Meet Avery Fisher's "Dutchmen"

The Mergner's were very gracious people. Always fun.
I had been to the 44rd. plant many many times. My dad would come home some Friday nights and say "I've got to go to the office tomorrow. Do you want to come?" I always did. My dad had an office with a great work bench. Always had something going. He would set me up somewhere so I could play records and tape with the newest gear. Later on my dad would give me small circuits to build at a workbench. Mr. Fisher would always come by. We would talk and then he would say "Georgie, make sure you come to my office before you leave!" I would go and he would always have something for me. A record, a pen, a tape machine, a new phono cartridge, you get the idea.
My recollection is that the plant stayed during the Emerson years. It was when Emerson sold to Sanyo that the plant closed. My dad didn't want to move to California so he got his same job at JVC. He worked there until he retired.
I do have some things from back then. I have a journal my dad kept of tests he ran early at his time at Fisher. Variable caps, phono cartridges, other company's amps and tuners. Sometimes it hard to make heads or tales out of it but I'm sure it made sense to him. I have some thing of mine too. Mr. Fisher would send me a books, " Your Career in the Hi-Fi Business", "How Things Work", all signed from him. Also, I would work at the NY Hi Fi Shows in the 50's and 60's. When I was 7 or 8 I would be responsible for making sure records kept playing and flyers were out. As I got older I would answer question that people would have about equipment they owned. FM antennas, speaker placement, pretty much anything that came up. A few weeks later a check for $50 would arrive from Mr. Fisher. "Dear George, Once again thank you for all you help at this years Hi Fi show. All the best, Avery". He was a great man. G

It's good to hear from you, George. Very cool story. I'd love to get a peek at your dad's journal to see what sort of projects he was working on.
 
George, your contributions are greatly appreciated!!! First hand accounts of all the Fisher people, including the Man himself, is priceless!!
 
I had somehow missed these interesting posts from the past. Great photos, information and it is wonderful hearing your first hand stories George!
 
Fascinating. Thank you, I dig this type of history.
There has been some great documentaries on Netflix lately telling the stories of early inventors. The one on Tesla is fantastic if you haven't seen it. I'd like to see them do something on old Avery. (Maybe Red is the person to do it!) He was a very interesting guy.
Inventors/scientists are the new Rock Stars, as I am walking out the door to go see "Steve Jobs" it kind of makes sense.
It's about time people start admiring folks that have actually achieved something.

Ps..
I think Mr Mergner is leaning on a Jenson Stereo Director in that photo at the electronics fair. I had one of those for a short time.
 
@TheRed1

This thread is a few years old, but I’m the grandson of Joe Merolla, who despite being a Brooklyn Italian, was one of the Dutchmen and held a ton of other positions in the company. He worked personally with Avery Fisher, and I know some completely unique and undocumented stories about the man himself, if you’re interested.
 
@TheRed1

This thread is a few years old, but I’m the grandson of Joe Merolla, who despite being a Brooklyn Italian, was one of the Dutchmen and held a ton of other positions in the company. He worked personally with Avery Fisher, and I know some completely unique and undocumented stories about the man himself, if you’re interested.
We're all interested!
 
Welcome rc and yes yes yes! always interested in hearing audio history.

We're also interested in seeing the pics from the original thread re-posted since they went into Photobucket-land...
 
Welcome RC! You've just entered into the most avid bunch of Fisher enthusiasts out there bar none! Thanks for offering your history! TheRed1 has amassed an amazing collection about Fisher the company, and Fisher the man, but your knowledge would add invaluably to that collection. We would all love to hear it, but adding it onto his work is probably the best way to keep it all contained and accessible for all. No doubt Red will be in contact with you for sure!

Thanks again, and welcome to AK!

Dave
 
@TheRed1

This thread is a few years old, but I’m the grandson of Joe Merolla, who despite being a Brooklyn Italian, was one of the Dutchmen and held a ton of other positions in the company. He worked personally with Avery Fisher, and I know some completely unique and undocumented stories about the man himself, if you’re interested.

Hello! I think you will find you have a very appreciative audience here at AK. How long was your grandfather with Fisher? His name is familiar but I have not done much research recently and do not recall if I know his name from old photos, company papers or the recollections of other employees’ family members. (I regret that my interest in Fisher Radio came too late to talk to any of employees directly.)

Hearing from the people who made up the company has always been my favorite part of the research. I look forward to hearing about your grandfather’s experiences.
 
A Brooklyn Italian and a Brooklyn Jew. Was a great combination.
Old pics are still on photobucket. And there is a program out there for viewing them.
 
... How long was your grandfather with Fisher? His name is familiar but I have not done much research recently and do not recall if I know his name from old photos, company papers or the recollections of other employees’ family members.....

Red: Merolla is mentioned in post 17 of this thread.
 
The history of the company is SO important to many of us. Please share anything you have about your grandfather so it can be recognized and recorded for your family.

I'm in a car club where many of our members are retired GM and Cadillac employees. When I have the opportunity to see them, I always try to hear a story of what it was like to make the product that caused our hobby and passion...
 
I'm in a car club where many of our members are retired GM and Cadillac employees. When I have the opportunity to see them, I always try to hear a story of what it was like to make the product that caused our hobby and passion...

So funny that you should say this. I owned a 3rd-generation Firebird. When I joined an online owner's group, which did have a smattering of former GM workers and relatives of workers. I found out why the pretty piece of crap was always literally falling apart as it flew down the street.
 
Somehow I think the quality control was far tighter at Fisher simply given the product's purpose, price point and reputation.

I heard a story about a Pontiac with a rattle nobody could find. After the car was hit in the rear door or quarter, they found a soda can a line worker threw in the car on the assembly line.

Had that happened at Fisher, your house could burn down.
 
I would never ever suggest that Fisher made junk. I personally believe that HH Scott made a better product, but Pontiac and GM in general [excuse the pun] takes the cake for booby prize.
The rear shocks flew through the shock towers. The sail panels cracked. The Rochester carb had a potentially-deadly design flaw. It would go full-throttle all by itself. A known-by-GM issue. At that time, Holley made no replacement that would work with the engine computer. And the rear discs also had a design defect. When I hit another car, and at a slowish speed, the car did not handle it well. I miss old Chrysler cars.
 
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