Yes, the Christmas season, then as now, inspired joy and generosity among both young and old in Owensboro. And as is the case still today, local merchants were quick to take the opportunity to encourage potential shoppers to patronize their stores for the finest selections and best bargains.
Take, for example, an advertisement published by the J.C. Penney Co. Inc., in the Dec. 3 edition of the Messenger-Inquirer, touting its buying power as “a nation-wide institution” with 571 department stores: “Because of the enormous quantity of Toys purchased for our hundreds of Stores for Christmas, our prices are unusually low,” they bragged – and as evidence, they offered prices starting at only 4 cents for rubber balls and 49 cents for “exact reproductions of locomotives, automobiles, fire engines etc., made of strong metal and highly colored.” The price for games ranged from 39 cents to $1.98, and there was a “splendid assortment” of dolls to be had for 98 cents to $9.90. “There are dolls with painted hair and eyes, dolls with real hair and moving eyes, dolls which look like real babies, and dolls which can say ‘Mama’! They never lose their charm for their small ‘mothers’!”
Not to be outdone by a national chain, McAtee, Lyddane & Ray, calling itself “Owensboro’s Store of Standard Merchandise” and “The Largest Department Store in Western Kentucky,” announced that “The Christmas Shopping Rush Is On – And McAtee’s Is Ready For You!” As evidence of their holiday spirit and readiness, their advertisement lured shoppers in with the promise that “The store is beautifully dressed for the reception of its many friends – and every department is prepared with ideas, and hosts of suggestions, to make the path of the gift shopper smoother. Our windows are crowded with suggestions; and down the sparkling aisles of the street floor flow hundreds daily who realize that ‘A Gift From McAtee’s Means More.’”
Even the smaller stores laid claim to shoppers, however. Henry Pardon (on 3rd Street) focused solely on the wonders of the radio as an ideal gift for others, or for oneself: “Just think of sitting in your room and hearing Boston, Chicago, Pittsburg, Atlanta, St. Louis; it’s wonderful; and prices are sure cheap.” For those needing a little help with those cheap prices – ranging from $45 to $150 – the store offered “easy payments.”
Those looking for a special gift for the men in their lives – “Dad and the Boys” – were urged to “give each a bottle of Glo-Co Hair dressing.” Available at drug counters and barber shops everywhere, Glo-Co was “the liquid that keeps the hair in place all day.”
But what of those who wished to remember family and friends living elsewhere? Not to worry. Tapscott Florist to the rescue! “Save the postage,” they urged. “Say it with flowers and say it with ours. Use our wonderful Christmas service. We can deliver flowers fresh and beautiful, by auto truck, in any city in the world Christmas morning. This added service costs you nothing, so why risk the congested mails.”
Alas! Even 100 years ago, there were grinches about! The health department warned of an imminent epidemic of scarlet fever, reminding everyone with a sore throat to quarantine to prevent its spread. For those who flouted these precautions: “The laws are very stringent with respect to scarlet fever and those who do not observe them should be reported to the grand jury when it meets in January.”
As if this were not bad enough, the newspaper reported that a “tiny tot” had called their office, begging for reassurance that Santa Claus was alive and well. “The meanest man in the world” had told the little one that “a fatal accident had befallen the jolly Christmas giver.”
Whew! What a relief! Santa lives on!
As we look back over the holiday celebrated in our community a century ago, we also note an advertisement from Smith & Bates encouraging everyone to capture those Christmas memories with “the genuine Eastman line: Autographic Kodaks $6.50 up,” as well as film and accessories. “As the shutter ‘clicks,’ graphic glimpses of the fun the season brings are transferred to film” – perhaps to be enjoyed by generations to follow … perhaps even by those reading this article today.
Whether on film, as digital images or as memories in your heart – may the joy of Christmas 2024 be yours forever. OL
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