When Herb Karoll was just a boy, his daddy wanted him to be a rabbi. But young Herb figured there wasn’t much money in that line and opted for business.
Three bulky guys from the mayor’s office moved to the podium. “We were at least a size 16 and one half before we started on lunch,” said John Wilson, who almost burst the seams of his jacket. The crowd laughed; a husky fellow with a yellow tie who sat in the corner laughed particularly hard. Wilson then announced that Eugene Sawyer had proclaimed Monday, November 21, Karoll’s Big and Tall Day in Chicago. Some people guffawed, others clapped.
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To the podium stepped Kup. “First of all, I’d like to make a recommendation to the three people from the mayor’s office that they should visit a Karoll’s shop,” he said. His audience laughed. “And I’d just like to say a few words for our beloved Karoll brothers who stayed together for 50 years because no one trusted the other.” Kup raised his glass of white wine.
Brickhouse then launched into an analysis of the great ethical quandary that began the day some fellow walked into Karoll’s with a $50 bill. The guy needed a suit fast, Brickhouse said, so he handed the 50 to Herb–or was it Sam?–grabbed a suit off the rack, and bolted out the door. “Well, Sam–or Herb–was fingering the 50 when he realized that there were two $50 bills stuck together,” Brickhouse explained. “So, here’s the great ethical question: do you or do you not tell your brother about that second 50?”
The husky guy laughed, Herb started singing “Happy Birthday,” and almost everyone joined in. Luckman beamed.
Herb remembered their old slogan–“Find us the man we can’t fit”–and the 650-pound circus strongman who walked into the shop looking for a dress shirt on a day when dress shirts were on sale for $3.95. Sam measured his neck; it was 27 and a half inches. They had to order the guy’s shirts at $5.95 each, but, keeping their word, sold him the shirts for $3.95. They dropped the slogan.
“I wouldn’t miss it, Herb,” said Brickhouse. The crowd clapped.
