Born To Be a Newspaper Man

by Martin J. McGowan Jr.

The Suit Caper

One of my trips back to Notre Dame was somewhat different. The story takes a bit of telling.

I used to dress quite well in high school and I didn't know how well until years later. Apparently, I wore a clean shirt every day. Somehow, I learned that my stepmother, Elizabeth, thought she had quite a few shirts to iron. I never thought about it and she was right. She never complained about it and she didn't ask my Dad to speak to me about it.

Dad was a regular in the back part of Eddie Pederson's clothing store every afternoon at 5 when the store closed. In my Dad's case after he retired because of his health he got his exercise walking downtown to Pederson's. Some other regulars like M. P. Ronning and Gen. L. A. Hancock also stopped by for a libation.

After I was out of college I often joined the group. But in high school I hung around in the front of the store and looked at Pederson's apparel magazines. One of them was titled "Apparel Arts" and it showed the men's styles of the day. included such fashions as the Bi-Swing Back, which had side pleats on each side of the back. I longed for one of those fashionable suits.

Eddie was a dealer for Hart Schaffner & Marx suits, the top line of the day. Since the company had a main office in Chicago and I was passing through there on my way to Notre Dame I thought I could get a made to measure suit from the headquarters instead of having Eddie measure me for it. With my father's permission I got the address from Eddie and authority from him to place the order at the factory.

It was customary for the depot agent in Appleton to flag down the Milwaukee line train-short for Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific, so I could get on about 7 p. m., get a berth for sleep and wake up in the morning in Chicago. On this occasion I got a taxi to take me to the South Shore - short for Chicago, South Shore and South Bend - commuter station. I gave the cabbie the address for Hart Schaffner & Marx factory. When we arrived I told him to wait. I went inside and hurriedly was measured for the suit while the meter ran. When all the measurements were taken I dashed out, got in the cab and continued on my way to the other train station. The fare wasn't too great and the suit cost me $65. Today that would be about $400, so it was the best suit I ever had.

Many years later at a precinct caucus for Pelican township we met a lady from the other side of Pelican lake named Winnie Leonard. As we got acquainted I mentioned my legislative service and she said her son-in-law, Dick O'Dea, had been a legislator. I responded that I had served with him. Winnie said the next time she saw Dick she would ask him if he remembered me. It turned out he did indeed remember me. He told her I was probably the best dressed man in the legislature.

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