Open Questions

An auto-generated index of every ## Open questions section across Facts. Source of truth lives in each entity’s Facts page — when you find a primary source that closes a question, edit the corresponding Facts page (not this index) and the next site build will rescrape and drop the question from the listing.

As of September 2026, high-priority open questions from major concept pages are being migrated to individual pages in the open-questions bucket — each question gets its own page with structured status tracking (open / resolved / superseded), provenance (raised_by), and resolution history. Concept pages retain a ## Open questions section with cross-reference links to the extracted pages. This index continues to aggregate any inline open-question bullets that have not yet been migrated.

For the curated cross-cutting research-agenda (with the slow-motion mystery framing, prioritized research angles, and resolved chapters as one-line pointers), see the Mystery page. The Mystery page tells the story of the research arc; this page is the exhaustive working list of what’s still unanswered.

People (1 pages)

Menger Family — Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. — 8 open

What is the precise relationship among G. P., R. W., T. J., and L. B. Menger — brothers, cousins? Resolved — siblings (2026-05-21). The 30 October 1971 Louis B. Menger obituary (HH-CLIP-1971-0002) names surviving brothers August, Gus, Rudolph, Theodore Menger and sister Miss Margaret Menger; the 7 August 1974 Gus P. Menger obituary (HH-CLIP-1974-0002) names surviving brothers August, Rudolph W., Ted J. Menger and sister Margaret Menger (Louis B. having predeceased Gus P. in 1971; Edward W. having predeceased both in 1960 per HH-CLIP-1960-0004). The full sibling set documented across the obituaries is therefore seven: Gus P., Rudolph W., Theodore J., Louis B., August, Edward W., and Margaret Menger — all sharing the “grandson/granddaughter of the founder of the Menger Hotel and Menger Soap Factory” lineage line. Precise birth order remains undocumented (see Gustav P. Menger Open Questions).
Did Dr. R. Menger have any direct role in the business?
When exactly did G. P. Menger join the company — was it immediately after the 1912 charter (where he is listed as Secretary), or did he participate earlier during Hoffmann’s lifetime?
Who is August Menger (1960 director) — relation to G. P., Albert, etc.? Resolved — brother of G. P. (2026-05-21). The 1971 and 1974 obituaries (HH-CLIP-1971-0002, HH-CLIP-1974-0002) both list “August” as a surviving brother of Louis B. and Gus P. Menger. August Menger’s appearance on the May 1960 board is therefore a Gen-3 placement (brother of Gus P., uncle of Albert G.), not a Gen-4 figure.
Who is Mrs. Mildred S. Holliday (1960 director)? Resolved (2026-08-20). Mildred Schlosser Holliday (1919–1999) was the daughter of Minnie Menger Schlosser and Dr. William J. Schlosser — Minnie’s only child from her second marriage. Minnie’s 1956 obituary names “a daughter, Mrs. Mildred Holliday” (HH-CLIP-1956-0002); the Find a Grave cluster records “Mildred Schlosser b. Nov 1919” as Minnie’s third child. T. J. Menger’s 1987 obituary lists her as his niece (HH-CLIP-1987-0001), which fits because Minnie was T. J.’s sister. Married Frederick Joseph Holliday (1915–1991). Remaining open thread: a Fred Holliday (fred@fredholliday.com) who visited the 601 Delaware factory (formerly with Lux Realty, later Kuper Sotheby’s) may be Frederick and Mildred’s son or descendant — Alamo Heights HS c/o 1971, b. ~1952–53 fits. Emailed 2026-06-15; awaiting reply. See contact record.
Albert G. Menger served as president from May 1960 to the 1962 Continental Coffee acquisition — about two years before the sale. What was his role at Continental (if any) after the acquisition?
The H&H photographs identify the siblings (Draves Rec13, 12 June 2026). Nancy Draves read the family photos on tape: the 1933 NRA roster group photo (keyed: Schlosser, Minnie, August, Edward, Louis; Chris Jasso 6th row) and the “two H&H signs side-by-side” group photo on South Crescent Street (front row: Rudolph center, Minnie, Gus, Ted, August, Edward; Louis absent) — now identified as the 1929 Summerville panorama whose left half the collection holds as HH-COLL-2018-0003 (see Summerville Photos). To verify against the photographed originals. Living-source lead: Nancy labeled the “Mary Menger + grandchildren” photo with Gus Menger’s daughter. See 12 June digest.
Lead — OHP is in touch with “a granddaughter of Rudolph Menger.” On the 9 June 2026 OHP designation call, OHP’s Amy Fulkerson said she is in contact with a granddaughter of Rudolph Menger, “one of the brothers that ran the business” — i.e. Gen-3 R. W. Menger, not the Gen-2 patriarch Dr. Rudolph Menger. The KB already documents Nancy Draves as R. W. Menger’s granddaughter, so this is very likely Nancy (or a sibling/cousin of hers). Confirm who OHP’s contact is — it may simply be Nancy, or a new living descendant to reach.

Synthesis (1 pages)

Premiums and Coupon-Redemption Programs — 4 open

Who supplied the china premiums? Was there a single china-supply contract behind the 1923 Border / Broncho pails, the 1929 Sam Houston program, and the 1942 cup-and-saucer SKU clustering? A 1920s–1940s supplier invoice or china-supply contract would document.
How many leaf ashtrays survive? The Witte holds KS 193; the 2015 project photo shows a leaf ashtray that may or may not be KS 193 photographed pre-accessioning. Surviving specimens in San Antonio estate sales would be a parallel collectible to the cup-and-saucer premiums and would clarify whether the 2015 photo documents a second specimen.
What did the 1936 Cory Improved Brewer coupon redemption cost? Partial context (2026-05-21). The 1936 Express-News run does yield a same-year, same-program ad — the 18 November 1936 “FREE Drip Coffee Maker or 8 Cup Percolator” Hoffmann-Hayman three-brand placement (HH-CLIP-1936-0005) — which documents a 60-coupon premium-value redemption (H&H 2 coupons/lb; Sam Houston and Texas Girl 1 coupon/lb) for a 6-cup drip coffee maker or 8-cup percolator, with a parallel 89¢ cash-and-mail-back variant and an expiry of 31 December 1937. The November 1936 placement is the same coupon-ratio (60-coupon redemption) later confirmed in the January 1937 trade reference, indicating the 60-coupon program ran across at least November 1936 → January 1937. The 13 April 1936 Express-News Cory Improved Brewer copy is therefore likely on the same 60-coupon ratio (its proximity to the November 1936 program makes a different threshold improbable), but a direct primary-source attestation of the Cory-specific redemption threshold still requires pulling the April–October 1936 Express-News run.
Did the 1942 “no prem.” notation on BIG VALUE survive the war? The 1942 sheet is dated 2 March 1942, three months after Pearl Harbor; rationing of ceramics and metals may have foreclosed cup-and-saucer premiums on the secondary brands later in 1942–1944. A 1943–1945 H&H price sheet would document.

Stories (1 pages)

H and H Coffee Roaster Equipment Lifecycle — 5 open

When exactly were the four Jubilee roasters installed at Delaware — new in 1932, or later used-equipment adds (~1940s per Jasso)?
Did the 1932 roasting line include Monitor, Burns, or both?
Where did the 1904 hand roaster go after the 1960s?
Who manufactured the automatic coffee labeler named in the 1924 trade-column feature, and did it carry into the 1932 Delaware Street build like the rest of the packing line?
Can any invoice or trade-press name Burns vs. Huntley for a given plant generation?

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H and H Coffee

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