My Dad's Business Card When He Worked as an Escrow Officer

In a previous post I shared one of my Dad's business cards. It wasn't his business card as an employee for a large corporation, but for his own personal business called EZuse Software.

Today I'm sharing another business card that belonged to my Dad. This is a card he had as an employee in a company called City Title Insurance Company. It was located at 601 Hamilton Street in Redwood City, California.

From the business card it looks like my Dad worked as an Escrow Officer at the company.

Our family lived in Redwood City for several years when I was a young child. I was curious about the company my Dad worked for so I did a Google search for City Title Insurance Company, but nothing with that name came up in the results. And whatever building this company occupied back when my Dad worked there doesn't show up on Google Maps.

As you can see in the Google Maps screen capture below, the pin for the address is in a parking lot. And the addresses on the buildings on either side of the parking lot are 500 on one side and 627 on the other side. So it appears 601 Hamilton Street is no longer there.

I'm intrigued by the City Title Insurance Company's telephone number on my Dad's business card. Emerson 9-4121 sounds like a Telephone Exchange Names phone number that was used previous to today's all-number calling system.

I'm so glad we still have this old business card from when my Dad worked as an Escrow Officer. He later became a computer programmer and worked for a large corporation in San Francisco.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2019 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

My Dad's Business Card

My late father, Jan Albert Iverson, was a computer programmer by profession. He worked at a large corporation for years. He also had his own small side business, too. 

While going through my parents' belongings at their house before we put it on the market, I came across one of my dad's business cards. This was not a business card from the large corporation where he worked, but from his own business.

His business was called EZuse Software. Two of the products developed were for educational use. They were called Quiz Master Construction Set and USA Construction Set.

Quiz Master Construction Set was software for teachers or anyone who wanted to create quizzes for students or for self-testing. The USA Construction Set was set up for educational questions about the states in the USA.

I decided to do a search in Google for my dad's name and EZuse Software. There were actually some hits online. I've included them here below:

List of Atari 400 800 XL XE Games: EZuse Software

Atari Mania lists and has links to the Quiz Master Construction Set and the USA Construction Set. If you click on the link for the USA Construction Set, you will actually see pics of the program's floppy disks. Pretty neat.

Product Review for Quiz Master Construction Set - November 1986

In his review, Gregg Pearlman begins by writing the following:

"Ever hear of a bouncy, colorful, musical real estate quiz? How about a perky multiple-choice biology exam? Ezuse Software's Quizmaster Construction Set can provide either one, as well as a whole range. of quiz possibilities, from riddle-guessing games to foreign language tests to Trivial Pursuit game questions. You decide on the subject and type in the questions and answers."

Quiz Master Construction Set Mentioned in the ST New Products - August 1988

Gregg Pearlman begins his write-up about Quiz Master Construction Set by writing the following:

"EZuse has ported its popular and inexpensive 8-bit Quiz Master Construction Set over to the Atari ST...."

Antic Magazine Archive: I/O Board

In the link above, my Dad responded to a review. He began,

"Thanks for the positive review of USA Construction Set..."

The U.S.A. Construction Set Manual

Archive.org has a copy of the USA Construction Set Manual on its website at the link above. Pretty cool!

I'm so proud of my dad and that he created his own business. He was always a hard worker and provided for his family very well. I love him and miss him so much.

Have you found any business cards for your ancestors?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2018 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Grandpa Debs Webster's Dental Lab and Appointment Card

My maternal grandpa, Debs Warren Webster, was a dentist. He was born in Brazil and was the son of my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, who was also a dentist, and who I refer to as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

My Grandpa Debs, Grandma Willis, and their family immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1952. Grandpa Debs wasn't able to work as a dentist in the United States because his dental license from Brazil wasn't recognized in California.

Debs and Willis were living in Pomona, California and started working at Wheel Craft Inc. in Azusa, California very soon after they arrived in the United States. Debs worked as a machine operator and foreman from August 1952 until September 1957. But, he didn't want to work there forever.

So, he got a job working as a dental technician in a lab in Pomona and worked there for almost a year. The family moved to San Francisco in 1958 and Debs was able to get a job as a dental technician there for five years. He then had his own dental laboratory from October 1963 until August 1965. He sold his laboratory and the family moved back to Pomona where he again worked as a dental technician in another lab.

It must have been difficult for my grandfather, who was a practicing dentist with a college degree from Brazil, to work as a technician instead of as a dentist. Thankfully, a law was passed in California that allowed foreign dentists to apply for a California dental license.

My Grandpa Debs completed a special program in General Dentistry from the UCLA School of Dentistry University Extension. I have his certificate of completion dated in 1973. My mom said that Debs (her father) went to school and worked at the same time. That must have been exhausting! I also have a copy of Debs' "Application For Examination For Licensure To Practice Dentistry." It contains wonderful information including his previous education and work experience in Brazil and in the United States. Debs became a dentist in not just one country, but two. I think that is an amazing accomplishment.

After Debs got his dental license, he opened his own dental practice in Fullerton, California. Here's one of his appointment cards.

You may have noticed that his name on the card is Warren D. Webster. That's because he changed his name from Debs Warren Webster to Warren Debs Webster.

Here's a photo of Grandpa Debs at his dental practice in Fullerton. My mom told me that Grandma Willis also worked in his dental office there.

Eventually, Grandpa Debs closed his dental office and worked in a dental practice with other dentists.

I don't know exactly when my Grandpa Debs and Grandma Willis moved to Hacienda Heights, California. But, their beautiful home in Hacienda Heights is the home I remember my family and I visiting when I was a child.

In the garage of this home, my Grandpa Debs had a dental lab. Here's a photo of his lab.



Here are some close-up views of the desks in the lab.






This is the back of the photo with Grandpa Debs' writing on it.

See the address of the lab? It's the same address as their home in Hacienda Heights, California. And here is a photo of their home, again with Grandpa Debs' writing on it.

Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me as I've shared more about my Grandpa Debs Webster.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2016 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ The Traveling Dentist's Business Card

Last week I shared with my readers the Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma which was awarded to my Great-Grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster in 1896.

Today I have another treasure to share with you.  It's Frederick Emory Webster's business card.  This little gem was included in a bag of photos my mom brought over to me.  I wish I knew just how old this business card is.  I know it's at least 67 years old because Frederick died on July 21, 1946 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It looks like Frederick, or "Frederico" in Portuguese, had a business partner, a Mr. Benjamin Tomas.

Frederick and Benjamin's business was in Santos, Brazil.  This business card is written in Portuguese, and I neither read nor speak Portuguese.  But my mom does, so I asked her to translate this for me.

Original:

Escriptorio Commercial, Cartas

de Chamadas, Naturalizacao,

Certificados, de Reservista, e Licencas em geral.

Horarios

Das 8:30 as 12: e

Das 14: as 17: hrs.

Praca Ruy Barbosa 14, 2 andar,

Santos.

Translation:

Commercial Office, Calling Cards,

Naturalization,

Certificate of Reservist and Licensing in general.

Office Hours

From 8:30 to 12:00 and

From 2:00 to 5:00

Praca Rui Barbosa 14, 2nd floor,

Santos

Well, this is a rather surprising translation.  Why?  Because I thought this business card was for Frederick's dental practice.  But, according to this business card, it seems that Frederick was involved in another type of business venture as well.  And I'm not really sure what kind of business it was.  Calling cards, naturalization, licensing, etc.?    It's a mystery to me.  But, whatever kind of business it was, it appears that Frederick had a side business in addition to his dental practice.

I shouldn't be surprised that Frederick was involved in more than just dentistry.  After all, he did have an Optical Boat and a Photo Boat docked next to his Dental Boat.  And speaking of his Dental Boat, have you seen the photos of the shark hanging in front of the Dental Boat yet?  Whoever caught that shark must have had a great fish story to tell!

Oh, Great-Grandpa Frederick!  You were such an interesting and colorful character.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last