Posts Tagged "Norda Inc"
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 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 MoreVilla Am Meer, Chapter 11
United States of America vs. Hermann J. Kohl
New here? Start with Chapter 1…
Source: New York County Lawyer magazine, October 2005
So what happened at that trial on Monday, February 9, 1931? They lost. They were taken into custody and sent to jail. How do I know? Because according to the appellate brief I received last week from the National Archives at New York City, Terence J. McManus, lawyer for Kohl and Henriksen, was appealing the decision from August 7, 1931 which dismissed the writs of habeas corpus for the two men. In a nutshell, that means McManus was trying to get his clients out of jail. He lost the appeal as well. The order was affirmed, and the two defendants remained in jail, awaiting their removal to Chicago where they would stand trial on federal bootlegging and conspiracy charges.
The appellate brief also gives us details about the Norda Company’s specific involvement in this landmark case:
Both appellants have been chemists for many years. Kohl is the president and Henriksen the vice-president of the Norda Essential Oil & Chemical Company, which had obtained a permit for the use of 600 gallons of alcohol, actuallly using only about one-half of it. The Norda Company dealt in essential oils, such as lavendar, geranium, Rose Marie, spike and thyme, and its articles were used mainly by the soap industry.
The total business per annum of the Norda Company was approximately $1,680,000, consisting mainly of essential oils. The business done in alcoholic preparations was approximately $9,000.
In spite of the fact that Norda had a legitimate government-issued permit for the use of alcohol in its perfumes and toilet waters, the problem wasn’t that Norda was selling its perfumes to people who wanted to wear it. The problem was that Norda was selling its perfumes to people who wanted to drink it.
*Sidebar*
I’ve learned a bit about perfume-making while I was writing this post. Surprisingly, perfume-making is pretty simple. First, you come up with a scent you like by combining a variety of essential oils. Next, you add grain alcohol and water to the oil mixture, in the proportions listed below. The stronger the scent, the higher the concentration of essential oils, and the greater the alcohol content. Therefore, perfume smells stronger and stays on the skin longer than “eau de toilette” (toilet water) or cologne.
| % of Total | % of Remainder | % of Remainder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil % | Alcohol % | Water % | |
| Perfume | 15-30% | 90-95% | 5-10% |
| Eau de Perfume | 8-15% | 80-90% | 10-20% |
| Eau de Toilette | 4-8% | 80-90% | 10-20% |
| Eau de Cologne | 3-5% | 70% | 30% |
| Cologne Splash | 1-3% | 80% | 20% |
*End Sidebar*
Before the Prohibition Act was passed on January 16, 1920, there were approximately 125 legitimate businesses in New York City engaged in the manufacture of essential oils, barber supplies (hair tonics), and perfumes. By the end of 1920, the number of “perfume companies” applying for alcohol permits jumped from 125 to 3,000. (Source: New York Times, December 9, 1920. Read the article…)
So now… we know Hermann Kohl and his wife Hertha moved from their residence at 400 West 148th Street in Manhattan, to 336 Halsted Street in Essex County, New Jersey sometime between 1918 (the year Kohl registered for the draft) and 1920 (the year of the U.S. Census). From his obituary, we also know that Kohl founded Norda in 1924… four years after Prohibition was passed. So, clearly, Norda was not one of the original 125 legitimate perfume businesses operating prior to 1920.
The Damning Evidence
At the center of this national liquor ring was a man by the name of “A. Srebren.” He ran a business called “Srebren & Company” in Chicago. Ironically, the Norda Company shared the same warehouse space as Srebren & 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.”
However, the most damning evidence of all comes from a witness by the name of Shorn, a shipping and receiving clerk employed jointly by Srebren and Norda Essential Oil Company. In the appellate brief, Shorn gave the following account to the Prohibition agent:
“The toilet preparations were received there and sold, as they were, to persons in private automobiles, in quantities of from six cans to five cases, together with a quantity of caustic soda. They found sales slips to correspond to such quantities. They also found upon the premises a formula book showing how to clean alcohol of its oils. In connection with this, Shorn told him that when Srebren sold this oil to a customer, he always sold him a formula for cleaning alcohol.”
And so, in the end, Kohl and Henriksen’s appeal was denied, the original order was affirmed, and both men were to be removed to Chicago to stand trial on federal bootlegging charges.
And there in Chicago, at the office of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), stands a box with over 1500 legal sheets of paper, just waiting for me to comb through it.
Hoo-ahh… I can’t wait.
(Incidentally, Kohl and Henriksen’s lawyer, Terence J. McManus, was one of NYC’s best criminal defense lawyers and also a strong supporter in the movement to repeal the national Prohibition Act. Here’s a link to a 2005 article from New York County Lawyer magazine that quotes McManus and gives a very detailed account of life during that era. Download the article…)
Read MoreVilla Am Meer, Chapter 9
Hermann Kohl and Norda, Inc. brought up on bootlegging charges
New here? Start with Chapter 1…
So… here we go.
Jo-La Cola, manufactured by the Orange Brewery
*Sidebar*
In October of 1927, twelve men, including the then current owners of the Orange Brewery, were indicted on charges that alcohol was being illegally distilled and manufactured on a wholesale basis from the facility from at least January 1 of that year up until it was raided by Federal Agents on June 21st. The illegal product was being shipped in car load lots to destinations as far away as Kansas City in containers marked as “paint”, “oils”, and “boiler compound”. Molasses, so distilled into alcohol, was being shipped in railroad tank cars. (Source)
*End sidebar*
Three years later, on February 11, 1930, a New York Times article broke the news that 155 individuals from across the U.S., including several residents of New York City, had been indicted on federal “liquor conspiracy” charges. Among them was Dr. Hermann J. Kohl, head of Norda Essential Oil and Chemical Company. Other companies included in the indictment were 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.
One year later, on February 3, 1931, Hermann J. Kohl, President of Norda, Arthur J. Henrickson, Vice President, and Beatrice Epstein, Secretary, were all arrested in New York on indictments returned from Chicago charging them with being part of a national liquor ring. (Read the complete article.) All three were arraigned and posted bail.
In October of 1931, Hermann Kohl and Arthur Henrikson appealed their case to the U.S. District Court of Southern New York. Two orders were filed, one on October 13, 1931, and the other on October 22, 1931. Their appeal was heard in Nov-Dec of 1931 and the opinion made on January 4, 1932. The original order was upheld, meaning their appeal was denied, and they were still ordered to stand trial in Chicago on federal bootlegging charges.
I obtained all this information from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Northeast Region, in New York. I’ve ordered the complete brief of Kohl and Henrikson’s appeal trial, so I will probably learn more from that once I receive it.
I also contacted NARA Great Lakes Region in Chicago to see if I could determine the outcome of the federal court case, but they wrote back and told me that the case fills an entire legal-size archive box, which holds up to 1500 sheets of paper. They told me they don’t have the manpower to wade through that much paperwork, but I’m welcome to visit the NARA office and wade through it myself. Hmmm… road trip anyone?
And so, while I wait for my appellate brief from NARA New York, I’m still left wondering…
- When did the Kohls “adopt” Elena? According to the 1930 U.S. Census, she was still living with her parents at age 13, so it had to be sometime after that. From 1930-1932, Herman Kohl was embroiled in legal battles relating to the federal rum-running case, so it seems a bad time for him to take on an adopted daughter. That being the case, she must have been at least 15-16 before she was taken on as a legal ward of the Kohls.
- Was Herman Kohl ever convicted? If so, how long did he serve? On April 18, 1933, Hermann J. Kohl was listed as a passenger aboard the S.S. Europa traveling from Bremen, Germany to the U.S. He was 43 years old at the time, traveling with a 45 year old single woman by the name of Ellen Jacobsen from Southampton, Long Island. So, if he did serve any time, it wasn’t very long.
- At what point did Hermann Kohl become an investor in Tropicana? Villa Am Meer was built in 1935. That same year, Hermann J. Kohl was earning one of the highest salaries in all of New York at $77,840 (Source: New York Times, 1/7/1937). According to Anthony Rossi’s biography, we know he was in Miami running the Terrace Restaurant until 1944, and didn’t even start his fruit shipping business until 1945. I have to assume somewhere in that timeframe of 1945 to 1949 (the year Tropicana was founded), Rossi began selling his orange juice by-product (pulp and peel) to Norda, Inc. for use in their flavor and fragrance business. I’m sure it was at this time Kohl decided to become a partner in Rossi’s enterprising orange juice business.
Next time, details from the Kohl and Henrickson court case…
Read MoreVilla Am Meer, Chapter 8
Hermann J. Kohl and his road to riches
New here? Start with Chapter 1…
The S.S. Cincinatti
*Sidebar*
Schwerte is presently located in west central Germany, just northeast of Dusseldorf in the beautiful Rhineland region. According to Wikipedia, it belongs to the present day state of North Rhine-Westphalia (“western plain”), usually shortened to NRW, and is the westernmost, the most populous, and the economically most powerful state of Germany.
Schwerte, Prussia in 1905
At age 21, every male who lived within the Prussian Empire was subject to “conscription,” or what we call “the draft.” They were required to serve three full years of active military duty, followed by another 4-5 in the reserve. Once their reserve duty was finished, they became a member of the “Landwehr” for another 2-5 years, similar to our National Guard, and could be called up for active duty during times of war.
*End Sidebar*
From his obituary, we know that Hermann Kohl received a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Heidelberg University. Heidelberg was located in southwest Germany, outside the Prussian Empire. So, at age 21, Kohl would have been faced with the dilemma of returning to Prussia to serve his military duty, or to take his newly-aquired chemistry degree and head for America. It appears he chose the latter.
By the summer of 1914, World War I had begun in Europe, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Anti-German sentiment was on the rise in America, and many German immigrants were anxious to become naturalized citizens of the U.S., denouncing their loyalty to their former country.
The naturalization process took five years, and lucky for Kohl, he had filed his “first papers” soon after arriving in the U.S. — on July 31, 1911, at Ellis Island, NY.
*Sidebar*
The Naturalization Process (source: Ancestry.com)
The first responsibility for an immigrant wishing to become an official U.S. citizen was to complete a Declaration of Intention. These papers are sometimes called First Papers since they are the first forms to be completed in the naturalization process. Generally these papers were filled out fairly soon after an immigrant’s arrival in America. Due to some laws, there were times when certain groups of individuals were exempt from this step.
After the immigrant had completed these papers and met the residency requirement (which was usually five years), the individual was able to submit his Petition for Naturalization. Petitions are also known as Second or Final Papers because they are the second and final set of papers completed in the naturalization process.
*End Sidebar*
So, on April 26, 1916, Hermann Joseph Kohl renounced his allegiance to William II, Emperor of Germany, and became an official citizen of the United States of America.
Hermann Kohl's naturalization papers
Kohl was now 26 years old, and though he may have escaped the draft in Prussia, it still caught up with him in America. On June 5, 1917, Hermann Joseph Kohl registered for the World War I draft. He was still living at 400 West 148th Street with his wife, Hertha, and now working as a “chemist.” On the draft card, we also learn that Kohl was tall, slender, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was not going bald. He also had all his limbs, both eyes, and wasn’t otherwise disabled. A real catch.
Three years later, Hermann and Hertha show up on the 1920 U.S. Census living at 336 Halsted Street in East Orange, New Jersey. Clearly, they are not “rolling in it” quite yet. So why the move to East Orange? Hard to say. A quick look at Wikipedia says that hatmaking had been the essential industry in East Orange, with 21 companies employing 3,700 people in 1892. But by 1921, only five firms remained.
So, what else was in East Orange, New Jersey? Beer. The Orange Brewery was constructed in 1901 by the three Winter Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By the late 1890′s they were nearing capacity at their Pittsburgh facility, brewing 150,000 barrels a year. So, in 1899, the brothers sold their lucrative enterprise for over $4,500,000 to the Pittsburgh Brewing Company (PBC), packed up their profits and headed for East Orange, New Jersey.
Orange Brewery delivery wagon
“During the ‘dry’ years in the 1920’s, the Winters for a while utilized the Orange Brewery for the production of soda water and syrup type drinks. They manufactured a champagne-like, fruit flavored, carbonated soft drink beverage known as Jo-La Cola. Also during this period they formed a corporation known as The Sugola Company of New Jersey, which was an enterprise involved with (through the brewing process) converting starches to glucose in order to produce a byproduct that served as a food additive with properties that were similar to sugar.”
And so it began… Hermann Kohl’s little flavoring and fragrance company called Norda, Inc. was founded in 1924 in Boonton, New Jersey. Eleven years later, in 1935, Kohl would be listed in the New York Times as earning one of the highest salaries in all of New York.
Oh, but wait, there’s so much more… and I haven’t even told you about my whirlwind trip to New York City last weekend!
Next time… a raid at Orange Brewery, and a messy little court case.
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.
