G. Fox Auerbach Home Has A Party

You could tell Rena Koopman was emotional as she stood in the dining room where Sunday dinner with her “Granny” was a cherished tradition.

Especially when Granny was one of New England’s most revered business women, president of the former G. Fox & Company, Beatrice Fox Auerbach.

Koopman was one of about 75 guests who were at the Auerbach home in Hartford Thursday for a fundraiser for the Connecticut Historical Society. The party, “Cheers to History” marked the 100^th anniversary of the stately Georgian Revival style home in the city’s West End, that is now owned by Chris and Diane Gent.  The reception included tours of the house and grounds, as well as a display of G. Fox artifacts including preserved clothing from the store, shoes with the G. Fox label, china, and the brass floor level indicator from the elevator at the downtown landmark.

“I can’t even talk I am so emotional right now,” said Koopman, who explained how Auerbach’s grandchildren would visit every Sunday for lunch. Auerbach died in 1968.

“I would come as part of the extended family,” explained Koopman’s friend Carlene Bush, describing the dinners as “very proper.” “Granny would ask everyone at the table questions about school and what they were doing. It was just Granny and the children.”