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Upper left—Violin strings are given proper length and thickness on turning machine operated by Michael Kulling. In the background hang $10,000 worth of raw material, sheep gut. Upper right—George N. Einsele, 71, who established string factory in Brunswick. He is holding on of 1,000 hand-made violins formerly in the factory. Center row (left)—Irene Polivka, superintendent, points out bass strings on stretching and drying boards. (Center) View of shop where employee operates string winding machines invented and built by Einsele. (Right) Catherine Rhein strings a violin preparatory to testing tonal qualities. Lower left—Factory workers check over silver and copper wire and moisture-proof strings for photographer. They are left to right: Irene Gesster, I. Polivka, Florence Sabernlak, C. Rhein and Mrs. "Bud" Gless. Lower right—The old Brunswick school house, built in [illegible], which is now used as string factory. At the right is a steel vault where valuable materials are stored. (Hammond Times Photo)
The Hammond Times – Hammond, Indiana, Thursday, January 25, 1940
Factory With Only 4 Customers Produces Fine Toned Violin Strings for Musical Thrills
By Phil Lamar Anderson
It has taken a lot of gut to string along with you music lovers!
You can believe George N. Einsele for this remark for he knows where of he speaks.
George is 71.
For 36 years he has been making violin strings.
His factory is an abandoned rural school house situated in the tiny residential community of Brunswick, south of Hammond and Dyer.
Some of your most beautiful music comes from stringed instruments, like the cello, the viola, the bass fiddle and, of course, the violin.
And you have George to thank for the tonal perfection of many of these because he has been doing such a swell job with the gut of animals.
Right here you should learn that the life of a cat plays no part whatever in the making of a violin string, some screeching examples of the musical art to the contrary notwithstanding.
Former Railroad Man
Sheep and hogs whose journeys through life are culminated with one-way trips into the Chicago stockyards provide the intestines from which the strings are manufactured for use by George, and possibly no more than a dozen other so-called string-winders throughout the United States.
George Einsele is taking life a little easier these days. After all, he deserves it, for, besides having made notable contributions to the field of musical art all these years, he has behind him a splendid record of 20 years of continuous service as a locomotive engineer on the [illegible] railroad.
He was born in Brunswick, which is located two miles east of Cook, south of Hammond on Route 41.
Brunswick, now about 50 years old, has not grown appreciably like some of its neighboring Lake county communities. There isn't much to be seen, in fact, aside from its little 77-year old Zion Evangelical church; Ernest Meyer's general store; Arnold and Walter Schreiner's garage and gas station; Ben Reicheart's tavern about 30 homes and, to be sure, the comfortable Einsele residence, and nearby, the violin string factory.
George has the only string-making establishment in this part of the country. There are several "winders" at Battle Creek, Mich. and a few others on the east and west coasts. Because the field of production is not overcrowded, George's little factory does a splendid annual business. He furnishes employment to eight persons throughout the year and in the busy call season augments his corps of workers. His production averages 1,000 strings a day, or more than a quarter-million annually, and yet the Perfection Musical String Company of Cedar Lake (Brunswick's post office address) is know to only four customers!
Sales Made to Jobbers
"Our immediate customers are big jobbers," Einsele explained. "We deal with three in Chicago and one in Cleveland, Ohio. Yet our strings go all over the United States and, possibly, to owners of stringed instruments in foreign countries. This method of distribution has proved very satisfactory. It has eliminated much detail work in our small factory, for we are concerned only with the production of first-class, high quality strings. We ship them in bulk lots to the jobbers, who in turn, package them under their own trade-marks for sales to music stores and, ultimately, use by musicians."
George likes good violin music but has never been much of a musician himself. Years ago, he revealed, he used to play the violin "a little." He was discriminating enough, however, to realize that he never could purchase what his regard as "good G strings." This incident set him to thinking. He asked himself why good G strings could not be made and eventually rigged up a machine for the satisfaction of his musical zeal.
"You know the rest," George said. "That little machine happened to work and I obtained a good G string. And that's how I happened to get into this business."
Big Variety of Strings
Today, in the old Brunswick school house, a two-story frame structure built in [illegible], approximately 100 kinds of strings in more than 60 different sizes are being produced on a dozen electrically-operated winding machines, all invented and built by Einsele himself in a work shop behind the factory.
It is related in Brunswick that its inhabitants used to depend on George for their electricity. He furnished the little village with this service from the small plant used at the factory for nearly 10 years. Now the Northern Indiana Public Service company through nearby Cook renders this public service.
The Einsele factory has unquestionably kept Brunswick on the map, the townsfolk admit. When attendance became too small to keep the school house open 30 ago, George purchased the building. Boys and girls of the community now attend the Schiller school three miles north of Brunswick.
One of Brunswick's former veteran merchants now lives in Hammond. He is John Beckman of Glendale park who, for about 40 years, owned and operated the general store there.
Employees All Loyal
George Einsele is surrounded by a group of employees whose loyalty to his little industry is best illustrated by the fact that all have been with him at least 14 years, including Mrs. Martin Saberniak, Mrs. Edmond Gettler, Mrs. Clifford "Bud" Gless, and the Misses Catherine Rhein, Marcella Mayer and Amala Russell. The shop superintendant, Mrs. James Polivka, boasts an 18-year employment record, and the only male worker, Michael Kulling, has been producing violin strings for 21 years.
Einsele formerly made violins here, too. During a five-year period, and with the assistance of an expert in that field, J. H. Ericson, now a Hammond violin maker. Einsele turned out exactly 1,000 hand-made violins; then quit.
"I decided to stick to the string business," George added, "and I have no regrets. It is better to do one thing well."
How violin strings are made is not easily explained, according to George. He obtains the sheep and hog gut from a Chicago packing concern. The gut is sent to him in the rough, after having been properly treated at the stockyards. The gut is dried, of course, and a dozen or more fine strings comprise the four and six-food strands (which look like dried macaroni) which move on their way to the Einsele-designed turning machines.
Strings 6 Feet Long
The average violin string is 24 inches in length. The gut is cut to this length on the machinery while at the same time being reduced from its natural thickness of [illegible] of an inch to 24/225 of an inch.
When the string has undergone this sizing, it is again dried before entering other machines for winding operations. The little factory imports silver, copper and aluminum wire from France and Germany, besides using domestic products. Special winding operations involve each of the D, G, E and A strings. When completed, the strings have their respective tonal qualities definitely associated with them, and talented musicians need only tune them to achieve the melodious effects so long identified with stringed instruments.
