U.G. The Humanitarian
U.G. Leedy never met a musician he wouldn't help.
The factory was filled with musicians- many weren't even drummers.
Some of them were down and out folks who needed jobs. Some of them
were simply great workers brought together by a love of music. The
Executive Vice President, Herman Winterhoff played trombone, among other
instruments. Palmer Laycock handled all correspondence and could type
100 words per minute on an old manual typewriter. He was also a piano
player of some renown.
U.G. Hired them all, and if an employee was sick, UG personally paid the medical
bills. His older daughter, Mary remembered going with her dad to visit an
employee who was hospitalized after a street car accident.
U.G. Leedy was a world famous entrepreneur. It's fair to say he was
a perfectionist and the "First among equals." He was America's first great
drum company president, but he was also a good man as well.
If you would like to learn more about U.G. Leedy,
then I invite you to order my book for Modern Drummer,
The Great American
Drums ! And be on the lookout for my second book,
"Mr. Leedy and the House of Wonder." | |
