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Around the turn of the twentieth century Samuel
Kaplan and Henry Isaacs were the proprietors of the Manhattan Clothing Emporium
at the northeast corner of Market and Jackson Streets in downtown Sandusky. An
article in the July 31, 1901 issue of the Sandusky
Star, stated that the store was having a red tag
sale. Both the original price and the sale price were on the tag, so that
shoppers could see exactly how much they would be saving if they purchased the
item. The proprietors of the Manhattan, which sold apparel for men and boys,
brought out new stock every time the seasons changed.
This baseball team was
sponsored by the Manhattan store in the 1910s. They were known as the
Manhattans, of course.
Here is an ad for the Manhattan store which
appeared in the September 15, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.
Samuel Kaplan was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the U.S. as a young man. He had no formal education, but he taught
himself how to read, and write, to speak
English, and became familiar with American business practices. After Henry Isaacs retired in 1930, Kaplan ran the Manhattan Clothing Store on his
own until his death in 1937, when the store was run by Alston V. Erckman and Leonard
Sauer. You can see the sign for the Manhattan store in the picture below, taken
during the Northwest Territory Celebration in April of 1938.
In 1953, Mr. Sauer retired and Alston V. Erckman
became the sole proprietor of the Manhattan Clothing Store. Mr. Erckman
was honored in 1955 for his fifty years of service with the Manhattan store. He
had started as an errand boy around 1905. Eventually
he learned all aspects of the business and became president of the company.
After Mr. Erckman’s death in 1962, Ray Barman and Bud Dodge bought the
business. Ray Barman became the sole owner in 1976.
By 1983 the Manhattan store
ceased operations in Sandusky, though it kept a branch store in Tiffin for a time.
Below is a picture of the Manhattan store taken shortly after its going out of
business sale. The Manhattan was located
at 238 Columbus Avenue in Sandusky during its last twenty years of operation.
The Manhattan store served men and boys in the
Sandusky area for over 80 years. Do you have any memories of shopping at the Manhattan?
6 comments:
I most certainly do remember being outfitted with clothing from Manhattan Clothing Store, when it was on West Monroe Street near the Ohio theatre. What a wonderful remembrance you have posted on your blog. With our dad and four boys in the family, we shopped a lot at Manhattan's. As a young boy, and into my high school (1950-54)and college years (1954-59) Manhattan's was THE place to find what you knew (or your mother told you) a young man should wear to look his best. My favorite salesman at Manhattan's was Ray Barman, who still lives down the street from my sister, Mary Gebelle. I think if I look hard enough, some of ties hanging in my closet probably date from the years we bought our menswear at Manhattan's.
Correction--it was on West Market Street, not Monroe St. Ed Daniel
Was it Barman or Bauman?
It is Barman, according to the city directory listings.
Henry Isaacs was Really Harry Isaacs.
He was my wifes Great Great Grandfather.
Another well known Sanduskian was Harry's Son
Merritt Isaacs. My wifes Great Grandfather.
My grandfather Leonard Sauer was the owner for a number of years (I was born well after he retired). He was a salesman and bought the store from Mr. Isaacs in the late 1930's. He was born in 1902 in Elmore. He was a man of his times from some of the stories he used to tell me. He was the local chairman of the Frank Lausche for Governor campaign in 1948. His retirement was driven by some health issues - he recovered and lived another 37 years in Huron Ohio. He was so very proud of the store. I recall him telling me of a huge fire in downtown Sandusky in about 1948 - I don't know what or if that effect that fire had on the businesses back then.
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