THREE CROWNS SILVER PRODUCTION IN POTTSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

In 1947, when Mel was 35 years of age, the family set sail in a steamer to the United States. Julia, the housekeeper and nanny, was from Palamós and took to the United States and the family immediately. Mel loved her cooking and was perhaps too enthusiastic about it because it gave rise to a fierce jealousy on the part of Carmen that eventually led to Julia’s dismissal when the family lived in Madrid in 1956. Julia thoroughly enjoyed herself in the United States, and Mel would bring her enormous gallon jugs of pure 190-proof moonshine from the Appalachian Mountains that she quickly finished off within the week. I should mention that she had a real preference for her son, Montague, and she dotted over him to the detriment of Marilee.

The silver factory was in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. It was, in reality, not much more than a one-car garage that had been converted into a workshop. It belonged to a grand house that had a small cottage in the backyard. The Lord family lived in that small cottage. The house itself was outside of town, down a lonely country lane in the middle of nowhere. I was very young when we lived there. Six months old when we arrived and two years old when we left. Yet, years later, when I was 34 years old, I returned to Pottstown and tried to find the cottage where we lived. In some way that I will never understand, I found that old country road and the big house. The cottage was behind the house, which is what I remembered most. So I got out and walked around the property to see the cottage and how small that garage was, which Mel and his partner used to create beautiful silver pieces designed by Tio Hick.

Eventually, the business went bankrupt. Mel flew to Spain to borrow money, and he sent it to his partner. The partner used it to pay off their debts. Mel never forgave him for not using the money to build up their much-needed physical capital. Mel was 37 when the business became bankrupt.

The photo above shows Mel’s partner, whose name we were never told. Although Mel and Carmen often spoke of the silver factory and Montague Sr’s financial help in setting it up, the partner was never mentioned. There are many of those pieces currently sold on eBay under the name of ‘Three Crowns’ silverware.

I was two-and-a-half years old when we left Pottstown. In 1977 I drove to the Pottstown area and came upon an area that I recognized. I saw the main house and it looked familiar, though our home was in the back. I went around the back and saw our small home and the one-car wooden garage that served as the factory. That house was on a country road, far from town. It’s amazing that I was able to find it.

TIO HICK’S POTTERY FACTORY IN TAMPA, FLORIDA

In 1949, Royal Hickman, who was already recognized as one of America’s leading designers, moved from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Clearwater Beach. He planned to retire there and bought a large power boat that he named the Royal T. But he soon got bored and purchased some land on Nebraska Avenue in Tampa, near present-day Fowler Avenue, to start Royal Hickman Limited. The Tampa plant, with thirty employees, produced some of Hickman’s best designs, including flamingo flower holders, pelican wall pockets and ashtrays, vases in the form of shells and magnificent lamps. The pottery is marked on the base with ‘Royal Hickman, Florida.’

When Tio Hick heard of Mel’s silver factory bankruptcy, he invited Mel to join him in Tampa as the plant engineer. Mel accepted and traveled to Tampa, leaving Carmen to move the family with Julia to Tampa. She got an open truck somewhere, put all the furniture and family members inside and drove that truck down to Tampa. She was 27 years old and ready for a new adventure.

In Tampa, the family lived in a home that was on cinder blocks, undoubtedly to protect it from flooding in the area. Carmen sold pottery pieces with slight imperfections in a roadside store near the factory. People loved her accent and enthusiasm, and her business was a great success. That experience remained with her and was an inspiration for her in later life.

‘ABUELITOS’ VISIT TAMPA

Carmen’s parents, Pelayo Pagés and Maria Vilar visited Tampa and stayed with the Lord family from December 1949 to the end of April 1950. They traveled by ship from Spain, leaving on November 8 from Santander, stopping in Tenerife, San Juan de Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Trujillo de la Guyana, Santo Domingo, Curaçao, and finally arriving in Havana, Cuba on December 4, 1949. Maria was seasick with migraine headaches throughout the sail across the Atlantic, but Pelayo thoroughly enjoyed himself. In Havana, they were met by Mel and Carmen, and then all four of them flew to Miami. It was the first airplane flight for Pelayo and Maria, and very exciting for them. From Miami, they drove 225 miles to Tampa. Pelayo described it all as a dream and being in complete happiness.

Abuelito Pelayo described the many adventures they had in Tampa in his diary (‘1949-50-Diario de Pelayo Pages-SP definitivo.pdf’; English translation ‘1949-50-Pelayo Pages-EN definitivo.pdf’). It is a wonderful story of discovery by Abuelito Pelayo with the Hickmans and all the Lord family members. In the diary, Pelayo describes how he spent much of his time when he was not being invited to events in Ybor City, a suburb of Tampa known for its cigars (which he cherished). There, he played cards and ate at the local bars with the largely Cuban population.

Apart from all the socializing and visiting of near and far away sites, Pelayo caught a 4-kilo grouper with a light tackle that never should have been able to bring up a fish of that size. There was a great celebration, and a large meal was organized to share the catch with many friends. Abuelita spent much of her time not feeling well. Abuelito managed to see 100s of movies at different types of cinemas, including an outdoor drive-in, which was a popular venue in those days. Towards the end of the trip, the Abuelitos drove with Carmen and Mel to Washington, DC, to visit the capital and then to New York, from where they returned to Spain.

Mel worked and played hard. His story “How to Catch Bass in Florida” is available as a separate file and tells of his adventure of the huge bass ‘old grandpaw’ that got away from him. His work with Hickman was going well, and Carmen became a highly successful businesswoman selling pottery with slight imperfections.

Then, just before Christmas of 1952, disaster struck Tio Hick’s pottery factory when a kiln blew up and burned the entire place down. We all went there, and I remember the sky being lit up with a red glow and the wooden factory structure going up in flames. So, at age 40, Mel had to reinvent himself again.