Nogales International, May 24, 1989 (p.14) Capin's founder began career early By Brendan FitzSimons The son of a tailor, Hyman Capin was born Dec. 15, 1874 in Kovno, Lithuania, now a part of the Soviet Union. After serving as an apprentice to his father, at 22 years old, Capin left his family's home for London. At that time, the British capital was one of the world's clothing capitals. According to a family history, Capin learned his craft in London's teeming East End. But after five years, in 1891, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in New York City. Capin eventually moved to Harrisburg, Pa., where he married Dora Loon. The family account notes: "He worked at the tailor trade for 14 years before his wife became ill. On the advice of her physician, the Capins picked up their children and moved West to a drier climate. "Finding Los Angeles too damp and Yuma too hot, the Capin family moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Hyman and his sons established a frontier shop. "Hyman had gained a reputation in the Southwest as a fine military tailor. Following the troops, making uniforms for different forts, the Capins moved to El Paso, Texas, and then on to Columbus, New Mexico. "In 1916, Pancho Villa raided New Mexico. President Woodrow Wilson sent Gen. John J. Pershing and thousands of soldiers to Mexico in pursuit of the well known revolutionary. "As a result of the raid and Pershing's failure to capture Villa, by 1919, Columbus was deserted. The Capin family again moved to Arizona, settling this time in Nogales. At that time five of the couple's eight children lived at home Sam, Ben, Jake, Hillie and Zellie. The three oldest were married, Phil, Bessie (Mrs. Harry) Chernin, and Sadie (Mrs. Robert) Marcus. Two are alive today, Sadie and Zellie, who serves as chairman of the board of Capin Mercantile Corp. Family records report that "the move to Nogales proved the most prosperous for Hyman Capin. He and young family opened a tailor shop where he trained tailors. "He became the exclusive tailor for Camp Stephen Little. It was in Nogales that Hyman invented a basic pattern that could be adjusted to all sizes. One hundred people were then employed by Capin for hand-made work." In 1920, the Capins bought their first store. Hyman Capin's son, Jake recalled in an interview nearly a dozen years ago, that his father never worked in the stores. "But he was the boss," Jake said. "He always advised us." Hyman Capin retired when he was 50 years old. He died Dec. 22, 1935. Harlan Capin now heads the family business Harlan Capin, 59, became president of the Capin Mercantile Corp. in mid-March. He began his career with the family-owned company in 1953. Capin, a native of Nogales, succeeded his cousin, Richard L. Capin, who died on March 11. Serving as executive vice presidents are Hyman E. Capin, 52, Leonard F. Cooper, 63, both involved with merchandising, and Robert Stuchen, 52 who oversees operations and is the treasurer of the corporation. James Capin, 25, is vice president and secretary of the corporation, and vice president Fredric Capin, 28, ramrods trucking and warehousing operations. Other vice presidents, primarily keeping tabs on merchandising, are Mark Capin, 32, David C. Cooper, 35, Jeffrey Stuchen, 27, Norman Capin, 30, Nils Urman, 35, and Gordon Keith, 30.