| Author |
Stitching & Crafting Room:  Did You Know....  |
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 02 2011 : 10:56:55 AM
|
Did you know that "Jo-Ann Fabric" stores were origonally started in 1943 by 2 German immigrant families?
The Reich's & Rohrbach's opened a fabric shop called the "Cleveland Fabric Shop"...it was later that they changed the name to "Jo-Ann Fabric"....
Now the Q&A is....what prompted them to call it 'Jo-Ann"?
anyone out there know?
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom.
"Is it time for my Dirt Manicure yet!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
|
|
|
karla
True Blue Farmgirl
1308 Posts
karla
Pella
Iowa
USA
1308 Posts |
|
|
Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
Posted - Mar 02 2011 : 11:26:42 AM
|
I know this one! Only because I used to work for JoAnn's.. mixed blessing.
Jo-Ann is a combination of the two daughter' names... second genration..
The chain was founded in 1943 by two German immigrant families, the Rohrbachs and the Reichs. The Reichs had an importing business dealing in Swiss cheese, anchovy paste and pickles, and they invited their friends to start selling fabric in their suburban Cleveland storefront. When Berthold Rohrbach died that same year, his 30-year-old daughter, Alma Zimmerman, went to work full-time at the store with Hilda Reich. Hilda's daughter, Betty, joined the family business in 1947, and she and Alma opened the chain's second store in Cleveland soon thereafter.
Betty married Martin Rosskamm in 1948, and he quit his upper-level management position at a knitting mill to join the fabric company. Cofounder Hilda Reich continued to supervise a Fabri-Center store until her death at the age of 87 in 1986. Alma, her husband, Freddy, and Betty continued to serve on the board of directors into the mid-1990s, but it was Martin Rosskamm who became a driving force behind the chain's continuous expansion throughout the Midwest. Seeking a less geographically exclusive name to take the chain into the Pittsburgh area, the families created Jo-Ann by merging two of their children's names: Jo from Joan Zimmerman and Ann from Jackie Ann Rosskamm. Fabri-Centers' small specialty stores, which were often located in the regional shopping malls that sprung up in the postwar era, competed well with the fabric departments of larger general merchandise stores. The chain incorporated as Cleveland Fabric Shops, Inc. in February 1951, changing its name to Fabri-Centers of America, Inc. in 1968 and going public the following year. In 1998, the company changed its name to Jo-Ann Stores, Inc.
Karrieann ~ Farmgirl Sister #766 (29 Sept 2009)
My Blog: ...following my heart, dreams and Jesus
...http://karrieann-followingmyheartandjesus.blogspot.com/
|
 |
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Mar 02 2011 : 12:55:36 PM
|
Ah Ha!
Thanx Karrieann....
Thanx for sharing the history of "Cleveland/Fabric Center/Jo-Anns with us...
I was certain some one would know the answer....
It's always (at least to me anyways) interesting to find out the origins of popular icons....
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom.
"Is it time for my Dirt Manicure yet!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 03 2011 : 1:30:59 PM
|
That was a cool thing to learn about . . . thanks for sharing everyone!
marianne |
|
|
|
Lady Woodworker
True Blue Farmgirl
259 Posts
Karen
Chamberlain
Maine
USA
259 Posts |
Posted - Mar 03 2011 : 1:47:23 PM
|
What an interesting story!
Thanks for sharing this bit of sewing history,
Karen
Farmgirl Sister # 2419 |
|
|
|
gypsy goat
True Blue Farmgirl
673 Posts
mary jo
michigan
673 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2011 : 10:10:33 AM
|
that just goes to show you learn something new everyday,specially when you hang aroung here
farmgirl#1362 whatever you are be a good one-abe lincoln |
|
|
|
Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2011 : 6:31:19 PM
|
How fun! I know what I purchase at Jo-Ann's is a far cry from swiss cheese and anchovy paste. Lots more than what we drive to town has changed since 1943:)
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
|
|
|
debbies journey
True Blue Farmgirl
635 Posts
debbie
anchorage
ak
USA
635 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 10:02:31 PM
|
Thanks, that is very interesting!
Debbie |
|
|
| |
Stitching & Crafting Room: Did You Know.... |
|
Did You Know....
