Happy 67th birthday, GBQ!
Let’s get the full disclosure out of the way, I needed a break from the Laundry Closet this week. Truth is, with the kids back in school Monday, Tuesday, and every other Wednesday, I don’t have a good reason to be confined to the half cinder block, half ship lap mecca of a closet. I’ve also lost interest in trying to do laundry and work at the same time. So I typed this from my office, and it felt great to be back at work. It’s also really quiet here (until Brett walks in). But, as most of you know, I’d prefer the noise, commotion, comradery, and Koz walking by to tell me the Indians would have taken the Yankees in a 7 game series. No chance.
Something more noteworthy took place this week, the firm’s 67th birthday. Wow, 67 years ago Morris Groner left New York for Columbus, Ohio, the perfect landscape for entrepreneurial spirit.
Let’s safely make the assumption that the vast majority of my audience wasn’t around at the half-century mark. Therefore, I’ve done a little research that will allow your mind to wonder what life was like 67 years ago…
- Two of the largest companies in the Columbus area (aside from Ohio State) were Batelle and White Castle. Dave Thomas wouldn’t start Wendy’s for another 15 years. (Ironically, Burger King, Denny’s, and then McDonald’s all came to life in other parts of the US roughly 67 years ago.)
- The country itself was fresh out of WWII, “involved” in the Korean War, and still flirting with making color television widely available.
- President Truman announced the creation of the hydrogen bomb, the Rosenbergs were executed, and Brown v. Board of Education was still a year away.
- The first Chevy Corvette was built in Michigan, and the company was just two years shy of producing a 3-year stretch of some of the most memorable and recognizable American-made sedans still to this day (my dad has two to prove it!).
- There was no NASA, Alaska, or Hawaii (at least as admitted states).
I’m also taking a stab here that the likes of Wade Kozich, Paul Gaffney, and maybe even Jim Weber were also welcomed to this world around the same time. Any objections? Jeffrey Brown, too??? I’ll need someone to vouch for that.
So this week, we celebrate Morris and his wife Ruth, the firm’s first two employees. They made it happen on East Main Street near Bexley 67 years ago, and we’ve been empowering growth ever since.
Happy birthday GBQ, and thank you, Mr. Groner!
