On the web page of Paris Cleaners, Inc., is an advertisement from 1909, its first year of existence. The proprietors
listed at the bottom are “F. Franke” and “C.D. Franke.”
Over 100 years later, the company is still owned and operated by an “F. Franke” and a “C.D. Franke,” albeit, those names now comprise the fourth generation of the family to
dryclean garments for the residents of Springfield, IL.
To make things a little less confusing, the two brothers both go by their middle
names: David and Shep.
It’s hard to imagine a pair of owners more alike in their dedication, yet opposite
in the direction their particular interests lie.
While Shep tinkers with and maintains a slew of ancient (but extremely effective
and reliable) drycleaning equipment, David focuses on ways to help usher the
business into the 21st century, including overseeing the development of an
impressive and expansive web site.
“My brother and I are very much different but we still have the same passion and
we still understand what our responsibilities are,” David explained. “When you have a generational business, you still have to answer to the previous
generations even though they have long since gone. You still have to uphold the
character that they put into the business and not lose sight of that.”
It was close to 101 years ago when Paris first opened for business. At the time,
David and Shep’s great-grandfather, Frank Franke, owned a tailor shop and wanted to pass his
skills along to his son, Carl David Franke, who was 19.
“My grandfather didn’t do so well on his final exam of tailoring school,” David said. “He had been hearing about this new process how to clean clothes. Meanwhile, his
father had been complaining that pre-made suits were taking away his business.”
So, the two began experimenting with cleaning methods in the back of the tailor
shop because they realized there would soon be a greater need to clean the
clothes than there would be to custom make them.
When Paris City Drycleaning Company first officially launched, there were
certainly many ominous signs that would easily have dissuaded more
superstitious souls.
After all, Frank Franke was from a family of 13 children and he was born on the
13th. Adding to the mystique, the first location of the store was at 313 Monroe
St. and the first phone number was “Capital 13.” Thus, one of the company’s original slogans was: “Paris 13: Unlucky for spots.”
It proved to be as effective as it was accurate. Paris thrived for decades, but
ran into a unique dilemma when World War II started. The company, which has
been a petroleum plant for its entire existence, ceased using the solvent
temporarily in 1943 to aid America’s fuel rationing efforts.
During that critical juncture in history, David and Shep’s father, Carl David, Jr., was forced to come of age fast. In the 1930s, he and
a friend leisurely traveled across Europe in a Harley Davidson motorcycle
equipped with a sidecar. However, the timing of the trip couldn’t have been worse.
“It was when Hitler closed Germany in Munich to foreigners,” David noted. “That was my father’s last great adventure.”
He opted to get out of Germany as soon as he could. Then, he joined the war as a
Navy Air Corps pilot. He also made a promise to reopen the family cleaning
plant once the war ended.
Paris Cleaning relocated in 1946 to its present location, a 15,000-sq.-ft. main
facility that has withstood two tornadoes during its history.
The recent one in 2006 took out 11 windows; a construction company normally
located two blocks away ended up in their parking lot, but they were up the day
after power was restored.
“The building has all pre-cast concrete roof, 13-inch thick walls and concrete
floor,” Shep said. “It’s solid brick and concrete. From the ground up it was designed to be a
drycleaners. We ran two miles of pipe in here. All the steam’s overhead. All the condensate lines are troughed into the concrete floor and
gravity-fed back to the boiler room, which has a well in it with a condensate
tank set.”
Not surprisingly, the main facility’s street address is 1013 Ash St. and the phone number still ends with “13.” Yet, despite it all, the Frankes feel that good fortune often favors them.
Hard work and knowledge has a lot to do it with it, as well. After all, Shep
chose to shadow the company’s maintenance man when he was still “in single digits” just so he could learn how things worked.
After high school, he studied construction from colleges all across the country
and built everything from a reverse osmosis plant in Key West to a power plant
in the mountains of Colorado. He also was hired by David Melville, then owner
of Thom McAn shoes, to build the Rum Cay Dive Club in the Bahamas.
In the mid-1980s, he found himself back in Springfield and has been taking care
of the buildings and equipment for Paris ever since.
“I’m one of the fortunate few who has gone full circle in life,” he said. “I started in Springfield. I left. I lived everywhere I’ve ever wanted to live. I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do. And now I’m back at home running a family business. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
David’s path was naturally quite different. He also grew up around the plant, but then
he proceeded to work there his entire adult life... well, except for the summer
after high school.
“My dad and I had a rather spirited conversation and I told him I wanted to do
something else,” he recalled. “I ended up in Cripple Creek, CO, as a short order cook at the Cottage Inn. I got
asked to stay on for the winter season. I had come home to pick up my winter
clothes and my dad was walking down the driveway and I could tell he was very
sad. He said, ‘Your grandfather died’ and I never left.”
When Shep is not at the plant, he can probably be found on his farm (where he
lives in a 120-year old farm house) growing vegetables or raising horses with
his wife. They have taken care of over 70 in the past 20 years.
While such work is rewarding, it’s not enough to keep him from Paris seven days a week where he loves to preserve
unique cleaning equipment.
“When you come through my plant, it’s like going to a museum,” he said.
The Frankes have a horizontal belly washer from 1917 and another from 1946. Both
operate every day. The trick, according to Shep, is preventative maintenance.
When they need new parts though, he can’t just go to the local parts store. He and a friend, who owns a machine shop,
make what they need.
The extra effort is worth it, though, because Shep believes the quality of the
machines is unparalleled. Even the plant’s Cleaver Brooks boiler is the state’s third oldest in operation.
“I have a 1946 and it just purrs like a kitten,” he beamed. “That vessel is actually better quality than my 1968 Cleaver Brooks.”
Shep swears he wasn’t born in the wrong era, but with his love of farming and penchant for upkeeping
old machinery, he certainly would feel at home if he was born 100 years ago.
Meanwhile, his brother David seems determined to make sure Paris remains modern,
as well.
David certainly uses technology to his advantage. He met his wife online (she
practiced medicine for 26 years in Europe before she joined him at Paris). He
has also spent more than a year archiving historical materials with his
daughter, Elizabeth, for their web site (though they live a thousand miles
apart).
David is a big advocate for having a web site. He and his brother also fervently
support industry associations and buying American.
“We, as an industry, need to begin to understand that we can have a positive or
negative impact on our local economies,” David stressed. “By supporting small independent businesses, that keeps our money that we’re spending in our community.”
Such philosophies have been handed down in the Franke family for four
generations now. The presence of their ancestors can be felt everywhere at the
plant, but it’s not only the ghosts who walk the premises.
“We still have somebody here 24-7. She lives in the old night watchman’s house attached to the plant. She’s 86 years old and she happens to be my mother,” Shep said.
Though Bette Franke is retired now, she once served as president of the company.
It seems that all the Frankes are quite passionate about the family business.
Shep has a theory why.
“Either we’ve derived all of our strength from Paris Cleaners, or all the strength that we
have we have put into it,” he said. “We are all unique and carry a tremendous strength of our own.”
Perhaps the biggest strength that all Frankes share is a refusal to be satisfied
with the family business.
“With 100 years in the business, you could get a little cocky,” David admitted. “But, reality always tends to hit you in the forehead and bring you back. It
never ends.”
If it ever does manage to end, David hopes that he can look back and smile at
what the family has accomplished.
“I mean this in the most humble way. I am a caretaker of what my mother as well
as my ancestors built,” he said.
“One day I hope that I can have my picture hanging on the wall and that I’ll be recognized not only from my peers, but also the generation behind me as
somebody who contributed to the industry and the community and was a good
steward.”
