THE GUY FROM ALLEGHENY
It seems hard to believe that, considering his love and devotion to Macedonia, Cleveland, and Northeast Ohio, that Colonel William Frew Long was not a born and bred Ohioan.
He was, in fact, a Pennsylvanian. And, from a very prominent family.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mother Ella Edgar Long was an heiress of the Frew oil family. Father Edward Payson Long was organizer and President of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange, and Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Life was good, until the oil panic and stock market crash of the 1890s wiped out the family fortune. This, followed by the death of Edward Long, left the Long family penniless.
William Frew Long quit school at age 11 and found jobs to help support his struggling family. He sold newspapers. He did clerical work. He received help from the YMCA where he became interested in taking evening classes (Colonel Long later credited his support from the YMCA in constituting his success in later life, and reflected his future support for the Macedonia YMCA).
He became secretary and chief accountant for a large laundry company. His interest in the laundry business, and controlling interest is several laundry companies, led to his becoming President of the National Laundry Owners Association, and eventually Manager of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.
In April, 1920, Colonel Long moved to Ohio where he took the position of General Manager of Associated Industries of Cleveland; and its offshoot, the American Plan Association.
Some additional notes on the Colonel’s background…
Regarding his education, Colonel Long was mostly self-taught. He was a voracious reader and consumed whatever books he could on whatever topics were available. When tested by the military he was found to have an education equal to qualifying for a college diploma.
Colonel Long’s business activities were interrupted by World War I. He served twenty months in the Air Service of the United States Army, attaining the rank of Captain. He would continue a lifelong involvement with the Air Service Reserves, later the United States Air Force. He was promoted to Major in 1919, Lt Colonel in 1927, and Colonel in 1938. He was addressed as “Colonel” for the rest of his days even after his military affiliation.
The Longwood Manor house will be closed for the months of January and February. Open House tours will resume on Sunday, March 26th, 2023, from 1pm until 4pm.
We look forward to your visits.
In the meantime, you can follow LMHS activities on our website, www.longwoodmanor.org,
and the LMHS Facebook page.
Thank you one and all for your support of Longwood Manor and the Longwood Manor Historical Society.
We can’t do it without you.
