Ludwig Isenberg

When Ludwig ISENBERG was born on January 21, 1886, in Gilserberg, Germany, his father, Salomon, was 35 and his mother, Betti, was 27. He married Anna Goldstein on December 10, 1922, in Düsseldorf, Germany. They had one child during their marriage. He died on January 26, 1958, at the age of 72.

Ludwig and Anne Isenberg emigrated first to Stillwater, OK, where his brother, Morris lived and worked. He was unable to find meaningful work there and Anne hated the blowing red dust that made it difficult for her to keep the house clean. They moved to the nearest big city, Kansas Cisty and started Western Extralite, their company, one year after they came to America from Europe. They had a single product, a Belgium light bulb, with the brand name "Extralite." The name was derived from the extra light the silvered reflector bulb emitted. The "Extralite" in our company name came from that product, versions of which we sell to this day. The "Western" part of our name was derived from Kansas City being located west of Belgium.

Ludwig was a born salesperson. At Western Extralite, he would call on the maintenance departments at the big downtown department stores in Kansas City. Reportedly he would ask for an order of 12 light bulbs, be turned down, feign not speaking English and ask for 14, only to be turned down again. Whereupon he would again pretend not to understand and ask for 16. The maintenance buyer gave up and ordered 12. Money was scarce and he would ask his son, Ernest, and nephew, Fred, who rode with him on his calls, to run up and down the street to find parking meters that still had time on them, so he could park for free.

Ludwig Isenberg New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909 Name Ludwig Isenberg Event Type Immigration Event Date 1937 Event Place New York, New York, United States Gender Male Age 51 Birth Year (Estimated) 1886 Birthplace Germany Ship Name Washington CITING THIS RECORD

"New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24KJ-HF7 : accessed 8 December 2015), Ludwig Isenberg, 1937; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).