Who is, or was, William Imken?

Shalom

OK, so I need a new boiler. (Long story short: low water shutoff didn't, tenant added water to hot boiler, it cracked.)

When they took the outer cover panel off to get to the decal with the specifications on it, I noticed written on the back of the panel in black marker "Wm ImKen Co.", along with the date 4-24-67 and the number 288-0201-1182. Not sure what that last is, I'd assume a job order number. (And the boiler is about twice as old as I thought, if that's the date it was installed.)

So I was wondering if this William Imken is still around. Whoever he was, he did a nice professional job, back forty years ago: basically everything looks like the pictures in the book, bar the fresh-water feed coming from the hot water tank. Anybody know him? And do you guys "sign" your installations too?

Guy Woollard

oldie

I don't know about the Wm. part, but Timken was a decent sized manufacturer of rotary oil burners and furnaces. I lost some facial hair to one of those.....

Shalom

Did the Ambassador to Germany install my boiler?!

I did some googling, and found a Wm Timken, with a T; the guy's full name is William Robert Timken Jr., and he's the former chairman of the Timken Co. and the National Assoc. of Manufacturers, and current ambassador to Germany. Who knows, maybe he installed my boiler? (although he would have been only 19 at that time, so maybe it was William Sr.) The boiler itself was a Peerless, which company is still in business in Boyertown, PA, and I don't see the Timken name anywhere on this unit: what little info I've been able to find indicates that Timken only made oil burners anyway, and this is gas.

Thing is, it definitely says ImKen, not Timken: there's no T there, nor room for any, just a capital I (and a capital K for some reason). Can't see him misspelling his own name.

I did find reference to a William Imken who was the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ (a ten minute drive from here). So maybe it was the mayor who installed it, not the ambassador... :-)

TommyOil_3

Bill Imken

Was a pretty well known plumber in Bergen County NJ around the same time my father had his plbg company in a neighboring town. And yes he DID go on to become the Mayor of Hasbrouck Heights some years later. I'm sure hes not in business anymore because he'd have to be around 90 (late eighties at least). Had one or two cups of coffee with Bill back in the day. I dont think he's mayor anymore and wonder if he's still alive. Small world. That 288 number was the Hasbrouck Heights phone exchange. Not sure what the last 4 digits were. It would have been preceded by 201 area code but thats before using the area code to dial was a must. Did TONS of boilers in "The Heights" and even more service.