52 Ancestors: Work

This week’s blog prompt is Work.  I come from a long line of “work until you die” ancestors and unless something happens that I’m not expecting, I am NOT going to carry on this tradition.  Retirement here I come!

I decided to focus on the work of my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy.  Through much of his life Sig was a partner, along with his three brothers, in Levy Brothers, a real estate and insurance firm.  I always felt so proud to have a business named for my family.





Remember, my grandparents saved EVERYTHING, and my parents followed suit, so it’s no surprise this sign was found with all of my parents’ things.  Since my brother was the only grandson and only person with the last name Levy, we sent it home for him to treasure and I’m sure he has it hanging in a special place in his home.  Above the mantel, perhaps?

Preparing this blog post caused me to look again at Sig’s obituary to see what I could learn and, once again, a second (or third or fourth) look provided me with new details.

On the day Sig graduated from Fresno High School in 1906, he became a police reporter for the old Fresno Tribune.  Within months he joined the business staff of the Fresno Republican and handled the paper’s promotion activities. 

Occasionally he served as a reporter, with his largest assignment covering the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  Sig graduated in January, 1906 so it makes sense that he would be working in April, 1906.  And it also makes sense as to why I’ve found photos of the destruction – my grandfather must have had quite a fascination with the event.  Who knew?  Of course now that I’m looking for the photos in the boxes and boxes of things I have yet to go through, I can’t find a single one.  But I did find this photo in Sig’s brother’s (Ben) autobiography.




In 1912, Sig became advertising manager of the Republican and in that same year he pioneered the idea of newspaper delivery by airplane when he sent bundles of the Republican to Madera by plane.  I wrote about that HERE. 

On October 1, 1912, Sig’s brothers, Herbert and Leon, formed Levy Bros. Youngest brother, Ben, joined in February, 1913 but it wasn’t until 1917 that Sig joined the firm and all four brothers were together.  About this time he also entered World War I and was in pilot training at March Field when the armistice was signed.  After the war he returned to the firm and specialized in property management, leasing and real estate.

Fresno Bee Republican, 8 Jan 1937, page 11, “Twenty Years Ago”

In the early days, Levy Bros. was located at 1933 Fresno in Fresno.  In 1917, the California Real Estate Directory, Volume 1-2, showed the firm there.  And in 1918, Jackson’s Real Estate Directory did the same.  But the real proof for me was the letters my grandmother wrote to Sig before their marriage and up until February, 1919 (the month of their marriage), her letters were all addressed to 1933 Fresno.  And we all know that true love wins!

In 1922, the Directory of Brokers & Salesmen (non-PC today), Volume 3-4, the firm was located at 1233 Broadway.  Sig even used some of their envelopes to store his cigar wrappers (more on that in a later post).



In 1929, the ‘boys’ posed for a photo.  I have several photos from different time periods but this one seems the most natural.  Grandpa, why didn’t you join your brothers and wear a bow tie?

Ben, Herb, Leon Levy (back row), Sig Levy (front), 7 Aug 1929

As you may have read HERE, my grandfather was an avid scrapbooker – it’s a blessing and a curse!  There is so much historical information in his scrapbooks, much of it regarding Levy Bros., that I will never have the time to document everything (I’m a realist).  So once again I’ve packed them away for later but I did pull one out to include in this post.



This one is titled Business and Industry, Fresno County.  And there are pages and pages and PAGES of newspaper articles about Fresno County.  Here’s a few examples.

The Fresno Bee, Sunday, January 25, 1959

I wonder what stands there today.

And is the shopping center still there?  If I’ve got my directions right, it looks like its an assortment of restaurants, banks and other services.

Date unknown, likely 1956-1959

I always knew that something happened to ‘break up’ the brothers as a result of the business but never seemed to get all of the details.  But, Ben Levy wrote this in his autobiography:

“This foursome went along for years, then the break came.  It was a matter of principles involved.

The second generation was coming along and there was a difference of opinion between my brother, Herbert, and myself.  In the old days, the oldest male son was looked to as the one that should take over and carry on.  As far as I was concerned, what was fair for one was fair for the other.  In other words, if the second generation was to receive favorable consideration, this consideration should apply to the females as well as the males and all should be given the same opportunity.  I had two daughters, both very capable, and why should I not protect their interest.  As, my father was opposed to the granting of woman suffrage, the same feeling existed, as to women assuming responsible positions.  Today, our office has very capable women that can do as well as men, or maybe better.  I guess I was a little ahead of my time.  It caused my brother, Herbert, to sell his interest in the firm and establish his son, Herb, Jr. in business.  This was a situation that was not too pleasant and caused some family dissention, not, as far as I was concerned, as I tried to be pleasant, but received no reciprocation.  A new situation has just developed due to the sudden death of my brother, Leon, who died, in our office, of an acute heart attack.  He had planned to retire July 1st, but it wasn’t to be that way.” [Leon died 23 May 1962]

Herb died before I was born but I never remember hearing about him and I’m not even sure I knew about him before I started this journey.  And he spent the end of his life living around the corner from my grandparents and not once did anyone drive by and say “this is where Herb lived”.  The home has remained in the family since and his grandson lives there now.

Ben died 4 Mar 1965 which left Sig on his own.  I vaguely remember him joining a new firm (geez, he would have been 77 years old at this point) but I really had no idea when or why.  So he packed up his stuff and moved next door to Pearson Realty at 1225 Broadway.

Fresno Bee Republican, 1 Apr 1965, Page 35

If my memory serves me correctly, about a week after his 80th birthday he worked in the morning and then checked into the hospital for surgery.  He never came home and died about a week later on 16 Aug 1968.

My grandfather, and his brothers, spent their entire lives in Fresno and were instrumental in the growth of the city.  And while it ended on a bad note, Levy Brothers was a very large part of that.