Alvan Lory Grout

28 September 1887 – 4 december 1978

Biography

Written by Robert Grout

Alvan was a Civil Engineer Graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1910. According to Louise Grout, he designed production lines in the earliest days of assembly line production. In the 1916 Springfield Directory, he is listed as a Mechanical Engineer at the S.M. Green Co. In the 1918 Directory, he is listed as the Plant Engineer at the H. M. fg Co.

Rick Grout reports: “When I first knew him as a kid he was the New England representative for the Logan Company, a manufacturer of material handling systems (e.g. conveyors). He worked out of his home in Worcester, and was responsible for the installation of these systems in various textile mills in the Saco-Biddeford and Lowell-Lawrence areas.”

Scott Mackay reports; “Your Grandfather Alvan Grout was married to my Grandmothers sister Ethel Evans. Back when I was a kid in the 60s we used to visit them at their beach home in Camp Ellis, ME. Uncle Al, as I knew him, took me along the beach early one morning and taught me how to find and dig for Quahogs (Clams) and occasionally we would find a sand dollar. Aunt Ethel would make the best home made clam chowder.”

Laura Ann Hill reports: “I have so many fond memories of life at Camp Ellis and also in Worcester. They lived across the street from a pond with swimming beach and as I met kids in the neighborhood, I was just as content being in Worcester as at the beach. Uncle Al was still working and he had an office at home plus at the beach so we moved back and forth, often waiting for him in the car while he made sales calls. I understood that he was an engineer for Logan Company but also did sales.”

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Alvan Lory Grout and Robert Goddard

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