Louis was the son of Rosa (Rosenbach) and Nathan David. Louis was born in Austria-Hungary. As a youth, Louis remembers growing up in poverty during his younger years as an often hungry boy in the village of Zaklicztn, in Polish Galicia. Louis remembers living the life of a peasant, wearing worn simple clothes, trying to stay warm during cold weather, and working in the potato fields during the summers. Working in the fields was very demanding with hunched over bodies working on plant after plant, very long hours from sunrise to after sunset, and meager amounts of bread to exist on during the work day. Louis had a strict Jewish Education in the 1860’s—paid for in chickens! Louis took one apprenticeship after another, working from sunup until late at night, paid only in room and board. Over the years, Louis moved from town to town, and from Galicia to Hungary, building his knowledge and skills in the cloth trade. Louis married Regina Reich, daughter of David L. Reich and Rachel (Wald) Reich. Finally, in 1888, Louis moved with his new young wife to New York. To pay rent on their tiny tenement room, Louis tramped all day through cold streets, by turns selling herrings, then towels, tablecloths, notebooks, bananas, socks, and dishes. Finally, Louis and his wife began cutting out and stitching girls’ aprons by hand, working 15 hours a day, and slowly building up a business in manufacturing clothing, primarily girls’ and women’s dresses. Louis said “Since those aprons had to be turned out as quickly as possible, there were no union hours for us. We worked late into the night, and stopped only when we could no longer see the cloth in front of us.” Louis prided himself on his strict honesty and concern for his workers, paying them three or four times the usual rate. Louis did not take advantage of the constant flood of immigrants and paying them low wages but instead, kept his workers who had been working for him and paid them a decent wage and appreciated the better work and friendlier work they provided to his company. Louis and his wife, Regina, often had some of the workers for meals with their family and took them on trips with them or invited them to sleep at their home. By 1892, Louis and Regina had a retail shop that employed 20 girls, making and selling dresses. Louis maintained an unstinting love, care, and labor for his ever growing family and the Jewish community. Louis and Regina had a very large family of 14-15 children. Through ups and downs, by 1913, Louis had built a huge wholesale business and had become “the happiest man.” In 1938, the United Infants’ and Children’s Wear Association honored Louis for 50 years of “leadership, guidance, and ethical business conduct.”
Among all the garment manufacturers in New York, the story of one Jewish immigrant stands out. This man, Louis Borgenicht, came to the United States with nothing but his bare hands, and established a new line which in 20 years developed into a significant industry.
Credit: Most of the information from the Biography on Louis Borgenicht came from desolate.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/The-Happiest-Man and from Dean Yeong.com/Meaningful Work
Among all the garment manufacturers in New York, the story of one Jewish immigrant stands out. This man, Louis Borgenicht, came to the United States with nothing but his bare hands, and established a new line which in 20 years developed into a significant industry.
Credit: Most of the information from the Biography on Louis Borgenicht came from desolate.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/The-Happiest-Man and from Dean Yeong.com/Meaningful Work
Louis was the son of Rosa (Rosenbach) and Nathan David. Louis was born in Austria-Hungary. As a youth, Louis remembers growing up in poverty during his younger years as an often hungry boy in the village of Zaklicztn, in Polish Galicia. Louis remembers living the life of a peasant, wearing worn simple clothes, trying to stay warm during cold weather, and working in the potato fields during the summers. Working in the fields was very demanding with hunched over bodies working on plant after plant, very long hours from sunrise to after sunset, and meager amounts of bread to exist on during the work day. Louis had a strict Jewish Education in the 1860’s—paid for in chickens! Louis took one apprenticeship after another, working from sunup until late at night, paid only in room and board. Over the years, Louis moved from town to town, and from Galicia to Hungary, building his knowledge and skills in the cloth trade. Louis married Regina Reich, daughter of David L. Reich and Rachel (Wald) Reich. Finally, in 1888, Louis moved with his new young wife to New York. To pay rent on their tiny tenement room, Louis tramped all day through cold streets, by turns selling herrings, then towels, tablecloths, notebooks, bananas, socks, and dishes. Finally, Louis and his wife began cutting out and stitching girls’ aprons by hand, working 15 hours a day, and slowly building up a business in manufacturing clothing, primarily girls’ and women’s dresses. Louis said “Since those aprons had to be turned out as quickly as possible, there were no union hours for us. We worked late into the night, and stopped only when we could no longer see the cloth in front of us.” Louis prided himself on his strict honesty and concern for his workers, paying them three or four times the usual rate. Louis did not take advantage of the constant flood of immigrants and paying them low wages but instead, kept his workers who had been working for him and paid them a decent wage and appreciated the better work and friendlier work they provided to his company. Louis and his wife, Regina, often had some of the workers for meals with their family and took them on trips with them or invited them to sleep at their home. By 1892, Louis and Regina had a retail shop that employed 20 girls, making and selling dresses. Louis maintained an unstinting love, care, and labor for his ever growing family and the Jewish community. Louis and Regina had a very large family of 14-15 children. Through ups and downs, by 1913, Louis had built a huge wholesale business and had become “the happiest man.” In 1938, the United Infants’ and Children’s Wear Association honored Louis for 50 years of “leadership, guidance, and ethical business conduct.”
Among all the garment manufacturers in New York, the story of one Jewish immigrant stands out. This man, Louis Borgenicht, came to the United States with nothing but his bare hands, and established a new line which in 20 years developed into a significant industry.
Credit: Most of the information from the Biography on Louis Borgenicht came from desolate.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/The-Happiest-Man and from Dean Yeong.com/Meaningful Work
Among all the garment manufacturers in New York, the story of one Jewish immigrant stands out. This man, Louis Borgenicht, came to the United States with nothing but his bare hands, and established a new line which in 20 years developed into a significant industry.
Credit: Most of the information from the Biography on Louis Borgenicht came from desolate.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/The-Happiest-Man and from Dean Yeong.com/Meaningful Work
