DETROIT'S SINGIN' HOT DOG MAN

	Detroit's Famous Singin' Hot Dog Man, Charley Marcuse.
	Charley at the Claymore Men's Shop.

By day, 17 year old Charley Marcuse works at The Claymore Men's Clothing Shop in Birmingham, Michigan. By night, Charley moonlights as Detroit's own Singin' Hotdog Man at old Tiger Stadium (now Comerica Park).

Last year, opera legend Luciano Pavarotti performed at Tiger Stadium. Inspired by the master, Charley honored Pavarotti with his own performance, putting his traditional pitch to operatic verse. Charley stole the show when Pavarotti dropped to a knee in salute of Marcuse's unabashed talent. And a legend was born.

Charley was vaulted into the national spotlight in Sports Illustrated and now the Bills Khakis Free Press. He has embarked on a one-man crusade to protect and preserve part of Americana… the link between baseball and the hotdog.

We are honored and thoroughly humored by Charley's devotion to Bills Khakis. He has worn the same pair to all 70 games this season, followed by a wash to rid his twills of misfired condiments. The next day, they are clean and ready for wear at the Claymore Shop.

 

 

 

ONE MAN'S TRASH - ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

Success can sometimes be found in strange places, like the day Randy Koch stumbled across a real bonanza. A few years ago, he was looking for something that was accidentally dropped in the neighbor's trash. He wasn't having much luck, but in that trash, buried beneath a pile of old newspapers, he discovered a well-worn pair of old khakis. Randy, being a sportswear buyer for Bartels Men's Store in Olympia, Washington, fished 'em out. The threads were worn, but the quality was unmistakable. The label read "Bills Khakis." The next day, Randy was on the phone tracking us down. Bills Khakis hit Olympia days later and Bartels hasn't been without them since that first order. We can't thank his neighbor enough.

PFC WILLIAM BALLIET

	PFC Bill Balliet (center with pipe) created three-dimensional models of enemy terrain for the U.S. Air Force.

"Show me a battle plan and I will show you the ground where the battle will be fought." Private First Class (PFC) William Balliet served his country through his art, which captured the minds and hearts of America's GIs fighting in World War II. His whimsical and spirited sketches were featured regularly in "Stars and Stripes" magazine and his sculptured battlefield scale models served as a centerpiece in War Rooms throughout the South Pacific.

Most of Bill Balliet's life was spent in the small mountain town of New Tripoli, Pennsylvania where his work and mystic spirit earned him folk hero status. Bills Khakis is grateful to his daughter, Susan Balliet Brombacher, for making the private collection of Balliet works available to us.

 

WORLD WAR II ARTIST BILL BALLIET LOVED HIS KHAKIS

	Susan Balliet Brombacher, daughter of Bill Balliet.			"Sack Time" (New Guinea 1944) by Bill Balliet.

"Sack Time" (New Guinea 1944) is from Bill Balliet's sketchbook. It was presented to Bills Khakis by his daughter, Susan Balliet Brombacher, who resides in Reading, Pennsylvania. Susan is Manager of Shipping at Bills Khakis and a member of Bills Khakis Management Team. NOTE! Your store will be happy to give you a color copy of this post card - just ask their sales staff.

 

BOSTON, MA...

	Bills Founder, Bill Thomas (center) and General Manager, John J. Dever, Jr. (left) receive award from Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and INC. magazine celebrated a new economic frontier of urban entrepreneurship with the announcement of the winners of the second annual Inner City 100, a national listing of 100 fast-growing companies located exclusively in America's inner cities. Bills Khakis placed 10th on the list. The winners were announced at the Inner-City Entrepreneurship dinner, a gala awards ceremony that shines a national spotlight on the Inner City 100 and urban business successes in America's inner cities. Presenting the awards were Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter, Chairman and CEO of ICIC; George Gendron, Editor-in-Chief of INC. magazine and basketball's Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

 

 

THIRD ANNUAL NATIONAL SALES MEETING

	Outside the corporate headquarters in Reading, PA.

Recently, twenty of us gathered for our third annual national sales meeting at our corporate headquarters in Reading, PA. We occupy most of the second floor of an historic industrial building - 531 Canal Street. Many years ago, this was the national headquarters of the Reading Hardware Company, manufacturers of Builders Hardware. The company started in 1851 as a small blacksmith shop. By 1888, it manufactured hinges, locks, doorbells, bolts and doorknobs, as well as apple parers, coffee mills and scales. During World War II the company made armor plate for the war effort, helmets, shell casings, armor plate for tanks, bomb fuses, and light armor plate for the bottom of airplane seat.

 

 

BETTER LUCKY THAN GOOD

	August 26th marlin fishing trip at Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

We met some months ago at a Norman Stockton store in Greensboro, NC. I purchased five pairs of your khakis that day. Great pants... provided you don't change them, I suspect I will buy them the rest of my life. At any rate, I received a Bills T-shirt with my purchase. The shirt has become my good luck fishing shirt. Enclosed is a snapshot from an August 26th marlin fishing trip at Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I caught and released a beautiful white marlin. Also, prior fishing trips and parties have benefited from my good luck shirt... 2 sailfish (exquisite colors), yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo and barracuda. Hope to head out for more yellowfin tuna in October/ November and bluefin tuna in December/ January. Of course, the Bills T-shirt will be worn.

Steve

 

 

SPONSORSHIP

Bills Khakis is a proud sponsor of University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business Wharton Adventure Racing Team (WART). Training regime includes running, mountain biking, flatwater canoe training and rock climbing. The team participated in the April 2 Endorphin Fix Two Day 120+ Mile Adventure Race with our four-person team (plus support crew) and the Odyssey, a one-day adventure race in Virginia.

 

 

“HAAWGISMS”


Eddie Holden (A.K.A. Hawg), our Bills Khakis sales rep in the South, is famous for his profound views on life. -On virtue…"Help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am."

 

 

 

A NOTE FROM BILL
I started Bills Khakis on a combination of an idea, and more importantly, an ideal. A catalog is no place to go on about such esoteric things, but a newsletter is. It is intended to extend a special look into our company, the people behind it, and most importantly, the personalities that really make things tick, our customers. We are looking for your letters and photographs for inclusion in our next newsletter. Your contributions are not only appreciated, but necessary to create a newsletter that lives up to the above.

Contact Marge at 1-800-43-khaki or customerservice@billskhakis.com with submissions, contributions and pictures.