Dave Hindlemann, 1916-2006: Obituary for Made To Measure Magazine

We are losing the irreplaceable generation of heroes who helped make our country and our world a better place.  Americans born in the first decades of the last century are largely responsible for one of the most incredible periods in human history. Everyone pitched in and did his/her proud part to enrich the fiber of our nation. People were not afraid of work; success was by the sweat of the brow.  Dave Hindlemann epitomized this irreplaceable World War II generation:  Idealistic, striving--a robust group of men and women--Rosie the Riveter, GI Joe, and Uncle Sam; the remarkable disciplined vigor that made our country the best and the brightest.

In 1916 New York City, where a kid made a living by the seat of his pants, Dave Hindlemann, entrepreneur, began at the age of 10 by juggling 3 paper routes and an elementary school career.  Whether it was his first bicycle, a Model T Ford with a crank which he bought for $50, or his upgrade to a roadster with a gear shift and a rumble seat, Dave always paid his own way.  He grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, where his dad was a contractor in the garment business.  The Wall Street crash with its domino effect destroyed elder Harry’s own career when his clients went bankrupt.

The family headed West.  Dave abandoned his full scholarship in engineering at Syracuse University, apprenticing with his father in a small Denver-based clothing factory, instead.  Working by day, coaching at a rec center and taking business courses at night, six-feet four-inch 20 year-old Dave Hindlemann started his first company in 1936, Pioneer Wholesale Tailors (later Bell Tailors). 

“I’ve never regretted owning my own business,” Dave emphasized.  “I never go to sleep at night worrying that the next morning some executive will tell me my job has been abolished.”  For many years, it was one of the best known local suiting stores, and when the War came, it was requisitioned by the US government to manufacture military uniforms. 

Dave served in Europe under General George S. Patton.  He was an acting major when the War ended, and he distinguished himself by earning two bronze stars, an oak leaf cluster, and letters of commendation for his bravery in battle.

Subsequently, he was commissioned by the Allied Forces to go to Germany, where he was put in charge of the garment factories that made clothing for the newly released concentration camp prisoners.  He joked that the garments were made in 2 sizes:  too big, and too small. 

 

When 1946 came, the soldiers returned home—not to proprietous pinstripe suits, but to open-collar shirts, slacks, and sport-coats: custom tailoring for the masses had become a thing of the past.

Dave adapted the wartime uniforms his company had made to marching bands, parochial schools, and ceremonial groups.  His firm became one of the larger band uniform houses in the country as he converted from the cost-prohibitive woolens to the new technology of synthetics, and as his tailoring shop became a factory of mass-production:  Five or six tailors mushroomed to 50 or 60 sewing professionals. 

For those individuals who couldn’t or didn’t want to come into the shop to work, he set up contract agreements for sewing professionals who worked in their homes—a good 30 years before “outsourcing” and “contractors” were considered viable means of labor.  Bell Tailors became Bell Manufacturing Co.  “Flexibility is everything“ Dave noted.  “If you can’t change with the times, you get left behind.”

In 1981, he turned 65 and he gave up the high overhead and stresses of operating a large factory, downsizing to a smaller shop and staff— Custom Uniform Company—again modifying as budgets for band uniforms got smaller and society changed focus.

 

Today, after 23 years in partnership with his daughter, Deb Webster, Dave’s “smaller” business is more challenging than ever.  All styles of custom-designed garments are manufactured for national distribution as cut & sew, private label, and under the Custom Uniform Co. label.  Inventory also includes ready-to-wear garments when a customer desires a more generic item.

He used to say, “I like being a big fish in a small pond.  We can make small quantities, lots of different things.  It’s fun.  Having fun is more important than making the most money.  If you don’t enjoy coming to work every day, you’ll never be a success at what you do.”

Married for over 59 years, Dave and his wife, Phyllis, had 3 children and 4 grandchildren.  Without hesitation he stated, “Family has always been first.  Even in the early years I always tried to make time for my family.” 

Proud that his business would succeed him, Dave felt that his greatest impact had been the production of a quality product.  “We’ve always had very conscientious quality control.  Delivering a good product to the customer, learning as much as I can about things as I go: that matters to me.  I like to learn from people, ideas, and products.”

He had an engineer’s mind, and he used it to manufacture garments for over 70 years by drafting patterns and creating high quality garments.  He helped to set the standards for men’s suiting, for the military, and for band uniforms that are still maintained today.  As one colleague said of him when he was in his 80’s, “Dave has forgotten more than most people knew in the first place.” 

“So many things have changed,” Dave would reflect.  “It used to be a handshake was a man’s word.  Now, it’s about contracts and money—cut and dried.  The personal element is missing.  I’m fascinated by all the technological developments, but I sometimes question our priorities and our values—that objects have become more important than people.”

Dave Hindlemann worked 5.5 days a week and he stayed present in the shop until age 90 when he passed away in November, 2006.  “When a wise man dies, a library burns to the ground.”