Jeff Allen: On Al as a businessman

(Al's Avid picture)
(Marcie says this shot reminds her of LaLa--I'm not sure--but what a SHOT!)

Dad the Businessman……Jeff

I had the great privilege of working for and with my Dad at Avid Corporation from 1971 to 1981, and got the opportunity to see what made him so successful. He was truly an outstanding leader and business person.

First, he always had the confidence that he would succeed and the intelligence and focus to do so.

Secondly, he had the drive to do so. After getting tossed out of the College William and Mary in 1938 for bad grades and spending a summer recovering from the back that he had injured playing football there, Dad didn't have a choice. He needed to find a job, but more than that he wanted to prove himself. Getting married and having so many children at an early age, just reinforce his need and the drive to succeed.

Next, he got the right experiences early in his working career to prepare him for the challenges of running a successful business later on. The unbelievable challenges of running the M&A Manufacturing company with his older brother Miner at the age of 25, then his experiences with DuMont television prepared him well.

All the above made him willing to take a chance on starting a business.

He always thought big, not small.

He had great people skills. He would let people attack problems their own way, run their own show, thereby gaining their commitment to the job and their loyalty to him and the company.

Really cared about his employees.

He liked to have fun on the job and kept things light.

He was unpretentious and didn't have to be the center of attention.

A person of great integrity. Honest and straightforward.

And finally, perhaps most of all, he was an suberb entrepreneur. Consider the Amana plan, Moodmaster, Allencraft, Travelab, the Aviddesk, and all the innovative ideas he had in passenger entertainment.

Dad was a wonderful model for me and I miss him greatly.

For a timeline summary of his work career, look on the right side of this webblog.

Below please find a testimonial from one of Al's most loyal employees

My Memories of Mr. Allen
Claudia Goglia

It was the spring of 1968 and I was graduating from Bristol High School. I was 18 years of age and beginning my career at Avid Corporation. In my initial role, I served as Secretary to the Director of Engineering. Soon thereafter, Mr. Allen's secretary had left for maternity leave. I can still remember the day when he called me into his office and asked if I would like to work for him. I was so pleased to be offered the opportunity of working for such a fine man who was Chairman of the Board.

As the years passed by, I had the extreme pleasure of knowing this man not only as my boss, but also as my friend. I admired Mr. Allen greatly and had the utmost respect for the way he conducted business, as well as the fine manner in which he treated people. He was such a kind-hearted and generous man to so many and he was highly respected by all who knew him. He was a wonderful employer!

Through those many years, I also had the pleasure of knowing his family whom he loved so much, and I remember how pleased he was when Jeff joined Avid.

Mr. Allen was an extraordinary man and I have never forgotten that time in my life so many years ago. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends and he will forever hold a very special place in my heart!

Marcie: Al and dancing

Father loved to dance with this beautiful Rosemary, and suffered with the lack of 'swing ' of some his other relatives. But he and Freddy showed their grace and charm at many a event, leading their lucky partners around the dance floor. He loved the music of his period, had a wonderful whistle and an easy baritone to share many of his favorite tunes.

One of my favorite of his family stories was how his mother tried to give he and Miner singing lessons with "Aunt Cotty", Madame Cotrelli, with he and Miner both working to be as uncooperative as possible. The formal lessons ended!

-Marcie

Al and Politics!

I think that if Al could have lived his life over again he might have chosen the movies or politics as a career. He told me many times about the invitations he received to go to Hollywood to become an actor, as well as the many people who urged him to go into politics. Al said he decided against the movies because he had fallen in love with Roie. And he wasn't cut out for politics, he told me, because he wouldn't be able to tell the truth. He said he learned this while serving as an advisor to then Governor John Chafee. Whenever Al would offer his advice about what Governor Chafee's position should be on a given topic, the other members of the campaign would tell him, "You can't say that, you have to say what the people want to hear."

With John Chaffee, in 1964 while working on his Travel Lab Tour Business, Chaffee would soon move from being Rhode Island Governor to being one of America's best independent and moderate Senators.


Despite this view of politics and politicians, Al was very interested in the process and always remained engaged in some manner, be it as a campaign donnor or by encouraging others to get involved. I remember once meeting US Representative Claudine Schneider while working as a volunteer at a call center for her campaign for the Senate. To my surprise when she asked my name she asked if I was related to Al Allen of Barrington. When I told her he was my grandfather, she exclaimed, "Oh, I love Mr. Allen!"

Al's interest in politics started young. He wrote to his grandchildren about how he first became interested after the death of President Harding:

"It was the summer of 1922. Mother took my sister Erma and I to visit Aunt Lucille in California. President Harding had just died of complications from pneumonia after an Alaskan hunting trip. A cross country funeral train would leave San Francisco in three days. Mother needed to be there.

"The only transportation to the six a.m. departure was Aunt Lucille’s heavy new Studebaker, and this was long before the days of power steering. Aunt Lucille had no desire to wake so early in the morning to watch a funeral train. She was even less thrilled about the idea of her sister driving her brand new automobile. After an afternoon of bickering, Aunt Lucille agreed she would let Mother take the car if Mother could prove she could handle the heavy Studebaker. Mother drove around the block, turned into the driveway and made it-just barely.

"Early the next day, Mother, Erma and I were off to see the President’s funeral train begin its slow journey. It was pitch black when we left San Mateo for the railway station. I was six years old, standing on a long, wooden platform in the pre-dawn, pacific cold. Finally, incandescent lights pierced the darkness in the thick, rolling fog. The engine’s search light pierced through the mist.

"The huge steam locomotive, draped in American flags, slowly emerged from the fog. The deep rhythmic sound of the boilers played an eerie dirge for our country’s twentieth president who was beginning his final ride home.

"It was important for Mother to witness President Harding’s departure. Mother loved history and she loved politics. She had never even finished eighth grade, choosing instead to help her mother care for the younger children, but she had a keen, analytical mind and was a voracious reader I’ve always said that she was as knowledgeable about United States history as any professor I ever had; if not more. And she was instinctively drawn to politics. Mother was very active in local government in our home state of Ohio, working on suffrage and helping to elect the nation’s first woman federal judge. The pull of politics, for Mother, was inevitable, for she also felt a strong sense of duty and was the epitome of good citizenship."

In later years Al urged his grandchildren to become involved in politics in order to improve the country and the world we lived. He said, "Mother taught me early and she taught me well. You do not take a back seat when it comes to your country’s future... Join any of the major parties- Democratic, Republican, Ralph Nadir, Libertarian and others. Work at it. You will find you are needed and it will be surprisingly easy for you to make a difference... If you do not get involved, I do not think you have the right to complain, because you are the government."

Here's Al with first President George Bush, "the good one," in 1990. I think he got this picture thanks to donations to his campaign??

Al the Prankster

Al loved humor, and jokes, and most of all, pranks. Humor was one thread that ran throughout his entire life, from childhood to the very end.

Though as Dottie notes, he didn't really like jokes, as much as he really loved pranks.

I'll start with one from my High School graduation of all things, from Tabor Academy. After the speeches and conferring of degrees, everyone headed outside onto the lawn. Al wasn't content with the usual ceremony and post-graduation hugs. Instead he started going around to other families that were gathering to take pictures and inserting himself into group as they took a photograph--pretending to be part of the family for a group of people he had never met!! Of course, this included certain girls I 'liked,' and was very embarrassing I felt, but years later whenever I ran into someone from high school they would laugh about how my there was this strange unknown grandfather in their high school graduation photos! Everyone loved it.

Another of my favorite testaments to Al's remarkable sense of humor. Al couldn't just leave, he had to make an EXIT. So with Bo for support, Al stood on the porch to make a dramatic waving to the crowd exit. Only, everytime the crowd gathered under him, he quickly use Bo to sprint to another side of the porch and start waving! By the time the adoring masses regrouped under the other side of the porch, he'd be off again to another spot. Eventually he snuck right off the stage and into his waiting car, dissapearing and leaving the crowd (us!) wishing for more.

-Pete

The big-voiced referee
What made Al such a great prankster was his multiple methods of attack. Most of the posts so far have demonstrated his ability to plan and carry out his pranks over long periods of time. But he also had a keen sense of the moment and could pull a prank extemporaneously as well. The best evidence I have of this was the one he played on Roie at Thanksgiving in the early 80s. After dinner we had all retired to the front room at 482 Washington Rd to watch the late football game. At some point Roie came in to sit with the guys. During this time a few penalties occured and each time the play stopped the referee would come to the center of the field and announce the penalty to the crowd and television audience. After the third of fourth call, Roie blurted out, "My what a big voice he has." Al nodded his concurrence and said, "Yes, Rose, that's how they chose them." I'm not sure he ever explained the truth to her! (Ted)

LaLa and Elizabeth Allen add: (ED.: these are fantastic!!)
#1 Al used to play bridge weekly with a group of guys- real characters, I assure you. They would rotate from house to house. Peg Scanlon,(Tom Scanlon's wife-Tom was co -owner of Avid which they bought from Tom's older brother , Ed (a real chaarcter in his own right). Enough history, where was I?
Well each time the boys were over playing bridge Peg noted that some piece of china tableware would be gone- presumably broken. Over a year this added up, but Peg -as the attrition was so gradual- never noted or commented on it. One night Al invited the Scanlon's over for dinner, and served them on their china!@

#2Another joke was with our dentist, Frank Commette (?). I do not know about the other kids but he was very tolerant, so much so that Marcy & I used to spray him with the water rinser!
They were having lunch, and Dad who was stuck against a wall asked Frank to go out to his car - pointing to a blue Buick and get out his camera. Frank, went out and was rumaging about the car when a lady ran out and started yelling " Stop thief!"

#3My favorite- and this was played on Dad and his golf foursome up in Rockport. They all had just
driven off the tee in the middle of their game. as they proceed to head down to their balls, a little old lady with a bonnet and a basket came out of the woods and picked up each of the balls. Yells of consternation ensued, but the little old lady calmly walked into the woods. As golfers seem to take their game rather seriously, I thought this perfect- credit for this prank goes to Norman Von Rosenvinge ( a great pal of Aunt Erma, but a CHaracter again,and not entirely - maybe mostly loaded- without faults, but he shone here )
--Lala

Sara checks in!

Does anyone remember how Al got me thinking he was my uncle? I was so little, and always going to Roie and Al's, and every time he'd great me with open arms saying, "Say hello to your uncle Al." I remember on several occasions running into the house on Washington Road yelling, UNCLE AL!! I never really thought about whether he was really my uncle or not, that was just how he taught me to greet him. Then one day I must have made the connection (much too late I'm sure) I remember thinking...how can he be my uncle if he's my dad's dad? He's my GRANDFATHER!!

Marcie notes a similar gag by Al: I am so glad Sara commented on Father's ability to muddle relationships: Harry Wheeler was never my uncle, but Al's mother's daughter's husband. No wonder we're all so confused!

Dad The Practical Joker…………Jeff
Along with clowning around for pictures, Dad was a great practical joker for all his life and he tells some of these in his writings and others have been passed along by word of mouth. Here are a few of my favorites.

Biggest Chest on the W&M Football Team…………Jeff
In 1936, when Dad first tried out for football at William & Mary he had to take a brief physical during which time they also took measurements for uniforms. The varsity line coach, Ottis Douglas was in charge with another assistant taking down the measurements. One such measurement was the player's chest measurements inhaled and exhaled. It was a measurement of lung capacity. The coach stood behind Dad holding the tape in the middle of his back and asked him to inhale deeply---hold--then exhale. He heard the coach say, "look at this. It is unbelievable." By the oo's and ah' s that he heard from the people at his back, Dad figured that he had just set the record by a large amount. In fact, so much so that Coach Douglass asked the head coach to come over to the bench and then asked him to repeat the procedure. Dad hoped that he could match the same record and an audience grew to watch. They all stood from behind (thank heavens) and watched the tape measurement as Dad filled his lungs to the full extent as Dad carefully, discretely, stuck a finger under the tape on the front of his chest and gradually pulled the tape about the 5 inches that he estimated he had pulled it the first time, then quickly exhaled before he could be caught. There were applause and whistles and Dad figures his record still stands.
The audacity of him!

Office Adoration…………Jeff
In the late 1970's at Avid Corporation, Dad decided to hire a new personal assistant to handle the workload of the secretary (Claudia) that was handling both Dad and my work. The lady he selected was the middle-aged wife of a friend of Mom and Dad's that worked for a large RI conglomerate and lived in Barrington. She was bored staying at home and looking of something to keep her busy. She came aboard and we made the transition smoothly.
At the time Avid had a comptroller who was very good at what he did, but a very quiet man around the office except when it came to presenting numbers. He was very shy, especially around women, and during her first week of work Dad saw the opportunity for some good natured fun.
After his new assistant had been on the job for a couple of weeks, he brought the comptroller into his office for a personal discussion. Dad was concerned that his new personal assistant, the wife of a friend, seemed to have an unusual interest in the controller. He had never seen her behave that way. He was concerned. Around the same time, during a meeting with his new office assistant, he expressed concern with the way the comptroller was behaving when he was around her and asked her to keep it confidential, but he was concerned. For the next couple of weeks, before Dad explained privately to both that he had been mistaken on his observation, the comptroller and the new office assistant would pass meekly in the office corridors like two ships in the night embarrassed at each others sight. How could he come up with these ideas!

The Up and Coming Rookie…………Jeff
Dad loved the Cleveland Indians and did his best to make Rich and Indian fans, but he wasn't above a practical joke at our expense about them even if we were only nine or ten.
As ten-year olds did at the time, we liked to talk baseball with our friends and we would brag about our team's chances in the coming season. One year Dad got us all excited about a new fire balling star pitcher named Willis Hudlin (spelling?) who was in the farm system and would be coming up to the team in the near future. Whenever we would get In heated debates about the best team I would remind my friends that the Indians would soon have Willis Hudlin and they had better look out. I sure had egg on my face when Dad told me later that year that not only was Willis not coming up that year, but he had just been kidding us. Willis had played for the Indians in the late 1920's and 1930's and had been put to pasture many years earlier.

Sandi Adds:
Dear Peter - Here is my "Al story"-I call it The Great China Caper" - Uncle Al was a funny man - a really smart man but a man with a very patient sense of humor. I'll always remember the tale of his weekly bridge game with friends. After the games, dessert would be served. Each time at this particular friend's house, Al would take and hide away (from Roie,too) a piece of the friend's dessert china (acup or a plate, a saucer) until after months of this, he had garnered service for four. He told Roie the pieces were a give-away program at the local gas station (as was done for promotions in those days). At the next bridge get-together, when dessert time arrived, the friends were served on a full setting of their own china! Of course, it was the initial look on their faces that was worth it all to Al! Al was my father's best friend as a young man and then they married the Reed twins so they continued life in tandem - lots of parties, travels and laughs together! -- Jay wanted to add his favorite rememberance of Al were the many planned sailing trips on the "Hoiqua" (spelling?], picnics made for enjoying on the high seas - to have every time some problem with the engine so they never left the dock! Thanks for doing this,Peter. Look forward to seeing it all! Love, Sandi

Marcie adds

Father didn't stop being a prankster when he was ill. When nurses would drain his lung fluids,taking sometimes a full hour, he would start to nod his head, and gaze off...only to supply a wink when a concerned voice would say " Al, AL?"! He also told one his night nurses to pay attention to Dottie, in case she passed out: the nurse asked me if there was a long history of this problem(there is none). He'd done a similar thing to Roie before she moved into the 29 Rumstick house he bought in Barrington, I think telling his new friends that she was a lovely person but a little...off." Can you imagine!!!!

Ted on Al and Names

(from Ted Allen)

Al was notorious for mispronouncing or misspelling names. No baseball player’s name was safe when he came to the attention of Al. And even with his family he had some issues. For example, he didn’t remember that my real name was Edward. Every time he wrote me a check (too often!) it was in the name of Theodore Allen. I had a lot of trouble depositing the checks!

Here are some of my favorite Al mispronunciations/misspellings/or other name issues. Please add yours.

Chaylee – Pronounced Shaylee
Lenny Dykstra (outfielder) – spelled Dykster
Guatemala – spelled Gauatamala
Aaron Sele (pitcher) – spelled Seely
Ralph Nader – spelled Nadir
Charles Nagy – spelled Naddy
Sandwich - pronounced Sangwich (from Marcie)

Al and Food!

I never really knew Al as an eater, a food lover, or gourmand one might say. I don't remember him being really passionate about food, which is why I love this shot (I think Richie gave this to me as he did many of the older black and whites), the pure joy and youthfull glee at whatever he has found in the fridge. Later in his years he developed a mean love for Rhode Island's Awful Awfuls. And I recall a disturbing love for chowder from Bloundt's Seafood factory late in life.

(Al, 19??, White Plains?Rockport?)

( marcie said...I was always told that this picture was from Roie and Al's first apartment. He always loved to tell the story that Roie couldn't cook( Jeff agreed) in her early years: I came later, and am evidence that her cooking improved!)
(Pete said, for some reason I could sweat Al told me this was Rockport)

Please chime in with any food recollections you may have. Seems like an odd subject, but it is what we are made of, and often the source of our closest passions!

Pete

My Post here lead to a few comments on Al's favorite eating haunts besides the Newport Creamery:
Lala made fun of him for not being a Gourmand because his favorite place was Mary Darlings, which Marcie corrected, correctly, as Eileen Darlings. (Ah, LA, you never had to endure one of Al's patented Grandfatherly talks over lunch at Eileen Darlings!). But Elizabeth also pointed out that AL enjoyed food and definetly bread-he had an ability to "palm" a half a loaf of bread and walk by without it being noticed. My Bo has also got this trick.

Turning to a more serious side of Al's appreciation of food, Susan noted how he was, a ""great appreciator" of my cooking and it gave me joy to cook him a meal. He'd want to know, what was in it and how did I prepare it? Maybe he just did that because he knew cooking was something I enjoyed." But Susan, Aren't we ALL!


Of course, Susan also had to admit Al was a "fan of the Country Buffet in Seekonk. I remember him telling me of what a wonderful place it was, you pick up a tray, stand in line and get to go up as much as you want! If I recall I think that is where he met one of the young men working there that he put through Johnson & Wales. Expensive dinner that night." (Editor: HAH!)

Lala chimed in with a classic: We were visiting Naples and Dad took my little family out to a all you can eat for $4.99- if you got the early bird. At the end Bo thanked him, said it was good & "Bapa can we eat someplace else the next time?"

Ultimately, I think Ted, Sara and Katie--the first generation of Grandkids--will agree with me, at the time Al was taking us out for dinners we didn't know much about food either! Al would take us out to dinner or lunch at the Wharf Tavern or the Lobster Pot or Eileen Darlings or the Country Buffet and we thought they were all fancy places! After all it was a serious meal--full of what will you do with your life chatter. (okay, even I knew at 12 that Eileen Darlings was not a great place--on the other hand I also remember Roie loving it, which makes it a 5 star place).

Al as a Athlete Extraordinaire

Al was a tremendous athlete when younger, and I love these images of Al swinging that bat in one of his life's great lifelong passions: baseball!






Tennis was (and is) a lesser game, but he still loved playing, and I remember when Al sent me to tennis lessons at the country club, and was thrilled for years when the instructor called me a natural. Sorry Al, in the end that was the only lesson we could squeeze into the summer, and I never got to learn the game to be competitive with my much more advanced cousins, uncles and aunts. To this day Ted, Sara, Larry, Jeff and Susan all sneer at my tennis abilities. But hey, I got to spend many lovely moments sitting courtside with Al--he loved watching his younger family members compete--and I loved listening to his stories and comments as much as I do any opportunity to trash my own family members in athletic competitions (right La?).


In his middle-age years and into retirement, Al enjoyed the game of golf (though he admitted to me numerous times was a struggle it was for him!), playing frequently at clubs throughout New England, but especially at his favorite home course the Rhode Island country club in Barrington, RI. As Marcie notes, "Father loved his golf game and won many member guests with Freddy!"


Of course, Al's long membership in the Rhode Island country club leads to another batch of shared memories--generations of Al's grandchildren spending many summer afternoons at the Country Club Pool! Heck, I think Ted still remembers the number of Al's account you would use at the Country Club snack bar to order hamburgers and sodas and ice cream! But we'll save those Grandchild country club memories for another time and place.

But of course Al's favorite sport required little physical conditioning, but a life long commitment to mental conditioning: Bridge.

Dad The Athlete…………Jeff

I always thought of Dad as a super athlete in spite of his tendency to carry a lot of weight and his love of all the wrong foods like frappes, donuts and the like. When I was about 12, I remember going to the Barrington High School field with a bunch of friend to play a pick up game of touch football with him and how fast he could run. By all accounts, his Dad, also a great football player, was even faster. Some of my earliest memories of him were his teaching Rich and me the fundamentals of baseball, basketball and football in our backyard. He really knew what he was talking about and we admired him greatly.

In the lower grades, middle school years, Dad boxed, played soccer, basketball and baseball and in high school he was captain of his football and basketball teams for two years straight. Somewhere, probably in high school from his friends Chauncey and Fred Steele, he picked up the game of tennis and he was quite good at it. Larry and I had the great privilege of playing tennis on a weekly basis with he and his insurance salesmen/bridge partner, Dan Moran, at the Mt Hope racquet club for a few years in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Dad was in his late 60's, but he still could really wallop the ball. He also enjoyed playing golf with his friends at the Rhode Island Country Club, but I always got the sense that tennis was his favorite sport.

When he went to college, football was his specialty and by all accounts he could have been a star. He was fast with good hands and switched between running back and end on the offense and defensive back on defense. Players went both ways in those days. Dad's academics, or lack of them, led him to apply to college late and when he went to William and Mary in the fall of 1936 he had to try out for the Freshman team. The College had just brought in a new head football coach, Branch Bocock, and they had started to recruit heavily. In the next few years, they would become one of the stronger teams in Southern Conference which was one of the largest conferences in the country at that time. Dad made the freshman team roster and by the second game of the year against North Carolina which they lost by two touchdowns, he had made some good play and was on the coaches radar. So to speak that is because I don't think radar had been developed yet! By the end of the season he was offered a spot on the varsity and a scholarship for the following year, but through bad luck and decisions he later regretted, he did not pursue it aggressively, reported to school late for preseason practice, and was kept out of the first game of the year against Navy. By his account, he played only two varsity games for W&M, playing most of the second game of the season as a sophomore, then breaking Into the starting line up in the third game against Virginia Tech. His career ended when he injured his back making a tackle against a Tech opponent and he spent the next six weeks in the college infirmary recovering. The head coach wanted him to drop out of school and return the next season offering him a full scholarship for the rest of his college years, but Dad did not pursue it. He fell way behind in his studies, failed his mid-term exams and was asked to leave the college in January 1938 for poor grades and never returned. There is no doubt in my mind that Dad could have had a great football career at the College, but he showed no interest in academics and he wanted to get on with his life. Years later, in the fall of 1958, I remember Dad taking me and my friend Steve Barrett down to William and Mary for an interview with the Dean of Men, Dean Lambert. After the interview we dropped by the football stadium and there were still coaches there that knew him and they talked fondly of his time there.

Al and Life Lessons for Grandchildren

Love this shot of Al giving Matt one his patented little talks. We've all been there Matt! Al wonderfully beget 11 grandchildren--but he was much more than just a 'grandfather,' he was a life coach, offering you all his years of wisdom and learning, and bending you subtly on to a better path. Each grandkid, at one time or another, routinely went through one of these talks throughout their life. Depending on your stage in life, and how lost you were--they could be pretty rough! But they were always loving, and almost always, true and correct (even if painfully so) . . . for those of you that remember some of these wonderful chats, and want to share them outside of your own entry, I can append here if you email them to me, or use the comments box below. . . and see, so far, Ted A.'s wonderful post and remembrances of some of these guiding talks.

- Pete

La Allen adds that some of these talks may have been inspired by some brow beatings that Dad got from his Dad ("Pop").After he was thrown out from William & Mary ( or left, but I feel there was a little push ) Pop really lit into him saying he would never amount to anything. I think that talk really took hold and started his settling down process....LA

I agree with Larry here, I remember Al telling me repeatedly when he came home from William and Mary or some other such bad event, his father calling him a 'bum' who would 'never amount to anything.' Al used the story again and again to illustrate how he had to pick himself up from the mistakes he had made, and get his life on the right track. I could never get Al to tell me though, if his father ever admitted that he was wrong, because AL certainly did prove him so! - Pete

Marcie adds:
Pete, yes Father did get approval from his dad finally. It is sad tough that what Father really remembered was the disapproval rather than appreciation POp gave for his marriage, children and business success. I do know Father saidthat he did ask Pop once for money, and Pop declined, saying he'd have to do the same for Al's siblings.

Al and being a Great Grandfather

Great Grandfather! It's an elite status not many get to achieve in thier lifetimes.

Al as a Father

(By Richie!)

What a legacy!!! What a Dad!!!

Father of 5....

In Barrington: Jeff, Larry, Lisa,

Richie, Al, Marcie and Roie

Left to right: Marcie, Larry, ROIE, Rich and Jeff.

Pete adds: Poor Lisa is not around yet! Anyone know the year of this?

On this one, Al wrote "July 4, 1953, Rockport-My Family is Growing up."

Pop, Erma, Harry Wheeler, Roie, Al, Rich;

Marcie, Minnie, Miner, Jeff, Mother, Larry.

Elizabeth said: Note La La's expression vis a vis Dad's at about the same age!!!

With the Allen boys and Marcie, Brickyard pond, Rhode Island, 1954.



A great one of Al and Roie and Jeff at the house on Rumstick road!



Some thoughts from LaLa:

We all know that Jeff is the "workin'mon", but dad certainly put his time in. I remember while in Chicago (1949-54) his absence more than anything else, and looking forward to the weekend when he would return from his constant traveling.
Dad was a complex man who kept us all striving for his approval. This was sometimes difficult, often funny, but all the time his interest and caring ( if not approval) were self evident.
La

Al and Roie

Wedding day: November 30, 1940

Al and Roie were married November 30, 1940 at a small church in New York City, with a reception at a small hotel or, La guesses, at Schraft's ??. They were married together until Roie's death in 1989.

We will be putting together more of the story here shortly, in the meantime please share you own stories and interpretations of their lives together.

What a pair!

Roie with Rich and Jeff in White Plains house on Soundview Avenue.

Al and Friends

This section is dedicated to remembering some of Al's lifelong friends.

Fred Steele


Al and Freddy were lifelong friends--even going so far as to marry two twin sisters!

At the White Plains House, dad & Freddy used to play ping pong upstairs then chase eachother around the house- once tearing through one of Grandmother's "musicales.Freddy used to love to reminiscence about Al in his teens /twenties zipping down the driveway totally ignoring Grandmother's operatic voice calling "AllllllllllBerrrrtttt". (Lala)

Sandi Schneider just added this great picture of Al and Freddy and someone else on a beach, I might guess Cape Ann myself?



(Here's another picture of AL and Freddy in 1996. Marcie adds:That's a great picture of ACA with Eliz on his lap, and noted should be Rick Reed standing and King Meyer, old Barrington friend, seated in the middle.)


Fred Davis
Marcie adds a letter from Fred Davis. I read a letter to Father from Fred Davis, his cousin two weeks before he died, and he spoke about his memories of Fred and Jean and their parents Christina and Bob, from the early days in Cleveland and Rockport. Fred was very upset when Father died, as Fred was looking for guidance from Father as Fred entered his 90's in August. He wrote a lovely letter to Dot, and shared this wonderfully vivid memory.

"I have been thinking a lot about Al ..and thought I woul like to tell you about some of the fond memories of him, whom I prefer to think of us as friends, not just a cousin. We are suck with your cousins, we choose our friends. We lived on the near east side of (Cleveland), they way over on the west side. Mother liked to drive a Baker electric car which was rather unique even back then. It had a tall cabin jutting up from a car-long bank of batteries, steered with a tiller like a sail boat, and had flower vases in the corners. The problem was that it had a limited range and East Cleveland to Lakewood was about the maximum. We had to be sure we had a full battery charge before leaving home. Al was fascinated by that car and fussed over it all the time we were visiting. Many times he would wipe it down and wax it. Another Cleveland memory. We would all get together at the East 9th St. Pier on Lake Erie and hop aboard a paddle wheel steamer by the nam,e of GOODTIME for a day's outing a Cedar Point Amusement Park about 80 miles up the Lake.... Al was also best man at our wedding when Lois and I were married, where he filled in at the last minute. A tent mate from WWII in the Pacific Islands was going to do the job... but the Sunday before the wedding the Padre told him a Catholic could not be a part of a protestant wedding... so Al graciously agreed to do the job....So you can see the memories of Al go a long way back. He was a good man in the best sense of the word. Those of us still following along behind may not be all of his immortality but we a big part of it." Regards, Fred (Davis)


Frank Eckloff
Marcie adds: Father had no shortage of friends with Dot, and his favorite easily was Frank Eckloff who Father missed from the day Frank died until the day Father did. This photo is from father's 80 th birthday celebration; Violet Eckloff made the cake!

Walter Cotter.
Walter Cotter and his wife was one of Al's longest friends!
Here's Al and Dot with the Cotters in 1996.

Al and Childhood homes!

Is this the original Allen Mill?? Al's grandparents and earlier family founded various mills across Ohio, primarily in oats, including founding the company that eventually merged with another to create the Quaker Oatmeal Company. This mill was built in Ghent Bath Township, by "Allen and Bloom," in 1832 and still stands. It may be the oldest woolen mill in Ohio.

At some point Al's parents moved from the center of the oatmeal mill industry in Akron to nearby Lakewood, an emerging suburb of Cleveland. Al was born there in 1916.

Marcie Adds:
This is from one of the many photo albums Father put together for his kids. On the back he wrote: "13909(?) Lae Ave/, Lakewood. Ohio This house was built by my Father around 1912 when my brother was born. He was proud that he dug a well for water- found natural gas and that took care of the store and house heat. The electric car was one of three he had collected. Pop was an engineering graduate from Steven Tech. - meet mother in NJ , who was trying to get in the Metropolitan Opera- she was a soprano and beautiful- She was staying with Cotty, a German Actress just arrived in US and knew Wing family in Germany."

Eventually Al's father Pop moved the family to White Plains, NY when he took a position as Vice-President with Union Carbide Company.


Here's Al looking out the Balcony in 1936


At some point, 1946-1950, they lived in this house in Bronxville


And beginning shortly there after, Pop bought a house in Rockport, Ma, initiating a long wonderful tradition of enjoyable summers for Al, and eventually subsequent generations of Allens!

Larry Allen checks in with some history of the Rockport house/properties:


Dear editors,A factual error has crept in, one by which a considerable bit of history could be lost.Pop did not buy the house in Rockport; he and his sister Christina inherited both the house at 19 Pleasant Street ( currently owned by members of the Bloomingdale family) and the house at Old Garden Beach along with a lot of other property- stores house, land in the 1920's (?). Supposedly they were the largest taxpayers in the town after the Rockport Tool Works.This ocured in the following manner. Cora Allen was an Aunt ( maybe an older cousin, ask Jeff to clarify), who the "proper "Allens shuned as she had taken it upon herself to marry 1. A Hungarian, 2. A muscian (violin), 3. a Jew. All in one package named Spievakowski (spelling?).He was a character and drove about town in large town cars with little crystal vases with flowers in them. Made quite a a scene! Dad recalled that there were "lots of old cars" in the garage. This was in the 20's! so they would be real collectors items today.All that property was sold (or given) through outthe thirties, fourties and fifties. The last piece was the old First National store ( later the Madras Shop)which was sold for , I believe, $14,000 in the mid 50's. This was the largest building in town and backed right up on the beach ! The worth of all the properties would be at least in the high 7 figures today. Why could not Pop see the value in the town in loved? Well remember the Depression, each year values and rents went down with seemingly no end in sight. This was Pop's experience and Dad took it to heart also, so that when I approached him about buying the James Estate in Newport (28 acres overlooking the sea for $300,000) he couldn't see it. It was one of the few areas in which he held a closed mind. The house at 19 Pleasant Street was sold for $60,000 in the mid sixties.Yours for correctness ( mostly),Lala
August 23, 2008 2:32 PM
I forgot to mention t-though you may easily infer-that Pop and Christina were the only members of the family to be nice to Cora, hence she left them all, and our connection with Cape Ann began. La

For the Rockport House, Marcie adds that the house was built by the Hershey family, right down Pleasant St. Sam Hershey was Erma's mentor and teacher, dean at RISD when Lisa attended.

Al and the Cleveland Indians

Al developed a lifelong passion for baseball at a young age. And growing in Lakewood, Ohio Al developed a lifelong relationship with the Cleveland Indians. Even though he moved at young age to White Plains New York, where a lesser individual might have developed an affinity for the New York Yankees, Al stuck by his Indians throughout all those years. 

Here's the Box Score from the last World Series victory by Al's Beloved Cleveland Indians. Note the irony of beating Boston compared to the pain of 2007 for Al.

World Series Game 6 Played on Monday, October 11, 1948 (D) at Braves Field

CLE A 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 - 4 10 0

BOS N    0  0  0    1  0  0    0  2  0  -   3  9  0

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1948/B10110BSN1948.htm

Al and Erma

Al and Erma in 1924, for Al's 8th birthday, taken at a department store photoshop in Cleveland Ohio.

Peter writes: Erma and AL were probably the two most special people in my life, as I am sure they were for many of us. A truly unique, close-knit and long lasting!, sibling relationship.

I can't think of any brother and sister pair like them--two people at first glance so different, Al the businessman and Erma the artist. Al intent on saving and making and sharing money--Erma never seeming to think about it.

But past first glance, they were so close and shared so much in common besides their lengthy history together. Indeed, while one might think as the sister in male-centric age, and the artist oft-supported by her younger brother, Erma relied on Al.


At Al's 80th: Says Booie's 80th, 76 years later

In fact, I think it was more often that Al relied on Erma, as he said in one note, whenever he felt blue about the world or its problems, he "plugged into Ermaland" for an emotional pick-me-up.

Al at Erma's annual 4th of July party

This was Al's favorite photo of he and Erma, from their Alaskan cruise.

On it he wrote: "Of all the wonderful gifts given to me in my lifetime, I think my sister Erma is number one. To me, the picture above symbolizes our 85 year relationship. I am not saying we agree on everything, because we do not. Erma is an artist, I am something else. She is aware and excited by the wonders and beauty of this world. When I have become tired and discouraged, I plug into ErmaLand and things get better."


Ted writes: Sara and I love this picture of Al and Erma together on the steps of the Library of Congress, across from the Capitol Rotunda. On one of Peter's visits to DC, we had him snap this one of us from approximately the same place! Next up, Brooks and Miri!












Ted and Sara (2006) Al and Erma (c.1923)

Al and the Cleveland Indians: Ted and Pete offer a Red Sox Apology

As the main remaining Red Sox fans in the family, Ted and Peter would like
to take this moment to officially apologize to Al for the defeat of his
beloved Cleveland Indians by our Beloved Boston Red Sox in the 2007
American League Championships. As most everyone probably knows, Al was a
passionate, lifelong fan of the Cleveland Indians. But what most people
probably don't know is the extent to which Ted and Peter were deeply
conflicted, emotionally torn, and ultimately quite guilty during this
series. We loved our Boston Red Sox, but we also loved our grandfather.
And given our long history with the Red Sox, we knew what it was like to
spend most of your life awaiting your team's victory only to see your
hopes crushed again and again. The Indians had last won it all in 1948!,
and suffered painful World Series defeats in 1954, 1995 and 1997! This,
Ted and Pete knew, was Al's best and probably last hope for an Indians
world series title, and our own team stood in the way.

The 2007 Indians and Red Sox finished the season tied for the best record in baseball. Whoever won would almost certainly defeat the lesser national league opponent and win the World Series. As the Indians took a commanding 3 games to 1 series lead, Ted and Pete set their sights for the Red Sox on
2008, and called Al frequently to enjoy the series with him--modern
playoff baseball is played insanely late, and games are routinely very
long, but Al was up every game watching--often with his close family, and
with those of us far from Rhode Island, calling in frequently to cheer him
on. Alas, since 2004 the Red Sox are a playoff comeback monster and
quickly erased the Indians commanding series lead, and obliterated the
Indians in a final 2 games at Fenway. At first, Ted and Pete were ecstatic
with yet another Red Sox comeback and World Series. But as soon as we
talked to Al on the phone, all joy dissipated. Al seemed to take the
defeat particularly hard. He could not understand what happened to the
Indians pitching--as their two top starters, the best in the American
league over the season, both were ineffective against the patient red sox
playoff offense. The Sox won the world series of course, bringing great
happiness to Ted and Pete, but as 2008 rolled on and Al's health declined,
and the Indians incidentally faded to one of Baseball's worst teams in
2008, Ted and Pete felt worse and worse about their Red Sox defeat of Al's
beloved Indians. Why of Why could the Indians not have won it all in 2007
for Al, setting the stage for a Red Sox return in 2008. Afterall, Al's
sister Erma had waited all those years to see her beloved Red Sox win in
2004, and she passed away just as baseball returned in 2005, why not one
last victory for the Indians?? In a perfect world, Pete and Ted would have
suffered defeat, and Al one last great victory.
With love for Al,
Pete and Ted

Editors Note: As numerous people have spoke out on his behalf, and as we would of course known already, after Erma W's passing in 2005, Mike Wheeler is the family's other great Red Sox fan. However, a couple of points: Mike Wheeler made it known during the 2007 post-season playoff between the Indians and the Sox that he was rooting for the Indians to win! I have the email still as proof somewhere! Secondly, this post was meant as a personal note to show how conflicted Ted and I were, and how we were in daily contact the entire time, expressing both our hope for the Red Sox, and our hope the Indians on behalf of AL. Mike apparently went over completely to the other side in the course of his support for Al, which I hope the post shows, looking back on it now, both Ted and I agree was the smart and honorable ting to do, which of course, Mike W would do! Ultimately the post is an apology to Al, which Mike doesn't have to do. I will amend the above statement for the memorial book though!

Al and Retirement

Al as Businessman

Al loved to invest in Stocks, starting at an early age. He moved from there into the business world, and later, after retirement back into the stock market!

AL moved to Rhode Island in 1954 to form Allen Distributing Company in Providence, just in time for Hurricane Carol to destroy his warehouse full of TVs and appliances. He recovered, and with great entrepreneurial and personal leadership skills, the company evolved to become the Avid Corporation of East Providence, an innovative leader in audio visual equipment for education, airline passenger entertainment headsets and consumer stereo speakers. He sold the company in 1981.

Here's Allen Distributing Company in 1954


Here's an Avid brochure with Al's eldest son Jeff Allen on the far left! (click to enlarge)


Al did a lot of travel for business, and a lot of flying in the early days of air travel.

Marcie adds: I remember going to airports with Father, and we'd all watch the different planes, and the miliatry planes too, that we all used to make plastic models of( remember those decals?) Any youngster remembers that great feeling of being held aloft, safe and secure and always wanting to ride on his shoulders! But again, it was the introduction to interesting things and the sense of curiosity on how things worked. -Marcie

I remember the 1953 anniversary of the Wright brothers and the first jets I saw!. Also remember going to Dad's office in the Pomolive Building? looking down at the people thinking they looked like ants?--LaLa

La adds a note from George Clayson who was Dad's banker for over 25 years ( in the days when business relationships meant something ) He said:

On the rare occasions that I think back on my banking years I always recall the pleasant meetings that I had with Albert Allen, He was a fresh breath of air, a real gentleman and a classy businessman"

Here's the great Avid airline headset that was so successful!


Some more Avid Images posted by Jeff A.