Friday, March 29, 2024

Twitchell's Dry Cleaners is home to rich history

August 3, 2014
<p>Okemos, Mich., resident Mesung Lee performs her daily duties on August 1, 2014, at Twichell's Dry Cleaners & Tailors on M.A.C. There busiest time of the year is when MSU students return in the fall. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News</p>

Okemos, Mich., resident Mesung Lee performs her daily duties on August 1, 2014, at Twichell's Dry Cleaners & Tailors on M.A.C. There busiest time of the year is when MSU students return in the fall. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News

Photo by Jessalyn Tamez | The State News

With nearly 90 years of history behind it, Twichell’s Dry Cleaners & Tailors has seen a wide variety of people walk through its doors.

The dry cleaner and tailor service was first opened on Grand River Avenue in 1926. Three years later, it moved to its current location on M.A.C. Avenue, where it has remained ever since.

Mesung Lee was the third person to take ownership of the dry cleaner’s in 1986. With the help of her husband, Sangwon, she and the rest of their seven employees have served the East Lansing, Lansing and Okemos communities, and anyone else paying the area a visit. 

Assistant manager Allen Gies said the employees share a hospitable relationship with their customers. From regulars such as the Spartan Marching Band and the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center to people simply passing through the city, he added they take care of their customers for whatever event they have to attend. 

"This is going to be my third career, so I just do it a different way," Lee said. "I look at ... life with different angles. As a business owner I've learned a lot. The same thing keeps happening, but each individual response is quite different. ... It's the most interesting thing I've found out, it keeps me going."

Everything is done on location the moment the doors open at 7 a.m. The first task is firing up the boiler, which requires a separate room towards the back because of its massive size and the heat emitted from it. As steam fills the room, employees check the pockets of the various articles of clothing, being careful to remove loose change or anything else left behind for safe keeping.

From there, clothing is put through a cleaning cycle, pressed and pre-spotted. The shop has taken steps to remain environmentally conscious by using DF-2000 dry cleaning fluid. 

Minor repairs, such as replacing buttons or stitching tears, are done in a small room at the entrance of the shop. 

“There are different stories attached to different garments,” Gies said. “Some have been to Africa, several came from Europe as visiting professors. One person had a fellowship and came from Norway.”

He said the most memorable person they have served, though, was Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential debate held at MSU. 

Lee said they have a framed letter in the building from Clinton thanking them for their services, along with a card from Hillary Clinton. 

Bradley Benton, the manager of the front office at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, said the front desk gets their laundry done weekly at Twichell’s. He said the service is usually great; great enough that he gets his personal laundry done there as well. 

“On the same day, I turn around and it’s done,” Benton said. “They’re never late. They’ll replace a button even if I don't know I’m missing it, and they’ve even collected loose change in plastic baggies and given it back to customers when they pick up their clothes.”

Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Twitchell's Dry Cleaners is home to rich history” on social media.