history-infographic

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, New York

Historic Beer Birthday: David & Louis Kuntz

June 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

kuntz
Today is the birthdays of both David Kuntz (June 4, 1819-July 11, 1892) and Louis Kuntz (June 4, 1852-October 8, 1891). David Kuntz was born in Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany, but moved to Waterloo City in Ontario, Canada, opening the Spring Brewery in 1844, though it was later renamed the Louis Kuntz Park Brewery. His son, Ludwig “Louis” Kuntz was born in Waterloo, Ontario, and work with his father at the family brewery, though passed away a year before his father, and the business passed to David’s grandson, and Louis’ son, David C. Kuntz. Shortly after David C’ Kuntz’s passing, in 1930, Canadian Breweries Limited, which had originally been “named Brewing Corporation of Ontario,” was created “by merging The Brading Breweries Limited, an Ottawa company Taylor had inherited from his grandfather, Capital Brewing of Ottawa, and Kuntz Brewery of Waterloo, Ontario.” In 1977 Carling Brewery was purchased by Labatt Breweries of London, but the Waterloo plant was closed by 1993 and all the buildings on the site had been demolished.

david-t-kuntz     louis-kuntz-icon
David & his son Louis.

David Kuntz was a pioneer brewer who helped establish Waterloo as a centre for quality beer making by undertaking every aspect of the business himself. It is written that Kuntz, a cooper as well as a brewer from Germany, made the barrels himself, brewed the beer, and actually made the bricks for the brewery he eventually built. In the 1830s, Kuntz brewed his beer in an old wooden washtub during the day and made his way around the county at night, selling it from a wheelbarrow. He hid his cash from the beer sales in an empty keg to avoid being robbed. By the early 1840s, Kuntz had enough capital to purchase a brewery hotel from Christopher Huether. The building still stands at the corner of King and Princess Streets and is now known as the Huether Hotel and Lion Brewery.

The 1861 census shows that Kuntz, aged 41, used 3,000 bushels of barley and 1,000 bushels of hops that year at a value of $1,700. He produced 12,000 gallons of beer, valued at $2,400. The pioneer, who had emigrated from Wiesbaden, Germany, now had two male employees who were each paid a monthly salary of $36. He also had one female employee who was paid $11.50 a month. The enumerator, who recorded the census information, commented that Kuntz made “the best beer in the country as far as the judgment of the Enumerator extends. The Brewery, Cellars, and House are of first quality.”

On a personal note, the census shows he was married to Magdelina, twenty-eight, who was also from Germany. At that time, they had four children – Ludwig, Henry, Catherine and Charles between the ages of two and eight. The couple went on to have thirteen children.

david-kuntz

The Kuntz family lived in a two-story brick house and had two “pleasure carriages,” along with four horses, twelve cows and twelve pigs. The value of the animals was $560. His new brewery prospered and was called Spring Brewery because it used water from a spring on the property. In the early 1870s, his son Louis took over, renaming it L. Kuntz’s Park Brewery. Louis Kuntz, who was married to Theresa Bauer, died at a young age in the early 1890s, forcing his brothers-in-law Frank and Aloyes Bauer, to take over operations. At the time of his death, his own three sons were still children. In 1910, Louis Kuntz’s sons were old enough to take over the brewery and David Jr. became president, incorporating the business and calling it Kuntz Brewery Ltd. His brothers William and Herbert were also involved in the business. David Kuntz Sr. had
died in 1897.

kuntz-park-brewery-workers-1894
Employees of the Kuntz brewery in 1894. I suspect one of the mustacheo’d gentlemen may be Louis, but I’m not sure which one.

By the time of the First World War, the Kuntz Brewery was selling 90,000 barrels of beer every year and, in Ontario, was second in popularity only to Toronto’s O’Keefe brew. The Kuntz family also owned hotels including the Alexandra House in Waterloo, and the Opera House in Hamilton. After years of prohibition, the Kuntz family was dealt a fatal blow when the federal government won a tax suit valued at $200,000. By October, Toronto’s beer magnate E.P. Taylor took control of the million dollar plant for the price of simply paying the suit. In 1936, Carling Breweries Ltd. of London, Ontario joined Kuntz, calling the business Carling-Kuntz Brewery Ltd. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the name Kuntz was dropped for sounding “too German” along with the well-loved brews Culmbacher, Bohemian and Olde German Lager. In the mid-1970s it became Carling O’Keefe and a few years later the business was sold to Labatt Breweries of London.

The Labatt brewery in Waterloo was demolished in 1993, but the Kuntz beer that started out in an old washtub, will be remembered by some as “the beer that made Waterloo famous.”

Kuntz-Brewery-postcard-lg

This is from “Brewed in Canada: The Untold Story of Canada’s 350-year-old Brewing Industry,” by Allen Winn Sneath:

kuntz-brewed-in-canada

kuntz-brewery-illustration

And this account, written in 2016, is by Rych Mills for the Waterloo Region Record:

No one alive can remember the taste of “Old German Lager” from Kuntz Spring Brewery (I don’t mean the 1988 re-brew by Labatt). Nonetheless, Kuntz fascination continues and its ephemera are fervently sought by brewerianists — collectors of brewery items.

In the 1830s, while still a teenager, David Kuntz came with older brother Jacob from the German Duchy of Nassau. After a few years working as coopers in Doon, they moved north to slightly larger Waterloo, which boasted maybe 200 inhabitants.

A much-quoted anecdote says David made the bricks that helped build his first brewery; made the barrels that contained the beer; and made the wheelbarrow that helped him deliver the beer.

David and Jacob’s initial brewing began around mid-century on Princess Street at the rear of Wilhelm Rebscher’s original Waterloo brewery (now the Huether Hotel site). They next built a small malting building near Erb and Queen (later renamed Regina) behind Bowman’s Hotel. Then, in the early 1860s, the brothers began constructing a full brewery at King and William streets. A fine flowing spring lured them to that corner and by 1865 the new brewery was in full production using hops and barley the brothers grew themselves. They named it Kuntz Spring Brewery. Jacob Kuntz soon expanded the Kuntz brewing empire; he moved to Carlsruhe, opened Lion Brewery and thus helped to begin Bruce County’s brewing industry.

David Kuntz seems the type of entrepreneur who is never fulfilled. In 1870, aged 50, he turned the business over to son Louis who renamed it L. Kuntz Park Brewery, using the decorative green space in front of the brewery as the company’s trademark. In the meantime, David briefly moved to Hamilton to set up son Henry’s Dominion Brewery.

Returning to Waterloo, David kept busy. He served on council during 1876 when the village became a town and erected a modern hotel, the Alexandra House, kitty-corner from the brewery.

Louis Kuntz died, aged 39, following an appendectomy in 1891. His children were still young so brother-in-law Frank Bauer, also a brewer, took over. Then David Kuntz died in 1892. Bauer’s own 1895 passing began an almost unbelievable sequence of deaths in the brewery’s management. However, business success continued and in 1910 David Kuntz Jr., Louis’ son, took over. He also died young, 38, in 1915 so his two brothers, Herbert and William stepped in.

The First World War, Prohibition and a huge 1929 lawsuit loss resulted in the Kuntz name starting to fade from the brewing business.

E.P. Taylor bought the struggling firm in 1929, wrapping it into his brewing empire. During the Depression, the name changed from Kuntz Breweries to Kuntz-Carling to Carling-Kuntz and finally, during the Second World War, to just Carling. The brewing site at King and William later operated under the O’Keefe and Labatt banners.

What remains of the Kuntz legacy?

For nostalgists, highly collectible Kuntz beer trays, bottles, bottle caps, labels, advertising, Kuntz 1920s soft drink bottles, etc. Two Waterloo houses built by David are historically designated: the 1880 Kuntz-Eckert House at 156 King St. S. and the 1885 Kuntz-Labatt House at 167. In southeast Waterloo, Kuntz sounds echo daily through the neighbourhood — one of the 1902 bells at St. Louis Roman Catholic Church is a bequest from David’s will and is named Magdalena for his wife.

A myth surrounding the Kuntz early years claims streets such as Caroline, William, Mary and John were named after David’s children. A nice idea but those names appear on a map published in 1855 before all but two of the Kuntz children were born. In addition, David and Magdalena did not have children named William, Mary or John.

However, from the couple’s dozen-plus children, a large clan of Kuntz family members still lives in Waterloo Region. The Kuntz name in business carries on with Kuntz Electroplating (KEI) started in 1948 by Oscar Kuntz, son of David Jr. and great-grandson of David.

kuntz-old-german-lager

kuntz-olde-tavern-ale

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Canada, Germany, History, Ontario

Beer In Ads #4457: Miss Rheingold 1958 Goes Water Skiing

June 3, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Saturday’s ad is for “Rheingold Beer,” from 1958. This ad was made for the Rheingold Brewery, which was founded by the Liebmann family in 1883 in New York, New York. At its peak, it sold 35% of all the beer in New York state. In 1963, the family sold the brewery and in was shut down in 1976. In 1940, Philip Liebmann, great-grandson of the founder, Samuel Liebmann, started the “Miss Rheingold” pageant as the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The winning model was then featured in at least twelve monthly advertisements for the brewery, beginning in 1940 and ending in 1965. Beginning in 1941, the selection of next year’s Miss Rheingold was instituted and became wildly popular in the New York Area. Miss Rheingold 1958 was Madelyn Darrow, who came from a prominent Hollywood family. Her father was motion picture landscape artist and her mother had been a silent screen actress. She was the youngest of three daughters, and her sister Barbara Darrow was a B-Movie star, mostly with RKO. After graduating from Hollywood High, she became a cover model and landed a small part in the film “Guys and Dolls” in 1955 and the following year in “The Ten Commandments.” But her career as an actress was slowing, so she moved to New York for modeling work, and was elected Miss Rheingold shortly thereafter. After her Rheingold year, she married tennis star Pancho Gonzales and they had there daughters together, divorcing in 1968, remarrying in 1970, but divorcing again the following year. She remained in California for the remainder of her life, staying out of the public eye, until she passed away in 2015. This ad, from August, Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow, is water skiing on what appears to be a lake.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Rheingold

Historic Beer Birthday: Emil G. Sick

June 3, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

emil-sick
Today is the birthday of Emil George Sick (June 3, 1894-November 10, 1964). Sick was the “son of Canadian brewer Fritz Sick, who built Sick’s Lethbridge Brewery.”

“He was a brewing worker and industrialist in Canada and later the US. He is well known for his involvement as owner of baseball teams and stadiums in Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia from the 1930s until 1960.

He was chairman of the board of Sick’s Rainier Brewing Company and president of Sicks’ Brewery Enterprises, Inc., both of Seattle, and a director of three other firms, Molson’s Brewery, Ltd., and Sicks’ Breweries, Ltd., both of Canada, and the Peoples National Bank of Washington. He also was a director of the Seattle World’s Fair.”

emil-sick-cigar

Here’s a short biography from Find a Grave:

Sportsman. Northwest baseball pioneer. Former owner of the Pacific Coast League’s Seattle Rainiers. He constructed Sick’s Seattle Stadium which opened in June 1938 and served as home to the Seattle Rainiers, Seattle Angels and the 1969 major league Seattle Pilots. He rose to prominence in the brewing industry along with his father Fritz, operating breweries in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Great Falls, Spokane and the Rainier Brewery in Seattle. Active in civic affairs, he served as president of both the Seattle Historical Society and Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He was also instrumental in the founding of the King County Blood Bank and as chairman of the Washington State March of Dimes.

“In 1934 the Sicks made their most important transaction. It would transform Emil Sick into one of Seattle’s most significant citizens and impact the game of baseball in the state for decades. They acquired exclusive rights to sell the Rainier brand in Washington and Alaska from the Rainier Brewing Company of San Francisco.”

Rainier-Special-Export-Beer-Labels-Sicks-Spokane-Brewery-Inc

And this is his obituary from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on November 11, 1964, as posted on the Brewery Gems page about Emil.

Emil G. Sick, 70, long-time Seattle civic and business leader, died early yesterday morning in Swedish Hospital of a stroke following an operation. Mr. Sick had been in failing health recently but had continued to take an active part in his numerous and varied business interests in, the United States and Canada.

He was chairman of the board of Sick’s Rainier Brewing Co. and president of Sicks’ Brewery Enterprises, Inc., both of Seattle, and a director of three other firms, Molson’s Brewery, Ltd., and Sicks’ Breweries, Ltd., both of Canada, and the Peoples National Bank of Washington. He also was a director of the Seattle World’s Fair.

Mr. Sick was equally well known for his leadership in civic activities. He led two successful $100,000 fund raising drives. One played a leading role in saving St. Mark’s Cathedral. As chairman of the non – denominational committee, he saw $100,000 collected to wipe out the church’s debts and beautify the picturesque building.

As president of the Seattle Historical Society, Mr. Sick led the drive which collected $100,000 for construction of the Museum of History and Industry.

Mr. Sick was a long-time leader of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president in 1941. Thirteen, years later he was elected an honorary life-time member.

Mr. Sick entered the brewery business as a shipping clerk with Lethbridge Breweries, Ltd., in Alberta, Canada, which was founded and owned by his father.

In the following years he headed numerous corporations which operated breweries in Spokane; Salem, Ore.; Missoula and Great Falls, Mont.; Vancouver, B.C.; Edmonton and Lethbridge, Alta., and Prince Albert and Regina, Sask. Some of these later were closed or sold.

In 1937, Mr. Sick purchased the Seattle Rainier baseball club and a year later built the stadium which bears his name. The club was sold in 1960. He also was past state chairman of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and was a founder of the King County Central Blood Bank.

In 1949, Mr. Sick became the first Washingtonian to be named for the Disabled American’s Veteran’s award for outstanding civic leadership. And he was named Greater Seattle’s First Citizen in Sports for 1963.

Mr. Sick was born June 3, 1894, in Tacoma. He attended Western Canada College, Calgary, and Stanford University. He resided at 260-39th Ave. E.

He married Kathleen Thelma McPhee in 1918. She died in 1962, and last December he married Mrs. Martha Gardner, widow of a Seattle business leader.

Survivors include his wife, Martha; sister, Mrs. J. A. Blair, Vancouver, B.C.; three daughters, Mrs. Chandler Thomas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Mrs. Robert Minton, Concord, Mass.; and Mrs. Winston Ingman, Mercer Island; a son, Timothy Sick, London, England; an adopted son, Alan Ferguson, Seattle, and 16 grandchildren.”

emil-george-sick

Sicks-Select-Beer-Labels-Seattle-Brewing--Malting-Co

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: Canada, History, Seattle, Washington

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Next Session: Dec. 7, 2018
#142: One More for the Road
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