George Joseph Schied was born on March 1, 1882 in Brockport, Monroe County, New York. The next year his family moved to the west side of nearby Rochester. The family lived in an area called Dutch Town. However, while it may hold gardens of tulips, the name is actually a mispronunciation of the word “Deutsch,” the language spoken by its early German settlers.
Dutchtown in the 1880s
In George's teenage years he worked as a shoemaker with his sister Ada. But, his older brother William was a railroad conductor and that intrigued him more. Just after the country entered the 20th century George became a railroader.
First he worked as a Fireman on trains out West and in the Southwest part of the country. Returning home, he worked his way up to engineer of locomotives on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad.
First he worked as a Fireman on trains out West and in the Southwest part of the country. Returning home, he worked his way up to engineer of locomotives on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad.
Apparently he wanted something without the traveling so much after meeting a girl named Irene. In 1909 he quit the railroad, joined the Rochester Police force (Shown on the left) and married Irene.
George now had a good steady job and things were going well. He and Irene quickly had a daughter and a son. But, in 1915 Irene became ill and suddenly died. George was now a single dad with two infants. Fortunately, his widowed mother-in-law moved into his home to help him.
This gave George time to work on a new idea for a card game for his children. It involved four sets of cards representing the alphabet and 10 numerical cards (114 total). The alphabet card sets were in different fonts. The game was based on spelling words with a different version using the numerical cards for points. He called it "Smart Folks".
This gave George time to work on a new idea for a card game for his children. It involved four sets of cards representing the alphabet and 10 numerical cards (114 total). The alphabet card sets were in different fonts. The game was based on spelling words with a different version using the numerical cards for points. He called it "Smart Folks".
The local newspaper, the Democrat and Chronicle, said in an article that several card manufacturers were negotiating with him to produce the game.
Searching the standard references ("American Games" by Alex G. Malloy, "The Game Catalog" by The American Game Collectors Association and Bruce Whitehill's "Big Game Hunter" website) I could not find any game that fits the description or name. No luck either in the trade magazines ("American Stationers" or "The Geyer") or newspapers.
By 1920 George had met, and married, Mary Ellen Roberts. She worked at the Kodak factory in Dutch Town.
Searching the standard references ("American Games" by Alex G. Malloy, "The Game Catalog" by The American Game Collectors Association and Bruce Whitehill's "Big Game Hunter" website) I could not find any game that fits the description or name. No luck either in the trade magazines ("American Stationers" or "The Geyer") or newspapers.
By 1920 George had met, and married, Mary Ellen Roberts. She worked at the Kodak factory in Dutch Town.
The Kodak Factory
George now made some life changes with this second marriage. He moved out of Dutch Town and into downtown Rochester near the Genesee River. He also quit being a cop and began selling stocks and securities for the Dubiskie Company. He became very good at it and was always one of their top salesmen. By 1930 he switched over to doing real estate.
The 1940 census shows him retired, but his wife is cooking in a restaurant.
A week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor his younger son married. When war is declared the newlywed joined the Merchant Marines. He served on tankers and unarmed Liberty ships delivering cargo in the Atlantic. The next year George Jr. joined the Army Air Corps and ended up flying 30 missions in Europe in B-26s.
By 1944 George tells people he has to do something to help the war effort. He's been doing painting in the area and lands a job with the government. He heads to Hawaii to supervise crews painting military installations. In November 1944 he leaves San Francisco on the SS Philippa in an armed convoy for Hawaii. He is gone for almost 2 years.
Returning home, he is joined by both his sons. Instead of leading a quiet life he now gets into sales. And he also becomes an advocate for better local bus service. He gets petitions going and presents proposals to the City Council for changes. He wants to know why nearby towns are not reachable with the buses. Plus, he complains nothing has changed on the routes since 1919.
By 1949 both political parties are now involved and want an investigation of the Public Service Commission on why the bus service is so bad. Changes were made, but arguments still go on.
George passed away December 1, 1951.
The 1940 census shows him retired, but his wife is cooking in a restaurant.
A week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor his younger son married. When war is declared the newlywed joined the Merchant Marines. He served on tankers and unarmed Liberty ships delivering cargo in the Atlantic. The next year George Jr. joined the Army Air Corps and ended up flying 30 missions in Europe in B-26s.
By 1944 George tells people he has to do something to help the war effort. He's been doing painting in the area and lands a job with the government. He heads to Hawaii to supervise crews painting military installations. In November 1944 he leaves San Francisco on the SS Philippa in an armed convoy for Hawaii. He is gone for almost 2 years.
Returning home, he is joined by both his sons. Instead of leading a quiet life he now gets into sales. And he also becomes an advocate for better local bus service. He gets petitions going and presents proposals to the City Council for changes. He wants to know why nearby towns are not reachable with the buses. Plus, he complains nothing has changed on the routes since 1919.
By 1949 both political parties are now involved and want an investigation of the Public Service Commission on why the bus service is so bad. Changes were made, but arguments still go on.
George passed away December 1, 1951.