raged in 1915. The standing figure on the hill facing the
camera is Corporal T.Q. Gildersleeves, who allegedly
carried bottles of his own beer with him throughout the war.
American society. Lives ground to a halt so that all able men could
join their compatriots in Europe and defend our Freedom.
The Brewmaster, T.Q. Gildersleeves, was no exception. He left for the
battlefields of France in January, 1915, to begin a three year tour of
duty. Back home in Tonawanda, New York, meanwhile, the Gilder-
sleeves Brewery tried to eke by on skeleton crews. Nora Edwina
Gildersleeves, the proud mother of the Brewmaster, is seen above,
in a recently colorized photo, doing her part to keep the beer flowing
at home, while Tonawanda's finest waged war. Sales and production
both dropped during the war years, but the brewery managed to stay
afloat. Tragically, Nora Edwin would not live to see her son return
from the war. Shortly after this picture was taken, she collapsed
in her home from alcohol poisoning. The cause was traced to a
single batch of Gildersleeves Lager which had become infected with
botulism. Thirty-five other people also died as a result, but no charges
were ever filed against the Brewery.
