History threads — Wear-Well Cap

This is the latest in an occasional series of posts about the history of the garment industry in Warren, Washington, Saratoga and Essex counties.

Owners of the Wear-Well Cap Co. in Glens Falls wanted all of its customers to thrive.

“One of the business features adopted by the officials of the company is a policy to sell different patterns to different merchants in a city or town, thus doing away with repulsive competition spirit between distributors handling the same line and patterns in one place,” The Post-Star reported on March 23, 1923.

The company that manufactured and wholesaled “high grade caps” had just added a new production line, and planned to install more new equipment at its factory at 23 South St. in Glens Falls, in the vicinity of where New Way Lunch is now located.

“The company has been in operation since shortly after the first of the year and has already filled large wholesale and jobbing orders with local retail merchants, all the men’s headwear turned out being of first grade variety.”

It reportedly was the only factory of its kind between Albany and Montreal.

Owners were Michael Booth, who managed the business side, and Samuel Weingarden, who managed manufacturing.

Booth owned Empire Stationary store on South Street and the Bolton Department Store in Bolton Landing.

Click here to read my most recent previous History Threads post.