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the Joseph Magnin name in Reno, Nevada. Mr. Blum, who was a
close friend of Joseph's (and eventually of Cyril's), provided
the funds to open Specialty's first store in Reno, because JM
lacked the capital to do so. Mr. Blum purchased 50 percent of
the stock initially issued and lent money to Joseph and Cyril to
purchase the remainder. Prior to the creation of Specialty and
the opening of its Reno store, JM had opened only one other
branch store in Palo Alto, California, in 1928.
In July 1948, Anna died unexpectedly. Joseph and Anna had
been very close. She had long been a mediator in the disputes
between Cyril and Joseph. Cyril briefly thought of selling JM to
I. Magnin, which upset Ellen. Ellen left school at age 20, moved
back home, and took over Anna's position as buyer for JM.
In October 1950, Ellen married Walter S. Newman (Walter).
Shortly after the wedding, Walter went to work for JM as a
financial troubleshooter and was subsequently put in charge of
store operations (i.e., all store activities except
merchandising). Ellen reduced her day-to-day activities at JM
immediately after the wedding.
Donald and Jerry were also active in operating JM. Donald
began working full time for JM after his graduation from Stanford
in 1949, first as a merchandise bookkeeper and then as a hosiery
buyer. Donald entered the Navy during the Korean War in 1952.
He returned to JM in about September of 1953. Jerry began
working full time for JM after he left the Air Force in 1961.
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