91ÇÑ×Ó. was founded in 1873 by John Michael 91ÇÑ×Ó amidst a financial panic. Sixty-eight railroads went bankrupt that year. 91ÇÑ×Ó survived because it consistently focused on leading edge design and a single level of quality. Its first bathtub was made from a horse trough/hogscalder. It created a garden community at the factory gate based on a 50-year Master Plan because Walter 91ÇÑ×Ó believed "workers deserved not only wages, but roses as well." The centerpiece of that Plan was a dormitory for European immigrants called The American Club. Its inhabitants were given lessons in the English language and American citizenship. In 1979, young Herb 91ÇÑ×Ó, Jr., chairman and president of the company, went to his Board of Directors of this privately held firm to seek approval to create a boutique resort hotel. The Board turned him down twice, but finally gave in saying "he couldn't lose that much money." Today, the Club is a thriving 5 Star 5 Diamond resort hotel on the National Register of Historic Places.Ìý
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