Savitt, William_1975/11/12,Oral History, 1975 - 1975

I’d like to introduce Joe Hurwitz and Bill Savitt Thank you. My name is Joe Hurwitz and the date to day is November 12, 1975 and this interview is taking place in the Hartford Jewish Community Center in West Hartford, CT and I have to interview, this evening, Bill Savitt. And it may come as a surprise to you people but Bill is a jeweler with a store at 35 Asylum Street in Hartford, 35 seconds from Main Street. This interview is being taken, WS: Steps, steps, steps…. JH: Step, steps well we’ll talk that later. This interview is being done as a meeting of the Jewish Historical Society taking place this evening. Bill, since it is clear that you’re one of the great, not only one of the great merchants of Hartford, but certainly one of the great advertising men, really of Hartford in connection with your business. And you just interrupted me when I described the place of your business with its well-known motto of being 35 seconds from Main Street and you corrected me by saying it used to be known as 35 steps from Main Street, maybe we can start off and it would be proper, we’ll get back to some of the details later but I would like to hear the story of how 35 Asylum Street changed from 35 steps to 35 seconds from Main Street. WS: Well you put me on the s pot there. But I, you know you can’t sell ‘em if you don’t tell ‘em and if you’re spending the money that brings ‘em into to the store you better make sure they know where you are. And being in the position to know that when they come into the town you better know when they are coming and you don’t sell only your friends or your relatives so you advertise. And when I moved from across the street from 40 Asylum Street after I came from Park Street, I moved to 35 Asylum Street and I said 35 steps and then by coincidence a jeweler moved in between me and Main Street and it was just 35 steps. So we had a contest. P.S., we changed it to second. JH: When was this? WS: I think it was about maybe 1940 JH: 1940 WS: Pretty close. That right Harry, Bernie? About ’40 JH: Okay, let’s go back a few years to get this in more chronologic order. You were born where? WS: Springfield, MA JH: When was that? WS: March 9, 1901 JH: ’01 WS: And next year I will be celebrating my 39th birthday. Mel Title’s star JH: Tell me a little bit about your family in Springfield? WS: Well I was one of seven children and daddy was involved in many things. Wound up in real estate and family of seven kids. Savitt was a news boy, his brother was a news boy. His brother sold music, I think it was music, sheets of music. As a kid you know he lived with the Jewish people. Belonged to the Jewish shuls. There was a mezzuzzah on every door. My mother and my father were real good, what I would say real Jews. The kind of Jews the kind of Jews that believe in kosher, believe in having a bar mitzvah. All the things that bring out the golden rule and I live by it. JH: You were orthodox? WS: Orthodox. President of a shul, Kaser Israel. I still belong to that shul. And that was the ball park. Sold newspapers. And worked on a farm against my father’s wishes. Got up five o’clock in the morning went out and pick tobacco. Should have gone into that business it would have been much better than the jewelry business. JH: How long did you live in Springfield? WS: When I left Springfield in 1916 or 17. I’ll never forget it because there was a Jewish trader, I guess it was the end of the first World War, was that 15 or 16? Right in front of you, 18, 1918. I’ll never forget there was a parade and I’ll never forget the men of the Emanuel Synagogue, the Saturday at the Emanuel Synagogue in that era and they were parading by and they were pretty proud to see these Jewish men who had come back from college and were parading under the flag of stars and stripes in front of G. Fox. The store that I worked in was right opposite G. Fox. It used to be S. B. Things, shoe store. My brother, who happened to be a sales promoter, my oldest brother, Sam, came to Hartford and he saw this empty store that later became the Industrial Bank Building and it was available and he made a lease with the owners of the bank, the Industrial Bank Building and he came to Springfield and he rented the store to a Mr. Cohen that I worked for after I was in the jewelry business. JH: In Springfield? WS: In Springfield. He rented it to him and he said, Bill, would you like to run that store? Mr. Cohen, Cohen was related to the Cohens that had, what’s the name of the two lawyers? Cole. P.S. came down, rented that store and I was the fellow that came down to run it as a luggage shop. JH: How old were you then? WS: I must have been about, I would say about 16 or 17, mustache, got a picture in my pocket. Wore spats and my mother thought my underwear was hanging. But I came in in the old Lyric Club. The old Lyric Club was a very close competitor of the Judaens that I happened to be a president of. JH: That was a Springfield WS: Springfield club and we used to play with Harry Herbert and that crowd and we come down and we lose every dime we had and we used to take out the girls that used to live in the North End they were pretty classy girls, and in those days it was really something to come down and play against, I think they call it the Lyric Club. JH: In Hartford WS: And from that came the old YMHA. The Lyric Club. In those days there was, what was the name of the club. There was two other clubs, one of them was on Chapel Street and the other one was over Levine’s Show Store and Murray Yorker was in that club and I belonged, I was associated with the Lyric Club because that was more my age group. Well when I came to Hartford my brother took the store JH: Let me go back a minute. What happened to your – tell me a little about your schooling because you were very young and suddenly your are? WS: Well I was bar mitzvahed. We closed the doors and everybody had to go upstairs at the old Kesser Israel Synagogue. I went to high school, I went there for two years and when I belonged to the Judaen Club I made up my mind that coming home with an education was not the thing for me because the average Jewish boy who came back in those day we looked down on the guy who belonged to the Judaens and he thought we was something and he was something and he’d wind as a working in a dry goods store as a buyer or maybe a salesman or maybe a bank for maybe 8 or 10 or $15 a week and I felt well if I’m gonna be anything I better be in the sales world so I quit my job, I quit my school I went into the Eastern States Exposition, applied for a job with about 30 other men in the Judaens. I remember what my teacher told me, stuck my chin out and said my name is Bill Savitsky and I am Hartford High, Springfield High two years and I want to do anything in this place. I want to clean the floors, I’ll clean the cows, I’ll sell tickets and I don’t care how much money you give me. P.S. I was hired. Nobody else was hired. On the way home we stopped in in a jewelry store to sell an add in a program and this program was for a dance and basketball game. I was the manager of the basketball team and the fellow says to me are you Bob’s brother, and I said yes. He said are you as good as him? I said I had the same mother and father. He said would you like a job here? I says is one available? He said yes. I says then I’ll take it. He says it’s $8 a week and you start at nine o’clock tomorrow morning and you work til nine o’clock every night and 10 o’clock on Saturday. And on the way out I was with a fellow who was a member of the club and I said to him don’t tell anybody I am working for eight bucks a week because I gave up a job for 15 bucks a week but I want to learn the business. JH: What attracted you to the jewelry business? WS: Because my brother was in it. JH: Your older brother WS: Yup. JH: So you came to Hartford about WS: No I worked for him for a while and I didn’t like the spirit of the store. I learned everything in the store I did the cleaning, I did the window trimming and I put the signs in the window but I didn’t like, well I don’t to say the POMG I didn’t like the way the store was run. The service of the store, the way the attitude of the owner. JH: Attitude towards employees or towards customers? WS: Customers, we had no employees, three employees. His wife, me and himself. So I didn’t like it. I wanted an honest business. Ii didn’t like it. And I felt well that’s the way business is done. But I didn’t like it and I quit. I got a job in a place for a company that sold what they call these things, gas pumps. In Springfield they had gas pumps made for Standard Oil Company. I went to work there for three times but I didn’t like that. Although I worked a while and then I came back and he offered me 20 bucks a week and I took that for a little while. And then I quit because I still didn’t like what I had to do and I went to work for this luggage guy and he brought me to Hartford. And the first day I came to Hartford I came to the Lyric Club and believe it or not I stopped in New Dame Hotel, I signed in, went to have lunch, went to the store, they shot-changed me by $5, they gave me change for $2, I had not money. JH: At the hotel? WS: No, at the restaurant. JH: Restaurant WS: And ten I had to call my cousin who came up from Springfield on a train to get me out of the hotel. And from there it is history. JH: How long did you stay at the luggage store? WS: Well until he found out he was making a lot of money, he was paying me too much money. And he had nine people take my job. And I went to New Haven where my brother had a store. JH: A jewelry store? WS: Yup. And I got a job in New Haven and I met the owner. My brother’s partner and I told him that if I had change I was going to work in a competitor’s store in New Haven. He didn’t want the brothers working together. On the way home Mr. Kittridge said don’t take that job. He said wait til I talk it over with your brother who was his partner. And sure enough when I got to Springfield he said you go to work for your brother and I worked there for about a year. And a Mr. Greenwald, who many of you old timers would remember, my brother worked for him in Springfield. And he heard about me and my brother introduced me to Mr. Greenwald in New Haven and he wrote a letter and he said I understand you got a kid brother who wants a job. I didn’t want a job but he offered me a pretty good job. I came down and took that job. And one day one of his watchmakers said JH: This is in a jewelry store in Hartford WS: Oh yes, on Asylum Street. I guess Mel Title remembers that one. JH: What was the name of that store? WS: George Greenwald. Time marches on. George Greenwald was there about two years, not even two years, less than two years. One of his watchmakers found out there was a store on Park Street that was for sale. He wanted to know if Bill Savitt would do it, go out and find out if he could buy it. The store’s name was Mann. Savitt went up to see him. Had no interest personally but I saw the area. I saw it was an industrial area where the people worked in Royal Typewriter, people worked in US Royal, they made tires in those days. There was also the Underwood Typewriter. And there was a little store across the street from his store. I didn’t see the store. But there was an Abraham Goldberg. Dr. Goldberg who belonged to the Oddfellows and I met him. He was single. I went up to see him. And I said how long has this place been going on? He owned the building with an uncle or a cousin and while I was there a man came up and wanted to rent the store. He wanted to rent the store and I said what kind of a store you got for rent? And it was a little alley, a 6ft. front. And an alley with a roof over it. I said how much is the rent. He said $35. I said Abe I think I’ll take it. So he said to me well you better talk to my partner. He partner is a dentist, Bill, what’s his name, he’s dead. His brother was am two or three brothers that are dentists. But here I am I go up to see Bill he was Lane he had a brother who was a lawyer and a prosecutor – Rosenfeld, right thank you. And I went to see him. He was right across the street from Pillgar Building and I went up to see him and there he was and I says I would like to rent that store for $35. He said fine. Wonderful. I said will you put a new front on it? He says yes, but it will cost you $50. I says you got a deal. He says do you know anything about the jewelry business? I said I think so. He said you know I am going to get married. I says is that right. He says I am interested in a diamond. Just happened to have one. He said what do you want for it? I told him. He said let me take it. Next day he called me up, will you take $500. I only asked $550. That was the bankroll. Any other questions. JH: About when was this? WS: Actually, 1921. I jumped a few years as I tried to be more important. Actually 1921 when people were standing on the corners, when people were two and three weeks you think we have a depression now, just ask a few of the gray-haired people we have here they’ll tell you in those days if you broke the ice you were lucky. JH: You were 20 years old then? WS: That’s right JH: You had a wife an children? WS: Yes, and I went into a bank. A wife and children. No but that was very interesting. A wife and children. You know I used to bring my money in the City Bank and Trust. Bank used to be open Saturday nights. And I made up my mind that I ought to know the banker. I ought to know and his name was Chase. Not related to Dave. And he had an ad. They had a big ad the bank to be with is. I went in there every Saturday, met the president, talked to the president and made my deposit then told him I was going into business and he said what kind of a bankroll have you got. You don’t want anything from us. We don’t bankroll anybody. I said but your advertising is wrong. I said the bank to be with put out on the end of it. Then I went to see a man by the name of Shannon. I was introduced to him by a very dear friend of mine by the name Phil Rosen who was a jeweler. Wholesale jeweler. He introduced me to this bank it was called the Fidelity Trust. And I told him I might need some money. And he said how much. I said $500. He said have your wife sign this. I said I haven’t got a wife. You know what he said? Got more brains than I thought you had. That’s a true story. Tom Shannon, one of the greatest Irishman that ever was a banker. The first, too. Any other questions? JH: So now you got a store on Park Street? WS: Accounts payable. JH: And I’d like to know when did you start doing your own advertising, when did you come up with the slogan you’re so well –known for, PMOG, King of Diamonds? WS: Well those things, those things took a little time. You can’t go to college in one year and you can’t have a baby in one month. It takes time to develop the mind. And this guy was there and I used to walk around, house to house, and have a fellow who worked in the Royal Typewriter or a banker who could spend a half a day in my store while I go around rap on the doors and say my name is Bill Savitt, I got a little store right around the corner. Come in a see me anytime. And that’s what I did. And then I had a fellow, he just passed away, he was a lawyer right over the bank, there happened to be a bank on that corner until recently, what was his name, remember the temple, married and passed away, and he helped me write a few ads. Because a man two years of high school, I didn’t know too much about advertising. The only think I knew about was shaking the hands of a man and keeping my promise and making sure if he came into my store that he was satisfied. Even when I couldn’t afford it I did it. And I said we put out little what they call it, flyers, all through that area. When the guys in Royal Typewriter knew me, they all knew me because I would contribute to the church. I would contribute to everybody in that area. And before you know it one day I got a telephone call. I had a fellow who used to come in and fit glasses for me at night his name was Langerman, American Optical. I was his newsboy in Springfield, MA and he used to come up at night and he used to fit glasses for me and one day he said there was a store available in downtown Hartford and I ought to go down and take advantage of that store. And that store was what turned out to be the Hoover Building. It was right next door to the Wooster. JH: That’s the 42 Asylum? WS: 40 JH: 40 Asylum WS: And Eli Pecowski was the fellow that owned that place and that was a shirt shop that went out of business. A dollar shirt shop. And Savitt came down and they were going to tear down the corner of Main and Asylum and there was a fellow by the name of Warner, the optical guy, who had the optician with a watchmaker and this watchmaker was an old timer and what the story was is I was to go in with this watchmaker. And the watchmaker said to me can you fix a watch? I said no, I can’t fix a watch but I can sell it. Well he said you won’t do good on Asylum Street. I said well I can sell it and you can fix it. I can hire all the guys you want to fix em. But you want me to sell em, I mean if I can sell em that all I have to do. P.S. He wasn’t interested, he moved down Pratt Street and _____ Pacowski and my brother in New Haven, we made a deal to take half of that store that later on turned out to be the Hoover Building. After that I saw that I couldn’t go too far with this man. Those were the days of black and white review. Had casts of black and white review. JH: I don’t know WS: YMHA. Anyway this other store became available. I bought, I bought a building just down the street where the Abramsons were, went into the bank where I made the deal and it took be two years to take over that building and a great Jew of our community was the lawyer and he said to me as I made the deal it will take two years to put the down payment on it and this young man, not a young man, he’s not with us any more, he said Bill if you can’t make the payment call me I’ll pay it for you. His name Dr. Henry Marks. He said Bill you got it. Don’t worry about it, okay, that’s down payment on the building and that was too small for me and Hoffman Hat Store was across the street from my store where I am now, and that became available and I had to buy the lease from them. I’ll never forget it because I went to New York and I had to meet the lawyers and I made the deal and I got that building. Not the building but the rental. JH: I want to go back a minute because of something you mentioned before. You said one of these places, the first place you moved on Asylum Street you said you had a half a store, you shared it with Warned Optical. WS: Warned Optical JH: Warned Optical. Is that the store where Justice Cotter WS: That’s right JH: The story you told me? Now before you get to that story which I want you to tell I’ve got a little touch of that and I like that for that reason you told me the story but I think it also relates to something about your relationship to your mother and your family and particularly your mother and her view towards her Jewishness and what she wanted her children to be and how your viewed and I wish you’d say something about that? WS: When they tore that building down we moved next door to the Palace Theater and while the Hoover Building was being built and then we moved back and shared the store with Mr. Warner. And it was pretty tough times. I was accounts payable. Cash store and I had my sister and I think Harry Goldstein, who is here so I’m going back. When my father died things were very tough. And holidays came on a Saturday and to give up a Saturday was a pretty tough deal. I was accounts payable and I said to my mother I don’t think we’re gonna close for Yontif. And she said what do you mean? Yiddish! God will help you. I said you gonna pay my bills? I said ma I can’t do it. I got to open that store. I said do I call the rabbi and if he says it’s okay is it okay with you. She said okay what rabbi. I said Silverman. She says okay but don’t call Silverman, call rabbi Hurwitz. P.S. The story of cutting the baby if half, so I call him up he was wuite a guy and hr said to me (Yiddish) how’s the family, he knew what we went through I said fine, I’ve got a very important problem. He said what it is? Well he says Bill, you know you can’t close that store. How can you close the store with one door. The goy is on one side and you’re on the other side so you can’t close the door. (Yiddish) Sell it for 5 cents and the next day buy it back. I said just a minute, tell it to my mother. The rest is history and ever since then comes to the High Holy Days we don’t have any Jewish people working for us even though some of them don’t go to the synagogue. In fact I have one fellow working for me today that I insisted that he stay out on the High Holy Days. He said this is my synagogue. This is where I belong, a sygie. I’m surprised he’s not here tonight. He’s over 80. But I hope that takes care of that. JH: Well it certainly shows to me that you had a lot of respect for your mother. WS: Why not? My mother used to walk around and she’d come over to me and put her hand like this. She says OK what are you doing, Ma? I just want to make sure you’re wearing the tstsis. And to this day I don’t where them. And the only reason I don’t wear them, they’re not making them in the nylon that I like. JH: So you wore them for many years? WS: Oh yes. I still got ‘em. I don’t wear ‘em but I got ‘em. JH: Well I think that showed a lot of respect. You mentioned something just now and I want to say a word for the record and for the people here that where normally we attempt to be more chronologic but I think that over the years we have an exhibit back here and I hope you people all take a look at it, with lots of pictures and other things including some newspaper, not articles, almost magazines that have been put out that describe your life, Bill, in a lot of detail so that I feel that it isn’t necessary that preserve a record, a chronologic record entirely, but I’d like to hit some of the highlights because fortunately for historic purposes the newspapers of this area have done a pretty good job on you for a lot of the detail of your chronology. But I’d like to touch on something, you mentioned an employee of yours that was over 80 and one of the things I’ve noticed since I’ve been around, I go in your store and I see the same faces and I take it that employees stay with you and I wish you’d say something about that. WS: Well I guess coincidence as one fellow here just retired, semi-retired. I don’t want to call him retired, Mr. Harry Goldstein with his dear wife. Harry get up here and take a bow, with you? There he is. Started with me at 15 and I guess he’s very happy and then there’s Bernie Ellovich who is in front of him. He’s been with me almost 45 years. And there’s another fellow that’s here, Mr. Palmer, Howard Palmer, just finishing 25 years, get up and take a bow. That’s right. JH: Why do employees stay with you so long? WS: Well why don’t I have you ask Mr. Mel Title who happened to be sitting with me in the old Worcester Restaurant one day. We had a very important shoe company that went out of business. I don’t know how many years ago but he was a bachelor. In those days people were not too liberal. We didn’t know too much about taking care of employees. And this fellow, he retired and I said to Mel Title who is not only a good friend on mine but one of our great citizens of my community and I said Mel what are you do in a case like this? And Mel you can answer it if you want. He says you know they have a pension plan. I said a pension plan. What is a pension plan? I thought you get a pension if you work for the United States government or a bank but he says you can do it in retailing. I says how do you do it? Well he says, there’s certain rules that you have to abide with and you pay so much in insurance and if the man stays with you and he explained it to me and he didn’t talk me into it, I took it. JH: When was this? How many years ago? WS: How many years ago, Mel? MT: 1943 WS: 1943? And in those days very few stores ever believed in that. And there was only one rule that they had and they told me, he says there is only one thing you got to understand, Uncle Sam will not let you take more than you give your employees and later it was changed but ever since then I have never taken more for myself or anybody in my family that was part of my corporation. And today, I can say this, just recent we increased it to make sure they live like human beings. But thank them for what has happened in downtown Hartford. JH: Well, I’d like to go back now if you tell me a little bit about the WS: There are probably about 12 that are on that pension already. At least 12. JH: But what would you say is the, how long have your employees, what’s the average length of employment of your employees? WS: Well, Harry Goldstein’s my oldest, 50 years. How long you been there Bernie? 43 years. And then I have a watchmaker who’s retired and every time I see him he says when are you going to stop sending the checks? I says G-d will take care of that. That’s true. JH: I’d like to hear something about the origin about POMG and King of Diamonds. WS: Well, as I grew in the market place and of course when you grow in the market place you just don’t grow in your own market place. You study. I’ve studied retailing by associating myself with people who give and grow. After all you can’t grow by cheating people. You’ve got to make a fair profit. You got to make sure your people get a fair deal and you got to have a policy in the store that you saw me on television recently. One of my greatest speeches that I didn’t create but in going and belonging to different societies where there are businessmen and if you serve and practice the Golden Rule and many, many kids to day in any school you ask them, they never heard of the Golden Rule, and if you keep that in mind, do unto others. And I said many times this is the customer, this is the employee, if the employees loves me he’s going to reflect it here. This is my supplied. If this supplier likes me and I treat him like a human being and I say a supplier it can be an insurance agent or a newsboy or a policeman or a mailman, he’s going to reflect that same spirit. To him to give it to him. This is me I I’m standing up, I’m up, if I’m down, I’m down. This is my competition. My greatest competition is myself. I got to know what is right and if I don’t know what’s right there’ll be a going out of business sale. Many people go out of business because they don’t know what the Golden Rule is. Put yourself in the other persons place and there’s nothing to it. It’s simple and you have no competition. If you can’t make a buck on anybody send him to the competition. They’ll go out of business, but make sure you give them value. Today it’s a very tough thing. You don’t know who you are doing business with. I said this many times, you don’t know your butcher, your baker, your candlestick maker, you don’t know your next door neighbor or your relative. I you want a doctor you’re lucky if you know one because if you don’t there’s no house calls. In the old days it was a little difficult. Our competition today is a lot worse than every before because the average person don’t like to serve, don’t want to serve, is not hungry enough to serve. It’s accounts payable and he wants to get all he can to make sure his kids get what he sees other kids have. In the old days, believe me, if you had a penny it was enough for the day, right, a nickel, a dime. It’s a little different ball game. I don’t think I should go into that. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? JH: Yes, yes. You haven’t told me about the origin of POMG. WS: Well I wanted something the other guy didn’t have. In other words, I’ll even go further than that. When our competition was a credit business and we had people here selling things for 50 cents down, 10 cents down, give away turkeys Thanksgiving. I don’t have to mention their names but they happen to be competitors good competitors. How you going to compete with them? Well, the first thing I did that makes history was about this time of the year, around Thanksgiving, I got a telephone call from my brother who was my partner at that time, he said how you doing. I said I’m doing pretty good. Meeting the figures. How you doing? He says those 50 cent down places are hurting us. So I got on a train, went to New Haven, stayed up all night and came up with a slogan that topped POMG. And what was that? She’ll know it’s paid for if it comes from Savitt. Be wise, pay cash, save plenty. Gives gifts and in the old New England spirit like your ancestors did, think of the embarrassment that _____________ It all came out of there and the next day, not like today, but the next day it was in the papers. And in those days we didn’t have fair trade so you could make comparative prices. And we did pretty good. For a few years we worked on that until we decided that we ought to go in the credit business. It was very simple. Come in a buy something for $50 and we sell it to you. And we show you something for $150. After we sell it for $150 the guy says we I can’t pay $150. Can you pay $2 a week and keep your mouth shut? Not really Watergate you get in value. PS. I built up a book of over $50,000. Over my head. And I decided that I was going to collect that $50,000 and give up YMHA and give up all my --- all the things I wanted to do, all the things I was doing to be one of the boys. That was all out. Made up my mind I was going to be a businessman. How did I get the $50,000? The bank across the street from my store, right next door to where I am now, it was a Merchants Bank, and in this Merchants Bank I went in to see the president. I had a long talk with him and I told him I’m going to bring him a lot of business. And here’s how it was going to be done. And he thought it was a wonderful idea. And then I would send you a letter and tell you that you owed me $50 and you only owed me $25. You never answer the $25 bill but the $50 one you did. So I said, oh no you owe me $50. You’re right. The bookkeeper made a mistake, but I need the $25. Would you help me? Well I haven’t got the $25. Could you pay a buck a week to the bank so I can get the money right away? And then you would establish yourself in the bank. You thought you were going to help me out. So I brought you to the bank and you gave them a buck a week. And I was offered the money immediately and I wouldn’t it. I had to wait. I made up my mind I would take that money and spend it and I had no right to spend it when I didn’t have it in the bank. And believe it or not 99% was paid by those people and maybe 30% of those people are still friends and customers or families that remember that they helped me. Then we went in as we moved along we had a little backing. Then the story came up of how could I increase my business and I knew there was only one thing to do, and then what could I give them. I had BABB, Buy America’s Best Brands. I had HOBWD, Home of Blue White Diamonds and people would get confused. What does this mean and what does this mean? And it all came out on top and I said. There’s a funny thing about that, my competition didn’t like the idea, she’ll know it’s paid for and Roger W. Batson had an article in the Hartford Times and it said that the country was going bad, that we were over-spending our future income. People were buying things that they couldn’t afford. My brother Max and I sent him a telegram it told him what we were doing and he wrote me back a telegram at his own expense. You are teaching Connecticut a much needed lesson. Batson salutes Savitt’s slogan. The next case. Then we went into this thing I start thinking POMG, Peace of Mind Guarantee and money back if you are not satisfied. And we did it and we had signs all over the town, buses and people. I got letters, people saying, why don’t you tell the people what POMG means. They are arguing at the dinner table, they’re arguing and finally I told them. But there are still people, strangers who come into town. I had one letter recently where a lady said a friend just moved in from Chicago and I’m going to take here out for a POMG dinner and she said what do you mean a POMG dinner? Is that a Chinese dinner or something? So you got to remember this, that there are new people moving into a market place and if you get into a marketplace if you study marketing, and you study what the brains of the world are haves in the book and you don’t have to believe in them, but you know Dear Abby has a listening audience and so has advertising aids and so has Bob Steele and do I have to tell you any more. But you got to believe that it you practice the Golden Rule you never had it so good and if you don’t practice the Golden Rule then you’re in trouble. And Weinstein, well you’ll wind up at Weinstein anyway. JH: 1955, Connecticut, I guest the whole Northeast suffered extensively from flooding and you got involved with that into a project after that I wish you would tell us a little bit about. That’s not so well known, I don’t think. WS: Well, 1955 is a flood, my kinds were at camp and JH: It was in August. WS: Yup. I’ll never forget it. We had 3 feet of water in my basement., JH: In your home? WS: In my home. JH: In West Hartford? WS: Yes and everybody had problems. And of course nobody knew how bad it was and Savitt went down to the store, and thank G-d the store was okay. I think there was a flood before that I think. JH: In ’36 or ’38 WS: There was a flood before that where barn was underwater but I was still on the other side and I’ll never forget that because we had no lights or anything. JH: 1936 WS: It was before I was married. PS. I’m down and I am a member of the retail trade board and I happened to be the president. The retail trade board used to meet in the old State House. When I saw what happened I immediately went to the Red Cross in ‘52 I was the chairman of the Red Cross. I think I was the first Jew that was ever the chairman of the Red Cross drive. That was very important to my life because if didn’t want to do it but I got involved in Red Cross and it became a very important part of my life. I think it is one of the great institutions of our world. Wherever there is a good Red Cross it needs everybody’s help. Anyway, because of my affiliation with the Red Cross in ’52 when this flood came around I went right to the top and I said I would like to have some of your key people. When there is a flood there is a flood group that come into a community and take over and I wanted to know all about it. And I brought them to this meeting and I brought to this meeting and I brought all the merchants together. In those days Hartford was like this. There were no malls it was Hartford. JH: Downtown? WS: That’s right. And I got up and I brought three or four merchants from the various towns to come to tell up their problems. In shock. JH: The towns, how far? WS: Well, here are the towns right here. This book was given to me. The chairman was William Savitt, vice chairman, Howard Fane. The late Howard Fane who was married to one of the Katten girls. And Philip Steiger, of Steiger’s Department Store. And the towns, Torrington, Farmington Valley, New Milford, Litchfield, Winsted, Thomaston, Waterbury, Naugutuck, Union City, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Enfield, Stafford Springs and Putnam, Derby and Ansonia, 1,337 were involved and really hurt. And every night, at first I got involved with the Red Cross then I went to the Sherman Knapp who was the head of the disaster committee of the state and he was put there by Senator Ribicoff. And they put me on that committee. I had Mr. Knapp’s electric company go around and find out what merchants needed help and if a jeweler needed help I would sit with the jeweler. And I had Ralph Emerson, Lou Keonig, ________ Arnie Karten of Capitol Light, Milton Richman or Hub Stores, Sam Roskin, Roskin Distributors, and go down I had about 75 or 100 names of different stores and all I had to do was hear from Sherman Knapp and he would tell me who he needed to come to the city hall at that town at a certain hour and we would sit down for these men in shock and after we found out what they needed the jeweler, you’re a jeweler, you do business with Bulova, so do I. I happened to be a successful jeweler and if I ask Mr. Bulova to do something for you don’t bite the hand that’s feeding you. And that’s what we did all the way down the line. That’s one of the great things of my life. In fact a letters that I have here, really amazing, I can’t believe that it all happened, can’t believe that there is one particular case happened to be a Jewish outfit in Winsted, and his store was absolutely gutted. He had nothing but a big hole in the ground. And he took us a round and showed us Winsted after the flood. What was the name of that department store? Can anybody tell me? Issacson’s. JH: Winsted had been practically wiped out? WS: And he took us around, like he showed me this place. And we took care of everybody in that town. And believe it or not if you had nothing Red Cross would put you back on your feet. No payback. Very few people say thank you. I was there. Well, anyway this man happened to be one of the biggest. He was the G. Fox of that town. A few weeks before that I was there on a redevelopment program and they gave me $100 to make a speech ad I thanked them for what they were doing to keep the town as old fashioned as it was because they were helping G. Fox and Bill Savitt and they could stop over Lord & Taylor and leave their cars and come over and see us. Don’t louse us up. You know, stay the way you are. But a few months later the flood came along so they all knew me. And I said how do you start a flood. PS. We took care of everybody but this one particular fellow, and Mr. Fane called me and said I heard that this man is really in trouble. I said what do you mean he is in trouble? He’s all right. He says no he’s in trouble. He’s got the wrong attitude. In six months people are going to forget about this flood. He owes $30,000 for the building. And he owes $30,000 for merchandise and he has no building and he has no merchandise. So I called him up and he came down. His wife passed away since then. He came down. I says you better let me know because once this is over it’s over. PS. Who was our judge at that time, Judge Berman. Max and I went to Berman. Berman wrote a letter. We should help this man. Accept whatever they can give him. 25 cents on the dollar. Red Cross will put up the money. Everybody accepted but three people. I called up three people. One of them was a very big outfit and they have floods all over the country so he has his problems. I said I don’t want to report that you are not going to accept that you don’t know anything about it. He accepted it. Another fellow said he stopped the check and he don’t like that kind of business. I said, what would you do if you were in bad trouble? He said, I’ll accept it. Another guy told Mr. Berry of the shoe company, one of our own kind. He wouldn’t accept it. So Mr. Berry called him up and said is that the way you’re going to treat in case of a flood and he accepted it. But the greatest thing about this, and I want to have this in the record, $30,000 mortgage Phoenix Insurance Company, Mr. Holland, had a special meeting. I gave him a 30 year moratorium without interest. How do you like that? When anybody says the Red Cross don’t do a good job I just want you to remember they’re really great. JH: Now we don’t have too much time and we left out a big part of your life namely, your wife and children. WS: Well, I’m glad you mentioned that because this is celebrating an anniversary for me just a few days just before I met my wife, it was on November the 14th at 2:30 and I’ll tell you that because there happens to be a lady here her maiden name was Cohen. Weren’t you related to Butch Cohen? Right. Now Butch Cohen went on a honeymoon. May his soul rest in peace. And this guy on his honeymoon there was a name of the ship that went down. What was the name of the ship? Morrrow Castle. And he was down on his back and he swam in. Harriet you just brought it to my attention. My brother Max went to a football game with Ed Hickey, Dartmouth. I call up a date I’d mention a name but I don’t think that matters. I had some friends in Waterbury that I met on a boat and Butch and Harriet, they were living up here, I think they were living on, I forget the name of the street. And I had a date and we went to Waterbury and there was a lady who gave her apartment to two girls, her niece and her niece’s friend, they were young kids and we went to visit and I walked in and I saw this beautiful little girl and I look at her, I’m gassed up, you know I like her. Walked over, kissed her on the side of her cheek, greeted her. In fact, they were told if you want some fun these guys are coming in. She could come in and spend the afternoon and then go back to New York. We went over to the train, said goodbye, went to sleep on the train. Didn’t even know that we were around. A few weeks later it was the Thanksgiving Emanuel dance. I called up and wanted to know if this girl could dance. And she says sure she could dance. Thanksgiving is coming she came down to the barn and that year we just moved across the street and we worked all day and all night. I think Goldstrin and Ellovich we trimming up the window and my mother said, you going to have Thanksgiving with us? I said ma I can’t I got a date. I’m working tonight and I got a date and I got to pick up a girl and we’re going to go to the Emanuel dance Thanksgiving night. The rest is history. We have two daughters, six grandchildren and two wonderful sons-in-laws, G-d bless them. My daughters are involved in community affairs, most of you know them. And they got two sons that are just the greatest and the mahutens. I’m telling you, you couldn’t have more mezzuzzahs that you could love like them. JH: Yes that very nice. Thank you very much. That’s the end of our interview.