According to a story told to Fr. Benedict Neenan in 1974 by (daughters) Letty Thomas and Lavinia Morrow, Elmer Imel started out helping his father as a cabinet-maker but eventually went to work for a large clothing manufacturer who specialized in denim overalls (the name was something like Biddle). Elmer became a proficient cutter. He would fit the millionaire owner with 12 white shirts a year, each time taking the measurement and cutting them out to fit exactly. There were also a few farmers who came from as far away as Montana to have custom overalls made as they were very large men and could not find a pair to fit. Lavinia said her father had been taken out of grade school so his brother, John, could continue his law studies, but Neno claimed her father worked and read law on the side while helping to support the family.2