Christmas -1958- at the Nissen Trampoline Company!
This January issue begins with photos from the annual employee Christmas party. My father always enjoyed attending these, as this was one of the only occasions that he could see and thank everyone at once. The Nissen gang also enjoyed having a rare glimpse of George as well!
Those sewing tables where the trampoline beds were made sure were beautiful...notice the parquet wood inlays that were hand built by the expert craftsmen back in the shop.
Ted Blake, Managing Director of Nissen Trampoline, Ltd. in England flew with his family to Cedar Rapids in order to join in on the Christmas party. The next day we all took off for Sarasota, Florida to be at the National Gymnastic Clinic. The clinic registration table over at Florisota Gardens counted 500 attendees. This 1958 clinic was one of the largest clinics yet. The next week was spent inside and out back of the Sarasota High School gym, a day at Lido Beach plus, the big exhibition/North-South meet held at the Municipal Auditorium.
A couple of quick photo comments:
Bud Beyer (below) ace tumbler from the late 1930s, was now teaching at the University of Chicago. Later, in 1961 he would join the Nissen Company as Director of Promotions & Public Relations. Here is a LINK to nice article about Bud Beyer.
Paul Kridler - was my father's grade school P.E. teacher and was responsible for teaching Dad how to do a handstand! Years later, when Paul finally left the field of teaching, Dad hired him to work in sales and as a liaison with the national school associations.
Back in 1954, an unsupervised can of paint drippings caused a devastating fire to the factory. It took a full year for the business to rebuild and recover. So this recent second fire shook everyone up a bit. Luckily there was no serious damage...and everyone took it in stride.
Including poking a little fun at Dad (upper left photo).
Speaking of poking fun - - the newsletter editor took advantage of the holiday spirit by not only rattling off an immense amount of "newsy" updates on the Nissen gang...
but included quite a few humorous "quips" here and there, as well.
I'm looking forward to posting the next (Feb. 1959) issue, as it's full of photos and events...
the Nissen gang picks up rhythm and 1959 will prove to be even more exciting
than last year was!
Do these newsletters spark a memory? You are invited to share your own stories and comments below.
"Nissen's - - a great place to work!"
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment! It will be posted soon.