In the Milwaukee table, Kohl's is listed consistently as "Kohl Bros." from 1930 to 1950, and sporadically beyond.The Kohl's chain was listed in pre-1950s directories as Kohl Bros. Did Max Kohl have a brother that he co-founded the grocery business with? If so, he was written out of the 1970 company history. By the time the chain started taking out citywide newspaper advertising in 1946, they were doing business as "Kohl's;" no mention of brothers in the copy.
In 1970, the Milwaukee Journal offered an "official" explanation of why the company was called this:
But the timing calls this explanation into question. Sidney Kohl, Max's oldest son, was born in 1929; Herb wasn't born until 1935 and Allen until 1936 or 1937. So, it seems that one of these two things is true:The Journal, 1970-09-09 wrote: The father had always hoped his sons would join the family business--in fact when they were still children he called his business Kohl Brothers in their honor.
* Max Kohl's original grocery store wasn't actually called Kohl Bros. in 1930.
or
* The official explanation is a fabrication, and "Kohl Bros." wasn't named after Max's sons.
David, could you please double-check your notes to confirm whether Kohl's was listed in the 1930 and 1935 Milwaukee directories as "Kohl Bros.," "Kohl Maxwell," or something else entirely? I'm dying to get to the bottom of this.