Posts Tagged "Hermann Kohl"
Live from Longboat – 2012
I’m on Longboat Key this week, vacationing with my family. The weather has been amazing, and today is no exception. The forecast says sunny and 83 degrees, and as I write this, I’m sitting in my favorite spot, staring at one of my favorite views. The beach is less than 20 steps away, and this is where we sit and watch the sun set every night. Here are some photos from earlier in the week.
Click image for slideshow...
So, as you can imagine, it’s pretty easy to see why I love this place. But for those of you who have followed me along on my crazy journey, you know about a special little beach house called Villa am Meer that sits quietly and resolutely about a half mile up the beach. MY house… and the impetus for me to quit my career of 20 years and take this great, scary leap of faith.
[For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a long and winding tale that all started with my very first blog post. Start here if you want the whole backstory: Villa am Meer, Chapter 1.]
Ross and I took a walk the other day to go check on my house. Nothing much new to report. A fisherman on the pier told us that a caretaker lives on the property, and as far as he knows, there are no plans to develop it anytime soon. It doesn’t look much different than it did last year at this time:
Me and my house, 2012
There is something new to report, though. Last month, I received an amazing gift via email. A relative of the Kohls who lives in Germany found my blog and sent me several old photos of Villa am Meer, taken back in its heyday.
Enjoy the gift. I’m off to soak up some sun.
Click image to view slideshow
Villa Am Meer, Chapter 16
Was Hermann J. Kohl ever convicted of bootlegging?
If you followed my Villa Am Meer story, you know there was one outstanding question I was never able to answer… was Hermann J. Kohl (founder of Norda, Inc.) ever convicted of bootlegging by the federal court in Chicago?
Just to recap a bit, Hermann J. Kohl was the person who originally built Villa Am Meer. He and his wife, Hertha, were German immigrants who came to the U.S. in 1910. Hermann (pronounced “er-MON”) held a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Heidelberg University and started his own flavoring and fragrance company in 1924, Norda Essential Oils and Chemical Company.
At the time Kohl started Norda, the U.S. was already four years into Prohibition. Because of this, the company had to apply for a special government-issued permit in order to use alcohol in the preparation of their perfumes. The law was very clear about how much alcohol they were allowed to use each year, as well as what levels were allowable in the perfumes they manufactured.
On February 11, 1930, Hermann Kohl, along with 155 other individuals from across the U.S. were indicted on federal “liquor conspiracy” charges. Among them were owners and executives from several well known druggists and perfume companies, including Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, C.H. Selick, Inc., a well-known manufacturer of perfumes and toilet waters, E.M. Laning, Inc., another flavor and fragrance company, Joubert Cie, Inc., a perfume factory, Allied Drug and Chemical Corporation, and Maiden Lane Drug Company.
In Chapter 11 of my Villa Am Meer story, you learned that Norda had been implicated in this national “rum ring” because a man by the name of “A. Srebren” was caught selling and distributing cases of Norda perfume from his Chicago warehouse. Not a big deal, you say? The problem was that, along with the perfume, Srebren was also providing customers with caustic soda and a written formula book showing how to separate the alcohol from the essential oils. That, and the Norda Company shared warehouse space with Srebren and Company.
Early in 1930, the Chicago warehouse was raided by Prohibition agents. The following text is taken directly from the appellate brief:
“On the premises, they found a lot of whiskey, alcohol and toilet preparations. A further search of the premises netted a file of correspondence, which showed the name of the Norda Essential Oil Company. An examination of the fifth floor of the building revealed a small room with bottles bearing the label “Norda Essential Oil Company.” On the first floor of the building were found 13 cases of toilet preparations containing ten one-gallon cans each, all bearing the label of Norda Essential Oil Company; also freight bills relating to these 13 cases, showing Srebren & Co. to be the consignee. They also found 35 cases packed in a similar manner to the 13 cases, which bore the label of Srebren & Company, 121 E. 24th Street, New York City. This appears to be the address of the Norda Company, New York City.”
The evidence was plenty damning, and therefore, Norda’s Vice President, Arthur Henricksen, and its Executive Secretary, Beatrice Epstein were also arrested on liquor conspiracy charges.
I was able to retrieve all this information from the National Archives in New York (Northeast Region). From court documents I received, I learned that appeals for all three Norda executives were denied, and they were ordered to stand trial in Chicago on federal bootlegging charges.
I wrote to the National Archives in Chicago (Great Lakes Region) to see if I could find the outcome of the federal case, but they wrote back to tell me the case filled an entire legal size archive box and contained over 1500 pages. In order for me to determine the outcome of the case, I would need to visit the National Archives myself and sift through the 1500 pages.
As it turns out, I just so happened to be in Chicago two weeks ago…to see OPRAH. (If you missed that story, read “My Crazy Wonderful Week“). So, with a little persuasion (a trip to Target), I was able to convince my friend’s daughter and former babysitter, Amanda, to join me on my quest. Amanda attends school at Columbia College in downtown Chicago, which was just a few blocks from our hotel.
OK, time to dive in.
First, we found a list of all the people and companies who had been named in the original indictment. In addition to the New York companies named earlier, I was surprised to also see Royal Crown Manufacturing Company (RC Cola) on the list, as well as Nipola, a St. Paul company that manufactured “Lucky Lindy” perfume, named after Charles Lindbergh, who was raised in Minnesota.
There was one other familiar name on the list that caught our eye… Gambino (yes, *those* Gambinos). Biagio (aka Frank) Gambino, trading as All Star Laboratories in Cleveland, was indicted in the same case as Hermann Kohl. Interestingly, he was already serving time at the federal prison in Fort Riley Kansas, and was ordered to be released from custody there in order to stand trial for this case in Chicago. Carmella (aka Charlie) Gambino was also served a bench warrant for his arrest in a different jurisdiction.
Heavy.
So, what exactly were Hermann, Arthur and Beatrice accused of in this 96 page indictment?
Beatrice
“53. That the defendant, Beatrice Epstein, of New York City, in the State of New York, on or about, to wit, August 1, 1928, in said City and State, signed a certificate of the action of the board of directors of the defendant, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, of New York City, aforesaid, which said certificate was a part of an application for a permit applied for in the name of the defendant, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company of New York City, aforesaid.”
Arthur
“83. That said defendant Arthur J. Henriksen, of New York City, in the State of New York, on or about, to wit, October 4, 1929, in said City and State, signed the application for a permit issued to defendant Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, of New York City, aforesaid for 1050 wine gallons per month.”
Hermann
“113. That on, to wit, July 18, 1929, said defendant Herman J. Kohl, at New York City, New York, signed a letter addressed and mailed to the defendant A. Srebren Company, Chicago, Illinois.”
“113 (a). That from, to wit, January 1, 1922, to, to wit, the filing of this indictment, the defendant, Herman J. Kohl, has been acting as President of defendant Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, a corporation, doing business in the City of New York, New York.”
“114. That on, to wit, July 23, 1929, said defendant Herman J. Kohl, at Chicago, Illinois, in the division and district aforesaid, sold to Anastassoff Srebren, doing business as A. Srebren Company of the City of of Chicago, Illinois, 13 cases of ten gallons each of toilet water, said toilet water having theretofore been manufactured in violation of the National Prohibition Act and of the regulations made thereunder.”
“115. That during the month of, to wit, March, 1928, said defendant Herman J. Kohl, at St. Louis, Missouri, met one John A. Ayars.”
Norda, Inc.
“252. That on or about, to wit, January 1, 1927, and again on or about, to wit, January 1, 1928, and again on or about, to wit, January 1, 1929, the defendant, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, a corporation, ding business in the City of New York, State of New York, made application to the Prohibition Administrator in New York City, for the renewal of a permit to withdraw large quantities of specially denatured alcohol.”
“253. That from, to wit, January 1, 1927, to, to wit, the filing of this indictment, the said defendant, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, a corporation, as aforesaid, manufactured large quantities of alcoholic products, to wit, deodorant spray, in violation of the National Prohibition Act and regulations made thereunder.”
“254. That during the year 1928, at Chicago, in the division and district aforesaid, the said defendant, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company, a corporation, sold to the defendant, Anastassoff Srebren, large quantities of saponifiable oils and esters, to wit, “Lilac 59,” jasmine, carnation bouquet, and rose concentrate, in violation of the National Prohibition Act.”
We read and read, sifted and sifted, and while we were able to determine that several defendants did indeed plead guilty or no contest, with fines ranging anywhere from $200 to $6,200 and prison sentences up to 18 months, Hermann and Arthur plead not guilty on June 21, 1932 (no record for Beatrice). The motion was continued to September 20, 1932 to be set for trial.
So… what happened??? (Can we end the suspense already??)
We couldn’t find anything. We went through all the documents a second time, and I photographed everything that mentioned Norda, Kohl, Henriksen or Epstein, but still nothing. We’d hit a dead end.
Finally, I asked one of the researchers at the National Archives why there was no transcript of the trial, and no outcome for the case. She asked a supervisor, and he told us that shorthand notes were very seldom saved, and therefore no transcripts existed for most trials during this era. However, we could very quickly determine the outcome of the case by checking the court docket.
(Huh?)
He brought out an old book with yellowing pages that gave a chronological line-by-line account of everything that took place in the Chicago federal court. I quickly paged to case number 21145, which went on for the next 21 pages. It spanned all the way from February 10, 1930, the day of the original indictment, to July 13, 1934 – four and a half years after the original indictment, and seven months after the official end of Prohibition (December 5, 1933).
(Oh, for heaven’s sake! Get on with it! What happened to Hermann Kohl??)
I quickly scanned to September 20, 1932, the date Kohl and Henriksen’s trial had been scheduled. A lot went down that day… mostly people changing their pleas from not guilty to guilty and getting sentenced, but still nothing for Kohl and Henriksen. I scanned forward to November 26, 1932 and found appearances filed for Norda, Kohl, and Henricksen, along with Jourbert Cie, Inc. and Joseph S. Lindemann, by their mutual attorney, LaVerne Norris.
I scanned forward some more and discovered that on December 13, 1932, just a few weeks later, Joubert Cie also withdrew their not guilty plea and, instead, entered a plea of “nolle contendre” or “no contest.”
Still nothing for Kohl, Henricksen, or Epstein. And then… another continuance.
May 22, 1933:
Continued to June 19th for trial on motion of U.S. Attorney as to Allied Drug and Chemical, Centraphor Pharmacal, Chicago Toilet Supply, Majestic Chemical & Drug, Norda Essential Oil and Chemical, Perfection Laboratories, Puritan Cosmetics, Redwin Manufacturing, Royal Crown, C.H. Selick, Vidor Perfumeries, and a handful of individuals including Anastassoff Srebren, A.J. Henriksen, and Herman J. Kohl.
These were the holdouts, the ones still pleading not guilty, and (most likely) the ones who could still afford their legal fees.
On October 2nd, another continuance was filed for the holdouts. Trial set for November 1st.
Tick, tick, tick.
On November 1st, another continuance for the holdouts. Trial set for January 18, 1934.
Tick, tick, tick.
December 5, 1933… PROHIBITION REPEALED!! CHIN CHIN! EIN PROSIT! SKOL TO FISKEN!
January 18, 1934, another continuance. Trial set for January 25, 1934.
And then, miraculously…
“Order to nolle pross as to the following defendants, bonds released and sureties discharged.”
The holdouts had won. They had bided their time and bought their freedom until Prohibition ended, and just like that (*snap*), all their charges were dropped.
Nolle pros… no prosecute… charges dropped. Just like that. Even Anastassoff Srebren himself. Crazy.
After four and a half years of legal fees and 1500 pages of paperwork, you’d think something would have come of all this. But, in the end, the holdouts won.
Nolle pros.
I’ll drink to that.
Read MoreOur last day on Longboat
It’s our last day on Longboat Key, and I can’t believe how fast the week went by. Like every year, I get here and think, “Wow, a whole week! It’s only Saturday, and we have seven more days!” And then, suddenly, it’s Friday, and I think, “Wow. Now how did that happen?” Rats.
A photo from our first sunset last Saturday:
I know I said I was going to update you on the outcome of Hermann Kohl’s national bootlegging trial this week, but that’s a little too time-intensive for my last day of vacation. Instead, I thought I’d just upload a few photos from the field trip that my mom and I took today. Even though it was a perfect, sunny beach day, I really wanted to see the John and Mable Ringling Museum, so that’s what we did. Well… kind of. We actually never made it to the museum because we were too enthralled with Ca d’Zan (“House of John”), the Ringlings’ waterfront mansion on Sarasota Bay.
What a great and tragic love story. John and Mable both came from humble beginnings, but soon became one of the wealthiest couples in America. They were married in 1905, and began work on Ca d’Zan in 1924. Under the artistic direction and ever-watchful eye of Mable, it was completed two years later, in 1926.
In 1927, John and Mable decided to begin construction of a museum to house their ever-growing art collection. John had acquired several hundred valuable works of art while traveling Europe in search of new circus acts.
Sadly, Mable died on June 8, 1929 from complications of Addison’s disease and diabetes. She was only 54 years old. She had spent only three years in the Venetian-inspired palace she had helped design and build.
John was devastated by Mable’s death. Only four months later, the great stock market crash of 1929 hit and the Florida land boom went bust. Times were hard for the Ringling Brothers’ Barnum & Bailey Circus, and John had been a bit reckless in his financial dealings. Construction of the Ritz-Carlton hotel he’d been building on Longboat Key was halted permanently. It stood vacant for almost 40 years before it was finally torn down in 1964. (Today, it is the site of the Longboat Key Club resort.)
John had to borrow money to complete the construction of Mable’s beloved art museum. In October 1931, “The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art” was officially opened to the public. Five years later, John Ringling bequeathed his art collection, Ca d’Zan mansion and entire estate to the people of the State of Florida.
Read much more about the Ringlings and their art museum at this link:
http://www.ringling.org/
Joy at the main entrance to Ca d'Zan (House of John)
Mable picked out the colors of the window panels which glow from every room of the house
John and Mabel had no children, but considered their two pet birds as children
The Tap Room saw a lot of action, even though it was the Prohibition era
Joy and Kathy on back patio of Ca D'Za
Marble staircase leading out to Sarasota Bay
Kathy showing off the waterfront side of Ca d'Zan
Railing detail on marble staircase
Mable Ringling's Secret Garden
Final resting place of John and Mable Ringling, and John's sister, Ida Ringling North. (We wondered where Mr. North was... I'll have to get to the bottom of that.)
Until next time… we’ll miss you Longboat Key! XOXO
Read MoreLive from Longboat!
An update on Villa Am Meer
It’s Tuesday morning and I’ve finally had some time to exhale and catch up on my sleep. We arrived here on Longboat Key Saturday afternoon and have enjoyed beautiful, perfect weather every day. Today we woke up to our first day of clouds, so I decided to take the opportunity to write a quick update about Villa Am Meer.
(Achtung! Spoiler alert! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click the link at the very top of my blog that says “villa am meer” to start from the beginning.)
On Sunday, Ross and I took our first daily amble down the beach. I was anxious to see “my house,” as well as the new concrete piers (groins) they installed last year, so I brought my camera along. We were a little bummed because we’d heard The Colony Resort had closed, so we were keeping an eye out for a new “margarita stop.” (If anyone knows of a place, please let us know.)
Here’s the view as we were just starting out. You can see the concrete groins up ahead. That’s where we’re headed. Villa Am Meer is the first property past those groins.
Here’s a Google map of where we’re headed. That’s Villa Am Meer at the bottom right of the map (the house closest to the beach with the long driveway off Gulf of Mexico Drive).
Once we reach the groins, you can see the tall palm trees on the property. That’s the Islander Club on the left. Notice how close to the water that resort is compared to the rest. That’s why they had to put the groins in… to prevent erosion of the beachfront. These days, new properties are required to be built much further back.
Ross decided to check out the new pier/groin…
Finally, we approach Villa Am Meer. Trying hard not to look like a creeper, I decide to take a few videos:
Later, on another walk, we noticed a young couple enjoying the beach, directly in front of Villa Am Meer. We introduced ourselves and learned they are now living on the property and maintaining it, though it is still owned by a separate company. They confirmed there are no plans to develop the property anytime soon. (Yay!)
So… all good news for Villa Am Meer at the moment! Later this week… an answer to the question, was Hermann Kohl or his company, Norda Essential Oils and Chemical Company, ever convicted of bootlegging? I’ve been to the National Archives in Chicago to find out.
Stay tuned!
Read MoreVilla am Meer, Chapter 13
University Commons… the beginning of the end
New here? Start with Chapter 1…
Back in Chapter 1, my very first blog post, I started with a list of questions I wanted to know about “my house” on Longboat Key. Who built it? How long had it been there? Who owned it? And finally, why had it fallen into such a state of disrepair? Over the past several months, I’ve answered all but the last one. Today, I’ll do my best to answer that question as well.
Throughout the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, the Kohl-Benedict family had a good run. They built a family fortune that started with perfume. They ventured into real estate. Dairy farms. Thoroughbred race horses. Tropicana orange juice. Private islands. And something about parrots…? I never did get to the bottom of that one.
Indeed, it was a lavish lifestyle… private schools, country clubs, debutante balls, luxury Manhattan apartments, corporate parties at the Rainbow Room, and beach parties at Villa am Meer (attended by the occasional celebrity).
Things clipped along until 1985, the year Hermann Kohl’s company, Norda, Inc., was acquired by Unilever, a huge Anglo-Dutch food and fragrance company dually-based out of the UK and the Netherlands. If you think you’ve never heard of Unilever, think again. Think Lipton, Hellman’s, Dove, and Axe.
When the deal was done, the question, I’m sure, was what to do with this latest windfall. How could the family invest their wealth to guarantee a sustained income for future generations of “Dukes and Benedicts?”
The answer, it seems, was a Sarasota retirement community offering sequential care for the elderly. Enter University Commons, “a 256-acre nursing/retirement home complex covering 567,800 square feet, with golf course, resort hotel, and office space.”
It was to be built on land purchased by Hermann Kohl in 1931, north of University Parkway, at the intersection of Tuttle Avenue. It was such a large undertaking, the project was deemed a “DRI,” or Development of Regional Impact. After all, as late as 1982, University Parkway was still unpaved, and referred to simply as “County Line Road.”
All that changed by October of 1992, when University Parkway was converted from a two lane road to a six-lane superhighway that connected I-75 with the international airport and two other major U.S. highways (301 and 41) between Sarasota and Bradenton. In all, seven DRIs were planned for the five mile corridor along University Parkway.
It certainly seemed like a good idea. After all, during the 90s, millions of aging baby boomers were busy stuffing money into their IRAs and making plans to move to Florida in droves. Yes, everything would be coming up roses for the Benedicts for a very long time, assuming all went well with the University Commons project.
All did not go well.
I have no idea what went wrong with the project, but the property tax records for 8104 Tuttle Avenue tell some of the story. On August 2, 1994, the University Commons property was sold to Unicom Nursing Care for $900,000. Unicom was another corporation owned by the Benedicts. This company was incorporated on July 31, 1994 in the state of Florida, but was based out of Edison, New Jersey. Two years later, on December 31, 1996, the property was sold for $1 to OIDC, Inc., a land subdivision and real estate credit company based out of Greenwich, Connecticut. One year later, OIDC sold the property for $541,900 to Life Care Health Resources, Inc.
The Life Care Center of Sarasota was completed in February of 2000 with 120 beds and a staff of 180. It was no longer a development owned by the Benedict family, but instead by Life Care Centers of America, a company that operates more than 200 skilled nursing homes, assisted living facilities, retirement living communities, home care services, and Alzheimer’s centers throughout the U.S.
To be sure, the Benedicts must have spent millions of dollars in plans and permits for the University Commons development, only to lose it all in bankruptcy. It appears to have been the beginning of the end for the Benedict fortune. One by one, other properties were foreclosed upon, including Villa am Meer, the Tilly Foster Farm, and eventually, Elena’s home in Purchase, New York.
Sigh. I wish there was a better ending to my story.
Next time… the Florida Master Site File and a few final thoughts.
Sources:
“Growth Traps Homeowners,” Sarasota Herald Tribune, February 21, 1994
“Assisted Living Company Plans 248 Acre Retirement Community,” Sarasota Herald Tribune, December 2, 1997
Manatee County Property Search
Read MoreAbout Me
Join me in my sporadic ramblings as I embrace the curious life. Wife of a turkey farmer. Mother of two teenage boys. Avid ponderer. Treasure seeker. Curator of the written word. I enjoy sparking interest in the mundane and uncovering a compelling backstory.
