History: Edgar Steiner & Company / Raymond Eisenhardt &a

[reisen55]

Greetings board. I am the surviving " Eisenhardt " of the firm named above. Edgar Steiner & Co, based in NYCity until 1967 and name changed to Raymond Eisenhardt & Son, move to Oakland NJ in 1968. I would love to hear any and all direct and indirect associates of the firm.

Currently employed by Aon Group, NYCity and a direct 101st floor survivoe of September 11th, Tower 2.

Bob Eisenhardt

[greg]

Edgar Steiner & Co employed Edward W. Rowan, Sr. who is in the Plastics Hall of Fame, seen here:
http://www.plasticshalloffame.com/articles.php?articleId=115

Bob, What history of Edgar Steiner & Co can you tell us about? The more the better. Thanks!

Would like to hear of your survival story ref the twin towers as well, if you've a mind to share.

[reisen55]

Founded, according to legend, by three engineering students in 1915, the purpose of which was the rationalization of printed forms and paper stock used by banks, insurance firms, and railroads. One of the three was Edgar Steiner, his two partners departed during the 1920s and my grandfather, Raymond Eisenhardt Sr., a copywriter for J.F.Newcombe, joined the firm in 1927 for sales. Expanded the consulting activity during the depression to embrace all items firms used and purchase to pack and protect "the product" but not the product itself. An operation for Coca Cola, stateside, in the 1950s introduced the firm to Europe in 1962, with gradual expansion across the continent. Items made of films, foils, metal, glass, corrugated, paper, etc all fell under the scope of studies. Engineers whom I remember: Earl H. Beck, Pete Ball, Andrew W. Crawford, George Ganter (deceased), Francis Farrissey, Nicholas Tricharico, Raymond Schnlein, Robert C. Franz, Ed Warden, Peter Henningsen.

Coca Cola operation is significant: look up a phrase " There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can if he does mind who gets the credit" on the web. It is attributed to Robert Woodruff of Coca Cola - a plaque on his desk. You can find an identical plaque on Ronald Reagan's desk, pictures of the period show it. I am looking at the same, very same, plaque as I write this. It was phrase co-written and revised from earlier sayings of the same nature by my grandfather. He sent out plaques and awards to executives who were brave enough to meet him. Woodruff got a plaque - he is given credit. Justin Dart of Dart Industries received one, and Reagan knew Dart and swipped that plaque!

More history to come.

[greg]

Bob, If you've a mind to write a history as an article I'd love to publish it.

[EvelynKhan]

Hi Bob,
This is Evelyn Eid Khan - hopefully you will remember me from your Dad's company. You and I worked on that dumb terminal together. Years later, you also interviewed with me when I was with Champion International many years ago. Champion was bought out by International Paper 6 years ago and I have since worked for Footstar, Inc. in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Last night I had a dream about Raymond Eisenhardt & Son, Inc. For some reason, I was trying to remember the names of those who worked with us and I kept thinking about Fred Ball and Harry Kaptein, but I couldn't remember the names of others. So, I decided to look up the name of Raymond Eisenhardt & Son on the internet and this email came up.

How did you do in getting responses from people? Maybe you could tell me who you remember from the company as well. I hate to think that many of those we worked with have passed away (as well as your dad), but maybe there are many who are still around.

I was very surprised to hear that you worked in the World Trade Center. I'm sure your story is fasinating. Maybe some day we get get others together for dinner and just talk about old times.

I am very happy and living in Nanuet, New York. I have 2 children, both going to college. My son is going to Purdue University in Indiana and doing Navy ROTC. My daughter is just starting at Virginia Tech and looking to major in Finance. My husband of 26 years works in the Nanuet School district.

Hopefully life as treated you well. If you get this, please send me a response and let me know how you are. Also, I once kept in touch with Chris Graham (Harry's ex-secretary and ex-wife, but it's been years since I heard from her). I would love to see some of the people we worked with.

Take care,
Evelyn Eid Khan

[reisen55]

Good Heavens!!! Evelyn of course I remember you, and will contact you shortly because - gee, I am in
N E W C I T Y
just oh a few miles north or west or whatever.
YES I remember many names. Here are a few.

Andrew W. Crawford (who lives, I hope, in Montville, nj)
Saw Frank Farrissey ages ago on the PATH
Harold Colombo passed away some time back, and his house on the hills of Oakland is gone.
Frank Prime was last living on the Jersey shore.
Peter Henningsen is still active in the packaging industry.
Harry Kaptein and Reginald Wardley are active in a Wyckoff group for disabled people.
Older lot: Raymond Schlein, Nicholas Tricarrico, Fred Ball,
Bob Franz died August 6, 2006.

As for myself, you can find some photographs at this site:
http://www.havemann.com \redgulch\redgulch.html
for pics some ages back, 1980s or so.

Daughter: Kami, 25, working for Foxtons
StepDaughter, Jamie, 25, wondering what do with life.
Secondmarriage: Carolyn - will be amazed at this.
She has an older daughter, Lisa, living in Duluth Georgia.
Grandkiddies: 3 down there.

YES will meet for dinner - Legend's in New City is terrific.

Bob Eisenhardt
[email protected]

[reisen1955]

CONTINUATION of an old post. Raymond Eisenhardt & Son went out of business in roughly 1991. The reasons for it's failure remain obscure to me, even this day.

It's initial focus as started in 1915 was paper and printer materials. My grandfather, Raymond Eisenhardt Sr., expanded the operations to include all packaging purchased materials (glass, film, laminations, corrugated, etc) to expand client reach. You can find an excellent profile of my grandfather in the TRUE MAGAZINE, AUGUST 1959 issue (search Ebay) by Rufus Jarman. The firm was based in Manhattan, Rockefeller Center and was moved by my father to Oakland in 1968. My grandfather passed away in 1966 and was a man who genuinely LOVED CHRISTMAS.

The firm prospered in Oakland. International clients supplanted national clients, Coca Cola in Georgia brought about a study for the United Kingdom subsidiary - expansions to France, Germanay and Japan followed thereafter. One client was based in South Africa, Wattie Industries in New Zealand and San Miguel Beer in the Phillipines. Business was bountiful and beautiful until 1985. Then the skids.

That year, the client count was but 5 new firms (nominal count of 12 needed to survive) and about the same the year after. Then, business dried up altogether. Negotiations with Hershey in Pennsylvania almost got to a contract and died. My father self-retired in 1987 and handed the firm over to Harold Colombo and Frank M, Prime. They proceeded to eliminate staff (see lawsuit FRANZ V. RAYMOND EISENHARDT & SON) and cut the business back. As the defacto YOUNGEST person there, I was let go in May, 1988. The firm later abandoned the Oakland building for offices at 1200 MacArthur Avenue in Mahwah NJ. Consultants were employed on a project-to-project basis. The firm was folded out of existance in early 1991.

I maintain contact with several engineers, among them Peter Henningsen and others. Of course through this board I found Evelyn Eid Khan who lives only 1 town away from me.

If you visit 95 Bauer Drive today, it is now a children's day care school - which would have delighted my grandfather no end.

Bob Eisenhardt

[Louis]

Bob,

It seems the story has a nice ending, what with the day care center now occupying the space.

[Dr. Dick]

Bob
"It's a small world after all" I worked at the WITCO Corporate R&D Center 100 Bauer Drive from 1972 to 1983 when they started to close the R&D Center. I was over 40 so was terminated together with over 33 other 40+ individuals including one with terminal cancer. They sent someone to the Hospital to give her the termination notice . We probably passed each other during the commutes. (To Oakland from Jersey City )

Then there were the discount sales offered by the Fragrance company just before the Holidays. And the gravel pit at the back. And the Canadian Geese droppings to avoid.

[reisen55]

The Canadian Geese are still droppings. Some things never change. When 95 Bauer Drive was built, in 1968, there were only three firms in residence: RESCO, Witco and Scott Foresman. There the park ended and it was a major site for radio controlled airplanes on the weekend. Some spectacular explosive crashes too as I remember.

RESCO ended it's days at 1200 MacArthur Boulevard in Ramsey NJ. Small offices after it abandoned 95 Bauer for about a year or so. There is a poignant footnote....

My grandfather, Raymond Eisenhardt Sr., sent out among his many small awards and trophies, a small figure of an all powerful African God, Penzu-MWanzu if memory serves. He could handle anything imaginable, fire, flood, famine --- he was the answer to it all.

When I last visited the offices at 1200 MacArthur, and RESCO had moved out - the place was abandoned with that awful look to it, a couch here, table there and files all over the place ...

... and standing guard over it all remained one, small African God on a table. All alone.

I turned around and got onto the elevator.

[greg]

Perhaps it needs to be taken into protective custody

[Louis]

Don't be silly Greg, who would want to protect a table

[reisen55]

There was an interesting end-it tale. Earlier this year I found a not-sold item on Ebay, a medal cast in a lucite block. The woman posted that it did not sell and she had no idea what " Raymond Eisenhardt & Son" was. I contacted her and purchased the medal, now part of my set. It was sent out to executives who were brave enough to first meet with us and hear our tale. The Order of Extended Neck - Even a turtle doesn't get anywhere unless it extends it's neck.

I have three other such awards. One is a mounted 8-ball on a block, " To ease the road ahead" for we are all behind the proverbial 8-ball most of the time. I gave a few of these out over time, one to Pamela Gaff of Aon Group. She put it on her monitor in her office, when I visited her - on the 103rd floor of South Tower at about 8:30 am on September 11, 2001. She did not survive.

[greg]

Here is the building, now day school

[reisen55]

Yes, that is the building. There was now fenced in back yard of course or play area. Though given the occasional stressful client we had, maybe there should have been one. LOL. Inside all of the office walls are cut through to provide walk around play areas but the original wood, coat closets, etc are all the same construction as was long ago. There was no loop-around driveway, as it was a single drive in and out.

It was a lovely business at the time. Today I would kill to be able to run it, but I also had my own issues in 1982 to 1985 when my marriage went to merry blazes with a addicted spouse (drug problems multiple) that wore me down to nothing precisely during the years when the firm needed input. To this day I hold many regrets on that point. RESCO staff who may read this: my regrets gentlemen.