2023.05.11 TBT Idea - Ottenheimer's - Part 1
THROW BACK THURSDAY - THE OTTENHEIMERS - PART 1
PLUS CLASS NEWS
Who remembers Gus & Leonard Otthenheimer? For decades their family contributed to the LR community.
Gus Ottenheimer (1897–1985)
Gus Ottenheimer, an industrialist, became known nationally through his successful efforts in manufacturing women's garments. He was a land developer as well, and he spent much of the last one-third of his life promoting higher education in central Arkansas. He was born in Little Rock on July 18, 1897, the youngest of four children. The Ottenheimers were a Jewish pioneer family, some of whom came to the state in the 1850s. Ottenheimer’s father died in 1908. The eldest son, Leonard, became the family breadwinner at age 16 and forfeited his education to his younger brother. Ottenheimer graduated in 1918 from Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
In 1926, Ottenheimer joined his brother Leonard in a ladies garment manufacturing business known as Ottenheimer Brothers. Leonard’s plant was opened at 108 East Markham Street in 1924. 1 After Gus joined the company, the brothers lost the lease on the East Markham building and moved to a three-story building located on the northeast corner of Markham and Main. As their business grew, they eventually rented the Kress warehouse near Union Station; they continued to expand this facility until it ran the length of the block on Victory Street from Markham to 2nd Street. At first, they made sportswear and higher-priced dresses, but in the late 1930s, they found a high demand for low-cost cotton dresses. The business grew until it became one of the largest women’s garment manufacturing plants in America. They developed humane and workable labor policies, which, through the years, helped rebuff any efforts of Labor unions to organize their employees.
As the firm prospered into the early 1940s, help became scarce when many workers left to serve in World War II. As a solution, the two brothers in 1943 established the Rocket Plant at 10th and Spring streets and hired black workers. This experiment made history (until then, only whites worked in such industries in the South) and brought positive national attention to Little Rock. In lEO1955, the brothers sold their firm to Kellwood, a division of Sears Roebuck & Co.
LEONARD OTTENHEIMER
1956 CLASS NEWS
Our condolences to Alvin Mooser in the loss of his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Jane Davis Mooser. Jane and Mooser's brother,
Donald, had been married so long that Mooser considered her a real sister. She was also a 1955 Central High grad.
Our condolences to the family of our Classmate Jack L Weideman, 81, of Navarre, Florida, who passed away Monday, August 3, 2020. Jack was born on December 31, 1938, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1957 and served 22 years before retiring in 1977. Jack went on to work for Scientific Atlanta in satellite communication. He retired again in 1998 and moved to Florida. He was also a dedicated member of Compass Community Church. Jack is survived by his wife of 61 years, Erika Weideman, of Navarre, Florida; his sister, Mary Edwards, of Conyers, Georgia; and many nieces and nephews. Jack's life will be celebrated, with Military Honors at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, September 5, 2020, at Holley by the Sea Beach House (6845 Navarre PKWY, Navarre, Florida 32566), with Rev. Michael Bannon officiating. The family requests Memorial Donations may be made, in Jack’s name, to Shriners Hospital for Children, or St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Marylou,
What a delight to every Thursday, promptly, to read “Throwback Thursday”. Thanks for keeping this going. I tell others about it all the time, especially at Central.
Peter Hartstein
Peter is a permanent substitute teacher at Central!! WAY TO GO, PETER!!!! And thanks for the compliment!
Ah, but you failed to mention that Blass installed Little Rock's first escalator, 1947 about.
Mooser
Marylou, I worked at Blass when I was in the 12th grade in gift wrapping. I need to visit LR.
Best wishes, Mary Harrelson Riley
Your memories of “the Heights” rings a lot of bells for me etc. My Grandparents ( on Dad’s side) lived at 4919 Kavanaugh across the street from Safeway and south on Kavanaugh from the Black &White grocery store just south from Smith’s Drug store. I would stop by their house often on the way to Carolyn’s ( about 4 blocks north from Smith’s on Beverly Place ) where they would often slip me a few bucks ( much needed ) for use on our dates ( at Riverside Drive In.) (Most times, I would park a few blocks from the Drive in, hide in the trunk, and give C. the money to buy a ticket, then she would drive to the back row where she would let me out etc.) Many of our classmates lived within about a 2 mile radius of Kavanaugh and Cantrell I.e. Sarah Jane Hayes, Kathryn Mehaffy, Ann Vines, Marjem Jackson, Dan Eichenbaum, Hammond Satterfield…I’m sure you could name many more etc. I’m very grateful they all “merged” with we “Dead End Kids” from West Side in 1954 at Central or I would never have met Carolyn etc. and would probably have married an East Side or West Side girl etc. or maybe a St. Mary’s Catholic girl like Mary Lynn Schwartz etc. Great memories !!
Jimmy Martin
1955 CLASS NEWS
Please note the passing of your Classmate, Elizabeth Jane Davis Mooser, above in the 1956 Class News.
Thanks, Marylou!! Good to hear the news. Good to hear about Bill Hedges. Sorry to hear about Robin Jones.
Diana Loy
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"IF MY MEMORY GETS ANY WORSE, I CAN
PLAN MY OWN SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!"
Anyone there yet???????????????
Have a good weekend!
ML