1924 Cedar Rapids Iowa Retirement Pension Employees Signed Church For Sale

• Up for sale is an original typed business letter, dated September 26, 1924, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, addressed to Mr. Ed Grimes, Plant, and signed by \"B.L. Church, Gen\'l Supt.\" (General Superintendent).
• The letter acknowledges Grimes\'s resignation, effective September 30, 1924, and confirms his placement on the company pension roll effective November 1, 1924, based on twenty years of service.
• It\'s a warm, personal note from a superintendent to a long-serving employee: \"I am very sorry to see you leave, but you know best what you wish to do... I sincerely hope you will get along and improve in health and come down and see us whenever you feel like it.\"
• A piece of early-20th-century American workplace and labor history: a rare surviving example of a company pension notification from the 1920s, with handwritten corrections in the text.
• The company/plant name is not stated on the letter itself and is unknown to me.

• Date: September 26, 1924
• Origin: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Recipient: Mr. Ed Grimes, \"Plant\"
• Signed by: B.L. Church, General Superintendent (ink signature over a typed title line)
• Subject: Acceptance of resignation, effective September 30, 1924; confirmation of pension roll placement effective November 1, 1924, based on 20 years of service; payroll continuation through the following week
• Format: Single sheet, typewritten, with pencil and ink handwritten corrections/insertions (dates \"Nov. 1, 1924\" added twice in a different hand, and strikethroughs)
• Initials at bottom left: \"B9C/S\" or similar typist reference initials

• Type: Original typed letter
• Size:roughly 8\" x 10\"
• Paper: aged, cream/tan, with fold lines
• Ink: black typewriter ink, with graphite pencil and blue-black ink handwritten additions
• Condition of text: fully legible throughout

Please review all photos, as they are part of the description.

• Paper: aged and toned, with foxing/age spots, especially in the upper right and along the edges.
• Folds: the letter has three horizontal fold lines from having been folded for mailing or filing, with slight wear at the fold intersections.
• Handwritten edits: several words are struck through and dates are penciled/inked in above the typed line, apparently made at or shortly after typing to correct the effective dates.
• Signature: clear and legible in ink.

A genuine, well-preserved century-old business letter with expected age-toning and fold wear.

• In the early 20th century, many American manufacturers and industrial employers in cities like Cedar Rapids operated company pension programs for long-tenured employees, a practice that predates the widespread availability of Social Security (established in 1935).
• This letter documents one such case: an employee pensioned after twenty years of service, with the company continuing full pay through the transition and promising a monthly pension payment.
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa was a significant industrial and manufacturing center in this era, home to cereal, meatpacking, and machinery companies.

• Original signed business correspondence from the 1920s relating to labor and pension history is collected by ephemera enthusiasts, genealogists researching the Grimes or Church families, and collectors of Cedar Rapids or Iowa business history.
• Genealogy researchers searching for \"Ed Grimes\" or \"B.L. Church\" of Cedar Rapids may find this letter valuable for family history.

• Best stored flat or in an archival sleeve, away from sunlight and humidity, to prevent further toning.
• Suitable for framing (with UV-protective glass) or for an ephemera/document collection.

This letter will be shipped flat in a rigid mailer via [USPS Ground Advantage] with tracking. It will not be folded further.

Priced as a piece of original 1920s business/labor ephemera. I\'m open to reasonable offers.

Questions? Feel free to message me before buying.