Interview with Joseph F. Tine
IntervieweeInterview with
Joseph F. Tine
(American, 1937 - 2016)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Bruce M. Stave
(American, 1937 - 2017)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Sondra Astor Stave
Date2006 December 21
Mediumdigitized audio cassette tape
DimensionsDuration: 53 Minutes, 54 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2009.85.14
DescriptionAudio cassette tape of an interview with Joseph F. Tine. He was interviewed on December 21, 2006 by Bruce M. Stave and Sondra Astor Stave at his home in Middletown, Connecticut.
Joseph Tine was born in 1937 in Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated from Middletown High School in 1955. He earned a B.A. in English from Norwich University in 1959. He started working at G. Fox & Company in 1960 as a Service Manager, then he became a Divisional Vice President of Operations. He stayed at G. Fox until 1982.
Joseph describes the training he went through and the G. Fox store philosophies. He describes the differences between when Beatrice Fox Auerbach ran the store versus the May Company. BFA always put the customer first, and the May Company put profit-and-loss first. The dress code became less formal. Eventually the G. Fox amenities disappeared, such as the elevator operators, the modeling shows, and the gift counselors. The advertising blended in with the other May Company stores. The May Company opened branch stores in Waterbury, Meriden, Enfield, West Hartford, and Warwick, Rhode Island.
In 1982, Tine left G. Fox to work at Sara Lee for five or six years. He was then the Operations Manager at Meriden Mall, and then was the General Manager of Enfield Square until his retirement in 2002. Tine describes the differences between working in a store versus a mall.
Tine describes the role of women and men at G. Fox, as well as the dress code. He describes the changes that took place in Hartford. He ends the interview discussing the Teamsters attempts to unionize G. Fox, which were unsuccessful.
Joseph Tine was born in 1937 in Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated from Middletown High School in 1955. He earned a B.A. in English from Norwich University in 1959. He started working at G. Fox & Company in 1960 as a Service Manager, then he became a Divisional Vice President of Operations. He stayed at G. Fox until 1982.
Joseph describes the training he went through and the G. Fox store philosophies. He describes the differences between when Beatrice Fox Auerbach ran the store versus the May Company. BFA always put the customer first, and the May Company put profit-and-loss first. The dress code became less formal. Eventually the G. Fox amenities disappeared, such as the elevator operators, the modeling shows, and the gift counselors. The advertising blended in with the other May Company stores. The May Company opened branch stores in Waterbury, Meriden, Enfield, West Hartford, and Warwick, Rhode Island.
In 1982, Tine left G. Fox to work at Sara Lee for five or six years. He was then the Operations Manager at Meriden Mall, and then was the General Manager of Enfield Square until his retirement in 2002. Tine describes the differences between working in a store versus a mall.
Tine describes the role of women and men at G. Fox, as well as the dress code. He describes the changes that took place in Hartford. He ends the interview discussing the Teamsters attempts to unionize G. Fox, which were unsuccessful.
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.
Status
Not on view