Press Releas

Media Advisory For More Information Contact: Kyle Tobin Williams Tillie Lewis Biographer (209) 823-5430 kylewilliams451@comcast.net

For Immediate Release,
3/17/2010
        From Pauper to Princess: Tillie Lewis, “Secrets to Making it Big in a Bad Economy”
                                Presented at Delta’s Tillie Lewis Theatre, March 25th
(Stockton)

How one woman overcame incredible obstacles to become one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in U.S. history...

Learn how to thrive in a recession through the life of successful Stockton businesswoman, Tillie Lewis, presented by Kyle Tobin Williams at Delta College’s Tillie Lewis Theatre, Thursday, March 25th, 11am-12pm. This presentation is free to the public and part of Delta’s Cultural Awareness Programs (CAPs) celebration of Women’s History Month.

Lewis, a Jewish woman, was born 1894 in the impoverished tenements of Brooklyn, New York. She survived disease, poverty, anti-Semitism and family tragedy to become a millionaire during the Great Depression. Tillie Lewis is recognized as the first woman “captain of industry” in U.S. history.

“She made up her mind to become rich and she let nothing stand in her way,” Lewis biographer and local historian Kyle Tobin Williams said. “She did not hire people to tell her NO, she hired them to tell her HOW.”

Tillie Lewis was also known as the “Tomato Queen.” She opened her first tomato cannery in 1935 on Stockton’s Navy Drive. Lewis made San Joaquin County one of the top tomato producers in the nation. “She employed thousands from Stockton to Merced,” but Williams points out, “Stockton wasn’t always on friendly terms. She was a woman in power, a Jew, and did many things that were revolutionary for her time.”

Many of those revolutionary practices included: employment and promotion of minorities, company daycare, and aid to her employee’s education. “She was a great manager,” Williams added. “She knew how earn loyalty and did it so well that her retired employees are devoted to her to this day. She had a huge impact on Mexican-Americans and helped them achieve the American dream.”

A retired Tillie Lewis employee, 94 year-old Ralph Garcia, will attend Delta’s March 25th event. Mr. Garcia will be available for audience questions.

But recruiting employees was not always easy for Lewis, explains Kyle Williams. “Many people would not work for her because she was a ‘Jew broad’, and the bank refused to give her a business loan because it would ‘give her a headache’…but she found a way.” Lewis managed to not only start her business but expand it to include many other food products. “She knew how to use opportunities around her and how to be smart about it.” Biographer Kyle Williams will reveal some of Tillie Lewis’ strategies at the event.”

Lewis began her life in poverty, but by the age of 24, began one of ultimate luxury. She owned two mansions in Stockton and an estate in Palm Springs. “She was brazen, dazzling and brilliant,” says Williams. “I’ve learned so much from her, just by seeing how she viewed her situation and how she dealt with it.”

“I know that once people hear the Tillie Lewis story, they will have no excuse to say ‘it can’t be done,’” emphasizes Kyle Williams. “Lewis made it from nothing. It just goes to show that no matter how bad times are, you can still achieve success and fortune.”

               

Tillie Lewis - 1934
Photo Courtesy Bank of Stockton

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