Charles Edward Biele Jr.

 

Born: April 23, 1936 - Johnstown, PA

Died: March 9, 2021 – Springfield, VA

 

Charles Edward Biele Jr. was born in Johnstown, PA on April 23, 1936 to Charles Edward Biele and Marjorie Allen Biele. 

Charles E. Biele Jr. - 1936

Charles E. Biele Jr, 1941

He attended Fishburne Military School and graduated valedictorian in 1953 and winning an Honor Military School competitive appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.  He graduated from the Academy in 1957 and began a 30-year naval career.  

USNA Midshipman Charles E. Biele Jr. 1956 

He served on several destroyers and received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. He then entered the nuclear submarine program serving on both nuclear attack submarines and ballistic missile submarines, including four years as Commanding Officer of the ballistic missile submarine USS VON STEUBEN. He achieved the rank of Captain in 1978, the same rank achieved by his father.   Staff assignments in Norfolk and Washington DC followed his years at sea, including three years as Deputy Director and Director of Navy Laboratories.  He retired in June 1987. 

Lt. Charles E. Biele Jr - 1962

  

Commander Charles E. Biele Jr. - 1971

Captain Charles E Biele Jr, - 1987

After retiring from the Navy, he joined TASC, a small technology firm that was later acquired by Northrop Grumman and spent the next 17 years as a Program Manager for multiple major programs for a U.S. Government customer.

Since retiring in 2004, he enjoyed volunteer work and world travel.  His volunteer work included leading the vestry and finance committees at his church and serving as a trustee of Fishburne Military School.

Charles E. Biele Jr - 2010

He is survived by his wife of 62 years Nancy Heim Biele, three children and four grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his sister Marjorie Biele Hanson.  He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in June.

The Ephemera Journal

Following up on the previous post, there is an article n the January 2015 issue of  The Ephemera Journal by Emily M. Orr that also references the showcases by Charles F. Biele and Sons used in department stores.

Starting on page 9, the article summaries points from  Orr's book and includes two pictures of Biele showcases from the trade catalogue found at the Hagley Museum and Library.

The article has the following text about Charles F. Biele and Sons while explaining the way goods were displayed:

The public grew accustomed to viewing objects through glass as visitors to trade exhibitions and museums, where glass was used in casework and vitrines that designated objects as exemplary in terms of their history, style, or manufacture. Just as in the façade, the glass medium itself was an integral marker of modern construction. Shopfitters served the museum and the store with analogous products. For example, Charles F. Biele & Sons Co., “artisans in metal, glass and wood,” were a leading maker of showcases and vitrines for merchants and museums “from Massachusetts to California.”15 The family business was first established in 1867 and Charles F. Biele took over from his father in New York City in 1875. During the late 1880s, he and his brother Emil expanded the company and established operations in downtown New York. From the early nineteenth century, Beile made cases for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library. The New York Sun reported “dealers in paintings, sculpture and antiques bring their special show-case problems to the old firm.”16 A photographic trade catalogue of the company’s products survives in the collection of the Hagley Library and includes glass fronted or glass topped showcases, mirrors, and stools. Some cases, customized with a merchant’s name and specialty, such as a case made for a hat maker A. Abrams (figure 6), suggest their use in a trade fair. Meanwhile other ornamental cases, such as the one for the jeweler LBJ Co. (figure 7) resemble the counter-top cases used in department stores that afforded close inspection of notions or jewelry. The ornamental cornice would have added a stylistic note and signaled the department store’s fashionability.

15 “Cases are a Special Problem,” New York Sun, December 31, 1938. 

16 Ibid