Old Time Department Stores
Location(s)
In Butler, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s and '60s, Troutman's Department Store was the place to shop. For the rich, there was Jaffe's, and of course there was Woolworth's, but my middle-class tastes were served at Troutmans. Now longer in existence, I believe it was a regional chain, and know for sure there was a location in Greensburg.
The neatest thing about shopping in Troutman's was the elevator. It was run by an elevator operator, and was just grand! There was a polished metal grill inside the door, so that once the main door opened up, the operator manually opened the grilled door to allow passengers on and off. There was nothing self-serve about this elevator! You asked the operator for the proper floor, and if you didn't know where to find what you wanted, the operator could direct you. The operator was also responsible for stopping the elevator at the appropriate level; it did not automatically stop so that the main shopping floor was flush with the floor of the elevator - there was some skill involved in that.
Clerks in the various departments were truly there to serve you. They brought your clothes to the changing room, hung up what you didn't want or like after you had tried it on, and even would go find different sizes and colors for you. They actually measured your feet in the shoe department. If you couldn't find what you wanted, you never heard today's standard answer, "I think, yeah, they quit making that." Everyone was offered special service because they would contact the manufacturer to find out if what you wanted could be sent.
But best of all, Troutman's had an old fashioned accounting system. When you paid a clerk for your purchase, she or he would write out a sales slip (by hand!), put that along with your money (actual bills and coins!) in an envelope, and send it through a vacuum tube to the accounting department. This worked similarly to our current drive-in banks. And you always wondered where the mysterious accounting department was! No shopper ever invaded this inner sanctum. By return through the vacuum tube you would receive a receipt and any change due to you.
Troutman's even delivered.
Can you remember when life was so unhurried, and shopping was an experience?
- AnneH's Stories
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If these walls could talk
Like the Storytrax headquarters, my current office is also in a former department store. In 2005, my employer, The State of Ohio Department of Taxation, moved into a three story building that had been a Lazarus store. Lazarus had been in business for over 100 years and was a Central Ohio landmark. All the natives here have stories to tell: Going to see the beautiful Christmas displays in their windows, Visiting Santa Claus in the basement North Pole, meeting friends at the cafe. In my 18 years living in Columbus, I've never heard a bad story about Lazarus. They we're absorbed into Federated Dept. Stores. Some changed their name to Macy's and others just closed.
So now after a major remodel, it is a government office. The nuts and bolts of the building remain. We ride escalators to the different floors. I work in Housewares, oops, the basement file section. Taxpayer Assistance is in Women's wear. Don't look for your next sofa on the third floor, now it's the offices of Taxation Adminstration. I use the freight elevator to move cartons of 1040's, Assessment notices, Vendor's licenses, School District payments, Corporate returns, even Tax Protester's personal letters.
But the best part of working here is listening to people's memories of shopping at Lazarus - Priceless!
Miracle on 34th street
You know, when I come to downtown Altoona, to visit Ranger Randy and Erin at the Storytrax office, which was the old Gable's department store, lots of history seems to fill my veins. I've recently found old photos of my mom and uncle from the 1950's. They were with Santa claus at gable's dept store, and it reminds me of Miracle on 34th st.
" I hate a dirty joke, I do. Unless it's told by someone who, knows how to tell it. " Groucho Marx as Captain Spalding