(Editor’s note: Smethport woman Kelly Herzog shared her journey in researching Charles and Edith Cole and renovating a painting of Charles Cole.)
Earlier this year, a co-worker located a painting of Charles Cole that apparently had been placed in storage many years ago. The frame was in rough shape, but the painting was still in good condition.
I was very excited about the find and immediately volunteered to take care of “him.” It was obvious no one else shared my enthusiasm for a dusty old guy, so I took him home! I’m not a professional artist, but I knew I could fix it and get it back out for display, even if it was just in our department conference room.
I began to research what products I needed to repair the damaged sections of the frame and tested paint colors. I gathered the hardware and applied a new dust cover to the back. I shared pictures of the progress with my co-workers and I received a lot of encouragement. Conversations indicated that it needed to be displayed so that our visitors and guests could see it, and not just in a conference room.
This is where it turned into a project! What good is hanging a painting, if no one knows who it is? So, off I went to the Potter County historical society and public libraries (Bradford – microfiche, Smethport – online newspaper archives) to try to put together a timeline. Little is known about Charles Cole and his wife Edith. They were just regular people and did not flaunt their wealth. As it turns out, their hearts were bigger than anyone knew.
In researching, I located only a few candid pictures of Charles and two commissioned paintings (posthumous). Likewise, only a couple of newspaper clippings of Edith and a few childhood photos exist. Neither had children or much of an extended family. That is when I realized how special this painting of Charles was, and the importance of compiling an historical account.
Recently, the restored painting of Charles Cole and framed copies of the attached historical narrative are back on display in the Irwin Medical Arts Center (IMAC) main corridor on the first floor at UPMC Cole. In the grand scheme of things, UPMC Cole isn’t really all that old — the dedication ceremony was Oct. 1, 1967 — but it might be time for a refresher on who Charles Cole was and what an important contribution he made to our local communities.
Edith Cole’s role was critical. She was truly dedicated to fulfilling Charles Cole’s last will and testament. She was originally willed a life estate (Charles died in 1961) and only upon her death, would funds be used to build a hospital. The will was litigated for other reasons, but in those same legal conversations, she demanded funds to be released immediately to build a hospital (groundbreaking was in 1965), and not to wait until after she died (which would have been 1995). Additionally, when she remarried, she and her husband, Dr. Irwin, created a trust to continue to further benefit the Charles Cole Memorial Hospital, now UPMC Cole. It’s hard to imagine Coudersport without a hospital.
The Cole Family Tree
Charles Cole was born June 9, 1876, in Coudersport. He was the son of Lewis Burnum Cole (b 1843, d 1907) and Delila Koon Cole (b 1847, m 1867, d 1925). He had three older siblings: Blanche Cole (b 1868, d 1958 – 89 years), Fred Burnum Cole (b 1872, d 1938 – 65 years), and William Burdette Cole (b 1874, d 1933 – 58 years). William married Mayme Erlbeck (m 1906) and together they had two children Frederick and John Cole.
Who was Charles Cole?
In 1893, Cole, age 17, was 6’3” tall and weighed about two hundred pounds. He began working as a stock boy at E.L. Smith Company in Olean, N.Y. By 1895, at age 19, he was selling Chickering Pianos for the company. He was becoming a good salesman and could handle the task of lugging goods door to door.
Around 1904, at age 28, Cole considered becoming a lawyer, but was presented with a sales position by John H. Patterson, instead. Patterson was the President of the National Cash Register Corp., and had a reputation as a shrewd businessman who was developing a national training curriculum for career salesmen. Cole accepted the offer and continued to hone his sales skills. In 1909, at age 33, he was assigned to manage a regional NCR office near Rochester, N.Y., with Thomas J. Watson. Around 1913, tensions were high between Patterson, Cole, and Watson due to federal accusations that NCR had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Cole was transferred to Michigan and Watson left the company.
In May 1914, Thomas J. Watson was hired as the general manager of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), near Endicott, N.Y. Once the Sherman Antitrust convictions were overturned on appeal, Watson was named President of CTR. Needing a salesforce, Watson contacted Cole to work for the growing company. Taking a portion of his salary in stock, success continued for Cole and the company. Nine years later in 1924, the company’s name changed to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
Cole was able to retire around 1926, at age 50, and returned to Potter County. He shared a home on Mill Street with his sister Blanche. He participated in community activities, loved the outdoors, and travel. He was a member of the Eulalia Lodge No. 342 Free and Accepted Masons and the Coudersport Consistory. Cole was frugal and led a quiet lifestyle, never indicating that he had wealth.
Upon Blanche’s death on June 15, 1958, Cole became the last surviving member of his immediate family. In just two months, on Aug. 14, 1958, Cole, age 82, married Edith Pinney, age 57. This was the first marriage for both of them. After having been married for almost three years, Charles Cole died Feb. 25, 1961, in the Potter County Memorial Hospital. He was 84 years old.
The Cole will was probated on March 4, 1961 and it was a surprise to the community that Charles had assets of around $9 million dollars, mostly as a result of IBM stock. The will disclosed Cole’s clear desire for a modern hospital, suitable to the needs of the community, which would be known as “Cole Memorial Hospital.”
Cole also instructed that an endowment fund should be established to provide charity care to community members unable to pay for treatment. While other elements of the will were litigated until 1964, the concept for a new hospital in Potter County was never disputed and the dream was adamantly carried forward by Edith Cole.
