Lipton Tea Building

[dlynn]

I was just given this photo, and thought I would share it.
It is a photo of the Lipton Tea Building here in Streator, where many of our mother's and grandmother's once worked.
My mother was 17 years old when she worked at Lipton Tea.
Does anyone have information when Lipton Tea opened or how the busniness did? Or when did it close?

[DumDave]

The original building was built for another reason. Bailey built it?
The Lipton tea plant was started after WWII.
It is all in a book titled "Biography in Black" sold @ the Historical Society.

Help me w/ this Joanie or I'll have to look it up myself & and am too lazy ........
-Dave

[John]

I believe it was originally the Baker Building. The Baker Brothers were grocers.

[DumDave]

That's right , John.
From Biography in Black p 150 "The following year (1947)Thos. J. Lipton opened a tea-processing plant in Streator"

[galsal]

Any idea what year the picture was taken?

[bluejay201]

The Baker Bros. were either grocers or grocery distributors. Or Both.

One of them purchased the Silas Williams home.
Joanie

[dlynn]

This photo belonged to a friend of my mother's. She told me that the photo was taken in 1947. That date was on the back of her photo. If the Tea company opened that year, maybe this photo was a "grand opening" photo taken of employees. My mother, Roberta Koral is in the bottom row, clear to the right next to the nurse, at age 17. She was very surprised to see the photo, and thought everyone was given one. Her's misplaced over the years. So with that said, there might be several floating about Streator, or somewhere. Is the photo at the Historical Society? Mom also told me that many of the women she worked with, and herself, later went from Lipton Tea to Owens. Many remained close friends over the years. I wish there were a list of employees, so we would know who the other women were. I'm sure as mom, they too would be surprised to see this photo after so many years. Many of those women, according to mom, didn't finsh High School, and this was their first job.

[Dave_L]

when did it close? Probably by the mid 60s. We used to take the plywood tea cartons and make tea box (think soap box) racers out of them, in probably in 1961-62. They also developed the flow-through tea bag and my dad who worked for another company, made a gizmo to separate and fill the bags, but my memory is pretty vague on details.

[DumDave]

Nov 18, 2010 18:24:21 GMT -6 Dave_L said:

when did it close? Probably by the mid 60s. We used to take the plywood tea cartons and make tea box (think soap box) racers out of them, in probably in 1961-62. They also developed the flow-through tea bag and my dad who worked for another company, made a gizmo to separate and fill the bags, but my memory is pretty vague on details.

Two tea boxes, two 2x4 boards,a large bolt, a rope to steer & two worn out sets of skates. Instant Soap Box Racer. I still have the scars on my kness from going down the steep hill where the Oakley Ave bridge is now located.
-Dave

[dlynn]

Instant Soap Box Racer's...sounds like fun to me! And home made! Just think of all the fun back then. And all the kids today, just say "we don't have anything to do." Sounds to me allot of good came out of Lipton Tea, besides jobs!

[galsal]

I still have a Lipton Tea box out in my garage. My mother had one that she would cover with cotton, and set the Christmas tree on. She would spray the inside with fake snow, and set up the manger scene. It was so beautiful!

[Dave_L]

Two tea boxes, two 2x4 boards,a large bolt, a rope to steer & two worn out sets of skates. Instant Soap Box Racer. I still have the scars on my kness from going down the steep hill where the Oakley Ave bridge is now located.
-Dave [/quote]

You got it Dave! We found a steep overgrown road at 5th and Reading in Riverside, cleaned it up with shovels and machetes. Quite a few often raced from street level to near river bank level. There was a great watermelon patch down there, as I recall.

Dave L

[Dave_L]

Nov 19, 2010 15:27:57 GMT -6 dlynn said:

Instant Soap Box Racer's...sounds like fun to me! And home made! Just think of all the fun back then. And all the kids today, just say "we don't have anything to do." Sounds to me allot of good came out of Lipton Tea, besides jobs!

dlynn, those were the days, if a racer broke down, we'd just pull a nail from another car and fix it.

[DumDave]

You could use the "Holes" cut from the tea box to use a sheathing for a playhouse or better yet a tree house.
I did.

[hollywood]

I remember those boxes, my dad made them into dog houses.