New Britain herald., 1927-03-22
BESSIE SYSTEM IS
 FIFTY YEARS OLD
Walter ". Leland Also Observes
 Anniversary Here, His 25th

! Fifty years in the retail mems, women's and childrens apparel i business is the mark established by l the Bcsse System, which includes l the Besse-Leland store on Main street, this city. Simultaneously, 1 Walter ". Leland is observing his
 18th anniversary as q New Britain l business man.
 The Besse system encompasses ! If stores, located in nearly all parts of the continent. IL employs an army Of managers, buyers and sales
 men. especially trained for the pur- pose of catering 10 the retail public
 In addition to being one ot the larg- est customers Of clothing and ap-
 parel manufacturers, it maintains several production plants Of it's own which arc operated for the sole pur- , pose Of supplying the needs Of the II stores. It also has contracts with style salons in Europe and America, keeping is pulse constant
 ly on new ideas in garments for '
 Not q day passes that Besse Sys- t"m representatives are not i'll the big production markets buying mer- chandise or consulting with design CTS or manufacturers. These buy CTS are all men and women of eA pcricnco, familiar with customers preferences They know far ahead 1 what is going to be worn in attire
 fer men and women.
 + it is true, as someone ono" said. that an institution Is the heightened shadow of an individual certainly the magnificent Bcsse Sys- | m store in New Britain must be credited to the genius and business acumcn of Lyman w. Besse and Walter W. Leland.
 No other store in New England, regardless of location, eNcels in sheer beauty this monument erected
 by NIr. Besse and MT. Leland as mark of their faith in the future of New Britain. out of town shoppers paying their first visit to the store are amazed at it's interior which is an impressive picture. charming in color and outline.
 Not only does Bcsso- -Lcland's cater to public taste in New Britain but it enjoys the patronage of residents of Plainville, Pennington, Bristol, southington, Berlin. Ncwington. Hartford and Waterbury,
 The Bosse-L"land building con tains 2S,9G0 square feet Of floor space, included on four floors. IL was constructed by the II. Wales Lines Co. of Mcriden, which used 4S7. .o0G bricks. 6,516 feet of building stone, 13l tons of steel, 65 tons of plaster, 450 tons of cement and 35S tons of crushed stone. The building has an attractive exterior, which is admired by the thousands Of persons who pass it daily. and adds greatly to the appearance of the center of New Britain.
 Mems and young mems clothing departments occupy half of the en- tire main floor. The fixtures were purchased with the thought of GUS toner convenience. allowing visit ors 10 examine garments under condi- tons which contribute to their com fort. Show cases and wall cases are abundantly supplied with the newest creations. A wall compart- ment specially constructed holds a large assortment of collars. the best brands manufactured. Wall racks, | also specially designed. hold mems 1 shirts and ties, socks. gloves, hand | kerchiefs and other haberdasherv.
 At the right of the main entrance. i is the department where cigars. l cigarettes and pipe tobacco may be 1 obtained.
 On the second floor are located l the shoe department for men. wo- | men and children and the children's |, department. each occupying large ! floor space. In the shoe department, l like in all other parts Of the store, the comfort of the customer is up- permost in mind. Seventy-two up- holstcred chairs await visitors in- vitingly.
 In the children's department gar ments for little folks are displayed.
 On this floor are located the ex-