Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

Well This stinks.
Blogspot won't let me upload todays Bruce . I guess I will try to do it form home this weekend since I snagged a bunch from Pinterest.

Sadly , an era is ending here in H town.
They are closing Macys downtown, or as we refer to it ....FOLEYS !
Yes, it's still Foleys to almost all of us.

Foleys was the classic department store. Occupying an entire city block, it had everything from a tea room on the top floor to a bargain basement. For many a young girl in town , Foleys was both a rite of passage and a personal experience to be shared with the females of her family. You " Got Dressed" when you came into town for a trip to Foleys , and whether the purpose was something for an upcoming dance or browsing at the huge selection of wedding invitations from Cranes, it was special . Many of the gals that I work with who grew up here have loving memories of shopping and luncheon at the tea room. For some, it was the first recognition from their mothers that they as  daughters were growing up . For others , it was a  special lesson in ladylike deportment . Some bonded as mothers of the bride and brides to be  looked at book upon book from Crane as generations had before them . Across the street from the store was the bakery and small restaurant where you could order your wedding and grooms cake while eating the best chopped beef brisket on a steamed bun known to mankind.

If you worked downtown as I do, you relied on Foleys to get you out of a jam or as a safety net when  a last minute date was accepted . You could run over and buy un run hose if your desk stash was empty or a whole new outfit if you really knew the store. Of course , if you really knew the store, you knew that the better shoes were on the second floor on the back side by the ladies lounge area..no restrooms there ..a ladies lounge was the standard the Foley Brothers set. If you forgot a birthday, you could run over and trust me, many a husband was saved by the fine jewelry department on their almost overlooked wedding anniversary.

As the mid 1980's moved forward, you could literally chart the economic angst by watching the shoppers or lack there of at the store. As Palais Royal, Sakowitz and many other long time retailers , including Woolworths  ( I still miss their lunch counter on the basement/tunnel level ) closed or relocated to suburbia. Don't laugh, Woolworths was always fun to kill a lunch hour by browsing . Foleys was the last bastion left in the original downtown retail area. Some feared it's imminent death when the Park was constructed , but the Park was never really a competitor..it still has more food venders and small niche shops than all around retail and the Park is showing signs of self awareness regarding  the challenges it sees in  competing  for a dollar.

Then Foleys was bought by Macys.
Macys promised a lot but to be blunt, the effort was half assed at best and the quality of the merchandise was bad enough that you realized that you had a choice..pay for overpriced crap or go closer to home.
It's only been in the last 15 years or so that the concept of outlet malls like Tanger have taken root , and let me tell ya, buddy they have.

In all honesty , the final nail in the coffin was hammered by shoppers like me.
Instead of retail , etail took over as we all became more comfortable with shopping on line . For some it is a time management issue . I can't answer for others , but for me it was also not much of a choice .

I hate going to the mall because of the ignorant way many people act. Regardless of age or back round , they are so convinced of their divine entitlement that they have no concept at all if the idea of common manners or courtesy . Malls didn't kill stand alone retailers all by themselves. Bricks and Mortar retail is dying because to a great degree ,  younger and future generations  missed out on the lessons learned in a tea room on how one acts in public .

Like Foleys and or Macys, courtesy and good manners are closing shop as we speak.


Ciao,

Aunty Pol