The first optical laboratory west of the Mississippi River, Erker's won optical machinery and equipment awards at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, served as the official photographer for the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair, and custom-designed the goggles for Charles Lindbergh, used in his historic flight over the Atlantic.​ <br /> <br /> In the years since, the family business was carried on by the descendants of August Erker, first by his son Eugene, who took over circa 1930, followed by grandson Jack Sr., who took the reins in the 1960s, then by a great-grandson, Jack Jr, in the early 1990s, who teamed up most recently with his two sons Jack III and Tony in early 2001. <br /> <br /> Early on, Erker's sold everything with a lens, from eyeglasses, sunglasses, prescription lenses to cameras, goggles to microscopes. A key element to the company's success has been the ability of its leaders to predict and identify new trends, not just keeping up with the competition, but leading the eyewear industry. True to form, Jack Erker Jr. recognized the great consumer demand for fine eyewear and has been focusing on the latest trend in the St. Louis market.​​​​