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Note: According to Jeanette B. Lipphardt via Martha (Mortensen) Asendorf: Harry was born promptly at twelve o'clock, Saturday noon on July 13, 1889. The family was living on Main Street, Columbus, Ohio.
We obtained a copy of his birth record from the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus. It verified his date of birth, parents names, city where he was born, and reported that the family was living at 24 W. Deshler Street in Columbus.
Much of the information on Harry was provided either by his wife, Darthea, or his son, Louis E. Lipphardt, Sr.
He received his secondary education at Martins Ferry High School (Ohio)....newspaper clipping.
Harry worked his way up from Private to First Lieutenant during World War 1, in the Motor Transportation Corps, and was commissioned a Captain in the Army Reserve Officers Corps. He was stationed at Camp Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida, and Fort Sheridan in Highland Park, Illinois. He was discharged in 1919, from Fort Sheridan.
His son, Louis, advised, that during the terrible flu epidemic throughout the country in 1917-1918, his Dad was so ill that they (military) gave him up for dead, as there was no medication available to help him. He, of course, finally recovered, and soon after met his mother, (Darthea), who was attending Northwestern University in Illinois. They married in 1920.
Harry and Darthea moved from Glenco, Illinois, shortly after they married. They moved to 29 Harvard Ave in Brookline, Massachusetts (home of his parents, Louis and Henrietta "Grammy") for a year after they were married (1920). They then moved to Pond Street, (1922), then Chapman Street,(1923) and later to 112 1/2 Essex Street, all in Beverly, Massachusetts. In June, 1929, they moved to 15 Elmwood Road in Marblehead, Massachusetts. I (George) had the opportunity to see this beautiful white colonial home in 1987. It was still being beautifully taken care of.
Harry was a graduate of the school of Business Administration at Boston University (degree in accounting). A certified public accountant, he was manager of the insurance department of the A.C. Lawrence Leather Company in Peabody, Massachusetts (in the early twenties) for 20 years. He became the office manager of the main plant by 1925.
In 1924, he started up a "live wire" group of accountants, called the "New England Group of the National Leather Accountants Association". They met at the Boston City Club every other month. During the 30's, he joined the Clifton Improvement Association (Clifton was a new part of Marblehead) and he was Chairman for many years. He had a strong voice, and at the Town Meetings, could be heard "loud and clear" throughout the hall.
He was the Chairman of the Marblehead Finance Committee for three of the last six years that he was a member. This was a voluntary position, and according to a local writer for his obituary, "he was strong when strength was required and courageous when courage was needed and he never shirked in attempting to solve many important public problems".
Notes from son, Louis: When I joined the Clifton Drum and Bugle Corps in 1936-1937, Dad was asked by the organizer to teach us how to march. Dad was delighted, and we all quickly learned the "left foot from the right". When he "barked" out an order, no one questioned what he meant! And, I am proud to say, our group looked pretty good, marching on holidays through the streets of Marblehead.
Dad was a stern disciplinarian, but very fair...tough, yet soft-hearted. As an example, I had an early morning newspaper route back at about age 12-13....up at 5 am, fixed myself a quick breakfast and out on my bicycle to deliver papers to three or four adjoining streets. I remember Dad, on a couple of snowy mornings, would get up with me, warm up the car, and carry my papers behind the back seat. All that I would have to do was run up the front walkway and put the paper behind the doorknob so it wouldn't get wet. I hope that I remembered to thank him for his help!
It was about this time that dad persuaded me to try black strap molasses on my oatmeal instead of cream and sugar. He told me that during World War I, while he was stationed in Florida, the troops used this because milk was not available. I liked it, and used it for many years until I realized how many calories were in molasses! My sister and brother would have no part of it. I changed then to raisins and skim milk. Dad was always encouraging me to grow from a boy to a man.
Dad loved family gatherings on both sides of the family. The Lipphardt's got together on Easter for an "egg hunt", and on Thanksgiving for dinner for anywhere from 12 to 20 people. Then at Christmas, we would head to Glencoe, Illinois, for a Ravenscroft gathering at grandfather's home.
Dad had a great personality! He was very out-going, and seemed to always have something to say on about any subject. He got along just fine with all the men and women in the family. He was also a believer in hard work. He had worked hard all of his life, and expected all family members to do the same. He didn't appreciate some of my friends who seemed to hang around with nothing to do. He would try to induce them to work around our yard, but without much success. No disrespect, but they called him "The Baron".
Dad's hard work and responsibility during the depression years, not only at his office, but with his community affairs, set him back with a nervous breakdown, which confined him to bed for several weeks. Dad well remembered his mother, on many occasions, asking the three kids to be quiet during the day so that dad could sleep. With God's help, as well as his mother's, as a caring nurse,( no medication available then like there is today for depression!) he recovered and took on the same old load. He then smoked less, played more golf for fresh air and exercise. It seemed to help him a lot.
I will say that he didn't show much affection in public to my mother, sister Harriet, brother Donald, or to me, but there is no doubt in my mind that he loved us all, and we loved him. And also, the town of Marblehead loved him as well, which was evident by a tremendous turnout at his funeral on March 22, 1942.
Dignitaries, both civilian and military, spoke at the service. The town literally came to a standstill. The people of the town showed their appreciation for all of the hard work that he had done for them.
He was a member of many organizations: The Philanthropic Lodge, A.F.& A.A. this town, the Scottish Rites Bodies, and the Aleppo Temple of Boston. He was president of the Unitarian Laymen's League, and a member of of the local A.L. Post.
Notes from Marblehead newspaper, March 23, 1942: "Responding with hundreds of other volunteers, to the first air raid test staged in Marblehead, Harry was seized with a heart attack, and died before medical aid could reach him. Harry was the Chairman of the Marblehead Finance Committee, a prominent businessman, and Captain in the Army Reserve Officers Corps. He was marching at the head of his platoon of the State Guard Reserve on Washington Street on his way back to ARP headquarters, when he collapsed and died. He was taken to the Mary Allen Hospital, where doctors said heart trouble had caused his death."
(A strange quirk of history is that his grandson (Harry C. Lipphardt, his name-sake) was born at the same small hospital ten years later. Sadly Harry C. Lipphardt died in 1962, in a home fire in Tucson, Arizona).
We have a copy of his death certificate. The informant was his wife Darthea. He was living at 15 Elmwood Road in Marblehead, when he passed away. He was shown as an accountant for a leather business.
Harry Brand is buried in the beautiful Waterside Cemetery in Marblehead, Massachusetts.. on Acacia Avenue, (Lot 1250-A), high on a hill, overlooking the Salem Harbor.
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