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Est. 1898.
Michael Bosak was born in 1869 in Austria-Hungary and emmigrated to the US in 1886 or 1887 when he was 18. He settled in the anthracite-rich region of Eastern PA and worked as a breaker in a Hazleton coal mine to make a living.
At some point, Bosak changed careers and worked as a clerk for several liquor merchants. Eventually he saved enough to be able to afford his own liquor store in Hazleton (1882?) and in 1893 opened Glinsky's Tavern in Olyphant.
By 1907, Bosak was selling wholesale and opened the Scranton branch on Lackawanna Ave. It quickly outgrew the other stores and became the flagship on the operation. A 1912 letterhead from the Scranton branch of "Michael Bosak Co." showed Michael Bosak to be President and John Bosak to be Secretary and Treasurer.
Bosak's two main whiskey brands were "Old Dole Sping Rye" and "Old Cold Spring Rye". A bottle of the latter appears in the image at right, which was taken in 1909 (click on the thumbnail below for the full version). The man holding the bottle is with a group of individuals presumed to be a baseball team (the image was kindly donated by and is copyright Steven J Boguski, 2012, whose great grandfather appears in the photograph).
Bosak had interests in many other areas also. He acquired a shipping agency and established a bank in Olyphant that was known as "The Michael Bosak Private Bank". In 1902, he was a founding partner of the First Citizens Bank of Olyphant, in 1912 he opened the Slavonic Deposit Bank in Wilkes-Barre, in 1915 he established the Bosak State Bank in Scranton. His operations were such a success that he claimed the title of "richest Slovak in America".
The crash of 1929 stripped Bosak of his fortunes and his businesses faltered and closed in 1931. He died in 1937.
"Horke Vino" was a bitter, port-based wine that was claimed to be a remedy for many ills, as was common at that time. It was made by the Bosak Manufacturing Co., Bosak's wine and liquor distribution business. The company was sold to James A. Doherty in the 1920's, later being taken over by Frank Chipak who changed the name to the Gold Seal Manufacturing Co. When Frank Chipak retired in the early 1960s, the company closed.
The company used the brand names:
"Horke Vino", "Old Cold Spring Rye", and "Old Dole Spring Rye." | | Business name timeline:
Michael Bosak Co.
Address timeline:
434 Lackawana Ave | 
c. 1912 | Business category timeline (abbreviations decoded below):
W I
Years that company appeared in directories
Years directories were consulted
Scranton directory notes
The images below are thumbnails linked to listing pages containing larger, more detailed images and links to related material.
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Appearance in
directories:
Directories
consulted:
1900
Scranton directory
notes:
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