Thursday, December 31, 2009
Lost Memphis Broadway Coal Company
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:09 AM
But I recently turned up an interesting old sales postcard from the Broadway Coal Company, which will at least tell you the various kinds of coal you received from Santa, and quite frankly the names of this stuff just fascinated me. I mean, at the Mansion the Lauderdales certainly never sullied their hands by actually dealing with coal, or the vendors who supplied it, but gosh-a-mighty I never realized there were so many different types.
If I had to choose, I'd probably go with "Broadway Special Stoker" because it just sounds so, well, special (though a bit pricey at $8.20 a ton). I also like the "Lewis Creek Nut," "Arcola Egg," and "High Grade Pea and Slack" just for their names.
What's especially interesting — to me, anyway — is that Broadway, like so many other coal companies around town, also sold ice. Now coal and ice don't seem to have a lot in common, if you ask me, and this kind of thing bothers me as much as that business of funeral homes operating ambulance services. There's just something unnatural about it.
This card listed the coal available to Broadway customers. I also have a nice postcard (below) in the Lauderdale Library from the same company, which was mailed out to customers who foolishly failed to purchase coal from Broadway. I must say, I admire their professionalism, because they don't give up.
The card actually thanks the customer for taking the time to listen to their salesman — in this case, an "ice man." And then they apply just a bit of sale pressure: "We regret that you cannot use our service at present, but feel that you may find it in your interest to do so."
Doesn't that sound a little like a threat? They continue: "You will find our delivery men capable and eager to anticipate your convenience." Huh? "Anticipate your convenience"? What the heck does that mean?
What they DO mean, I gather, is that if you don't buy coal or ice from us the next time we come around, well ... something might just happen to that nice house of yours.
I know this because of the address: 763 South Lauderdale, which was just down the street from the mansion, and I remember Papa telling me to never ride my scooter past "those coal guys" because they were "rough characters," what with their big coal shovels and ice tongs and all.
Of course, it may have had something to do with the fact that my scooter was pink and had those streamers attached to the handlebars. Sure, I could have chosen a more "manly" conveyance, but I just wouldn't have felt so pretty riding it. Oh, how I loved "Scootie"!
Comments (4)
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We only ever burned Clover Fork Harlan Lump at my grandmother's house. Nothing but the best. Granmarie always said Lewis Creek was a dump, and Pea and Slack was downright obscene, wouldn't have it in the house.
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Several years ago, that very question came up, and it turns out the old hardware store on the square in Collierville still sold coal. McGinnis? There's not even a "coal" category in the Yellow Pages anymore. I suppose I could call the hardware store, but I'd prefer that someone else do that for me.
Coal and ice both were transported by rail and used by the railroads for refrigeration and fuel. My grandfather was a brakeman for a line and when he would get off the train at "our" station he would off load a little of each for the family's use.
