Browse Interviews

Ron Gottfried talks about his family's apparel business that started in the 1920s. His father, Emil Godfrey saw the need for specially sized dresses for ethnic women, who tended to be shorter and proportioned differently. Before Ron worked for his family's business he had his own college gear business in the 1940s. Ron Godfrey moved around the apparel business over the years, and relates some if the intricacies of running a garment business, from choosing styles to finding factories. He ends by…

Robert "Buzz" Rosenfeld talks about his experiences as a lawyer in the garment industry in Cleveland. He negotiated with unions for the companies for many years as did his father. He shares his experiences in the industry: negotiations with unions, how some of the factories worked, technology, and comments on its decline in the Cleveland area. He talked briefly about driving the mayor of University Heights in parades.

In this 2012 interview, Marc Frisch shares his lifelong experience in the garment industry. His experience began in his youth, working in his father's knitting mill on E.66th and Euclid. After serving in WWII, he returned to his father's business. Later his brother took over, and he moved on to work for another company. His brother eventually sold the family business to Bobby Brown, which was where Mr. Frisch worked. He had become an expert in the knitting area of the business: machinery, yarns,…