Thread Number: 72950
/ Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
What Sears used to make me think of |
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Post# 963718 , Reply# 2   10/21/2017 at 18:50 (2,390 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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A good friend of my family was Appliance Manager in our local Sears store. We always could get great deals on repossessed or scratch and dent models. He would chase me out when I would switch the Lady K Wringer with poker chips to normal speed. He sold me my 70 something Lady K dishwasher for $100 instead of the $300 it would have cost if perfect. Been along time since I have been to a Sears now.
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Post# 963743 , Reply# 3   10/21/2017 at 21:59 (2,390 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 963751 , Reply# 5   10/21/2017 at 22:44 (2,390 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)   |   | |
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My mother's mother worked at Sears downtown from about 1954 until 1972, when she retired. She worked in 'Unit Control', upstairs, and I thought it was so cool when we'd go to Birmingham to visit that we'd stop by the store and go see her. It made me feel special that 1) I knew there was an upper level office area and 2) I had a reason to go up there. Unit Control ordered inventory for the store and each of the ladies who worked in that office was assigned particular departments. I don't remember Granny having any exotic departments, except for maybe Paints - certainly not Furniture or Appliances - now THAT would have been cool.
At Christmas there was always a large model train display set up in the Toy Department and that was fun to get to see. I, too, remember the candy department and the smells of the store. And I grew up hearing the names of all the other ladies she worked with (she and one or two other women rode with Dot Canant daily in her Buick) and the department heads.
My family endorsed Sears appliances and most other departments, but not electronics. Dad had a very sour opinion of their Silvertone label; don't remember why. Later, Sears opened a Catalog Sales store in Smyrna (Belmont Hills Shopping Center) and Dad liked to browse through the store because they always had scratch-and-dent merchandise, which was totally up his alley.
lawrence |
Post# 963752 , Reply# 6   10/21/2017 at 22:59 (2,390 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room)   |   | |
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It's sort of funny, but our house when I was growing up had lots of stuff from Sears, and yet we almost never shopped there. The washer/dryer were from Sears, and had been bought there by my parents before I was born. The rest of the stuff was bought by some previous family that lived in the house, and included a portable dishwasher, a water heater, and an oil furnace.
I have a vague recollection that my parents found the local Sears store less than ideal for whatever reason. Later, a better store was opened in the local mall, but we seldom went near the place. My mother had certain stores she liked by that time. Also I have to half wonder if she didn't have a bit of bias against Sears. During her childhood, it was probably was either Sears, or It Didn't Exist.
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Post# 963774 , Reply# 7   10/22/2017 at 00:17 (2,389 days old) by mrsalvo (New Braunfels Texas)   |   | |
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Loved the old department stores! You could find anything there, including a good cup of coffee or lunch. Really miss the Christmas Window Displays, that was something!! Easter too. |
Post# 963839 , Reply# 8   10/22/2017 at 09:46 (2,389 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)   |   | |
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used to have the entire top floor as a Christmas fantasy land at the old downtown store. Imploded in about 1997. I think the site is going to be the new Little Caesars headquarters. |
Post# 963879 , Reply# 10   10/22/2017 at 14:00 (2,389 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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I remember when charge plated were embossed metal and then when they changed over to embossed plastic. |
Post# 964158 , Reply# 11   10/24/2017 at 15:36 (2,387 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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In this neck of the woods, Sears was partnered with a big Canadian retailer by the name of Simpsons from the mid 50s until the mid 70s (Simpsons eventually got taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company). I remember in 1974 or 1975 a huge new mall was built in Ville St-Laurent, which was pretty much halfway between where we lived and downtown Montreal, and they had a brand-new Sears store. Not Simpsons-Sears, just Sears. I remember how packed that store always seemed to be - during the Christmas shopping frenzy, I swear you could get swept up by the crowds in that store so that you'd never get to where you wanted to go!
It wasn't a huge store, but it did have 2 floors. The Kenmore appliances, electronics, housewares, and tools were all up on the 2nd floor (and that's where I lurked... LOL). I remember they had displays of all the various Kenmore washers, dryers and dishwashers offered. I remember buying a lot of clothes there, too. I was the 'perfect fit' for most of the shirts, jeans, and semi-formal clothing they sold off the rack. Oh, those were the days....
Better still, towards the late 70s, a liquidation centre opened in the basement of the enormous warehouse just behind that mall in St-Laurent. My father lived there, I swear. We got some incredible deals on close-out items and more than a few "scratch & dent" appliances. I actually still have my very first microwave oven that I bought at that clearance centre in 1986. It was brand-new, in the box, but it was marked down because the model was being discontinued. And yes, it still works! |