Mr. Thompson was educated in the old Brick Church which stood on the site of the present Tribune building in New York City, and well remembers that locality as it is now portrayed in history. He also attended Horace Greeley's free lectures. At the age of thirteen he left home under very adverse circumstances, with nothing hut a will and determination to succeed, finding himself in New York City without a cent. He obtained employment in a bakery, where he worked for five years and thoroughly mastered the business. When eighteen years old he started on his own account in the baking business, with which he has ever since been identfied. His career in this line of industry has been an eminently successful one and stamps him as a man of unusual ability, of great force of character, and possessed of that self-reliance and perseverance which characterize the man of affairs. In 1872 be organized the business now conducted at 82 Sullivan Street, New York City, by the widely known New York Pie Baking Company. of which he is President. This extensive establishment employs one hundred and fifty people and sixty horses, has a capacity of producing from eighteen to twenty thousand pies daily, and is a model in its workings in every respect. It is the largest pie baking establishment in the United States, and under Mr. Thompson's able and energetic management has achieved a phenomenal success as well as a prominent place among the leading manufacturing institutions of New York City.

In this connection James M. Gray, M.D., writing in the American Journal of Health, published in New York, says:

The average home-made pie, owing to improper equipment and lacking facilities, is almost invariably a disease breeder instead of a health help. The pies offered by some of the smaller bakers as evidence of their constructive ability are even worse as a rule. In every large city, fortunately, there are large concerns which have reduced pie-making to an exact sci- ence and whose product is not only appetizing, but is deserving of all praise from a health standpoint. The New York Pie Baking Company of this city is a fitting example to illustrate the point in question. This house possesses every facility, every convenience, and every advantage necessary to the production of an article for household consumption which is above criticism. Their establishment is a model of cleanliness, and as they use only the finest grades of high-priced flour and richest and purest milk, cream, and lard obtainable, and combining these with fruits and berries of most superior quality, it naturally follows that the product is all that could be desired by either the epicure or the hygienist.

There may be, and probably are, in other cities throughout the country, manufacturers whose goods are as wholesome as the New York Pie Baking Company's pies, but a most searching investigation of this special product enables us to write advisedly concerning its merits as a health food.

The evolution and development of the American pie, like all great industries, has created a positive demand for a standard of excellence, both intrinsically and commercially, Americans being satisfied only with the best of everything. This demand has been ably filled by the New York. Pie Baking Company, of No. 82 Sullivan Street, New York City, who have established the reputation, justly deserved, of producing the best and greatest number of pies of any firm in the United States.

In the rigid inspection and examination made by our experts great care was taken to thoroughly note the physical environments and hygienic conditions of the entire plant and establishment of the company, all of which were found to be in the highest possible state of cleanliness, with the added fact of complete compliance with all sanitary requirements.

The final reports of our experts have been compiled and unanimously approved by our medical staff, showing so high a grade of merit that we are pleased to extend to the product of the New York Pie Baking Company, for the protection of patrons, the official recognition of the United States Health Reports.

He who wishes to spend a profitable and interesting hour knows fall well that the reminiscent conversation of the old resident has a special zest in which the present is linked with the past, and the institutions of the day contrasted with those of former times. In a recent conversation with Mr. William Thompson, well known to the New York business public as the President of the New York Pie Baking Company, the writer was entertained for several hours with a graphic portrayal of incidents in Mr. Thompson's experience back in the forties. Unhappily, written language fails to give the inflections of verbal narration; it fails also to portray the expression of the features when the mind of the narrator is recalling the events of half a century past. The reader can assist in ob taining a clearer comprehension of these reminiscences if he will give free vent to his imagination and draw a mental picture of Mr. Thompson, a hale and hearty gentleman, although seventy years of age. Sitting in his cozy office with a far-away look in his eves, living over again, as it were, the days that are gone. As recollections crowded each other for utterance his countenance would glow with enthusiasm in the one moment and be saddened in the next as he referred to companions who have passed away. Being requested to give some of the factors which entered into his notable business success, he said: Perhaps the most valuable factor in my success was the experience back in the forties. At that time there was a great rivalry among pie-baking establishments – every one was trying to obtain the reputation of making the best old-fashioned pie. The public was a critical one, and a good pie was in great demand. I entered into the business contest with vim and started an establishment, on a much smaller scale, of course, upon the site we now occupy. There was one bridge which carried me to success, and I have never forgotten that it is essential to keep in mind that fact in order to continually maintain our supremacy in the pie business. That bridge was first-class material. I personally purchased and inspected every ingredient which entered into a pie, and under no consideration would I permit any adulterated products or second grade goods to enter my doors. I gave close attention to the minutest details. Those who bought our pies knew they could thoroughly  rely upon every pie at all times, and that no effort to secure trade by a good article and then afterward furnish an inferior grade would be made. The best testimonial to the ironclad rule, 'never to have one inferior pie leave our doors' is contained in the fact that Dolan – you know him, of course – of P. Dolan & Nephew, and also Hitchcock, of Oliver Hitchcock & Son, have been my customers for forty years. Well, of course, if anybody in New York ought to be good judges of things to eat, then Dolan and Hitchcock are those men, as the public fully knows.

Another factor which has aided materially in our success is the fact that our large patrons, when visiting this establishment, are at perfect liberty at any and all times to go through the various departments – we have no special 'exhibit' days, when extra clean utensils, floors, etc., are put forward for inspection; every day is inspection day, for every employee knows full well that scrupulous cleanliness is a rule that can not be infringed upon more than once.