At the very beginning of the 20th
century, more and more editorials decried that Christmas was becoming to
“commercialized”. In the first couple of decades, though, the editorials
were critical of individuals who were more interested in the cost of the
gifts than the spirit behind them. Then, an editorial in 1911 said,
”Christmas in the good old days used to be a season of celebration and
generosity….Today it is a gift-giving enterprise….The Christmas festival
is celebrated everywhere but its highest expression is seen in the
department store”. A 1913 article in “Biblical World” mentioned the
anxiety of gift giving “lest we give someone a present of less (or more)
value than the present someone has given us”. But then the article asked
readers to focus on the fact that, “even the most commercialized of us
want to make someone else happy. We actually are ready to give something
to make this happiness secure”.
In Willimantic, however, “commercialization” didn’t seem to be a
problem. Shopping Main Street, filled with other shoppers and small
stores whose owners and employees were local folks, was a true joy. The
generosity and Christmas spirit exhibited by local merchants was felt by
all. A good example is this one. In the 1920s and ‘30s, Frank P.
Lombardo‘s fruit and
vegetable store was at 763 Main Street. One of Frank’s sons recalled how
generous his father was to those less fortunate.
“The store was located next to an alley.
At Christmas time my father would go to the tree farms
and purchase hundreds of Christmas trees.
He would have them placed in the alley next to the building.
During the night time, the youngsters from the poorer families would
raid the valley and get a nice Christmas tree to brighten up their homes
for the holiday. Many would
tell my father the trees were being stolen but he would just smile and
say, ‘They need a tree for Christmas.’ Of
course, he always had his mental
calculator operating so he knew
how many trees he could afford to
have stolen and still make a profit.” From the 1970s on,
Willimantic’s older residents fondly remembered Christmas shopping in
the 1920s and ‘30s. “On a
Saturday afternoon it would take two or three hours just to walk from
Church Street to Bank Street. We chatted with the people on the street,
and stopped in the shops to pass the time.
No one would think of passing by Hurley's without stopping in to
visit with Edmund and Verna
Hurley and later the three boys, George Fraser, Earl McSweency, and
Arthur Loiselle. The shops
were open on Christmas Eve
and everyone was downtown doing their last minute shopping and kissing
their Willimantic neighbors for a Merry Christmas.” That is what
shopping was like before the advent of super stores and markets. Let’s
move ahead to 1967. First Selectman Ralph Crosthwaite issued holiday
greetings to the residents of the Windham-Willimantic area. He said, “As
we approach this festive holiday, I want to sincerely wish each and
every citizen a most joyous Christmas ever mindful that this feeling of
goodwill is in commemoration of the birth of the Christ Child. We have,
indeed, many things to be thankful and joyful about this year. Our
citizens are enjoying peace, prosperity and good health. All these
things make for better living and a happier community.” The Christmas
shopping rush was in “full swing” in downtown Willimantic, and it looked
as if 1967 would be a record-breaking Christmas for local businesses.
Opening hours were extended for one week until December 23, with stores
staying open until 9 p.m. every night. John Wrana, director of the
Willimantic Chamber of Commerce, urged shoppers to, “Try Willimantic
First.” These were the days when Willimantic
boasted five rnen’s shops, two sporting goods stores, seven shoe
stores, seven women’s shops, six department stores, four hardware
stores and a wide variety of eating
places. Kokoska announced that all city parking was free until
Christmas and Police Chief
Martin Viullermet added that traffic had been very heavy because
of the extremely mild weather. He also announced that he was
organizing extra patrols to help out of town shoppers find parking lots.
Heavy snow on Dec. 23 ensured that it was a white Christmas in
Willimantic. A heavy storm deposited five inches of the white stuff onto
the city streets, beginning at 2 am. Public Works Superintendent Alexis
Caisse announced that plowing, sanding and salting had commenced at 3
a.m., but there was still a large number of minor auto accidents during
the early morning.
This week’s photo
shows the interior of the Fullerton Fournier clothing store decorated
for Christmas. The women’s clothing store was started by James Fullerton
in the early 1900s. In 1934, Albert Fournier, who had bought the store
previously, reorganized the store and incorporated it as
Fullerton-Fournier.
Click photo for larger version
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