Family business in Mocanaqua

Last edit of this page 2024.OCT.19

There is plenty of information about the family store, and it will take time to assemble it all. But …. this is what we have for now.

The store in Mocanaqua went through several phases:

Jacob alone

Jacob with Nate

Nate alone

Nate with Abe

Nate with Abe and Ron Lieberman

Abe with Ron

Abe alone

Jacob and Kate moved their young family to Mocanaqua about 1903. The family lived in the store at the corner of Main Street and Pond Hill Road. The store sold … well, anything. Jacob and oldest son Nate started the Chrysler agency in 1924; it was one of the oldest dealerships in the state. The store continued to sell other merchandise as well. The automobile operation included gasoline (Amoco) and a repair shop. The business was sold to 1988, and the building was torn down. The site is still vacant.

This invoice shows material purchases in 1916. The specific items seem to be spouting, elbows, hooks and circles, repairing old spouting, and pipe. These are likely relevant to roof gutters. The invoice was mounted behind glass in a five-inch by seven-inch wooden frame.

Jacob bought bedding in 1922. “Japanned” refers to a

lacquer finish.

This is the original dealer agreement with the Chrysler Corporation.

Automobiles were a big part of the store’s operation. These license plates were saved in the garage.

After Jacob’s death in 1929, the property passed to Nate.

The item at the left, 1929.JUN.28, shows that Nate sold off much of the furniture and personal property from the house. The center and right items, 1929.DEC.18, reveal a legal snag. The most likely explanation is that Jacob had borrowed money, or perhaps had taken out a loan, using three plots as security. It must be presumed that Nate paid off the $5,500, possibly over time; the same plots were finally sold by Abe and Fay in 1988, as shown at the bottom of this page. The price in 1988 was $10,000, not even double the 1929 value. The store’s inventory was sold for $45,000.

This photograph, and those directly below, were provided by John Kubasik. John is the son of Bosh (also John Kubasik), longtime faithful associate of Simon’s Motors. Bosh appears in a photo near the end of this page. The price of gasoline suggests that these photographs were taken about 1931.

The outside signs are for gasoline, World Tires, DuPont Tires, and Simon’s Motors.

Nate let folks stretch out their credit. These sheets are for the Della Pasquale family, running from about 1930 to 1932. These lists show mostly groceries.

Nate was certainly willing to deal with customers with cash flow problems. These letters from 1942 are from people down on their luck.

This break-in and robbery were reported 1934.DEC.24. It was reported that Abe (Abram) lived in Glen Lyon. This is the only documentation we possess showing that he lived in Glen Lyon.

These wartime gas ration coupons expired 1942.JUN.30 (as noted on the reverse). These coupons, however, were never used. Perhaps these were issued to vehicles for sale from the showroom and that the vehicles were never driven.

This decal was used for many years.

The Chrysler trade magazine acknowledged Abe’s military service.

This image was provided by Mike McCandless of Burlington, North Carolina. He runs a museum for Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, and DeSoto cars. Visit this museum; click here. This sign must have been placed in Shickshinny, southbound on US highway 11.

This photograph was taken in 1964 for the 40th anniversary of the dealership. The names were taken from the back of the picture, and some spellings are uncertain.

This photo was also for the 40th anniversary. Abe is on the left, and Nate on the right. This photo was supplied by Paul Rosenbloom, Nate’s grandson.

This was also supplied by Paul Rosenbloom.

John Kubasek in the photo above was universally known as Bosh. The photo at the right shows Abe with Bosh. The date is uncertain, but 1965 to 1970 is plausible. Bosh’s son, also John, supplied this picture. John recounts happy times as a child at Simon’s, including rides with his father to deliver bottled gas and occasional lunch breaks at Winterstein’s restaurant in Shickshinny.

In 1978, Abe’s son-in-law Ron Lieberman came to work with the business. This was then an incorporated business, and this item outlines the stock agreement.

The entire property was eventually sold in 1988, when Abe retired. The property was sold for $10,000; this consisted of lots 43, 44, and 45. These lots were the subject of a dispute when they were passed through Jacob’s will to his son Nate. The inventory of the store was sold for $45,000.

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