My great-great-grandfather, Abraham Pass, immigrated from Russia to St. Louis in the late 1800s. When he arrived in America, he did not have any family around. He then founded the Independent Fish Co. alone. It was originally a retail fish market in St. Louis that sold mostly fish and other cooking supplies related to fish, such as oil. It imported its supply of seafood from places all over the world. It later became a wholesale seafood business that sold fish throughout the United States. At one time it had one of the largest cold storage rooms in the mid-west United States. Which could hold over fifteen million pounds of frozen seafood at a constant temperature of ten degrees below zero. This cold storage room was so impressive at that time because of its extensive design. For example, the entire room was sheathed in an eight-inch cork insulation material and it had a special automatic conveyor system to move cases in and out of the room. Over the next two generations, the company evolved and went through mergers and acquisitions. Abraham's four sons all worked in the fish business as the years went on, some founding their own fish businesses. Three of their sons followed in their footsteps, including my grandfather. This means three generations have continued the Pass family fish mongering vocation. The artifact is a key ring that is from the original Independent Fish Co. On the back it says “Keep me and never go broke” and “I bring good luck”. 

– VP

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more