Eli Greensfelder was born in 1848. He came from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Logansport, Indiana in 1872 where he worked with a man named Martin Frank. They were in the clothing business.
After just one year with Mr. Frank, Eli went into business for himself when he bought the "Eagle Clothing House" from Wolfhelm and Schoenberg, at 315 E. Market Street. He retained the Eagle Clothing House name until the 1913 flood. Eli remained there until he died in 1918, at the age of 69.
Twin sons, Melvin and Herbert Greensfelder worked with their father and carried on the family business under the name Greensfelder Brothers.
Eli was very active in his community and a member of several service clubs, the Cass County Country Club and the local Cahmber of Commerce. He also served as the president of the Jewish Cemetery Association.
315 E. Market Street, Logansport, Indiana
In 1953 Cass Historian Will Ball wrote "The modern, up-to-date store the Greensfelder brothers manage is the oldest in town to have been owned by the same family, and located in the same spot, for so many years".
Eli bought the store in 1880. The sons bought the room (313 E. Market) west of the original store in 1922. At that time the building had three stories. The brothers had the top floor removed.
The store was managed by the Greensfelder brothers except for the time the pair spent serving in WWI. Their sister, Florence, managed the store until their return.
above: Melvin Greensfelder during flood of 1936.
Above: E. Market during flood of 1943 - Greensfelder building is in the line of buildings.
Photos of the interior of the store during its heyday.
Melvin Greensfelder died in 1975.
Herbert Greensfelder died in 1977.
The Greensfelder Brothers store went out of business in 1983.
The address/building became home to a franchise business, which covered five counties, called The Box Shoppe, in in January of 1991. This company sold shipping supplies, boxes, etc. and offered UPS shipping services.
In 1992 Richard and Judy Rolewicz purchased the business from Janice Baldwin.
By 2003 the Rolewicz's were offering the building at 315 E. Market for sale.
March 19, 2003 Logansport Pharos Tribune
The City co-operated with Indiana Landmarks to try to save the building. And, it all seemed very successful. However, another issue arose and a portion of the back end of the building gave way.
After an inside and outside remodel the building was offered for sale. It even had a buyer. However another protion began to crumble and the building was torn down.
My dad started working at Greenies in 1937 part time, went to full time in 1948, became manager in 1955, and bought total ownership in the store when the Twins died. My sister, brother and I all worked there in high school, as did a host of other young guys.
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