Joe Kirshenbaum, 93, says Wolf Bros. has been his life
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he smell of leather is the first thing customers notice when they enter Wolf Bros. Western Store, 7001 Dodge St. in Omaha. Within seconds, their eyes begin roaming 5,000 square feet of boots, hats, jeans, shirts, belts, saddles, and a variety of Western wear and accessories in a multitude of sizes, shapes, colors, and designs for men, women, cowpokes, and city folks. It all began in 1924 when Samuel Wolf opened a men’s fine clothing store in downtown Omaha at 14th and Douglas streets. In 1950, Joe Kirshenbaum borrowed $12,500 from a local bank and bought the haberdashery from Wolf – his father-in-law – and relocated the business to inside the Hill Hotel at 507 S. 16th St. During those days, ranchers from Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, Idaho, and other outposts stayed in and around the Hill Hotel when they brought their cattle to the Omaha Stockyards. Because of the ranchers’ growing demand for Western wear, Kirshenbaum altered his store’s inventory and changed its name to Wolf Bros. Western Store. Today, Kirshenbaum, his son, Tom, and grandson, Matt, run a thriving business in a tough economy. Joe’s son, Dick, operates the family’s other business, Boots for Less, near 132nd Street and West Center Road. “We do three times the business in one month that we used to do in a year,” Joe, age 93, said during a recent interview at Wolf Bros. “I credit the stores’ success to my sons and grandson,” he added. Tom suggested his father was being modest. “He did everything to get things started and he’s instilled a strong work ethic into all of us.”
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orn in Kupel, Ukraine in 1919, Joe – at age seven months – and six of his family members migrated to Poland after bribing a guard at the Ukraine-Poland border. “We stayed in Poland for three months until we could get United States visas,” Kirshenbaum said. Two of Joe’s aunts had relatives living in Omaha, so the family came to Nebraska in 1920. Kirshenbaum’s solid work ethic first became evident when as a pre-teen; he began selling Omaha World-Herald newspapers to Ford factory workers near 16th and Cuming streets. “I sold them for three cents and got to keep a penny,” he recalled. By age 13, Joe had a World-Herald newspaper delivery route near the Creighton University campus. “My parents couldn’t give me an allowance, so I had to earn my own money or go without it.” He also went car-to-car selling treats at Evans Ice Cream near 36th and Center streets. “Cones were a nickel, sundaes were a dime, and banana splits were 15 cents,” Kirshenbaum recalled.
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Joe Kirshenbaum walks through Wolf Bros. Western Store’s extensive collection of saddles. After graduating from Omaha Central High School in 1938, Joe enrolled in the University of Nebraska to study business. He also worked in a Lincoln grocery store, waited tables at a fraternity, and began his career selling clothes at Ben Simon’s.
“I’m so happy my sons and grandson love the business enough to have stayed in it.” Kirshenbaum left college in 1942 to enter the United States Army. After training and serving in Maryland and Louisiana, Joe was shipped to Europe, and in June 1945, landed on Utah Beach two weeks after the DDay invasion by American troops. After the war ended, he returned to the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1946. While working as a women’s clothing salesman at Natelson’s in Omaha, Joe met Audrey Wolf. The couple was married for 54 years
New Horizons
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October 2012
before Audrey’s death in 2001. The Kirshenbaums have four children and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
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fter buying the clothing store from his father-in-law and shifting its focus to Western wear and gear, Kirshenbaum promoted the business and its special line of products by attending rodeos, horse shows, horse races, and square dances. Because its growing customer base was moving west, in 1963, Joe moved Wolf Bros. first to 72nd and Dodge streets, and then to its present location in 1972. The store was destroyed by the May 1975 tornado, but was rebuilt bigger and better than ever coming back with a saddle and tack department. By 1985, Kirshenbaum began spending half of the year living in Palm Springs, Calif. Although he recently gave up the sport, Joe played tennis six days a week. He also volunteered for 13 years, first at the Stroke Recovery Center and then at Desert Hospital. After Audrey’s death, Kirshenbaum built a special relationship with Virginia Allen. “She’s
a tremendous and caring companion. She’s made my life what it is today,” Joe said. “She keeps me young.”
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hese days, when in Omaha, Kirshenbaum still works 30 to 40 hours a week at Wolf Bros. signing checks, visiting with and helping customers, and checking in new merchandise. Looking back at his career, Joe’s proud to have helped build a strong, four-generation family business. “I’m so happy my sons and grandson love the business enough to have stayed in it.” During the last 63 years, Kirshenbaum’s made hundreds of friends and outfitted celebrities like Johnny Carson, Arthur Godfrey, Roy Rogers, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Cash for shows. “This business has been my life,” he said. At age 93, Joe said he’s about ready to ride off into the sunset and leave Wolf Bros. and Boots for Less to Tom, Dick, and Matt. Tom isn’t so sure Joe’s ready to retire, but said working with his father has been wonderful. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”