# Lefton Scrap Metal in St. Louis: Episode Package ## Short caption From East St. Louis scrap yards to a dining room table startup, this episode traces the human beginnings of the Lefton metal story: Sam Lefton, Morris Lefton, Robert Lefton, Howard "Curly" Estabrook, and the next generation of Metal Exchange. ## Longer caption This episode explores the first half century of the Lefton scrap metal story in St. Louis and East St. Louis, focusing on the people behind the business. We follow Sam Lefton’s early scrap trade roots, Morris Lefton’s 1946 start as a teenage yard worker, the family background that shaped him and his brother Robert, the Aluminum Services and Diversified Industries years, the 1974 founding of Metal Exchange with Howard "Curly" Estabrook, and Mike Lefton’s entry into the trade as a scrap buyer in 1984. ## Chapter breakdown 00:00 - Opening: scrap yards, rail spurs, and the people behind the metal 00:45 - Sam Lefton and the older St. Louis scrap trade 01:45 - Morris and Robert Lefton: childhood in the St. Louis Jewish Children’s Home 03:00 - 1946: Morris starts at Lefton Iron and Metal at age sixteen 04:00 - Around 1958: Aluminum Services and the dross opportunity 05:00 - 1968 to 1974: Diversified Industries and the leap back to independence 06:15 - November 1974: Metal Exchange begins at a dining room table 07:30 - Lefton Iron and Metal’s East St. Louis yards and the industrial timeline 08:45 - First fifty years: Sam, Morris, Robert, Curly, and Mike 10:00 - Closing reflection: from orphanage to yard to global metal trading ## Hashtags #LeftonScrapMetal #StLouisHistory #EastStLouis #ScrapMetal #MetalRecycling #MorrisLefton #SamLefton #MetalExchange #IndustrialHistory #FamilyBusiness #JewishStLouis #StLouisJewishHistory #AluminumIndustry #RecyclingHistory #BusinessHistory #AmericanIndustry #StLouisPodcast #LocalHistory #HiddenHistory #PodcastEpisode ## Research notes and source links - Morris Lefton started in metals in 1946 at age sixteen at Lefton Iron and Metal Company, a St. Louis scrap operation owned by Sam Lefton, according to the Recycled Materials Association profile "Aluminum Aficionado": https://www.isri.org/scrap-articles/aluminum-aficionado - The same profile identifies Sam Lefton as a distant cousin, states that Sam asked Morris to head Aluminum Services around 1958, and says Aluminum Services was sold to Diversified Industries in November 1968: https://www.isri.org/scrap-articles/aluminum-aficionado - Metal Exchange’s company history says Morris’s early life included his father’s departure and time in a children’s home, and describes the founding of Metal Exchange around Morris’s dining room table with Howard "Curly" Estabrook and three original employees: https://www.metalexchange.com/who-we-are/our-history - The Q4 Solutions article on the Lefton family describes Robert and Morris Lefton’s childhood in the St. Louis Jewish Children’s Home, their mother’s weekly visits, Morris’s entry into the scrap metal industry through a relative, and the family’s later Jewish community recognition: https://www.q4solutions.com/insights/lefton-family-honored-by-ajc/ - The St. Louis Jewish Light profile of Robert Lefton gives human details on the Jewish Orphan’s Home near Oakland and Tamm, the brothers’ childhood, Robert’s education, and the achievement drive shared by Robert and Morris: https://stljewishlight.org/arts-entertainment/from-jewish-orphans-home-to-success-as-leader-of-consulting-firm/ - The ATSDR health consultation identifies Lefton Iron and Metal properties at 205 South 17th Street and 1901 Converse Avenue in East St. Louis, states that scrap metal recovery began at the 17th Street property around 1961, and records that operations discontinued in 1997: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/leftonironmetalcompany/leftonironmetalhc052907.pdf - The Recycled Materials Association article "Metal Exchange: Ready to Make a Deal" identifies the November 1974 founding of Metal Exchange by Morris Lefton and Howard A. "Curly" Estabrook, and describes the company’s trading philosophy and growth: https://www.isri.org/scrap-articles/metal-exchange-ready-to-make-a-deal - Metal Exchange’s team page states that Mike Lefton began in 1984 as a scrap buyer at Pennex Aluminum and later served in trading, dross, logistics, CEO, and executive chairman roles: https://www.metalexchange.com/who-we-are/our-team - The St. Louis Jewish Light article on Mike Lefton describes Metal Exchange as a private family-owned nonferrous metals company and notes Mike’s 1984 career start and 2019 executive chairman role: https://stljewishlight.org/news/news-local/mike-lefton-a-vote-away-from-becoming-next-president-of-american-jewish-committee-st-louis/ - A genealogy page for Samuel I. Lefton gives supporting leads on Sam’s birth in St. Louis in 1906, his 1940 ...
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