Fox River Glove Outlet
by Kyle Jacobson Downtown Ripon has measured the spectrum of vibrancy for decades— from revitalization efforts to the Watson Street Fire. Through that time, Fox River Glove Outlet endured on their Fond du Lac Street location. “We are the oldest continuous family-owned business left in Ripon,” says owner Mike Reinsch. “I don’t know of anybody else that has been here as long as third generation. “My grandfather bought the business in 1936. It was by the Fox River in Berlin for one year, and then he moved it over to Ripon in 1937. ... We rented the building upstairs for $65 a month. Downstairs was the newspaper; the Ripon Commonwealth was here. When I was in high school, there’d be guys with vinyl type machines grinding out stories. They’d be sitting right in the 20 | Green Lake magazine 2020
window. The owner was the publisher of the paper, and in the late 60s, he wanted to retire. So he came to us, my dad and I, and he said, ‘If you want to keep renting for $65 a month up there, you better think about buying the building.’ Which we did.” One item didn’t change much throughout their manufacturing days— black military leather gloves. When things were really booming, “We probably would do 3,000 dozen a year for just one customer in New York,” says Mike. They also made athletic letter jackets for Ripon high school as well as high schools and colleges all over the state of Wisconsin and in upper Michigan until 1971. In 2003, Fox River Glove Outlet got out of manufacturing altogether, and here they are now.
