Rochester's Hickey Freeman Company Keeps Tradition Alive

By Bud Lowell

Rochester, NY – A federal bankruptcy court judge is expected to rule by the end of the month on the future of Hartmarx -- the men's clothing company that's also the owner of Rochester's Hickey Freeman Company.

Once there were so many clothing companies in Rochester that they made up an entire neighborhood known as Fashion Park. Today only one is left: Hickey Freeman. Along with companies like Kodak and Bausch and Lomb, Hickey Freeman helped give Rochester its industrial age slogan: "Rochester made means quality."

Now the Judge's decision could determine the fate of a company and a tradition that have shaped Rochester for more than a hundred years.

WXXI's Bud Lowell reports....