The Simon Brothers

It's a long standing Tuesday morning ritual with no agenda, just predicable chatter and hardly ever any major decisions.

With an occasional exception from the “baby” of the family, there is seldom any rowdiness and even that is quite mild, good-natured and expected to generate smiles, chuckles and verbal exchanges. A sign on the wall in the curved corner booth of the Corner Café on Mineral King Avenue reads “Liar's Club” which really doesn't apply to the Simon brothers who, unless it is occupied, gather there each Tuesday for an hour or sometimes a wee bit longer. The Six Simons range in age from 77 to 88, but the group and the morning chatter both are lively, especially concerning politics. There is a lot of teasing and frequent reference to current events, issues both past and present.

Obviously there are lots of stories, but each story teller had better not stray far from the truth or face the consequences of being set straight. It's a brother thing, and the Simon brothers and brotherly love is readily evident.

It is impossible not to be drawn into a chat even if you just stop for a moment to say howdy to of them. Connie is the senior brother at age 88, followed by Jack 86, George, 82, Richard, 80, and Robert, 77. Although they are relatively quiet, the Simon sense of humor is evident. Robert is quick to point out he is the “baby” of the family despite his frequent claim “I'm not related to all those old guys” at the corner booth.

Brother-in-law, Earl Parsons, 86, whose wife, Frieda, died earlier this year, generally makes the Tuesday morning coffee klatch.

Morning coffee breaks are part of the Simon brothers legend over the years when, unless a job dictated otherwise, it was unusual to see a Simon alone enjoying his java and catching up on the events of the morning.

The Simon brothers are Visalia pholks, for sure, and their business roots also are deep in local soil. In addition to the weekly coffee meetings, the brothers and their families go out to dinner once a month.

Hauling has been the mainstay of the family business starting with the Visalia Disposal and Trucking formed by their father who earlier had been part of a trash hauling partnership contracted with the City of Visalia to haul garbage.

Hauling, paving and demolition were the main functions of Simon Brothers, founded in 1943 by Connie (August Conrad Simon, known as Connie and pronounced coo-nee), Carl and George. The business originally was headquartered at Walnut and Money and later at North Willis before eventually moving to its final location on east Goshen Avenue.

Six brothers, Connie, George, Jack, Carl, Richard and Robert, all worked for the firm which got its start hauling trash before branching out into paving, material hauling and demolition.

There were 11 children in the Simon family and their father, John Jacob Simon, came to America in 1907 from Russia. John Jacob Simon's father already had been in Visalia.

All the sons saw military service in or near World War II and the Korean Conflict eras.

In fact, Robert and George crossed paths at Fort Ord when Robert, who had returned to Seattle from overseas, went to Fort Ord for discharge and met George who was preparing for overseas deployment.

Through the years, the Simon family earned its reputation as a hard-working, close-knit and community-oriented family.

Bowling was one passion shared by the brothers. Although they bowled on different teams, they often bowled together in tournaments.

So pholks, if you see six senior gentlemen who kind of look alike sitting in a large booth at the Corner Café, it's a pretty good bet it's Tuesday morning.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com