Henry S. Cohen, age 75, died in February 1984, at a hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. He was formerly the manager and operator of Amy Sportswear in Valley View, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and was widely known in that area for his innovative marketing approaches, including selling sportswear through a direct retail outlet. In addition, his civic endeavors included working with Tri-Valley Charities where he helped establish and support the Tri-Valley Free Public Library and well as supporting programs for senior citizens. He also worked to improve relations between Christian churches and the Jewish faith.
Four news articles related to Cohen and Amy Sportswear are presented here. There is still much to re-discover and record about the influence of the apparel company which he headed in Valley View as well as his various business and charitable acts that benefited the community. Readers of this blog are urged to submit comments to this post to add to the story.
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From the Pottsville Republican and Herald, December 9, 1980:
APPOINTED TO AGING PANEL
Henry S. Cohen, Senior Aides Co-ordinator for the Schuylkill-Carbon Agency for Manpower, has been appointed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on Aging for the East Central Region, joining Minersville resident Lawrence Kiefer on the panel.
As a member of the 15-person Council, Cohen will be representing 235,800 older persons. based on his contacts with these individuals, Cohen will be making decisions concerning the needs and wishes of his constituents about programs, legislation, and rules and regulations affecting senior citizens inn Berks, Carbon, Lehign, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill Counties.
In a letter from Eugene F. Erway, Pennsylvania Council on Aging Executive Director, Cohen was told, “A very important part of the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Council will be to conduct studies in areas of special concern, hold public hearings, evaluate state program, and review State plans.”
Cohen, a resident of Valley View, has served as co-ordinator of the Senior Aides program for the past two years, and was a SCAM supervisor for four years. Previous to that, he was General Manager of Amy Sportswear in Valley View for 18 years.
Note: The portrait photo of Henry Cohen (top of this post), appeared appeared with the aging panel article.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, January 23, 1981:
PLANT OWNER TRYING TO RESUME PRODUCTION
VALLEY VIEW — Relief for 85 idle employees of a shut-down blouse plant may be in sight.
The owner of Amy Sportswear Inc., Robert Tunis of Tunis Manufacturing Inc. in New York City, was scheduled to fly into this western Schuylkill County town yesterday to try to work something out to get the plant producing again.
Prior to his departure, Tunis said his company had lost “tremendous sums of money” and “ran out of work,” causing the blouse plant to be closed indefinitely, while employees were on a two-week vacation at Christmas time.
Joe Vetro, manager of Local 351, International Ladies Garment Workers Union, said Tunis is looking for a partner in the business and is considering changing the product line. Vetro did not go into detail because negotiations are in progress.
“I am optimistic (the plant will reopen) but I don’t wasn’t to raise any false hopes,” Vetro said.
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From the Pottsville Republican, February 13, 1981:
PURCHASED BY NEW YORK CITY DUO
VALLEY VIEW PLANT TO RE-OPEN
VALLEY VIEW — The former Amy Sportswear Inc. plant here, which closed abruptly over Christmas leaving workers unemployed, has been purchased by new owners and will re-open sometime in March or April.
Joseph Vetro, manager of Local 351, International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), Pottsville, said two men from New York City have purchased the plant and plan to re-open it, “hopefully next month, but no later than April 1.”
Vetro said the new owners are trying to get the plant open by March 1, but that does not seem likely.
Vetro declined to release the names of the new owners, as there is “still some legal processing going on.” He did say that the men are experienced in the garment industry and both have owner other plants in Easton and New York City.
Vetro said that Saul Hoffman, ILGWU regional vice president, was instrumental in setting up the purchase.
He said that word had circulated in the industry that the plant was available and people were interested in buying it. After an expression of interest, Vetro said he and Hoffman sat down with the potential buyers to work out the deal.
The plant will switch from manufacturing women’s sportswear to more economically sound children’s apparel, Vetro said.
Initially, 20-25 workers will be re-hired, but Vetro is “very optimistic” about plans that include eventually matching or surpassing the number of workers that were employed by Amy Sportswear before the surprise Christmas closing.
There will be a shop meeting with the employees when the legal language of the contract is finalized, although Vetro said there are only “a few minor items,” left to resolve. He said he expects the shop meeting sometime in the next two or three weeks.
Vetro said that, while some of the former Amy employees have found jobs at other factories, “about 75 percent” are sill unemployed. The unemployment rate in Valley View, he said, runs 2 or 3 percent above the already high national average.
“It’ll be a big asset to get these people back to work, for the community and for the workers,” Vetro said.
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From the Pottsville Republican, February 6, 1984:
HENRY S. COHEN, 75; FORMER FIRM MANAGER
Henry S. Cohen, 75, known throughout Schuylkill County in the garment industry and Masonic circles, died Sunday in Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, after an extended illness.
Mr. Cohen, of 21 W. Maple Street, Valley View, retired recently from a position with Schuylkill County Redevelopment Corporation (RedCO) where he headed a project for senior citizens and recruited senior citizen aides to implement the program. Prior to that, he conducted a work program for Schuylkill-Carbon Area Manpower Agency (SCAM).
In Valley View, he was the former manager of Amy’s Sportswear and was one of the first to innovate a factory direct outlet.
He was a founding influence and a director of Tri-Valley Charities. In this capacity, he was instrumental in securimg support to establish Tri-Valley Free Public Library.
Mr. Cohen was active in a variety of community program and worked on the fund raising campaigns of Tri-Valley Community Industrial Development Corporation and the Community Swimming Pool.
Mr. Cohen inaugurated the use of car front bumper plates to advertise the Hegins Valley. He originated and with fellow Rotarians planted the first permanent community Christmas tree in front of the flagpole at Tri-Valley High School. He was a past president of Hegins–Valley View Rotary.
A warrant member and past master of Valley Lodge 797, F&AM, and a member of Bloomsburg Consistory. Mr. Cohen was a frequent speaker in the Masonic fraternity.
Through his work with SCAM, he aided county non-profit organizations with manpower to construct and renovate facilities. In the Hegins Valley, this resulted in refurbishing of buildings in Valley View Park and construction of a nature trail on property owned by Tri-Valley School District south of the high school and painting and repairs of highway signs for Hegins Township supervisors.
He was a native of Chelsea, Massachusetts, a son of the late Louis Cohen and Dora [Melcher] Cohen.
A member of Oheb Zedeck Synagogue and B’nai B’rith Lodge, Pottsville, Mr. Cohen spearheaded a program of religious understanding between area churches and the Jewish faith.
He trained as a commercial artist and operated a one-man custom crafted lamp and shade business and each scene drawn on a shade carried his initials.
Surviving are his wife, Beatrice Cohen, a daughter Marcia Zisman, wife of Bernard Zisman, West Barrington, Rhode Island; a son Lewis Cohen, Cornwells Heights; four grandchildren; a brother, Milton Cohen, Chelsea , Massachusetts.
Services were held today in Sugarman’s Funeral Home, Providence, Rhode Island. Interment was in Swan Point Cemetery.
A memorial service for Mr. Cohen will be planned locally.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.