Irving Olson, Apple Computer, Olson Electronics & Bernie Apple… How’s that for an intro?!
I met Irving when I worked at Apple in Tucson. I am not sure of the exact year. I started at Apple in 2003, worked briefly part-time and then full-time just doing sales. I’ve used Apple products since 1991. After moving to Tucson, AZ in 2002, I got hired at Catalina Foothills School District as a Computer Tech, working at Ventana Vista Elementary. That made getting the job at Apple much easier. I applied before they opened and got hired a year later.
Shortly after going full-time at Apple, I was promoted to Genius. I didn’t work at the Genius Bar when I met Irving, but he was there for help with his MacPro and his photo library. He was asking for someone who could explain things to him in “English,” not GeekSpeak. I stopped at the Genius Bar and asked if I could be of assistance. Irving and I hit it off because of my background in photography and my skill at working with older people. We hit it off and became friends.
Irving was a great photographer, and his backstory is interesting. I can’t say that I met Irving years earlier in San Diego, but I did see him at his store there, Olson Electronics. Irving told me one day that he got his start because he was willing to try anything. One of his friends had a radio (back before transistors replaced tubes) that quit working. Irving asked if he could try to fix it and figured out what was wrong: a wire had come loose. Irving got the other part for about ¢50, fixed it, and charged his friend $5.00. The rest was history. Our paths crossed indirectly when I lived in Fort Worth. Irving told me that he retired at 50, selling his business to Bernie Apple. Bernie Apple owned Tandy, which owned Radio Shack.
I don’t recall why I was at Tandy HQ for a meeting with Bernie. Maybe because I was doing Society Photos for Aura Magazine. Tandy had the coolest escalator; only one set of stairs, and it wasn’t moving. As I approached it, the stairs started moving up. When I was finished with my mission, the stairs started moving down.
Irving told great stories. He told me once that he took his family to dinner at an upscale restaurant in Akron. I forget the occasion, but he said that Jimmy Hoffa and his “posse” came and sat at the table next to his. They were short a chair, and his bodyguard went looking for one. Irving got up to use the restroom, and when he came back, his chair was missing, but Mr. Hoffa now had a seat. Irving exclaimed loudly, “Someone stole my chair! I get up to use the bathroom, I come back, and my chair has been stolen!” His family cringed.
Hoffa’s bodyguard started to get up and confront Irving. Mr. Hoffa said, “Sit down and give the man back his chair!” How’s that for a story?!
After retiring, Irving spent the next 48 years travelling the world with his wife, Ruth, taking photos. I think he mentioned once that he had been to 125 countries. Irving passed away in 2016 at the age of 102.
Irving was very generous to me. I have at least 6 of his photos, most of them gifts. I’ll have to add a photo of Lemon Slice in Soda, which I bought at a Scholarship fundraiser for the Art program at the University of Arizona, here in Tucson.
Irving was a deal maker. He came in to see me one day at Apple and said he needed a new MacPro and wanted an Educational Discount. I arranged the sale, getting him the discount because of his affiliation with UofA. A few years later, he wanted to update to the newest MacPro, asking again for the Educational Discount. It was the end of the year, and I hadn’t used all of my “Friends & Family Discounts,” so I gave him a better discount than what the other one would have been. He said, “Thank you, I’ll give you my old one!” Win/Win!
One day, I got a call from Irving asking for my help. “Steve, I need your help! I got a new printer. It’s sitting in the lobby here at “The Old Folks Home,” and it needs to move into my office.” Several years after we met, he moved from the Tucson Foothills to a Senior Living facility in Oro Valley, Splendido. His “apartment” was at least 2,500 sq. ft., not including a studio apartment connected to the main living space, which he used as his office and small photo studio.
Irving continued, “If you help me, I’ll give you my old printer.” [A 24″ Epson printer] I told Irving that it was a great deal for me but not for him. “I can’t move it on my own! It is a great deal for both of us!” How could I refuse!
I was fortunate enough, as well, to go on a few photo field trips with Irving. I did the driving, so that worked out well. We took trips to several places around Tucson: Bisbee, Oracle, Tumacacori, San Xavier del Bac, and twice to Rancho Jesus, a Rancho East of Tucson, for a round-up. I took the photo above of Irving at Tumacaccori.
Irving at work in Oracle, AZ
Irving at “Rancho Jéusu.”
Irving at “The Old Folks Home.”
