Early Industry & Business

Early Industry and Business. New Beginnings, also, Ahead Of Their Time. William Rosenthal came to the U.S. from Poland in 1873. He eventually made his way to Greenville, where he opened a furniture store in the early 1920's., William Rosenberg, born in Germany, owned a wholesale liquor business in Greenville but left that line of business in the 1920's due to Prohibition. Rosenberg then opened a seed shop., Archie and Sol Skibell moved to Greenville in the 1930s and eventually opened the very successful local clothing store La Mode., In the 1950s the Jewish population in Greenville began to decline. Better economic opportunities in Dallas and Lubbock caused the Skibell and Stern families to move away. Many of the younger Jewish residents left Greenville in pursuit of professional jobs elsewhere. Despite this, the Jewish presence in Greenville continued to influence the local economy and community life. Charles Glassman was instrumental in convincing the aircraft manufacturing company TEMCO to set up its operation at Majors Field. TEMCO revitalized the local economy and provided many jobs for Greenville residents., Levy's Jewelry Store, which had been started by Ruth and Harry Levy, was sold to Al Lowenstein in the early 1950's. Lowenstein ran the business until it closed in 2005, making it the last Jewish-owned business in Greenville at that time. Mollie Stigger was hired in 1972 as Levy's first Black sales associate. She worked there until it closed., A family owned and operated business for over 65 years, Henson-Kickernick employed about 230 workers locally and about 600 nationwide. While headquartered in Greenville, HK was one of the most cutting-edge lingerie manufacturers in the nation, being the first to introduce a nylon line and the first to introduce Lycra panties., Henson's began in 1924 when John Henson bought Dixie Manufacturing, a men's handkerchief business. In 1939, the Henson's bought a rayon underwear factory and combined the companies. During world war two, the Henson's plant manufactured handkerchiefs for the Army and slips and panties for the WAVES., Although it made only inexpensive garments at first, the company, which changed its name to John W. Henson and Sons in 1946, began making the exquisite and high-quality women's lingerie that made them world famous. In 1948 they expanded their line with fashion sleepwear., In 1949 in Manhattan, Henson and Sons hosted press and buyers to a typical ranch breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria. The big news was nylon, and this was the first nylon lingerie fashion show ever held. Word spread fast and Henson's quickly became nationally known. In 1958, Henson's purchased Kickernick; which made HK one of the largest manufacturers of branded lingerie in the nation. In 1969, HK purchased the Marja Bra Company in Jacksonville, Texas, and became one of the largest family-owned "full line" intimate apparel manufacturers in the United States. Up until then, HK had concentrated mainly on sleepwear and daywear. In 1990, HK was sold to Sara Lee, and the plant was later moved to the east coast., Reverse Side , Lallie P. Carlisle , Lallie Carlisle was the first woman in Texas to hold an elective public office. Upon the death of her first husband E.W. Briscoe, who had been elected to the office of Hunt County Clerk, the commissioners' court was petitioned to appoint Mrs. Briscoe to fill his unexpired term., The idea of a woman serving in office was too modern in that era. Many said that a woman was not eligible to hold office. At that time, women could not vote in Texas. After being granted special permission by the Attorney General, she was appointed on April 17, 1902, to complete his term as Hunt County Clerk., After completing the unexpired term, Mrs. Briscoe ran for a full term as County Clerk. Although records show she was very efficient and an active worker, she was defeated by a man. Mrs. Briscoe, mother of five, later married C.C. Carlisle., Dr. Edward Taylor , Dr. Taylor was a Greenville dentist who helped discover the beneficial effects of fluoride in preventing tooth decay. In 1921 Dr. Taylor came to Greenville to practice dental surgery after graduating from Baylor College of Dentistry. He quickly became a popular and respected dentist but a serious car accident hurt his arm so badly that he could no longer practice dental surgery. He was later appointed Director of Dental Health for Texas, a job which required a lot of travel throughout the state. In 1938, on a trip to West Texas, he talked to a dentist in Hereford, Deaf Smith County, who was going broke for lack of patients., The people of Deaf Smith had no cavities which was extremely rare. Dr. Taylor discovered that the water in Deaf Smith had a high fluoride content which he believed was the main reason for the lack of tooth decay. He also discovered that those who only drank the well water had almost perfect teeth while those who drank from the local city water system had mottled enamel teeth (discoloration of the teeth, small pits and erosions). He believed that the mottled enamel was the result of too much fluoride in the local water supply. This discovery led Dr. Taylor on a research quest to figure out the right proportion of fluoride to water that would prevent cavities without the unwanted side effects.