The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-06-19
Board of Trade Hears Mar
rative by Edward F.
HolbOrOk
FURNISHED COFFEE
TO u. S. SOLDIERS
Had Full Charge of Supplying Entire
Army and Brought About Notable I'm
provements-How Crisis in Food Sup
ply Was Met.
ply Was Met.

How the tremendous task of supplying
coffee for the United States army was ac-
complished during the latter part of the
war and how certain food emergencies
as affecting the army in Europe were
met was told not only in an entertaining
but in a fascinating way last evening by
Edward F. Holbrook of Keene, \. H.,
speaking to the members of the Brattle-
boro board of trade assembled in Odd Eel
lows temple 1t was a story of big busi-
ress handled in a big way, and while
the men were marveling at the immensely
Of the proposition they could not help
feeling an increased sense of admiration
for the speaker ard for the splendid judg-
ment and business acumen which the mar
rative showed him to possess.
This was the first of n series of smok
er which the board of trade is to have,
| and it was attended by an unusually large
number i'll spite of the warm June even
| ing That the audience enjoyed the talk,
| which was instructive in every detail, was
attested to not only by the intense inter
est from first to last but also by the long
continued applause at the close. 1t was
one of the best smoke talks the board of
| trade ever had
| Many of the men were personally ac-.
quainted with Mr.. Holhrook through his
numerous visits here as head of the Hol-
brook Grocery Co. of Keene, which does
a large business throughout New England.
He is president of four large wholesale
grocery houses and has had large and
long experience in roasting and shipping
coffee
Mr. Holbrooll told in an entertaining
way of how he happened to take up the
work in Washington He was in j. L..
Stockwell's store in West Brattleboro
one day about year ago, when his broth
er, VIII, called him by telephone from
Keene and read him a telegram from
Quartermaster General Goethals asking
him to come to Washington at once TO
talk about coffee" Having not the slight
est knowledge of what was wanted be-
you'd what the telegram said, he went to
Washington and after some difficulty To-
Gated the official with whom he was to
deal, who was W. X. Nash.
1t developed in an interesting interview
that Mr. Nash some 20 years ago visited
the Holbrook plant in Keene as the re-
suit of visit of Mr. Holbrook's brother
and father to Mr. Nash's wholesale gro
tery house in Grand Forks. n d., while
the elder Mr.. Holbrook was in the city
as an officer of the Vermont Loan &
! Trust Co. Z. T. Holbrook had shown
Mr.. Nash over the Keene plant, spending
much time with him in the coffee roast
ing department, so when it became MIR
Nash's duty to select somebody to take
e entire charge of the coffee and tea de
I nartment of the United States army, hotl
n in this country and in France, he chose
{ Mr. Holbrooll, although a number of per
0 sons had applied for the position.
e For three weeks the work had been il
} charge of a private and was being rnr
c in an out-of-date. slipshod manner, Mr.
: Holbrook said Mr.. Holbrook was Offered
d the job as ma 6, but chose to take i
G as a civilian, a dollar-a-year man, and a
n such he outranked any officer. He sool
found that he had fallen heir to bi,
white elephant, although it was the mos
IS important department of the subsistence
D. division This was the first big war whcl
had cut out grog as a stimlIlant, yet j
was a war where stimulant was needet
Is more than in any other. and coffee ha
a been adopted as the official stimulant
Continued on Page 81