A BEAMSTER FIFTY YEARS
For half a century, Lawrence Kuld has worked in the long‑established tannery on Walpole Street, known locally for generations as the Winslow tannery and now operated by the Winslow Bros & Smith Company.
Nearly seventy‑five years old and born in Baden, Germany, he has spent the majority of his life in Norwood’s leather‑making industry, a trade he entered soon after arriving in America in May 1852.
Shortly after immigrating, Mr. Kuld came to Norwood and secured work in the tannery then run by Lyman Smith and George Winslow, both of whom had passed away by the time of this 1902 account. From that early beginning, he remained continuously connected with the institution, marking fifty years of uninterrupted service.
For fifteen of those years, he served as foreman of the beam house, a department widely regarded as one of the most demanding and least healthy branches of the tanning process. Even after stepping down from the foreman’s role, he continued to work in the beam house as a beamster, preparing hides for the tanroom. The work required strength, endurance, and resilience, qualities he continued to demonstrate despite his age.
Mr. Kuld had outlived his wife by twenty years. He was survived by three daughters, one son, and nineteen grandchildren, a large family that reflected his long life in the community. Despite the physical strain of his occupation, he remained described as “hale and hearty,” a testament to his durability and character.
He was held in high regard by a wide circle of friends and enjoyed the respect and esteem of both his employers and his fellow workers. His half‑century of service stood as a notable example of loyalty, endurance, and the deep ties between Norwood’s early immigrant laborers and the town’s foundational industries.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Boston Globe
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