Since I've gotten back to Rochester I've not only done some really interesting research with some local collections, but I've also had a lot of progress on my project with Swiftwater Brewing. But the most interesting thing I've uncovered, and am still trying to piece together is the story of a Germany family in early Rochester.
One of the very first breweries in Rochester was opened by Henry Kondoff, but it was also one of the shortest-lived breweries. Just 5 years after opening he was convinced by his son to become a carpenter instead. At that time children would often take over the family business and his son, Mathias Kondoff did not want to become a brewer, but a carpenter instead, so his father relented. After a 30 year gap of time, years of Rochester that I'm told are the least documented, Mathias became the president of Genesee Brewing, one of the biggest breweries at the time. How he got there? Who knows, well, hopefully me by the end of my research. Although currently unknown by me how he got there, his return to brewing would bring a lot of change to the brewing world of Rochester/
Sam, this family's story is an interesting narrative--could you think about drawing out some of these stories for your public history event?
ReplyDelete