Lockley, Fred. "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the Sea." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928. p. 843. CARL C. JANTZEN Unquestionably, no innovation in clothing in many years has been received with more sincere or spontaneous appreciation than the advent of the Jantzen swimming suits, which, due to their notably superior qualities over the suits formerly on the market, at once won the approval of swimmers and are now worn the world over by a constantly increasing number of satisfied users. The story of the creation of this brand of goods is the story of the sagacity, vision and determination of two young men who, convinced that they had the right idea, backed their faith by their indomitable and persevering efforts until they attained their goal. Their subsequent career is a record of continuous success and growth, until today they stand at the head of the manufacturers of goods in the line and the Jantzen Knitting Mills is one of Portland's most important industries. Carl C. Jantzen, one of the founders and now secretary of the Jantzen Knitting Mills, was born in Aarbus, Denmark, on the 8th of March, 1883, and is a son of Carl C. and Mary (Hansen) Jantzen, who brought their family to the United States in 1890, locating in Portland, Oregon, where the father engaged in contracting and house building. He is now deceased, and his widow still resides in this city. Carl C. Jantzen acquired his early education in the public schools of Denmark and completed his studies in the grammar schools of Portland. He was first regularly employed as a driver of a delivery wagon, for which work he received five dollars a week. When seventeen years old he went to work in the Meier & Frank department store as a cash boy, later was advanced to the wrapper's desk, and eventually becoming head of the wrapping department. He quit that position to accompany the family to Hood River, Oregon, where the father bought an apple orchard, in the cultivation of which Carl took an active part. During the winter months he worked in logging camps or cut cordwood in the mountains. After following that line of activity for six years Mr. Jantzen formed the acquaintance of John Zehntbauer, of Portland, who was at that time on a vacation. While on a fishing trip together Mr. Zehntbauer proposed that Mr. Jantzen sell his interest in the fruit ranch and go into the knitting business with him in Portland, with which line of work he was familiar. Two weeks later Mr. Jantzen accepted his proposition and joined him. In deciding on the particular line of goods on which to center their efforts, they were guided by the fact that, both being swimmers, they had noted the failure of so-called bathing suits to qualify as swimming suits, both because of their tendency to shrink and because of their cumbersome style. Realizing that the flat stitch fabric then in use, which had no elasticity, and hence no fit, was unsuitable, they decided on the adoption of an elastic knit stitch. Their great difficulty now was in finding a machine capable of making this stitch. They tried out machine after machine in the little factory which they had established on Alder street, but none were satisfactory. They went east to inspect other machines, but the manufacturers there declared it impossible to make the stitch they desired by machinery. Nothing daunted, they returned to Portland and spent a year in patient experiments in their plant and eventually solved the problem. Mr. Jantzen went back east with his specifications and personally supervised the building of a machine which met his requirements in making elastic knit swimming suits. This accomplishment spelled their success, and in 1910 a company of three men was formed, known as the Portland Knitting Company, pf whom the owners were J. A. Zehntbauer, C. R. Zehntbauer and Carl C. Jantzen, who were respectively president, vice president, and secretary and factory manager. J. R. Dodson, treasurer, joined the company in 1914. They adopted the name Jantzen as a trade name, as a tribute to the man who was mainly responsible for the design, quality and manufacturing of the product. Three years after starting the business, the company bought out the Luke Knitting Company, later also bought out the Nollan Knitting Company, and two years thereafter the company name was changed to the Jantzen Knitting Mills. In a short time the business outgrew its original quarters and in 1919 a new home for the plant was erected between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets on Sandy boulevard, which, in January, 1924, was augmented by another unit, which doubled its capacity, and the plant, which is one story high, now occupies two city blocks, while the company owns another block of ground, giving room for further expansion when necessary. The company adopted a national advertising program, which was rewarded with remarkable results and today the Jantzen products are sold in every part of the United States, as well as in fifty-four foreign countries. In 1921, when thousands of factories were closed for lack of orders, the Jantzen mills were running three eight-hour shifts a day. Sales were doubled in 1922, and again doubled in 1923 and 1924, and. the continuous growth of the business has been one of the marvels of the commercial world. Among the original and striking mediums of advertising employed by advertising firms in the past few years, the introduction of the Jantzen diving girl windshield stickers was perhaps the most unique, and was generally used throughout the country, many millions of them being stuck on the windshields and back windows of cars. The Jantzen mills have created wondrous colors, including pastel shades, harmoniously blending, and the vivid hues, in subtle contrast, and as an aid to buyers have issued the "Jantzen Color Harmony Guide," by Hazel Adler, an international authority on color combinations, for color harmony is considered the keynote to fashionable apparel today. The Jantzen Knitting Mills use Oregon-grown wool, which has to its credit the natural advantage of climate and softness of water, and which is spun and dyed in the Oregon Worsted Mills, the only mill of its kind west of the Mississippi. The following are some statistical facts concerning the Jantzen Knitting Mills: This year's production is over eighty-three thousand dozen, or one million suits; the daily product is over three hundred dozen suits; the mills use over three-quarters of a million pounds of yarn a year, at a cost of one million three hundred and fifty thousand dollars; there are one and a half miles of yarn and over a million stitches in every suit; a new knitting needle, is required for every two suits, or one hundred thousand new needles a year; there are a thousand and forty-four needles in an average size knitting machine, half vertical and half horizontal, eight thousand three hundred and twenty-five stitches being made with every revolution; the silk labels and diving girls attached to the garments cost over fifty thousand dollars a year; the sewing thread costs over five thousand dollars and the rubber buttons over two thousand dollars; there are one hundred and thirty-two sewing machines and seventy-one knitting machines; there are one hundred and twelve individual motors, or ninety-two horse power for the machines; there is eighty thousand square feet of floor space and the building is lighted by eight hundred and sixty-four lamps. In the mills there are employed over five hundred people, about seventy-five per cent of whom are women, and the monthly payroll is between seventy thousand and seventy-five thousand dollars; there is an annual picnic for the employees' of the company and all of the employees are given from ten days to two weeks vacation with pay. The annual sales are over three million one hundred thousand dollars, and this company is the second largest parcel post shipper in Portland. The company has forty-three salesmen and has forty sales representatives in over fifty foreign countries. During the last four years yarns have increased in cost fifty-four per cent, while the company has reduced the selling price of its products seventeen per cent, this being made possible through increase in manufacturing efficiency and volume of sales. The company uses a wide variety of colors in its goods, the best sellers of which are black, navy, Jantzen blue and cardinal, forty per cent of the colors sold being black and navy. The annual clippings of wool in the mills amount to one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds, all of which is sold and used for woolen fabrics, such as blankets and mackinaws. In 1909 Mr. Jantzen was united in marriage to Miss Emma Pregge, a daughter of Henry and Wilhelmina (Hillman) Pregge, who were pioneer settlers in Hood River, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Jantzen are the parents of two children, Oneita, who is a student in the University of Oregon, and Carl C., Jr., now ten years of age. Mr. Jantzen is a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the Multnomah Golf Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He has devoted his efforts indefatigably to the business, of which he has been a most essential factor, and his progressive and enterprising methods have brought abundant fruitage in the worthy success which is now his. He is a man of far-sighted vision and sound judgment, and the company has gained recognition throughout the civilized world through its aggressive policy and the fact that its products are the best that can be had. The company has a branch factory at Vancouver, British Columbia, and has just built another factory in Sydney, Australia, which is now in successful operation. Personally, Mr. Jantzen is a man of quiet and unassuming manner, but has shown himself in every way worthy of the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellowmen. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in November 2006 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.