Made in Conshohocken – plus a little rant…

7/12/2016

By Brian “Butch” Coll

I will never pay that much for anything made in Conshohocken.

Let me start my rant, and a little information with that quote. To give you the backstory, I tend bar a couple nights a week at a nice little restaurant, NOT in Conshohocken. I have worked at this place for over 10  years and I love it there. The owners are fantastic, my fellow staff members love it there. Our customers love it there. It is a great place to both work and dine. It was while working here this weekend that a customer told me “I will never pay that much for anything made in Conshohocken”. You may be wondering how that even came up at a restaurant, and here is how it came up. We were discussing the take out beer selection…. In addition to a variety of beers, most nationally known and a few local beers, we offered up a 4 pack of Blood Money by the Conshohocken Brewing Company. It is a Blood Orange IPA and from what I understand a very good beer. And at $4.00 a can for 16 ounces of beer it is really a good price for a quality beer. It was at this point that my customer said “I will never pay that much for anything made in Conshohocken”

         At this point, my Conshohocken pride came out and I informed him that I was made in Conshohocken. I have a business in Conshohocken as well as run a local Conshohocken website.

******* EDIT******** on 6/14/2018 this same customer was enjoying a Conshohocken Blood Money can of beer (which costs $8.00 when you buy a single can of beer and enjoy it in the restaurant.)  I really wanted to have a discussion with him about it, but I was pleased he was enjoying his dining experience and I let it be. I did have a very large smile on my face when I asked if he would like another CONSHOHOCKEN beer and he said yes.

        I actually needed to take a step back and away from the conversation, I scribbled down what he told me and waited on another customer before returning to him, only to find he had paid for a 6 pack of beer (not the Blood Money from the Conshohocken Brewing Company) and left.

        The conversation stuck with me the rest of the night and all weekend in fact. At first I thought he probably had a sandwich somewhere this week made with a famous Conshohocken Italian Bakery roll, after all you can find their famous rolls all over the city and the tri state area for that matter….

        I’ve known this customer for a number of years. I’m sure him and his buddies have come to Conshohocken to drink at the Great American Pub or the Boathouse or one of the other great places Conshohocken has to offer. He may not have known I was from Conshohocken, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.

        As the days have went by I started thinking of other things Made in Conshohocken. I thought of these things and wondered if he has ever had to use one of these products.

        I thought of the modern day gauze pad, yes you read that correctly. The modern day gauze pad was created right here in Conshohocken. If you have ever looked at the former Conshohocken Borough Hall, the money that built that building most likely came from the gauze pad being invented here in Conshohocken by John Elwood Lee.

        I thought maybe he used a shovel at some point in his lifetime (maybe not) and while no one claims that the shovel was invented in Conshohocken, the modern shovel head was in fact patented here. Up until James Wood, shovel heads were made of wood and often broke. The steel shovel head kept men working. Not only did it keep men working digging, it kept more that 5,000 employees working at the steel plant in Conshohocken.

       The more I thought about steel, I thought surely this customer I waited on had to have stepped onto diamond plate steel at some point in his lifetime. You guessed it, created here in Conshohocken. If you are wondering what diamond plate steel is…. it is the far less slippery surface that they use on ship decking as well as on doors that are on the sidewalk that lead to a number of basements for businesses. You may also see it in the back of pick up trucks, the silver metal boxes that people keep tools and sporting goods in.

       I just keep going back to what he said, days later it is still on my mind “I will never pay that much for anything made in Conshohocken.”

       I guess he won’t be dining anytime soon in Conshohocken then. At this point we must have more award winning chefs and restaurants than just about any other city in America per capita.

       We have had our share of industry here in Conshohocken. Products made in Conshohocken have been shipped all over the world. In fact, one of my favorite stories is of Gerry McTamney being stationed in Europe when he got the chance to meet the Pope. The Pope was going through the soldiers asking where they were from, when he came to Gerry… well, if you knew Gerry, Gerry was proud to be from Conshohocken. Gerry may have been a little shy around the Pope, and told the Pope he was from a little town outside of Philadelphia…. Conshohocken. To that the Pope answered, oh, Lee Tires. The Pope knew of Lee Tires. The Pope knew of Lee Tires of Conshohocken and this guy I’m waiting on won’t pay that much for anything made in Conshohocken.

       For a minute I was thinking if my customer comes back one day, and if we have a great beer on tap from the Conshohocken Brewing Company that I would buy him one to prove him wrong. Having sat on it for a few days, I don’t think I’ll be buying him a beer to prove him wrong. I think I’ll let him buy whatever he wants for himself. People that live and work here know Conshohocken has quality products to offer. I know that every time I finish a custom frame job at my store (Coll’s Custom Framing) I proudly put our sticker on the back of the piece. Our sticker says:

Professionally framed by

Coll’s

Custom Framing

324 Fayette Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

(610) 825-7072

The Quality in Pictures

Brought to Life

      For close to 200 years men and women have been working and living in Conshohocken. Our products have showed up all over the world. I’m proud to be Made in Conshohocken.