Grandpa ultimately died from lung cancer. Owning grocery stores was a long-running theme in dad’s life. Also the Wonder bread factory is no longer there – but I remember the sweet smells driving by it, when it was in operation. 🙂
I was in the flooring installation trade my whole career, started working with my dad in the late 60s/early 70s. I remember Ruberoid brand very early in my life…they also made floor covering products. And I remember Dad recieving all the promos & samples from GAF after that takeover. I remember it because it seemed wierd that a company that made film, projectors, and ViewMaster, was in the floor covering biz.
Googling, it looks like Ruberoid and GAF merged around 1967.
My Dad, a flooring installer, firefighter, and heavy smoker eventually died of lung cancer also.
Love Jonco’s diary posts, Kris.
Thanks DJ – my grandpa didn’t smoke at all, I don’t think. Probably just working with the actual asbestos for years is what did it.
I enjoy reading these–thank you for posting them, Kris.
Yes, grocery stores seems to be a family tradition in your family. Didn’t your parents run a convenient store for decades?
Yes – Just about 40 years. J & P Mini Mart was the one that lasted the longest. My brother and I basically grew up there. Dave also got into the grocery game for a while with his own store, City Grocery. Neighborhoods just got rougher and rougher and with the big stores near enough by bus or car.. it was just too much to make a profit. We learned a whole lot – good and bad.
Sounds like Grandma was a sharp cookie too. There were a lot of sharp women who never got credit for their accomplishments.
I think the quickness to blame asbestos when someone has ever come in contact, no matter how fleeting, is wrong. There is apparently a lot of things that can cause cancer but blaming asbestos right off we may be overlooking things we’re not yet aware of. I might be concerned over a hypothetical problem that isn’t real to medical researchers.
Nevermind, lets have a beer. ;o)
Yeah, sorta. I think if you’re stripping off your own old flooring or ceiling tiles in your house for a couple of days, you’re prob not at much risk, but if you spent an entire career working with it every day like Jonco’s gramps or my dad or a couple of other old-timers I worked with, or in the actual mines, yeah it was a problem. I’m pretty sure stats would bear that out.
Plus, my dad was a fireman, entering asbestos laden bldgs and pulling down ceilings, insulated duct work, insulation, etc, plus he was at least a 2-pack @ day smoker his whole life. I’m not blaming asbestos entirely, but it was very likely another factor.
True, both asbestos and smoking have been proven to cause cancer, I’m just saying automatically blaming them we may be overlooking some other things we aren’t aware of yet. Might help for people to look at the victims lifestyle and ask questions. Cancer is the monster under the bed for adults.
Yeah I know I’m not normal.
Now git them whippersnappers offa my lawn.
I was in the flooring installation trade my whole career, started working with my dad in the late 60s/early 70s. I remember Ruberoid brand very early in my life…they also made floor covering products. And I remember Dad recieving all the promos & samples from GAF after that takeover. I remember it because it seemed wierd that a company that made film, projectors, and ViewMaster, was in the floor covering biz.
Googling, it looks like Ruberoid and GAF merged around 1967.
My Dad, a flooring installer, firefighter, and heavy smoker eventually died of lung cancer also.
Love Jonco’s diary posts, Kris.
Thanks DJ – my grandpa didn’t smoke at all, I don’t think. Probably just working with the actual asbestos for years is what did it.
I enjoy reading these–thank you for posting them, Kris.
Yes, grocery stores seems to be a family tradition in your family. Didn’t your parents run a convenient store for decades?
Yes – Just about 40 years. J & P Mini Mart was the one that lasted the longest. My brother and I basically grew up there. Dave also got into the grocery game for a while with his own store, City Grocery. Neighborhoods just got rougher and rougher and with the big stores near enough by bus or car.. it was just too much to make a profit. We learned a whole lot – good and bad.
Sounds like Grandma was a sharp cookie too. There were a lot of sharp women who never got credit for their accomplishments.
I think the quickness to blame asbestos when someone has ever come in contact, no matter how fleeting, is wrong. There is apparently a lot of things that can cause cancer but blaming asbestos right off we may be overlooking things we’re not yet aware of. I might be concerned over a hypothetical problem that isn’t real to medical researchers.
Nevermind, lets have a beer. ;o)
Yeah, sorta. I think if you’re stripping off your own old flooring or ceiling tiles in your house for a couple of days, you’re prob not at much risk, but if you spent an entire career working with it every day like Jonco’s gramps or my dad or a couple of other old-timers I worked with, or in the actual mines, yeah it was a problem. I’m pretty sure stats would bear that out.
Plus, my dad was a fireman, entering asbestos laden bldgs and pulling down ceilings, insulated duct work, insulation, etc, plus he was at least a 2-pack @ day smoker his whole life. I’m not blaming asbestos entirely, but it was very likely another factor.
True, both asbestos and smoking have been proven to cause cancer, I’m just saying automatically blaming them we may be overlooking some other things we aren’t aware of yet. Might help for people to look at the victims lifestyle and ask questions. Cancer is the monster under the bed for adults.
Yeah I know I’m not normal.
Now git them whippersnappers offa my lawn.