Black Friday, Holiday Windows & Santa
“Black Friday” has come to describe what is generally the busiest in-person shopping day of the year. Many assume that it refers to the season when retailers “move into the …
Shopping
Dog Foils Valentine Thieves
Theft of Valentines Prevented by Observant Dog Often when I’m researching a story, I come upon another piece of information that is just too good to ignore. This story is …
The Story of Cigar Store Indians
In the 19th century many people could not read, so store owners placed carvings of various symbols in front of their shops so passersby knew what was sold inside. A …
Stimulating Retail Sales in Stores 100 Years Ago
At holiday time, a special treat for the family often involved a trip downtown (or to the nearest big city) to see the store windows, talk to Santa, and admire the town Christmas tree. Major cities still have this holiday atmosphere (think of Rockefeller Center and the windows at Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks), but in smaller communities across the country the fabric of the shopping experience has been changed by the rise of big box stores.
