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In 1900, Alfred Shemanski came to Seattle with $300 to open Eastern Outfitting Company. Because he needed additional money for the business, Alfred went to the banker, Jacob Furth, who wanted to know what security he could offer. Alfred said, "I don't have anything." "How long have you been here?" "I just arrived." After they spoke for a while, Jacob Furth was so convinced that Alfred was an honest and capable person that he gave him a loan, contrary to all banking principles. Later, Eastern Outfitting Company was the first firm to give credit on soft goods. They were both pioneers of credit. - Alfred Shemanski's nephew, Herb Lipman Alfred Shemanski left his Orthodox Jewish home in his native Poland for the United States in 1897, one day before he would have been inducted into the army. Over six feet tall, the lanky twenty-six-year-old arrived in Seattle with $300 advanced by his brother in San Francisco. In a wagon drawn by a horse named Challenge, he began his career going from house to house, selling curtains and other household goods, The Eastern Outfitting Company, a chain of department stores in Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, sprang from this first enterprise, and was developed in partnership with his two brothers. As the business grew, Shemanski became known as a pioneer of retail credit. Shemanski was a leader in numerous agencies and organizations, many of which were concerned with the welfare of people, young and old, no matter their race, nationality, or religion. He was appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of Washington in 1933, served for twenty-two years and won election twice as board president. He also became a civic leader and director of Seattle's First National Bank. Shemanski remained influential until his death at the age of ninety-two. |
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