Kent-Coffey Furniture and Baby Boomers
I need to apply for government grant money. I could do a study on what kinds of furniture our parents were buying in the 40's and 50's. Why not? I hear of people getting money to figure out why there are so many alligators in storm drains or to study life habits of Alaskan cod.
I have a sure-fire way to get the information. It comes in every day from my readers. As the Baby Boomers age they are inheriting their parent's furniture and want to know how much it is worth so they can sell it or toss it out.
Sorry, I have no idea what it's worth because I live in the world of new furniture. But I do know what was hot each year because everyone is asking about the same company.
A couple years ago all my email started, "Hi. We just inherited a Jasper Cabinet secretary..." That went on for several years. I guess as World War II started the entire country ran out and bought a Jasper Cabinet secretary so they could write to the boys overseas.
Inquiries stopped for a couple years then picked up again, slowly at first, but as the weather warms and the attics get cleaned out it is picking up. And they are all asking about the same thing. Considering I get mail from all over the country, it is really weird.
After the war, or toward the end, Kent-Coffey must have been the brand to have. Because most mail I get now starts out, "Hi. We just inherited a Kent-Coffey end table..."
From this I know: 1) another crop of Baby Boomers is dealing with aging parents and 2) everyone who bought furniture that year bought Kent-Coffey. Hundreds of brands of furniture, and all the inquiries this year are about Kent-Coffey. Go figure.
Well, for all those of you wanting to know about your Kent-Coffey furniture I have this information.
Kent-Coffey was a furniture company in Lenoir, NC owned by Harold Coffey, a leading influence driving the North Carolina furniture industry in the early 1900's. He was friend, neighbor and competitor of such icons as James Broyhill and John Bernhardt.
As tribute, his former home at the corner of Harper Avenue and Maple Drive in Lenoir has been preserved as a bed and breakfast, Sharon Elizabeths. I called the owners of the B&B who, it turns out, have been researching the company's history and would love to hear from any readers or former employees who have first-hand knowledge of Kent-Coffey's past.
Through the 60's Kent-Coffey made promotionally priced, but decent quality furniture. For unknown reasons, they were sold to the Singer Furniture Company, a subsidiary of the Singer sewing machine fame. Singer should have stuck with sewing machines because around 1997 the furniture division went bankrupt.
In 2001, Kent-Coffey was named as co-defendant in a lawsuit brought by a former Singer employee suing over asbestos related illness.After that the trail goes cold. I would love to hear from former Kent-Coffey employees who can fill in any of the blanks.
I have a sure-fire way to get the information. It comes in every day from my readers. As the Baby Boomers age they are inheriting their parent's furniture and want to know how much it is worth so they can sell it or toss it out.
Sorry, I have no idea what it's worth because I live in the world of new furniture. But I do know what was hot each year because everyone is asking about the same company.
A couple years ago all my email started, "Hi. We just inherited a Jasper Cabinet secretary..." That went on for several years. I guess as World War II started the entire country ran out and bought a Jasper Cabinet secretary so they could write to the boys overseas.
Inquiries stopped for a couple years then picked up again, slowly at first, but as the weather warms and the attics get cleaned out it is picking up. And they are all asking about the same thing. Considering I get mail from all over the country, it is really weird.
After the war, or toward the end, Kent-Coffey must have been the brand to have. Because most mail I get now starts out, "Hi. We just inherited a Kent-Coffey end table..."
From this I know: 1) another crop of Baby Boomers is dealing with aging parents and 2) everyone who bought furniture that year bought Kent-Coffey. Hundreds of brands of furniture, and all the inquiries this year are about Kent-Coffey. Go figure.
Well, for all those of you wanting to know about your Kent-Coffey furniture I have this information.
Kent-Coffey was a furniture company in Lenoir, NC owned by Harold Coffey, a leading influence driving the North Carolina furniture industry in the early 1900's. He was friend, neighbor and competitor of such icons as James Broyhill and John Bernhardt.
As tribute, his former home at the corner of Harper Avenue and Maple Drive in Lenoir has been preserved as a bed and breakfast, Sharon Elizabeths. I called the owners of the B&B who, it turns out, have been researching the company's history and would love to hear from any readers or former employees who have first-hand knowledge of Kent-Coffey's past.
Through the 60's Kent-Coffey made promotionally priced, but decent quality furniture. For unknown reasons, they were sold to the Singer Furniture Company, a subsidiary of the Singer sewing machine fame. Singer should have stuck with sewing machines because around 1997 the furniture division went bankrupt.
In 2001, Kent-Coffey was named as co-defendant in a lawsuit brought by a former Singer employee suing over asbestos related illness.After that the trail goes cold. I would love to hear from former Kent-Coffey employees who can fill in any of the blanks.
posted by Dwight Ball | 1:14 PM
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