Abe Androphy - My Grandfather
Sometime in the 1920s, Abe Androphy and his brother Jules, opened a business in Derby Connecticut called "Androphy Electric Company." The earliest photo that I have is 1931 and I will add that to this web site shortly. The calendar pictures on the left are from 1933 and are hanging in the home of cousin Joel Androphy in Houston, Texas.
The business provided all types of electrical services including electrical wiring and sales of radios and other electrical devices. Apparently, there was a fire in that store in the 1920s that forced a relocation to Ansonia, Connecticut. I saw the pictures of the fire when I was young when I was looking through my grandparent's photo albums with them.
The Ansonia store was located on 80 Main Street in Ansonia Connecticut. I have visited the store when I worked in the Naugatuck Valley. By that time, it was a bicycle shop. I still remember some of it. It sold radios, televisions and appliances and it was principally a General Electric Dealer but also carried other brands including Philco. When my mother was younger, the upstairs part of the store sold music and records. She worked there and managed the department for her parents. The store had three levels. A lower story carried appliances, the ground level floor featured televisions and radios, and the upper floor was records.
Sometime in the 50s or 60s, the store moved to 410 Main Street in Derby. This was a one floor store with the showroom up front and the repair shop located in the rear. There was also a small warehouse store up the street. Inventory for the store was also stored at a small warehouse above the three car garage at my grandparent's home in Debry.
