Good morning, BluesDuke...one can learn something new every day. Thank you.I wasn't aware of the connection until I read a splendid biography of Mike Bloomfield, Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues . . . His father came up with, among other things, the original salt shake with the holes shaped like the Star of David, the sugar dispenser with the little trap-door, and the coffee system. The elder Bloomfield sold most of his patents to Beatrice Foods and became even wealthier as a result.Good listening.
Unfortunately, the elder Bloomfield seems to have had no clue on how to deal with, raise, or relate to a son whose inclination was toward creativity rather than hard business. Mike Bloomfield spent much of his life running from wealth, perhaps because his upbringing taught him the wrong lesson about it, that you could only become wealthy if you were willing to be a jackass. He did have one parent who supported his passions, though---his mother. To this day I think I've never seen Mike Bloomfield more at peace than in this photograph for this album cover, his once-beloved Les Paul in one hand and his always-beloved mother in his other arm:
In case you were wondering, the elder Bloomfields ultimately divorced. According to the biography, Mrs. Bloomfield came to lose respect for her husband because of his impossibilities and his refusal to accept, for the most part (there are a few stories that the elder Bloomfield---perhaps when it was too late---did slip in to see his son perform a few times and enjoy what he heard) that he had a son who was destined not for business but for music.