Oliver Wendall Holmes wrote, “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.”

Ah, the poet thinks of love and happiness. And on Valentine’s Day at Anderson Lock, we think of that as well. But normally, our master key experts are thinking of security and access control and not having to carry around heavy key rings.

At Anderson Lock, we have about a million keys, pretty ones like the one shown here, and plain ones, like the ones you use every day to open doors and start cars. We have a giant gate key hanging in our showroom–maybe it once opened gates of happiness! And we have teeny tiny keys hanging on hooks alongside all the common keys. We have Arrow keys…but they didn’t come from Cupid’s bow. We have keys as red as a rose, and keys as shiny as your favorite dog’s nose!

You could say that although we take security seriously, we are a little silly about keys! There are antique keys attached to weathered barn boards in artistic arrangements, and decorative brass keys, like the ones shown here, hanging in cubicles throughout the company. There are newly cut keys waiting to be delivered to a customer who ordered new locks, and old brass keys that survived Des Plaines’ River floods in the 80′s.

Jeffery Glaister holds Anderson Lock's MSC Award

Purchasing Manager Jeffery Glaister represented Anderson Lock at Medeco Lock’s Security Center Program in Charlotte, North Carolina, last weekend.

He brought back a plaque which reads, “2011 Outstanding Medeco Sales Achievement Award Presented to Anderson Lock.”

About coming home with the unexpected recognition, Jeffery says, with a grin, “Aw, I couldn’t have done it without everyone here.”

Others shown in the photo are, from left, Rena DeBerry, Medeco Security Center Program Manager; Joey Kingma, Director of Business Development, eCylinders; Brian Strom, Director of Sales; and Tom Kaika, President of Medeco High Security Locks.

Cortney Anderson Wascher

A Press Release, sent to local and national media, included the photo shown here, and the following information about Anderson Lock and its new certification:

“Anderson Lock received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Development Center, Chicago, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Cortney Anderson Wascher is President / Owner of the family business founded by her father, Gene Anderson. Originally a one-man locksmith service company, Anderson Lock is now a total door-opening supplier with an emphasis on doors, frames and electronic access controls. It provides security solutions for commercial, industrial and institutional facilities throughout the Chicago area. Today, there are 75 employees, 25 service trucks, and two locations.

In 2005, Wascher led the company expansion, which resulted in opening Anderson Lock’s Door Division, in Schaumburg. A huge warehouse, and state-of-the-art custom fabrication and welding equipment, increased the company’s capabilities from mainly retrofit projects to supplying hundreds of doors and security hardware for new construction. Wascher also expanded the electronic lock and access control product lines, and added CCTV security camera sales and installations.

WBENC’s national standard of certification implemented by the Women’s Business Development Center, Chicago, is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the nation’s largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC’s certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.

Wascher, an active community leader, serves on the Des Plaines’ Economic Development Commission, and is a past president of both the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce, and the local chapter of NAWIC, the National Association of Women in Construction.

I’ve posted other photos of Locks and Keys as Art, and photos of artistic doors, but this is the first Artistic Building Made of Doors!

“Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “The fact that Anderson Lock can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers.” Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

This advisory board meets four times a year, twice in Springfield and twice in Chicago, to review cases brought before the state, and makes recommendations according to current laws and practices. They also review and vote on proposed amendments to the “Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.”

Cortney is committed to assuring that citizens of Illinois are safeguarded from unscrupulous business practices, and that the locksmith industry maintains its trustworthy reputation with proper regulation of locksmiths through licensing and P.E.R.C. cards (Permanent Employee Registration Cards).

Toys and Clothes for Salvation Army

Alexandra told Brenda about a TV news story she’d heard, about the Salvation Army not having enough toys to distribute to all the needy children this year. She also mentioned that she and her boyfriend were going to buy a couple of toys and donate them. Brenda sprang into action and asked for cash donations from other people in the office, then went shopping! She filled her car with toys and clothes, then took this photo to show the other donors. She reported that the lady at the Salvation Army where she made the donation, “couldn’t have been happier!”

Thanks, Brenda!

Illinois Public Act 97-470 calls for landlords in counties with populations of three million or more to “change or re-key” locks on rental property after renters move out if new renters have written lease agreements, and must provide a new tenant with a signed disclosure form acknowledging that this requirement has been met. Landlords who fail to do so are liable for any damages from theft that occurs as a result of that failure.

Texas already has a similar law and other states are expected to follow with their own distinct regulations requiring landlords to change the way residents gain access to apartments following the departure of previous residents.

Amendments to the bill state that “these provisions do not apply to an apartment rental in an apartment building with 4 units or less when one of the units is occupied by the owner or to the rental of a room in a private home that is owner-occupied;” and that the amendment only applies “in counties having a population of more than 3,000,000.”

For more details, see Illinois HB1233, House Public Act 97-0470.

CHICAGO (CBS) – We’ve heard of thieves targeting manhole covers, copper pipes and wiring, even aluminum benches to sell to scrap yards for quick cash.

But now there’s a new hot item catching their eyes and, as CBS 2′s Mai Martinez reports, there might be one on your front door.

For more than 100 years The Pattington on Irving Park Road has been catching the eyes of passersby. It’s even listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But recently, the upscale condo building has drawn some unwanted attention from thieves who stole four kick plates from the Pattington and two from a neighboring building.

“About two weeks ago, the day before Thanksgiving, we got a report from a homeowner who said they had heard a noise in the middle of the night and looked down and saw someone stealing the brass-plated kick plate here,” property manager David Holton said Monday. Taking off the kick plates would have been no easy task, as they had at least a dozen or more screws holding them on the doors, Holton said.

In total, four kick plates were stolen from the Pattington and two were stolen from a neighboring building on Bittersweet Place.

Police said the properties are just some of the latest to be hit on the North Side in the past few weeks.

“We’ve had probably over 20, something we’re working on right now currently,” Chicago Police Sgt. Ray Ernst said.

The thieves likely aren’t getting much for their haul, considering the replacement kick plates at the Pattington were $35.99 brand new.

Metal experts said solid brass kick plates might fetch around $1.65 a pound at a scrap yard, but brass-plated ones like those stolen at the Pattington are only worth about 10 to 11 cents a pound.

Sources told CBS 2 police had two people in custody Monday afternoon in connection with one of the incidents on the North Side. The investigation into the others was still underway.

inDoors is intended to be informational, entertaining, and a bit quirky. It’s about Anderson Lock people, products, capabilities… and odd items  pertaining to the locksmith industry.

Who’s behind the inDoors Blog? Mainly me, Kathi Frelk. The Queen of all Media at Anderson Lock. Well, at least that’s what it says under my name on the window in my office. You may be familiar with our newsletter, The Gazette, which we’ve published at least a couple of times a year for the past 20 years. Writing and editing The Gazette is a favorite part of my job. Writing the blog is even more fun!

Most locksmith blogs cover technical aspects of locksmithing. But since I’m the one writing this blog, don’t look for too many “how to” articles! Industry trends, yes. “Locks in Literature”, yes. “Can you tell me what’s wrong with my lock?” not so much!