topic Re: Sears, Then and Now in Community Chat

Sears, Then and Now

handygal2 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 16:41:16 GMT

It's been well-publicized that Sears has been struggling to survive in recent years. But it wasn't always that way...

Here's the link to an interesting, informative article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/the-big-missteps-that-brought-an-american-retail-icon-to-the-edge-of-collapse/2017/06/01/19f4bee4-35a3-11e7-b4ee-434b6d506b37_story.html

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Mz iMac — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 16:48:28 GMT

Every outhouse had a Sears catalog...

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Sweet_Serenity — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 16:58:13 GMT

Small businesses in my home town, Family owned attention to detail & customer service. Sadly no longer exists. But! Wow those were the days! Fisherman's & Woolworth's, Lunch counter fun! Choose a balloon win ice cream. Fact is, Sears sold out long ago.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Othereeeen — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 17:24:07 GMT

Check out e-bay....they have HUNDREDS of listings for old Sears ( and other) catalogs...

Kinda makes me wish I hadn't tossed them over the years!!!!

bet they'd be a hoot to look at!!!

Re: Sears, Then and Now

kaydee50 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 17:26:34 GMT

When we were first married we looked forward to picking up the Sears catalog at our local store. Always enjoyed paging through 500 or more pages of stuff. After Sears goes, I expect JCP and Macy's to follow. An end of an era.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

StylishLady — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 17:51:50 GMT

Loved looking through the fall fashion catalogs. A lot more fun than sifting through web pages. Sometimes change is not better.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

millieshops — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 18:07:18 GMT

I suspect catalogs are a part of nostalgia that don't work nearly as well in our fickle retail economy. Although I had stacks of them in my 30 years of adulthood before Internet shopping came along, I almost never pick one up any longer.

I know I buy little nowadays so that doesn't mean much to the retailers, but so many people who do buy lots of "stuff" want new and newer. Catalogs to me represent a slower time in the world. That's not bad, but it's just not what works for lots of consumers. Just notice all the posts we get here asking for new items, for new vendors, for new hosts.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

terrier3 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 19:09:17 GMT

When my grandparents came to America from Italy in 1912, they bought a Craftsman style HOME from Sears...including most of their furniture.

They raised 15 children in that home, which just had 4 bedrooms, one bathroom and a shower in the basement. Luckily for them - their children were spaced out over 30 years, so they never had all children home at the same time.

I remember that they had a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, which also featured pull out bins for flour and other staples.

They bought two more lots behind their house, so my grandfather could have a huge garden, including a vineyard...LOVED that house, which is still standing!

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Halidon — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 19:37:45 GMT

@terrier3 wrote:
When my grandparents came to America from Italy in 1912, they bought a Craftsman style HOME from Sears...including most of their furniture.

They raised 15 children in that home, which just had 4 bedrooms, one bathroom and a shower in the basement. Luckily for them - their children were spaced out over 30 years, so they never had all children home at the same time.

I remember that they had a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, which also featured pull out bins for flour and other staples.

They bought two more lots behind their house, so my grandfather could have a huge garden, including a vineyard...LOVED that house, which is still standing!

That's a wonderful story. 15 kids, wow, that's really something. I vaguely remember my grandparents Hoosier kitchen. I would love to have that now!

Re: Sears, Then and Now

terrier3 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 19:47:06 GMT

@Halidon wrote:
@terrier3 wrote:
When my grandparents came to America from Italy in 1912, they bought a Craftsman style HOME from Sears...including most of their furniture.

They raised 15 children in that home, which just had 4 bedrooms, one bathroom and a shower in the basement. Luckily for them - their children were spaced out over 30 years, so they never had all children home at the same time.

I remember that they had a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, which also featured pull out bins for flour and other staples.

They bought two more lots behind their house, so my grandfather could have a huge garden, including a vineyard...LOVED that house, which is still standing!

That's a wonderful story. 15 kids, wow, that's really something. I vaguely remember my grandparents Hoosier kitchen. I would love to have that now!

Recently my cousin, the oldest daughter of my oldest aunt, died. She was 86. I went to the estate sale and found a framed print of wire fox terrier puppies from the 1930s. It used to hang in my grandparent's bedroom (my granny LOVED WFTs!).

Now it's in my bedroom, over her Sears catalogue dresser that I refinished. I have the bed in my spare room too. They are from the house they built - 105 years old - now real antiques!

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Lion — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 19:56:24 GMT

@terrier3 wrote:
When my grandparents came to America from Italy in 1912, they bought a Craftsman style HOME from Sears...including most of their furniture.

They raised 15 children in that home, which just had 4 bedrooms, one bathroom and a shower in the basement. Luckily for them - their children were spaced out over 30 years, so they never had all children home at the same time.

I remember that they had a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, which also featured pull out bins for flour and other staples.

They bought two more lots behind their house, so my grandfather could have a huge garden, including a vineyard...LOVED that house, which is still standing!

Hi Terrier - My grandparents had large families, too. 10 kids for both maternal and paternal grandparents, so lots of cousins!

My parents often tell stories about the Italian immigrant neighborhoods in their town when they were growing up, and how they all had big vegetable gardens and grew lots of delicious veggies. They also remember homemade pasta being put outside to dry in the sun.

Lots of good memories from them, and it makes me wish we still had communities and neighborhoods like that.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

SeaMaiden — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:08:37 GMT

There are several catalogue homes near where I live. They are so lovely and charming! To buy a complete house for $3000 and less! Imagine that! The homes near me look Like this:

Re: Sears, Then and Now

panda1234 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:29:55 GMT

@castlenv wrote:
When we were first married we looked forward to picking up the Sears catalog at our local store. Always enjoyed paging through 500 or more pages of stuff. After Sears goes, I expect JCP and Macy's to follow. An end of an era.

So sad.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

panda1234 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:33:36 GMT

@Lion wrote:
@terrier3 wrote:
When my grandparents came to America from Italy in 1912, they bought a Craftsman style HOME from Sears...including most of their furniture.

They raised 15 children in that home, which just had 4 bedrooms, one bathroom and a shower in the basement. Luckily for them - their children were spaced out over 30 years, so they never had all children home at the same time.

I remember that they had a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, which also featured pull out bins for flour and other staples.

They bought two more lots behind their house, so my grandfather could have a huge garden, including a vineyard...LOVED that house, which is still standing!

Hi Terrier -   My grandparents had large families, too.   10 kids for both maternal and paternal grandparents, so lots of cousins!

My parents often tell stories about the Italian immigrant neighborhoods in their town when they were growing up, and how they all had big vegetable gardens and grew lots of delicious veggies.    They also remember homemade pasta being put outside to dry in the sun.

Lots of good memories from them, and it makes me wish we still had communities and neighborhoods like that.

My mother would dry her pasta by putting a clean sheet over the bed and lay them on that to dry out.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

panda1234 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:38:40 GMT

I don't know anyone that shops at Sears or JC Penny. It seems most people go to Kohls today.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Yardlie — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:59:02 GMT

I miss the old Sears', Penney's, Ward's, Alden's and Spiegel's catalogs. It was so much fun when I was growing up to be able to pick out 3-4 new outfits for school each year. We lived in a small town and didn't have a lot of good shopping.They even had pages and pages of fabric that was available for sale. I learned to sew young and would make some of my own clothing. That was back when patterns and fabric were inexpensive.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Yardlie — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 21:00:19 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
There are several catalogue homes near where I live. They are so lovely and charming! To buy a complete house for $3000 and less! Imagine that! The homes near me look Like this:

I remember the catalog homes. Those look very nice!

Re: Sears, Then and Now

corita — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 21:19:09 GMT

Living out of the US, my family would come the "states" - as we called it - once a year. During that trip, my parents would buy many items that we could not get in our home county! I have such fond memories of going to Sears. It was always one of the first shopping stops.

Everything had to last for a year, until the next trip!! My mother would buy many stocking sets to last - women did not go bare legged in those days! Piles of school clothing for us kids. White underwear, socks and t shirts for my brothers and undies, socks and dresses for me. I remember my father buying several khaki colored pants for his weekend wear!!

Once I lived in the "states", I used to enjoy looking thru the Sears catalogues with my kids. Many of our Christmas presents were ordered from the big holiday issue! I can't remember the last time I was in a Sears store....

Re: Sears, Then and Now

ILoveFragrance — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 21:48:16 GMT

I so wish we could buy those things in the past that Sears carried now.

Re: Sears, Then and Now

Westshopper — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 22:05:56 GMT

Not only the nostalgia of the catalogs. But I remember when you had a wears CC that was big time, not everyone had one or got approved easily.