Interview with Harry P. Black and Jack Litter
IntervieweeInterview with
Harry P. Black
(American, 1942 - 2014)
IntervieweeInterview with
Jack Litter
(American, born 1926)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Bruce M. Stave
(American, 1937 - 2017)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Sondra Astor Stave
Date2006 October 16
Mediumdigitized audio cassette tape
DimensionsDuration: 1 Hour, 11 Minutes, 23 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2009.85.8
DescriptionAudio cassette tape of an interview with Harry P. Black and Jack Litter. They were interviewed on October 16, 2006 by Bruce M. Stave and Sondra Astor Stave at Mr. Black's house in Simsbury, Connecticut.
Harry Black was born in 1942 in Dallas, Texas. His family later relocated to Los Angeles, California, thento High Point, North Carolina when he was in high school. He attended North Carolina State University for a year before transferring to UCLA. He lived in Los Angeles for a few years after college, before moving with Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and daughter. They lived in Atlanta for twelve years, and Black worked at a suburban police department. In 1970, he left the police to work in the Security Department at Rich's, a department store retail chain, in Atlanta. At Rich's he worked in Loss Prevention and was in charge of internal investigations. In 1974, he was recruited by Ed Mangiofico to work at G. Fox & Company. At G. Fox, Black started as the Security Director before taking other positions within the store. His last position was the Vice President of General Services. He never met Beatrice Fox Auerbach, as he started at G. Fox after the May Company purchased the store, but he did hear stories about her. In the late 1970s, the store had a lot of external shoplifting and some internal problems. The store installed closed-circuit TVs and sensomatic electronic tags. Black worked at G. Fox for 36 years and was a member of the Moses Fox Club. He retired in 1990. He describes an incident at the Meriden branch where men were shoplifting, which led to the death of at least one of the suspects. The NAACP picketed at the Meriden Police Department calling for the police officer's dismissal. The KKK then got involved in the situation counter-picketing. Black describes how the downtown store and branches had store detectives, which were later supplemented with closed-circuit TV and electronic tags.
Jack Litter was born in 1926 in Windsor, Connecticut. He attended Loomis Chaffee School, then went into the U.S. Air Force for eighteen months. He then graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1950. His father worked at G. Fox & Company in the Mail Department. His mother worked at Windsor Trust Company. After graduating from UConn, Litter worked at G. Fox as an Internal Auditor for 2-3 years, before becoming the head of the Auditing Department, which oversaw Payroll, Budgeting, and Inventory Control. He stayed in that position for 2-3 years, then he became the Assistant Controller. Litter did work with Beatrice Fox Auerbach and describes his interactions with her. Litter joined the Moses Fox Club in 1975. He describes attending the monthly staff luncheons held by Beatrice Fox Auerbach. He describes the Connecticut Room and how models walked around the room displaying the fashion. In the 1950s, G. Fox had a division called Foxmart in South Windsor that sold farm equipment, tractors, and gardening supplies. They also had the Connecticut Hospital Equipment and Supply Company on Jefferson Street in Hartford. There was also a G. Fox pharmacy in Hartford Hospital. He describes the G. Fox delivery service, which ended in the early 1980s.
At Christmastime, the Security Department would have 50-60 staff members, and there would be a person stationed at the top and bottom of every escalator to greet people and keep people moving. They discuss the lectures held in Centennial Hall. As more branches of G. Fox opened, it led to less customers going to the main downtown store. Both Black and Litter would travel to the different branches to oversee functions. The discuss the dress code and how most of the staff was comprised of women. They discuss what may have led to G. Fox closing in 1993, as well as the changes in Hartford.
Harry Black was born in 1942 in Dallas, Texas. His family later relocated to Los Angeles, California, thento High Point, North Carolina when he was in high school. He attended North Carolina State University for a year before transferring to UCLA. He lived in Los Angeles for a few years after college, before moving with Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and daughter. They lived in Atlanta for twelve years, and Black worked at a suburban police department. In 1970, he left the police to work in the Security Department at Rich's, a department store retail chain, in Atlanta. At Rich's he worked in Loss Prevention and was in charge of internal investigations. In 1974, he was recruited by Ed Mangiofico to work at G. Fox & Company. At G. Fox, Black started as the Security Director before taking other positions within the store. His last position was the Vice President of General Services. He never met Beatrice Fox Auerbach, as he started at G. Fox after the May Company purchased the store, but he did hear stories about her. In the late 1970s, the store had a lot of external shoplifting and some internal problems. The store installed closed-circuit TVs and sensomatic electronic tags. Black worked at G. Fox for 36 years and was a member of the Moses Fox Club. He retired in 1990. He describes an incident at the Meriden branch where men were shoplifting, which led to the death of at least one of the suspects. The NAACP picketed at the Meriden Police Department calling for the police officer's dismissal. The KKK then got involved in the situation counter-picketing. Black describes how the downtown store and branches had store detectives, which were later supplemented with closed-circuit TV and electronic tags.
Jack Litter was born in 1926 in Windsor, Connecticut. He attended Loomis Chaffee School, then went into the U.S. Air Force for eighteen months. He then graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1950. His father worked at G. Fox & Company in the Mail Department. His mother worked at Windsor Trust Company. After graduating from UConn, Litter worked at G. Fox as an Internal Auditor for 2-3 years, before becoming the head of the Auditing Department, which oversaw Payroll, Budgeting, and Inventory Control. He stayed in that position for 2-3 years, then he became the Assistant Controller. Litter did work with Beatrice Fox Auerbach and describes his interactions with her. Litter joined the Moses Fox Club in 1975. He describes attending the monthly staff luncheons held by Beatrice Fox Auerbach. He describes the Connecticut Room and how models walked around the room displaying the fashion. In the 1950s, G. Fox had a division called Foxmart in South Windsor that sold farm equipment, tractors, and gardening supplies. They also had the Connecticut Hospital Equipment and Supply Company on Jefferson Street in Hartford. There was also a G. Fox pharmacy in Hartford Hospital. He describes the G. Fox delivery service, which ended in the early 1980s.
At Christmastime, the Security Department would have 50-60 staff members, and there would be a person stationed at the top and bottom of every escalator to greet people and keep people moving. They discuss the lectures held in Centennial Hall. As more branches of G. Fox opened, it led to less customers going to the main downtown store. Both Black and Litter would travel to the different branches to oversee functions. The discuss the dress code and how most of the staff was comprised of women. They discuss what may have led to G. Fox closing in 1993, as well as the changes in Hartford.
Collections
Funding Note: In 2006, the Connecticut Historical Society received a grant from the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to support the collection of oral histories, the cataloging of G. Fox & Co. materials and Fox and Auerbach family materials, and the creation of web pages. Additional funding for the oral histories was provided by The Prospect Fund, The Brookside Fund, and The Maple Tree Fund. The Connecticut Historical Society gratefully acknowledges these generous supporters. Without such generosity, this project would not have been possible.
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