As most of you are aware, I spent a good part of my time with the Bell System in the field of labor relations. The management of AT&T, principally Verne Bagnell, decided in July of 1951 that I should become a management employee. There were two moves in the future to Kansas City and then to Chicago, at which point I was promoted to a job in New York to be the Assistant Labor Relations Manager. As it turns out, in the first half of 1955, I wound up sitting on the management side of the table rather than on the union side where I had sat previously during bargaining sessions. This table was located in the 25th floor conference room at 32 Sixth Avenue.
After a time, we began to make preparations for 1956 bargaining. Every bargaining session requires a note taker. My recollection is that in 1956, the note taker was one Albert W. Kunberger. This was not a glamorous job because the notes were to be taken in longhand. They did the best they could to capture the essence of the conversation that was taking place as the union and the company sparred. So this was my introduction to Albert W. Kunberger.
Al was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He took great pains to announce that this was not Penn State. It was the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school located in Philadelphia. As it turns out, Philadelphia was Al Kunberger’s home town.
I was very fond of Al Kunberger and after the bargaining session was completed, kept in touch with him over the years. While Al attended an Ivy League school, he was not what one may call an Ivy Leaguer. Al was used to hard work; whatever needed to be done always got done if it were given to Al Kunberger.
Al Kunberger came from a German family who lived in Philadelphia. They operated a bakery in the Grays Ferry section of town. Bakers arise very early so that when the morning light dawns they will have their products ready for consumption. I have never been a baker but, from hearing tales by Al Kunberger and from our friend Frances Licht, being a baker is not an easy occupation.
The Kunberger Bakery was a “must stop” establishment for residents in the Grays Ferry area. Residents recall stopping at Kunberger’s Bakery after Sunday mass at St. Gabriel’s to enjoy cinnamon buns and sugar cookies. This was a prominent place in Philadelphia history and residents fondly recall their visits to the bakeshop.
While Al was attending the University of Pennsylvania, he also found time to mind the Kunberger Bakery in the afternoons. Apparently the Kunberger Bakery was located in a section of Philadelphia that embraced several schools. Before Al assumed his responsibilities in the bakery shop, his father apparently had started a tradition. In essence, he sold day-old or two-day-old products at a large discount. And so it was that when Al Kunberger was tending the store, if a youngster appeared at his counter, he would order some “stalies.” The word “stalies” applies to baked goods that are one or two days old. Apparently the Kunberger Bakery did a large business in selling stalies. So when Al Kunberger was on duty, he would ask the youngster whether he wanted the fresh doughnuts or the staley kind. This apparently happened during the Depression and it was obvious that we did everything that had to be done to get through the Depression.
Years passed and Al and I took different routes until sometime in the 1970s. On that occasion, I was appointed the Director of Overseas Service. I found that one of my divisions was being handled by none other than Al Kunberger, who was in charge of service to the Americas. And so we resumed our friendship after a period which I suppose would be called the interregnum.
In 1984 I announced that I had had enough of telephone work and I retired. On at least three occasions, Al Kunberger would gather some of his staff, all of whom I knew, and we would have lunch together. Having lunch with me was not the most elegant thing that Al Kunberger could do while he was still working for AT&T. When I retired from AT&T, there were no hostilities expressed but certain figures higher up in management knew my inner feelings. But Al Kunberger was my friend and he disdained those feelings of certain management personnel. The lunches were very enjoyable to me because I had an opportunity to meet some old friends, but mostly to renew again my acquaintance with Al Kunberger. More than anything else, it showed me that Al Kunberger still had the guts that I had ascribed to him many years ago. He did not care what the upper management may have thought about me. If I were his friend, and I was, Al would thumb his nose at what upper management may have thought.
Unfortunately after I retired, I received the sad news that Al Kunberger was afflicted with bad health. Within a short time, Al died.
Many years ago, I should have paid a tribute to Albert W. Kunberger in these essays. But better late than never. The thought that had lurked in my mind had to do with stalies. We visit the bakery shop here at least once a week and I find that consumption of day-old or two-day-old bakery goods is beneficial to my well-being.
So let this small essay stand as a tribute to Albert W. Kunberger, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school, and the gentleman who introduced me to the word “stalies.” Al was a Catholic and I do not know whether or not his branch of the religion believed in eternal life. But if eternal life is in the picture, I am sure that Al would be smiling at me for having written this story about stalies. I am only sorry that the essay about stalies did not happen while Al Kunberger was still alive. It got done later rather than sooner. But if your taste runs to day-old or two-day-old bakery goods, be my guest, because that is the way to enjoy stalies in their full flower.
E. E. CARR
February 13, 2012
Essay 637
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Kevin’s commentary: I like the flow of this one. Labor relations to two-day-old bread. Ooh, and “interregnum” was a new word for me. I’ve always found that I like a piece of writing much more when I have to look up at least one word in it… nice to learn something. Reading David Foster Wallace, as I’ve been doing a bit of recently, is perhaps an extreme example of this.
It occurs to me that perhaps I could write more insightful commentary if I were to upload essays before 1:30am as is happening now, but the fact is that very rarely is content added to the site outside of the hours of 11:30 PM PST to 2:00AM PST. And by ‘very rarely’ I mean “it has happened exactly twice.” I make heavy use of WordPress’s “say this story was published yesterday” feature.
Oh, and tonight’s theme is another single-person-focus night. Cool.