Beltone—Dave Barnow Commemorative Plate (1954)

This commemorative plate was presented to Dave Barnow, executive vice-president of Beltone in 1954 by  the hearing aid dispensers from Beltone Hearing Service in Reading, PA.

Translated from dialectic German, it reads "How are you?" (top), "Good luck" (left), "Good health" (right) and "Keep on going—don't stop" (bottom).

Dave (David Hyman) Barnow was the brother-in-law of Samuel Posen, the co-founder for Beltone Electronic Corporation. Sam Posen had married Dave's sister Faye. In 1943 Dave gave up a promising career in insurance to become the first employee of Beltone.

The occasion of this plate is a bit of a mystery but it could have been because Dave  Barnow had helped to organize the first Hearing Aid Industry Conference (HAIC) in 1954, and it fact, was elected its first president and held that position until 1958.

Learn more about Dave Barnow (and the early days of Beltone) and see a picture of him, and also discover more about Dave and Beltone in the decade of the 1950s.
 

Rear view of the Dave Barnow commemorative plate showing the  names of the people involved.

It reads (translated from dialectic German) "From the boys at Reading, PA" and lists their names.

This plate was discovered in a dumpster in an alley on the north side of Chicago, IL by Tim B. who donated it to the Hearing Aid Museum. This location was near where Dave Barnow had retired to when he left Beltone in October, 1973. He died April 15, 1994.