{"id":540,"date":"2011-04-13T11:27:43","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T15:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/"},"modified":"2011-07-17T20:24:46","modified_gmt":"2011-07-18T00:24:46","slug":"levines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/kennebec\/levines\/","title":{"rendered":"Levine’s Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

The History of Levine\u2019s: The Store for Men and Boys
\n<\/span><\/h2>\n

by Sara Miller Arnon and Julie Miller-Soros (April 2011)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In 1882 William Levine, our great-grandfather, came to America from Vilna, Poland (Russia).\u00a0 He was 18 years old.\u00a0 He landed in New York, made his way to Boston where he had relatives and William became a peddler.\u00a0 He chose the route in Maine it seems because the cost of a peddler\u2019s license was half what it was in the big City—-it was $ 50 in Maine, which was an enormous amount of money in those days.\u00a0 He worked his route throughout the state of Maine learning a lot from his customers and from his visits from town to town, farm to farm.\u00a0 In 1889 he visited his \u00a0first cousin Julius in Boston and fell in love with and married Julius\u2019 daughter, Sarah.\u00a0 William was 24 and Sarah was 17. They went to Maine and lived in Dexter where he continued as a peddler and where Sarah gave birth to the first of her children born over 26 years!\u00a0 Within a year they decided to move to Waterville where there were already some other Jews\u00a0 AND where they understood there was a significant Polish population (Winslow).\u00a0 Since they spoke Polish from living in Vilna and they spoke Yiddish, they felt they would do well.\u00a0 They also learned English and William could read Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being able to speak Polish was quite an asset and they realized that they were able to meet the needs of the Polish community because they could communicate so well.\u00a0 William continued to travel.\u00a0 They were able to offer goods \u201con credit\u201d, as it was known, and customers paid by the week for the goods they purchased.\u00a0 They became very popular among their customers, who referred more, and they always LISTENED to what the customer wanted and of course, as great retailers, found those requested items.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Waterville, Sarah and William lived on Temple Street, then Chaplin Street, then Maple Street, and then they purchased the property at the corner of Maple St and Ticonic St and it was here that Sarah opened a small shop selling dry goods, buttons, zippers, items that people needed.\u00a0 Eventually that shop became William\u2019s first store because as Sarah had more children—8 more between 1892 and 1916, (one child died in infancy), they decided that William should not travel any longer because they were well liked and could establish a store right in Waterville.\u00a0 So, he started at Maple and Ticonic St in Sarah\u2019s shop, then in 1896 or 98 he purchased the clothing business of Charles E. Lessard, located in the City Hotel block.\u00a0 After several moves, in 1904 Wm purchased the block on the east side of Main Street where Levine\u2019s remained until it closed in 1996.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the business grew so did the family.\u00a0 By 1915 they were well established as a clothing store for men and boys, first called Levine\u2019s<\/span><\/strong>, then Wm Levine and Son.<\/span><\/strong> After the death of their oldest son, Teddy who was to become William\u2019s partner, their 2 other sons, Ludy(Louis) and Pacy (Percy) decided to go into the business with Papa and gave up future studies in medicine and law.\u00a0 The business then became Wm Levine and Sons <\/span><\/strong>and finally just Levine\u2019s: The Store for Men & Boys.<\/span><\/strong> After World War II, our father, Howard Miller, returned from his assignment in North Africa with a young French-Algerian wife and a 6 month old baby (me) and he then went into the family business also.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time that William was building the Store, Sarah began investing in real estate in the North End of Waterville where they lived on Ticonic Street in a large home that they built there.\u00a0 She took great risks because they did not have a lot of money, but she bought INCOME PROPERTY in order to rent to tenants.\u00a0 We recently interviewed Edwina Bolduc who still lives in an apartment that was a part of the Levine Real Estate.\u00a0 She\u2019s in her 90\u2019s.\u00a0 She told us that she rented her first apartment from Sarah Levine who she described as an elegant and lovely lady.\u00a0 She told us that as a single mother with young children in 1925 no one would rent to her except Mrs. Levine and she has stayed in Levine apartments ever since and has every one of her rent receipts!!!!\u00a0 Sarah Levine was very good to her tenants and would walk around the neighborhood stopping to talk with the mothers and children and getting to know them.\u00a0 She helped many tenants find work, according to Edwina, and she made sure that the children were fed and clothed, even if she had to take clothing from Wm\u2019s business, but often she sent the mothers to the Store and Wm or his sons knew to give them a huge discount.\u00a0 It seems that she was a very well-liked landlady—a quality that she passed on to her daughter Frieda, who continued the real estate business after Sarah died in 1934, and also to her sons, Ludy and Pacy who also bought and managed real estate in the area.\u00a0 This quality of GENUINE CARE AND CONCERN FOR OTHERS certainly spilled over into the work in the Store as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, back to the Store—what was so terrific about it?\u00a0 In the 1920\u2019s to early 1970\u2019s Main Street America was booming.\u00a0 And in Waterville there were mills and factories such as Scott Paper Co, Keyes Fiber, Hathaway Shirt Co, and local woolen mills—all along the Kennebec River.\u00a0 There were also lots of private businesses that made up Main Street—Stern\u2019s Dept Store, Dunham\u2019s, Emery-Brown\u2019s, Butler\u2019s, Fishmans, Alvina and Delia, Al Corey\u2019s Music, Woolworth\u2019s, JC Penney, Sears, a Montgomery Ward Catalog store, Tardiff\u2019s, Day\u2019s Jeweler\u2019s, Yardgood Center, Levine\u2019s, Waterville Hardware and lots of private banks as well as Cyr\u2019s and later LaLime\u2019s Pharmacy, and of course, LaVerdiere\u2019s Drug Store which held the prominent place at the north end of Main Street where Levine\u2019s was the anchor at the south end of Main Street.\u00a0 It was a busy town—stores closed Wednesday afternoons and stayed open until 9 PM on Friday nights and everything was closed on Sunday except restaurants and the movie theaters.\u00a0 Then in the early 70\u2019s a new phenomenon arrived in America starting in sunny California where there was sunshine and good weather—-Welcome to the MALL.\u00a0 Stores expanded and opened branches in local malls and everyone drove to shop.\u00a0 Large stores such as K-Mart, EJ Korvette\u2019s, Mammoth Mart, and Caldor\u2019s popped up everywhere.\u00a0 The Waterville business community recognizing the need for more than just Main Street parking and shopping entered into their version of Urban Renewal and tore down a large part of Main Street and built their version of mall-shopping off Main Street and later developed other strip malls on Upper Main Street and Kennedy Mem Drive.\u00a0 At the same time there came a change in the way America dressed—-jeans, which had always been WORK clothes, became very popular informal wear for teens and young adults, then even older adults.\u00a0 Leisure suits changed menswear from the formal suit and tie which most men had been wearing for year.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you were a FULL SERVICE STORE, which Levine\u2019s was, you adjusted, even expanded, which they did many times. But, Howard, Ludy and Pacy knew that they would not function well with branch stores—they were too hands-on and they didn\u2019t want to leave Waterville for any reason. (They had been asked to anchor the mall in Portland when it was being built and they refused) \u00a0For many years Colby College men were a vital and important part of the business.\u00a0 In the Store\u2019s expansion in 1961 an entire addition was added to the Store—–THE COLBY CORNER.\u00a0 And later a new shop was added downstairs where for years we had sold \u201cwork clothes\u201d to the factory workers and farmers.\u00a0 This new shop was called \u201cThe Underground\u201d and specialized in the informal wear that was taking over men\u2019s dressing—tee shirts, jeans, informal pants, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levine\u2019s was CUSTOMER ORIENTED.\u00a0 From the early days of Sarah and William catering to a population with whom they could communicate in Polish, to the Main Street store where we catered to the workingman, the lawyer, the doctor, the professor, the teenager, the college kid, Levine\u2019s ALWAYS had an ear to what the customer wanted and made sure to provide it at a full range of prices.\u00a0 Levine\u2019s was also a gathering place.\u00a0 Not just for our family\u2014and believe me the Store was our 2nd<\/sup> home.\u00a0 We hung out there, we worked there, we met future dates there, we knew our employees and we were a part of their lives as they were a part of ours.\u00a0 Levine\u2019s had a large staff.\u00a0 Ludy and Pacy were the \u201cBosses\u201d\u2014the owners.\u00a0 But, they deferred to their nephew, our dad, Howard, for most of the running of the Store because with him at the helm they could partake of their other interests.\u00a0 Ludy\u2019s all-consuming interest was Colby College—its sports, it\u2019s academics, it\u2019s growth.\u00a0 He loved the College and worked hard raising money for it\u2019s expansion to The Hill and also in recruiting Jewish students to the campus.\u00a0 He was dedicated to Colby until the day he died.\u00a0 And Pacy, while he too loved the College, his other interest was the Real Estate—he loved renovating the apartments he rented.\u00a0 They were a remarkable TEAM, Ludy and Pacy.\u00a0 They were dedicated and truly loved their work.\u00a0 They cared deeply about their employees who worked at the Store for so many years and had loyal customers of their own.\u00a0 And they loved spending time with the customers—whether they actually bought something didn\u2019t matter!!!\u00a0 They had incredible relationships with students from Colby, who would visit after graduating or wrote or called when they needed a new suit or belt or something that they knew Levine\u2019s would have.\u00a0 Not only did they find it, Ludy, Pacy, and Howard remembered the student\u2019s sizes and inseam measurements!!!!!\u00a0 The 3 men were well respected in the \u201cMarket\u201d by the manufacturers of men\u2019s and boy\u2019s wear.\u00a0 They were fun and successful and people enjoyed being around them, especially Ludy who remembered everything about you even if he hadn\u2019t seen you for years, and if you had played sports he remembered your stats!!!!\u00a0 Here\u2019s an example of how excited \u201cThe Market\u201d could get knowing something about the lives of these 3—picture this.\u00a0 A large men\u2019s clothing business and my dad has 3 daughters!!!!!\u00a0 All we cared about was meeting college students by working the Main Wrapping counter or wearing Lord Jeff sweaters, probably the only unisex item sold during our formative years.\u00a0 Then in 1975 I gave birth to TWIN BOYS—Levi Strauss sent me 40 pair of overalls size toddler 2 and 3; \u00a0Pacific Trails, Might Mac, and CB Sports sent them winter jackets until they were 15 and at 13 when they were Bnei Mitzvahed, they were dressed by Gant shirts, Dockers pants (which was Levi\u2019s), Botany Sports Jackets, and Sperry Docksider shoes!!!!\u00a0 How many stores in America have that kind of relationship with their suppliers?\u00a0 Levine\u2019s was the LARGEST single-site store purchaser of Levis in the country and it was the LARGEST SINGLE SITE store for men in all of New England—it was over 30,000 sq feet of selling space!!<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a brass plaque on the outside of the Store for many years.\u00a0 It explains the Levine\u2019s success story:<\/span><\/p>\n

Levine\u2019s, the Store for Men and Boys. Founded in 1891 by William Levine (1865 \u2013 1946). This store is Waterville\u2019s oldest clothing establishment that is still owned and operated by the founding family.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We still have the plaque at our summer home.\u00a0 But it says it all—keep it simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levine\u2019s offered customers something that America is gradually losing.\u00a0 CUSTOMER SERVICE with a SMILE<\/strong> and knowledge of the Product.\u00a0 You could outfit a family for generations because of good merchandise, good service, full service.\u00a0 They had a full tailor shop on site for alterations—free of charge.\u00a0 And, they extended credit long before the credit card.\u00a0 We were told that they gave suits to some Colby graduating seniors\u00a0 for job interviews with the belief that those boys would pay when they could, and they did.\u00a0 When the Store closed in 1996 there were many editorials that were written in the local paper every day.\u00a0 People thanked the employees for taking such good care of them.\u00a0 Family members wrote to thank the employees and the customers for their loyalty.\u00a0 Grandchildren wrote in to share special memories of time spent at Levine\u2019s\u00a0 COMMUNITY was such an essential part of Levine\u2019s.\u00a0 The business gave quality clothing, customer service and long-lasting friendships.\u00a0 The customers gave quality participation, shared memories, and an affirmation that the choices one family can make in life matter to the Community at Large.\u00a0 Gathering and meeting in the Shoe Department was common for family, vacationers, alumni, and friends.\u00a0 As I recently re-read some of the editorials, I was flooded with memories of days gone by.\u00a0 One of my personal favorites was written by JP Devine, who still writes for the local paper.\u00a0 He said what he was going to miss most when Levine\u2019s closed was being able to drop in every few days for just a few minutes and have a great laugh with Howard, Ludy, and Pacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levine\u2019s was a Clothing Store, but it wasn\u2019t just a place to go shopping.\u00a0 It was that and so much more.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The History of Levine\u2019s: The Store for Men and Boys by Sara Miller Arnon and Julie Miller-Soros (April 2011) In 1882 William Levine, our great-grandfather, came to America from Vilna, Poland (Russia).\u00a0 He was 18 years old.\u00a0 He landed in New York, made his way to Boston where he had relatives and William became a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1764,"featured_media":0,"parent":4,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/540"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1012,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/540\/revisions\/1012"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/jewsinmaine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}