Darrell Lancey Brown

In 1929 he was living at 1836 Garland Ave., working for the Haberdashery of Harry Rietze.

1933 listing in Caron Directory shows him living with Jeanette at 1211 South 41st Street, working as a Salesman.

In 1942 he was living at 36 La Salle Place, working at Roche and Roche Menswear (John E. and Douglass Roche).

Later, He was a employed at Martin's Menswear (Nilest Martin), 4th and Broadway, Originally inside the Brown Hotel, it later moved to the Northwest corner opposite the Brown. 

In 2007 I had lunch with 95 year old Raymond Fredrick Bossmeyer, of Louisville, a former circuit court judge and a retired attorney who recalled Darrell fondly from his times shopping at Martin's in the 1940's-1960's.

Following is a story about Martin's closing. Note the Sicilian Tailor, Salvatori DiGiovanni celebrated 33 years at the store prior to it's closing, He was hired 3 months before Darrell passed. Darrell had failed to take ownership of the Business when the opportunity presented itself. I preferred Rode's, anyway.

Martin's menswear store to close Jan.10 after 66 years in business

By Terry Boyd – Dec 2, 1996, 12:00am EST Updated Dec 2, 1996, 12:00am EST

The consolidation of the retail clothing business is claiming another of Louisville's old-line, family-owned institutions. This time, it's Martin's that has fallen victim to casual tastes and mass merchandising after selling men's clothing in Louisville since about 1930.

Martin's will close Jan. 10, said Jeff McDonald, the company's vice president. He said the store's lease at 210 N. Hurstbourne Parkway in The Forum shopping center is up in January, and his 68-year-old father/partner Dale McDonald is aching to retire. McDonald declined to reveal Martin's gross sales. Asked if the store is profitable, he replied, "barely." "We weren't losing money, but we were putting in too many hours for not enough return," he said. It's too early to say what that direction will be for him, said 44-year-old Jeff McDonald, who has worked in the family business for 20 years. His father, Martin's president, plans to spend time trout fishing in his hometown of Lewiston, Mont., said Jeff McDonald.

Martin's has seven full-time employees, most of whom have worked at the store for at least 10 years. Master tailor Salvatori "Sam" DiGiovanni, a native of Sicily, marked his 33rd year with the company in October. All employees are of retirement age, said Jeff McDonald. "I'm the only one who's not." McDonald said a longtime customer, whom he declined to identify, offered to back him if he wanted to stay in retail, "but I just didn't think it would be worth his trouble." McDonald said Martin's business has "gradually tapered off in the last 20 years," squeezed out by more stores selling formal clothing, which fewer men wear. Martin's carries mostly high-end brands such as Burberry and Aquasqutum, with suits priced from $295 to $2,500. Martin's core customer base is about 30 clients for Oxxford custom-tailored suits, which sell for as much as $2,500, McDonald said. McDonald blamed part of Martin's struggle on its 3,000-square-foot Forum location, saying the company was "lured" there in 1991 from Oxmoor Center by the promise that Jacobson's, the high-end Michigan-based retailer, would locate there. Jacobson's chose Oxmoor instead, and Martin's was "pretty much alone" on the north end of The Forum until earlier this year, when several new businesses brought Martin's more walk-in trade, "but not enough." "The whole (men's clothing) industry is in trouble - not just Martin's, but our suppliers, as well," McDonald said. Shirt maker Hathaway Co. and Schoeneman Ltd., supplier of the Burberry brand, both are reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, he said. Locally, Martin's is the fourth longtime, locally owned clothier to close in 1996. The others are Loevenhart's, which opened in 1898; 44-year-old Tweed & Tartan; and Jerry Shelton Ltd., which closed after 33 years.

The original Martin's store opened in the Brown Hotel. It moved to the Commonwealth Building, across the street at Fourth and Broadway on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941.

Dale McDonald and a group of investors bought the clothier from the Martin family in 1971, then McDonald bought out the partners afterward. McDonald opened a second Martin's store at Oxmoor in 1971, then closed the downtown location in 1978. What will happen to Martin's space in The Forum is unclear. The shopping center is managed by Intell Management and Investment Co. Calls about prospective tenants for Martin's space were not returned by Business First's deadline. The closing of another family-owned business "is very sad," said Eldon Crouch, president of Rodes Men's and Women's Clothing, Louisville's oldest clothier. There was "some overlap" between Martin's and Rodes' lines, Crouch said, "but I know Dale McDonald . . . and I think that over the years, there was friendly, healthy competition. In a way, I think they were good for us, and we were good for them." Crouch said he expects Rodes to pick up at least some of Martin's Oxxford customers because his company "is one of the few places left" offering the custom suits.