Codger_64
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General Woods, Baer, Dunlap, and Kethcart
This post from a while back raised questions in my mind, as elements of it challenged information I had read in the Schrade archives, and in the memoirs of Albert Baer. I'll attempt to clarify and expound on this in this post.
First, the owners of Camillus were the daughters of Albert Baer, Betsy and Margery. Betsy Baer Kaufman (she was the Dean of Students at Queens College when she died of Cancer in Stamford Connecticut at age 54 in 1986. She began working with Queens College in 1965 as a lecturer in the department of secondary eductaion. She became Dean of Students in 1981. She was also the chairman of the student personnel department and an associate professor of secondary education). She and her husband, John Kaufman (director of Camillus Cutlery upon his death in 1998), had a daughter, Gail Kaufman Furgal of Manhattan, and a son, J. Gilbert Kaufman of Manhattan. The second daughter was Margery Baer Irish of Stamford. Margery Baer Irish was an owner of the Camillus Cutlery Company, and has a daughter, Elizabeth Rucker. Eventual owners of Camillus stocks included the Baer grandchildren and their spouses. If I am in error in any of this, corrections are welcome.
Second in importance to understanding the Sears/Schrade/Camillus relationships, while not mentioned above, is the ownership of Imperial Schrade. Albert Baer bought and consolidated all of the Imperial Knife Associate Companies into Imperial Schrade Corporation in 1983-85. His older brother, the well loved “Uncle Henry”, Henry Baer died at age 88 in 1987. He had been the President more than 35 years, and also Vice President of the Imperial Schrade Corporation, Schrade’s Parent Company. Listed in his obituary were his wife, Elsa Baer, sons Henry and Albert, both of Manhattan and two grandchildren.
It is unknown to me at this point if any ISC stocks evolved to Henry’s descendants, but when Albert Baer died at age 92 on October 26, 1997, his second wife, Karla Baer, was then made chairman of the board of Imperial Schrade. It was listed that he was the grandfather of five, and great-grandfather of five. Albert’s first wife (mother of both daughters Margery and Betsy) was Helene Gilbert Baer whom he married in 1930. Albert’s self proclaimed “Jiminey Cricket”, confidant, advisor and lifelong best friend (board member of Ulster Knife Company as well as author and founder of the International Lay Council of the International Cardiology Foundation), she died in 1964. Baer married Karla in the early 1970's, a former Schrade sales person.
Camillus, then known as Adolph Kastor & Brothers, began selling imported knives to Sears in 1902. The buyer at the time was Mr. George Stoll. His assistant was Mr. Ed Campbell. The Camillus pocket knife factory was purchased by A. Kastor & Bros. in 1902 and Mr. George Stoll continued to buy imported and Camillus-made pocket knives until he resigned from Sears. Subsequent to this, Mr. Campbell took over the buying for a short period under the supervision of Mr. Shenton. Mr. Walters replaced Mr., Shenton as Supervisor about 1926. Mr. Walters began listing pocket knives from other manufacturers and then Stopped buying from Camillus, leaving Camillus holding a large quantity of Wilbert Brand knives which had been made specially for Sears under verbal arrangements with Mr. Shenton, his predecessor. Buying from Camillus was resumed in 1929 and continued from then on, under Mr. Barrows and subsequently Mr.Tom Dunlap as Supervisors.
In 1922 Albert M. Baer was employed at age sixteen by Adolph Kastor as a salesman upon graduating from high school. He was made Sales Manager in 1930. Baer courted Sears effectively and captured near exclusive vendor status for Camillus. According to a later account by Mr.G. F. Lewis, President of Camillus: “Mr. Dunlap stated frankly that he had always bought our knives through Mr., Baer and that to him Mr. Baer was the account. He understood and liked Mr. Baer and found him useful.”
At Dunlap’s request, Baer helped develop Sears own brands for knives to be produced by Camillus, notably “Kwik-Kut” (low priced), “Dunlap” (imagine that!), and “Sta-Sharp” (Best quality). Under Baer’s sales initiative, Mr. Lewis disclosed the folowing Camillus/Sears sales figures:
1931 $13,413.36
1932 25,634.28
1933 83,215.16
1934 97,119.06
1935 126,360.16
1936 127,536.96
1937 117,138.25
1938 146,752.33
1939 142,924,38
1940 187,572.02
1941 217,727.09
1942 99,614.94
1943 147,174.51
1944 254,618.76
1945 154,527.06
1946 345,358.42
1947 6,980.49
1948 None
Baer and the Kastor sons had a major falling out in 1939, and Albert left under a cloud, retaining a large share of stocks he had acquired over the years, including most of the common and preferred stocks he bought from August Kastor upon his retirement. He then bought the works of Dwight Divine and Son Cutlery, and began operating it under the new name of Ulster Knife Company, formerly a brand name used by Divine. It should not be surprising to learn that Baer had orders lined up (backing from) Sears management (Tom Dunlap and Frank Kethcart) even before the factory was revamped and running.
Now a word about Tom Dunlap. Tom ran a hardware store in Chicago and was drafted by Arthur Barrows (later President) to join Sears Roebuck. Baer met him in the 30s in the office of the Sears buyer. At this point, I’ll let Albert describe the meeting in his own words:
“His wavy black hair and towering size reminded me of the prize fighter, Jack Dempsey. When he left, I asked Balzer, “Who the hell is that?" Balzer didn‘t know. Soon a voice boomed at me "I’ll tell you who the hell "that" is -the new Supervisor of the Hardware Department, me, Uncle Tom Dunlap, and" he boomed “you will be the Buyer of Cutlery. Because of you, cutlery is the only successful part of this damn department and, finally, you will come home with me tonight and have dinner.” I looked surprised and so did Balzer. Everyone at Sears left promptly at 5:00 O’clock and it was a madhouse. I climbed in the rumble seat of Dunlap's Hudson and drove to his apartment where I met Esther. His Esther was a good looking Swede with the disposition of a Saint. We began our first evening by polishing off a bottle of whiskey and were well into the second when he decided to go out for dinner. I sat in the rumble seat and we tore down Michigan Boulevard. Believe me, the Hudson was color blind. It didn't stop for red lights. When we finally did stop, I jumped out into a taxi and went to my hotel to sleep it off. In a more sober moment, Tom confessed he never figured out where he lost me and laughed heartily when we talked about his color blind Hudson.”
So, it can be seen from this that Baer soon developed a personal “symbiotic” business relationship with Dunlap, and through him, with Sears.
I was, to use Tom's own words, their buyer as well as their supplier. Some years later, when Tom was at the factory, he wondered why we couldn't make some other cutting instruments for Sears, and we ended up making their kitchen cutlery.
When I left Kastor, Frank Kethcart was the buyer and he and Tom agreed to help me get started with Ulster Knife Company. We worked out a line of Craftsman Chrome Vanadium pocket knives at double the highest price they had been selling knives. Alfred Kastor objected to the fact that Dunlap gave me some of the business and he wrote a letter over Dunlap's head to General Wood, citing h is objections. This infuriated Dunlap. He called me on the phone, asked me some questions and soon was on his way down to the factory at Camillus. After going through the plant he met with the management in the office, and gave them a real piece of his mind. He told them Ulster had everything Camillus had, but Ulster had more - Ulster had integrity. When Dunlap instructed them to keep out of his office, out of the company, this was the beginning of a long lasting relationship.
Yes, you can see where this is headed. The already sizable rift between Kastor and Baer widened steadily as Camillus shares of the Sears cutlery orders continually shrank. Post WWII, Sears had for the most part switched suppliers, and Camillus was hurting. Thus Kastor and Lewis began efforts to regain their share. Unfortunately, they went about it by instituting, according to Baer, a smear campaign against him personally, and against his company. This did not sit well with Tom. Baer was not only “his buyer”, but his friend. Continuing Lewis’ account:
“He then reviewed the 1946 correspondence following our break and became irritated at some of the phraseology used. He stated that he could not understand our way of doing business and therefore did not want to do business with us.”
And so, having urinated in their own Wheaties with Sears, they were removed from consideration as Sears suppliers for a time. Baer’s Ulster held that distinction exclusively. Later, Camillus, and to a much lesser extent, Western Boulder, became suppliers in addition to Ulster/Schrade. Baer, however, seemed to call the shots on the patterns to be provided by other cutleries for a time. Not until after the change of Camillus ownership did Camillus regain the position as prime manufacturer for Sears.
By the way, Dunlap was behind Baer’s entry into the tableware trade, which led Imperial Schrade to become the world’s largest producer at one point. And it was at Dunlap’s urging that Baer began a cooperative business with Sears Roebuck & Co., Vulcan Safety Razor. Kethcart headed this operation for a while.
Original artwork of Sears Baer 64th Anniversary from W. Williams Collection.
Michael
This post from a while back raised questions in my mind, as elements of it challenged information I had read in the Schrade archives, and in the memoirs of Albert Baer. I'll attempt to clarify and expound on this in this post.
First, the owners of Camillus were the daughters of Albert Baer, Betsy and Margery. Betsy Baer Kaufman (she was the Dean of Students at Queens College when she died of Cancer in Stamford Connecticut at age 54 in 1986. She began working with Queens College in 1965 as a lecturer in the department of secondary eductaion. She became Dean of Students in 1981. She was also the chairman of the student personnel department and an associate professor of secondary education). She and her husband, John Kaufman (director of Camillus Cutlery upon his death in 1998), had a daughter, Gail Kaufman Furgal of Manhattan, and a son, J. Gilbert Kaufman of Manhattan. The second daughter was Margery Baer Irish of Stamford. Margery Baer Irish was an owner of the Camillus Cutlery Company, and has a daughter, Elizabeth Rucker. Eventual owners of Camillus stocks included the Baer grandchildren and their spouses. If I am in error in any of this, corrections are welcome.
Second in importance to understanding the Sears/Schrade/Camillus relationships, while not mentioned above, is the ownership of Imperial Schrade. Albert Baer bought and consolidated all of the Imperial Knife Associate Companies into Imperial Schrade Corporation in 1983-85. His older brother, the well loved “Uncle Henry”, Henry Baer died at age 88 in 1987. He had been the President more than 35 years, and also Vice President of the Imperial Schrade Corporation, Schrade’s Parent Company. Listed in his obituary were his wife, Elsa Baer, sons Henry and Albert, both of Manhattan and two grandchildren.
It is unknown to me at this point if any ISC stocks evolved to Henry’s descendants, but when Albert Baer died at age 92 on October 26, 1997, his second wife, Karla Baer, was then made chairman of the board of Imperial Schrade. It was listed that he was the grandfather of five, and great-grandfather of five. Albert’s first wife (mother of both daughters Margery and Betsy) was Helene Gilbert Baer whom he married in 1930. Albert’s self proclaimed “Jiminey Cricket”, confidant, advisor and lifelong best friend (board member of Ulster Knife Company as well as author and founder of the International Lay Council of the International Cardiology Foundation), she died in 1964. Baer married Karla in the early 1970's, a former Schrade sales person.
Camillus, then known as Adolph Kastor & Brothers, began selling imported knives to Sears in 1902. The buyer at the time was Mr. George Stoll. His assistant was Mr. Ed Campbell. The Camillus pocket knife factory was purchased by A. Kastor & Bros. in 1902 and Mr. George Stoll continued to buy imported and Camillus-made pocket knives until he resigned from Sears. Subsequent to this, Mr. Campbell took over the buying for a short period under the supervision of Mr. Shenton. Mr. Walters replaced Mr., Shenton as Supervisor about 1926. Mr. Walters began listing pocket knives from other manufacturers and then Stopped buying from Camillus, leaving Camillus holding a large quantity of Wilbert Brand knives which had been made specially for Sears under verbal arrangements with Mr. Shenton, his predecessor. Buying from Camillus was resumed in 1929 and continued from then on, under Mr. Barrows and subsequently Mr.Tom Dunlap as Supervisors.
In 1922 Albert M. Baer was employed at age sixteen by Adolph Kastor as a salesman upon graduating from high school. He was made Sales Manager in 1930. Baer courted Sears effectively and captured near exclusive vendor status for Camillus. According to a later account by Mr.G. F. Lewis, President of Camillus: “Mr. Dunlap stated frankly that he had always bought our knives through Mr., Baer and that to him Mr. Baer was the account. He understood and liked Mr. Baer and found him useful.”
At Dunlap’s request, Baer helped develop Sears own brands for knives to be produced by Camillus, notably “Kwik-Kut” (low priced), “Dunlap” (imagine that!), and “Sta-Sharp” (Best quality). Under Baer’s sales initiative, Mr. Lewis disclosed the folowing Camillus/Sears sales figures:
1931 $13,413.36
1932 25,634.28
1933 83,215.16
1934 97,119.06
1935 126,360.16
1936 127,536.96
1937 117,138.25
1938 146,752.33
1939 142,924,38
1940 187,572.02
1941 217,727.09
1942 99,614.94
1943 147,174.51
1944 254,618.76
1945 154,527.06
1946 345,358.42
1947 6,980.49
1948 None
Baer and the Kastor sons had a major falling out in 1939, and Albert left under a cloud, retaining a large share of stocks he had acquired over the years, including most of the common and preferred stocks he bought from August Kastor upon his retirement. He then bought the works of Dwight Divine and Son Cutlery, and began operating it under the new name of Ulster Knife Company, formerly a brand name used by Divine. It should not be surprising to learn that Baer had orders lined up (backing from) Sears management (Tom Dunlap and Frank Kethcart) even before the factory was revamped and running.
Now a word about Tom Dunlap. Tom ran a hardware store in Chicago and was drafted by Arthur Barrows (later President) to join Sears Roebuck. Baer met him in the 30s in the office of the Sears buyer. At this point, I’ll let Albert describe the meeting in his own words:
“His wavy black hair and towering size reminded me of the prize fighter, Jack Dempsey. When he left, I asked Balzer, “Who the hell is that?" Balzer didn‘t know. Soon a voice boomed at me "I’ll tell you who the hell "that" is -the new Supervisor of the Hardware Department, me, Uncle Tom Dunlap, and" he boomed “you will be the Buyer of Cutlery. Because of you, cutlery is the only successful part of this damn department and, finally, you will come home with me tonight and have dinner.” I looked surprised and so did Balzer. Everyone at Sears left promptly at 5:00 O’clock and it was a madhouse. I climbed in the rumble seat of Dunlap's Hudson and drove to his apartment where I met Esther. His Esther was a good looking Swede with the disposition of a Saint. We began our first evening by polishing off a bottle of whiskey and were well into the second when he decided to go out for dinner. I sat in the rumble seat and we tore down Michigan Boulevard. Believe me, the Hudson was color blind. It didn't stop for red lights. When we finally did stop, I jumped out into a taxi and went to my hotel to sleep it off. In a more sober moment, Tom confessed he never figured out where he lost me and laughed heartily when we talked about his color blind Hudson.”
So, it can be seen from this that Baer soon developed a personal “symbiotic” business relationship with Dunlap, and through him, with Sears.
I was, to use Tom's own words, their buyer as well as their supplier. Some years later, when Tom was at the factory, he wondered why we couldn't make some other cutting instruments for Sears, and we ended up making their kitchen cutlery.
When I left Kastor, Frank Kethcart was the buyer and he and Tom agreed to help me get started with Ulster Knife Company. We worked out a line of Craftsman Chrome Vanadium pocket knives at double the highest price they had been selling knives. Alfred Kastor objected to the fact that Dunlap gave me some of the business and he wrote a letter over Dunlap's head to General Wood, citing h is objections. This infuriated Dunlap. He called me on the phone, asked me some questions and soon was on his way down to the factory at Camillus. After going through the plant he met with the management in the office, and gave them a real piece of his mind. He told them Ulster had everything Camillus had, but Ulster had more - Ulster had integrity. When Dunlap instructed them to keep out of his office, out of the company, this was the beginning of a long lasting relationship.
Yes, you can see where this is headed. The already sizable rift between Kastor and Baer widened steadily as Camillus shares of the Sears cutlery orders continually shrank. Post WWII, Sears had for the most part switched suppliers, and Camillus was hurting. Thus Kastor and Lewis began efforts to regain their share. Unfortunately, they went about it by instituting, according to Baer, a smear campaign against him personally, and against his company. This did not sit well with Tom. Baer was not only “his buyer”, but his friend. Continuing Lewis’ account:
“He then reviewed the 1946 correspondence following our break and became irritated at some of the phraseology used. He stated that he could not understand our way of doing business and therefore did not want to do business with us.”
And so, having urinated in their own Wheaties with Sears, they were removed from consideration as Sears suppliers for a time. Baer’s Ulster held that distinction exclusively. Later, Camillus, and to a much lesser extent, Western Boulder, became suppliers in addition to Ulster/Schrade. Baer, however, seemed to call the shots on the patterns to be provided by other cutleries for a time. Not until after the change of Camillus ownership did Camillus regain the position as prime manufacturer for Sears.
By the way, Dunlap was behind Baer’s entry into the tableware trade, which led Imperial Schrade to become the world’s largest producer at one point. And it was at Dunlap’s urging that Baer began a cooperative business with Sears Roebuck & Co., Vulcan Safety Razor. Kethcart headed this operation for a while.
Original artwork of Sears Baer 64th Anniversary from W. Williams Collection.
Michael
