There was a time when many of the men in our neighborhood made a living through their job at a local brewery. Rheingold, Schaefer and Piel were among the better known brewing companies that provided such employment. With the passage of time, some of the others have become all but forgotten.

Thanks to reader Ray Gazer, we have a 1908 photo taken at the 10th-year anniversary celebration of the Diogenes Brewing Company in Ridgewood.

The building, erected in 1898, was located on the southwest corner of Wyckoff Avenue and Van Voorhis Street (Decatur Street). We have seen vintage promotional items, printed for the brewery, that identify its location as being in the Evergreen section (a discussion of the section’s name appeared in the “Our Neighborhood” column that was published in the Nov. 8, 2007 issue of this newspaper).

We dug into our files and found a photo of the Diogenes Brewing Company as it looked on Sept. 19, 1899. It is decorated with flags and bunting to celebrate the occasion of their first shipment of beer from the new brewery.

This photo, dated 1908, was taken at the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Diogenes Brewing Company, which was located at Wyckoff Avenue and Decatur Street in Ridgewood. (photo: Ray Gazer Collection)

In the vintage photo of the building, three horse-drawn beer wagons are lined up in front of the brewery to pick up kegs to deliver to their customers. The brewmeister was Joseph Keller. the plant featured Diogenes Extra Lager and by 1913, was also featuring an ale that was marketed as Diogenes Sparkling Ale. The brewery encouraged its saloonkeeper customers to buy shares of stock in the brewery, so that they could share in the profits of the brewery.

For those who may wonder about the name, Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who supposedly carried a lantern while looking for an honest man. People used to kid, drink Diogenes Beer and “die in agony.”

The brewery closed when national Prohibition started in 1920 and the plant became the Malt-Diastase Co., which was used to produce malt extract for sale to candy manufacturers.

In December 1933, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed, ending Prohibition. While a newspaper had reported in 1932 that the company formerly known for producing Diogenes Beer was “uncertain” whether it would make beer again, once Prohibition was repealed, it never again served as a brewery.

In more recent years, the building was used by the MAPAC Distributing Corp. and Sheet Metal Manufacturing Co., Inc. Judging from the photo that shows the structure as it looks today, the building’s next occupant has yet to be determined.

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We always enjoy it when a photo or other item that appeared in the “Our Neighborhood” feature sparks the interest of one or more readers, prompting them to share their thoughts.

This photo provides a turn-of-the-century look at the Diogenes Brewing Company building in Ridgewood.

Such was the case with the image of Gustav Timmer’s Hall—another photo that is part of the collection of Ray Gazer—that we originally shared in the Nov. 8, 2007 issue of this newspaper.

First, we have a letter from reader Lorriaine Rath Freund of Glendale, who writes: “I read your column whenever it appears in the Times Newsweekly. I was surprised to see the picture printed in the Nov. 8 issue. I have the same picture hanging in my basement for years.

“The man second to right in the picture is my grandfather, Michael Rath. He is the tallest man in the picture. He was born in Germany in 1873 and immigrated to the United States around 1890. He married my grandmother, Katherine Steinhilber Rath, in 1893. My father was born in 1907. At the time of the picture, I think they lived on Seneca Avenue, across from I.S. 77. They moved to 60th Lane around 1930, where I still live.

“My grandfather was a cooper and I’m not sure if he worked for one of the breweries or not. He died in 1937, before I was born.

“I have no other knowledge of the picture or the occasion for which it was taken. I don’t recognize any of the other people in the picture. If anyone else has information about the picture, I would be happy to receive it. I really enjoy reading your column.”

The former home of the Diogenes Brewing Company, as it looks today. (photo: J. Naughton)

Old Timer’s note—For those who may be unfamiliar with the word, a cooper is defined as a person whose work involves making or repairing barrels and casks.

We also heard from another Glendale reader, Paul J. Schottenhamel. In his letter, he writes: “In your column of Nov. 8, 2007, you included a photograph of Timmer’s Hall. In your narrative, you speculated that it was taken after 1909, noting the introduction that year of the trademark of “Rheingold” for the beer marketed by the S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Company. There are several other clues that isolate the year.

“Counting the stars on the American flag bunting, there are only 46 stars. The 46th state admitted to the union was Oklahoma on Nov. 16, 1907. The next two states admitted were New Mexico (Jan. 6, 1912) and Arizona (Feb. 14, 1912).

“The sign on the front of the building is advertising a picnic at Leihbacher’s Park to be held on Sunday, Aug. 28. Checking the perpetual calendar in my almanac, Aug. 28 fell on Sundays in the years 1904, 1910, 1921. The first year (1904) is before your 1909 beginning date, The last date (1921) was after the World War, during which time the 48-star flags were produced in great numbers. Even the most frugal Germans would not have kept such outdated bunting around. The bunting in the photograph is new. This only leaves 1910 as the year of the published photograph.

“You also mention the Evergreen section. While researching my family tree, I discovered that the 1920 U.S. Census listed my great uncle, Martin John Oechsner, who lived at 879 Clifton Ave., Evergreen, Queens, N.Y.

“Martin had emigrated from Germany in 1894, along with two of his brothers, John (Johann) and George. Martin sponsored my mother, Maria, and her sister, Kuni, and two brothers, Valentine and Karl, when they came to America between 1928 and 1936. He was a baker by profession and had been a yeast salesman for Fleischmann Company. This must have brought him in contact with many of the bakery owners in Ridgewood.

Seeing this previously-published photo of Timmer’s Hall prompted two Glendale readers to write. One, Lorraine Ruth Freund, had been surprised to see her grandfather, Michael Rath (standing second from right), while the other, Paul J. Schottenhamel, forwarded the results of some detective work on his part. (photo: Ray Gazer collection)

“Aunt Kuni worked at Menninger’s Bakery on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood from the mid-1930s until it closed. My mother also worked there for a short period. The salesladies were good friends and they always referred to themselves as the ‘Menninger Girls.’ For many years after the bakery closed, they would get together and talk about the good times they had and how they were devoted to the ‘Boss,’ Florian Menninger.”

Old Timer’s note—If the Old Timer ran a police department, we would award Paul J. Schottenhamel a detective’s gold shield for his efforts. We think he has done a very nice job of deducing the year of the Timmer’s Hall photo.

Perhaps we will hear from one or more other readers regarding this picture of Gustav Timmer’s Hall.

As for Florian Menninger, he operated a fine bakery and served as a trustee of St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood. Among those who remember the various bake shops that once existed in the Ridgewood/Bushwick area, many regard Menninger’s as having been the best of all.

Originally, Florian Menninger’s bake shop, which he opened in 1903, was located at 538 Knickerbocker Ave. in the western (Brooklyn) section of Ridgewood. Around 1915, the eastern part of Ridgewood was growing rapidly and some of the merchants in the Brooklyn section headed east to Myrtle Avenue in Queens County.

Florian Menninger was among those who moved, as he relocated his bake shop to 1748 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood. This was on the south side of the street, not far from Seneca Avenue.

In May 1925, the Philadelphia System was installed in Queens County and many of the streets were renamed or renumbered. Almost all of the buildings were renumbered. Menninger’s Bake Shop, which had been 1748 Myrtle Ave., was renumbered to 56-50 Myrtle Ave. It operated into the late 1960s, when it closed.

There was a period of years when the Brooklyn post office did not want to give up handling the volume of mail for Glendale and the Queens portion of Ridgewood, insisting that the residents had to add “Brooklyn” to their address, even though they were in Queens County.

A few years ago, we heard from Florian Menninger Jr., who had worked in the family bakery while attending St. John’s University in the early 1960s. Mr. Menninger, a retired microbiologist and immunologist, was residing in Massachusetts when he contacted us. Along with his letter, he sent along a napkin from the bakery. It listed the bake shop’s address as “56-50 Myrtle Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.”

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This week’s issue date is Nov. 22, which happens to be Thanksgiving Day. We wonder how many of our readers remember when the custom on Thanksgiving Day was for youngsters to dress as ragamuffins and go from one house to another, asking, “Anything for Thanksgiving?” The hoped-for response was to have people inside answer the question with coins, fruit or candy.

Sometime after World War II, this custom of begging began to fade and was replaced by trick-or-treating on Halloween. Nowadays, begging on Thanksgiving morning is an all-but-forgotten activity.

On that note, we conclude without forgetting to wish our readers a very happy Thanksgiving.

Old Timer’s note—If you have any remembrances or old photographs that you would like to share with our readers, write (“regular” mail, please; no e-mail) to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 860299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299.