Lester Ltd & Al Capone

One of the fun things of family history work is discovering associations with family to historically “famous” individuals. Granted, some are just family lore and have no evidence to back the claims, yet it’s fun to contemplate the possibilities. Aren’t all families allowed to have their own tall tales? The Essig line has their share of them…Napoleon and Jesse James to name a couple.

Today I’m adding Al and Frank Capone to that list of associations. Many of you may know that Lester Ltd was a costume company in Chicago owned by my great-grandparents, Lester & Margaret Essig, and my great-uncle & aunt, Fred & Esther Essig. While digging through boxes I found an article about the closing of the costume company. The article covers the story of Lester Ltd, including the statement “The Essigs did parties for Al and Ralph Capone”. There you have it. Let your imagination start rolling from here. Did Al Capone actually step foot in their store? Hmmm… Okay, so maybe they aren’t the greatest of characters to have the Essig name associated with, but it’s fun to think about.

Here’s the article for your enjoyment.