In memory
Harold Hartwell “Pop”
1921 – 2003 · Chicago, Illinois
Frank's father; grandfather to Karen, Daniel and Sam.
Photographs
A life
- 1921Born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1946Married Ruth
- 1947Frank is born
- 1958Hartwell Doors & Windows opens
- 1986Pop retires from the shop
- 2003Died
Frank's father. Sold doors, then windows, then told everyone he had invented the closet. Married fifty-one years and claimed he let her win every argument on purpose.
Family
- Spouse
- Ruth Hartwell · 1924 – 2011
- Children
- Frank Hartwell
- Grandchildren
- Karen DoyleDaniel HartwellMateo Ruiz · stepSam Hartwell
What the family still carries
- Pop's tape measure'Measure twice' is scratched into the case with a nail. Frank has it and has never once lent it out.Came from Pop · Held by Frank · Goes to Sam
- The peppermint jarRode in the front seat of every car Pop ever owned. Karen keeps it filled.Came from Pop · Held by Karen · Goes to Emma
- Pop's Saturday pancakesPlain buttermilk pancakes, cooked in a cast-iron pan.Recipe
In their words
- “Measure twice, cut once.”
- “That's not a problem, that's a Tuesday.”
- “Nobody ever regretted a good pair of shoes.”
Called Tom 'the professor' for twenty years and never once meant it as a compliment. Taught Daniel to tie a tie and Karen to drive a stick shift on the same afternoon. Kept a jar of peppermints in every car he ever owned.
What mattered: Show up early. Pay cash. Take care of your people.
gruff · funny without meaning to be · proud and would never say so
Talk to Pop
He answers only from what his family wrote down, and tells you who to ask when the record runs out.
Say hello to Pop. Ask about a memory, a kitchen, an opinion, a song.