Community Chat

[Westshopper]

Sears catalog* geeze..lol

[Spurt]

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@panda1234 wrote:

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

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@panda1234

I dont know how the JCP's are doing at the malls, but the Penny's at a huge popular shopping center here was packed with looooooooong check out lines and all registers open...........I bought 2 handbags that were on sale.....  It's a shame because that former CEO from Apple that JCP hired nearly put them into bankruptcy and the new CEO had to dig them out and bring them back....I hope he succeeds....

As far as Sears....nope no one shops there....people go through the store to get to the parking lot quicker---so sad!

[Twins Mom]

One of network tv stations recently did story about largest neighborhood with Sears homes. I believe it was in Illinois and was started by Amoco Oil. There was a need for workers. The homes still standing proudly. Sears was ahead of the times and it hurts seeing them suffer. I remember going with my dad to the tool department as he carefully selected the tools he needed for work. It was always Craftsman.

[Puzzle Piece]

Sears brought many AMERICAN families a long way.  Especially families,  The provided tools and clothing and shoes.  Housewares and appliances, furniture, electronics. 

I noticed in the mid 1970's when snob philosophy's rose up.  Sears was considered poison.  Yet the ancestors of those with their nose in the air had items from Sears or desired to have them but they were from the Great Depression or saved and sacrificed for their offspring - only to have their progeny stick their noses in the air at Sears. 

Sears offered homes in kits to purchase to live in so that you didn't have to live out of a tent.  Lots of folks won't share that due to fear that it will be known their ancestors lived out of tents or lived in shacks. 

Hats off to Sears, they were and hopefully will remain a good thing this country did for many to expereince on their journey called life. 

I miss the candy section that would sell the treats/nuts in a certain section of the store.  Seems a thing of the past. 

[panda1234]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@panda1234 wrote:

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

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@panda1234

I dont know how the JCP's are doing at the malls, but the Penny's at a huge popular shopping center here was packed with looooooooong check out lines and all registers open...........I bought 2 handbags that were on sale.....  It's a shame because that former CEO from Apple that JCP hired nearly put them into bankruptcy and the new CEO had to dig them out and bring them back....I hope he succeeds....

As far as Sears....nope no one shops there....people go through the store to get to the parking lot quicker---so sad!

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@Spurt wrote:

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@panda1234 wrote:

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

---

@panda1234

I dont know how the JCP's are doing at the malls, but the Penny's at a huge popular shopping center here was packed with looooooooong check out lines and all registers open...........I bought 2 handbags that were on sale.....  It's a shame because that former CEO from Apple that JCP hired nearly put them into bankruptcy and the new CEO had to dig them out and bring them back....I hope he succeeds....

As far as Sears....nope no one shops there....people go through the store to get to the parking lot quicker---so sad!

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It is sad. I must say JCP has more fashionable things than Sears. I think Kohls keeps people going back with the coupons, cash back and markdowns. 

[stevieb]

Around here, at least in my memory, Sears was never a particularly fashionable store, but at one time was good for some basics, appliances and so on, and did carry some nice linens, housewares, and even the occasional appealing furniture. In recent years, the few times I've been into the stores, they just seemed very 'bargain basement'. They still offered some worthwhile merchandise, even some appealing clothing and jewelry, but not a lot, and offered no 'ambiance' at all. I think both Sears and JCP missed the boat when they folded their catalogs, though I preferred Penny's.

[sabatini]

My main memory of the old Sears catalogue was that after it was used, some people would fold every single page down about half way, then fan the catalogue backwards, and use it as a doorstop.

It kinda looked like a yurt.

My neighbors did that.

They also had plastic furniture covers & carpet runners, and the mom made jello creations as entrees. 

The one I vividly recall was a molded green jello with ground beef in the center.

[Mominohio]

Funny this topic should come up right now. 

20 years ago, we bought Craftsman shovels, rakes and hoes from Sears shortly after we bought this house. 

The hoe broke just this year, and the rake was loosing some of it's 'teeth' so I packed them in the car and went to the mall to see if they'd still honor the lifetime warranty. 

Pleased to say, they were willing to do so. The problem, the big store in our nearest mall (in a town of about 50,000 plus quite a few small towns surrounding) did not carry a single hoe, and only two rakes, the most pitiful plastic garbage I've ever seen. And to top it off, they wouldn't ship any garden hoes into the store or my house according to the clerk that was well into his 50's and had been working for Sears since high school.

I remember when we bought those originals, the size of the outdoor tool area was huge, so much selection, and obviously great quality stuff to last 20 plus years of hard use. My biggest regret is that I didn't go back and pick up another one of each, and had I know quality in goods was going to go so far down hill over the years, I certainly would have.

I ended up having to drive 40 minutes to a small town that has a Sears Hometown Store (must be the scaled down versions for small towns). They had hoes, but still no decent rakes. I exchanged the hoe, bought a second one (and that wiped out their entire stock of hoes), and took my snaggle toothed rake back home, as I know it still performs better than the junk on the shelf.

Sears is slowly and painfully going out of business for a number of reasons, but I think having the lifetime warranty on the Craftsman line ended up hurting them over time. One clerk even told me that they are moving away from stocking or carrying things they will have to honor a warranty on, in order to save money.  

Who knew that a retail store that built much of it's business on tools and outdoor equipment would, in this day and age, not even stock a garden hoe in 2017. And wonder why they are going out of business. Can't even go in and get the most basic of things now.

[shoekitty]

I worked in a museum for years.  Heard many stories of the Sears catalogue.  Sears is referenced many times in newspaper articles, in letters and stories told by the old timers.  Back in the late 1800's the catalogue was a life saver for those in smaller communities and rural areas.  Everything to outhouses, stoves, heaters, canning equipment, patterns, and sewing supplies.  One old timer recalls waiting for almost 2 months for their  stove and roofing supplies to arrive.  It went by wagon to train, then wagon to most often a general merchandise store near where you lived.  They had to travel 40 miles to pick their items up.  At about 16 miles a day in wagon, it took a while.

the catalogue reviewed the latest styles and patterns were available.  Later on premade clothes were sold, but not at first.  Yardage, thread, all notions were ordered by mail.  Often cash was sent y mail.  Or, a check draft could be made up if you lived near a bank

the funniest story is how many a mom cut the women's items out of the catalogue before relinquishing the old catalogue to the outhouse, its final destination.  This was done so the boys and young men couldn't gaze upon sinful items as womens corsets , stays and underwear, lol

[Hayfield]

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@Halidon wrote:

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@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!

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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!

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I don't have a Hoosier but I have a Franklin cabinet, which is just like a Hooser.  It was my grandmothers and my mother had it in the basement, storing tools, it was in bad shape but I have it redone and it's in my foyer, I love it!  The slate that used to cool the items from the oven was still there but the glass jar that held the flour is long gone.  Since it wasn't in good condition and I had it redone, I don't think it has a lot of monetary value but it does hold precious memories for me as I remember it in her kitchen.