Lou Shur, Madison Hardware

Didn't remember that.....wow!

Peter

Don't know whether Lou was in the music business. Never heard that he was.

Carl was a drummer.

He and I spoke about his being in "show business". Although he never said exactly what he did. The information about being a drummer came from a magazine article.

Here is a blurb from TM books.

     One of Eddy Duchin's vocalists was Lew Sherwood, is it possible that you heard THAT name?

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

Yes Lou was in the music business at some level at some point in time.

In the early 1960's when my father would take me occasionally to "look" in Madison Hdwe, he and Lou would have lengthy converstions about their days in the NY City music scene. I was very young, but apparently they and the bands they were in crossed paths at midtown hotels like the Pennsylvania playing weddings and also in other night club appearances. My father and his band made several independant 78's as was done back then. So it is likely Lou did the same.

Whenever we went in the store, Lou and my father always seemed to know each other from somewhere else and chat about the old days which I assumed were the late 1930's to early 1950's. Some of their conversations were so long that as a young person, I would actually get bored in the shop. Imagine being bored in Madison Hardware!

That TM article paints a different picture of Lou Shur than I would have imagined.....my

image would have been of a surly, eccentric, unkempt old coot surrounded by piles of boxes, (as some of us have seen in other stores).  A well dressed bon vivant is not what I pictured.

Carl was supposedly in Vaudeville. Never heard anything about Lew.

Let's set the record straight here. Carl was the musician in the Shur family. He was a drummer for a time in the 1930's. This was confirmed by family members I have corresponded with. Lou's baby was Madison Hardware, I highly doubt there was time for a musical carer outside of keeping Madison going. There are many reasons why I believe this, but won't get into them here. You'll be able to read all about both Shur brothers in my book on Madison Hardware which I plan release late 2016 early 2017.

The original poster was writting about Lou. I get the two guys mixed up. My father had band related conversations with whichever brother stayed mostly in the mid store area at the top of the ramp by the narrow side door with the one way glass. In later years the one who knew my father took to wearing an empty holster and eyeglasses without lenses. The one who stayed mostly behind the counter near the cash register is not the one that had conversations with my father. He was much less outgoing unless you knew him. Although he did climb up a ladder once to get a part for me. Lou / Carl - time has blurred which one is which in my memory.

 artyoung:    I just confirmed that "Moon Over Miami"was recorded by Eddy Duchin and his Orchestra with vocal refrain by Lew Sherwood. I saw the actual 78 RPM label. So, what you heard was not Lou Shur, but Lou Sherwood.

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

quote:

The original poster was writting about Lou. I get the two guys mixed up. My father had band related conversations with whichever brother stayed mostly in the mid store area at the top of the ramp by the narrow side door with the one way glass. In later years the one who knew my father took to wearing an empty holster and eyeglasses without lenses. The one who stayed mostly behind the counter near the cash register is not the one that had conversations with my father. He was much less outgoing unless you knew him. Although he did climb up a ladder once to get a part for me. Lou / Carl - time has blurred which one is which in my memory.

That would have been Carl. (glasses, empty holster, out on the floor of the store).

quote:

That TM article paints a different picture of Lou Shur than I would have imagined.....my

image would have been of a surly, eccentric, unkempt old coot surrounded by piles of boxes.

Any time I ever visited the store, Lou was always very neatly dressed, and conducted himself like a gentlemen. Carl was not quite as neat, but I think he was a lot more physically active in the store than Lou.
The store was stacked from floor to ceiling with merchandise, with the occasional break for a relatively small display case. There was a layout along the right wall of the store in the rear. I don't know whether it was ever functional. By the time I started visiting the store regularly, about 1971-2, it had become a catchall.

The last time I was in the store, Lou hurried me along, saying that he had an appointment with the man who was purchasing the store. The store was particularly loaded with boxes of merchandise, lining the sole isle on both sides, stacked about waist high.

As an aside, Madison Hardware really was a hardware store at one time. There was a balcony running around the perimeter to facilitate getting goods from up high. Carl showed me a photograph. I guess that was before the days of self-service.

I am looking forward to Gary's book on Madison Hardware.

Well, we can delete this thread, I guess, huh?