Another of the business enterprises which have to do with the attainment of Racine’s present greatness and prosperity is the Racine Traveling Bag Company, which was established in 1890 by Herbert Van Bree, Theodore Van Bree and other stockholders. The business was at that time incorporated with Theodore Wadewitz as president and with Herbert, Theodore and H. Van Bree and Herman Wadewitz as directors. The present officers of the company are: Herbert Van Bree, president; Mrs. Joseph Van Bree, vice president; and Mrs. H. Van Bree, secretary and treasurer. The factory is fifty by eighty feet and is three stories in height. They manufacture traveling bags and suitcases and sell direct to the trade, their output going to all parts of the United States. Twenty-five skilled workmen provide the necessary labor for the conduct of the business and the establishment adds to the continuous hum of industry which characterizes Racine and has made it one of the busiest manufacturing centers of the upper Mississippi valley.
Source: Stone, Fanny S. Racine, Belle City of the lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement; Chicago: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1916.