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The Way We Shopped
Eitel's, Zahn's, Brandt's, Christie's, Robert Hall, Wiegend's,
Lamberton's, Kortendick's, Lad's and Lassie's, Goldblatt's - these are a few of the names we remember when we think of shopping
in Retro Racine. Many of us have our personal favorites, and these stores are imprinted in our memories. In
some cases, we can even sing their radio jingles - like the one for Robert Hall. I bet you could sing that one right
now! For those of us growing up in Retro Racine, a shopping trip downtown spelled excitement. I admired
the glamorous display windows at Eitel's, and fondly recall Walgreen Drugstore, where they sold those cute
pints of ice cream. The J.C. Penney Department Store anchored the shopping district, with
the two dime stores, Neisner's and Kresge's on the other side of Main St. Neisner's downstairs had toys, dolls, and
interesting home decor like early lava-type lamps, lampshades with spangles, and fake fireplaces, and the main floor
had a classic soda fountain. By 1959, Racine had its first "shopping center"named Elmwood
Plaza, with its lead department store, Goldblatt's. Instead of looking for a parking space on the street, there was free parking with
plenty of space to navigate the tail fins, and we enjoyed browsing the retailers on the
plaza - a new word in our vocabulary. Goldblatt's had the ambience of an upscale department store;
it had a classy appearance, but prices were still affordable. Another popular store at Elmwood was
Tots and Teens, which sold good quality children's clothing, including "huskies" and "chubby" sizes. Shopping trends in Retro Racine continued to evolve with the opening of Turnstyle, Terry's
and Zayre's in the mid-'60's. These ultra-modern stores with their automatic sliding doors made us feel like buying a pair
of shoes had entered the space age along with the Jetson's. As residents rushed to
embrace these futuristic mega-stores, downtowns and local merchants in cities like Racine suffered irreparable
losses, but many of us remained dedicated downtown shoppers. As a teenager, my friends and I shopped downtown at Lerners or Zahn's
and had lunch at Heckel's. Downtown was accessible by bus, we didn't have to rely on parents for rides, and it
was a cool place to see people and be seen.
Apart from downtown or shopping centers, Retro Racine had smaller
shopping and business districts which were well known - West Racine, Uptown, and Flat Iron Square on the north side,
and more. Some of us did most of our purchasing near home and this made for a great sense of community.
I remember
going downtown after school on the bus and walking through the slushy curbs to the block on Main St. with the
dime stores. They had all the merchandise displayed in glass sided bins. None of this plastic packaging.
In one store, I think it was Neisner's, you had to go downstairs to see the Christmas decorations. I remember how neat it
looked as you descended - all the decorations neatly displayed. I would buy a ceramic figure or
animal or two each visit for a nativity scene. Most pieces were 29 cents or so. Over
the years I completed the set, which I still display. My mother worked at Zahn's and I went shopping either there - like at
this huge cosmetics counter (being careful she didn't see me) or at Brandt's a door or two down. Brandt's had LP's. I purchased
Phil Spector's Christmas album there at full retail. (Discounts could be had at Allen's Merchandise
over at Horlick's.) The bells. Oh, the sound of the church bells that would chime over Monument Square. Often it was snowing
and the bells had a soft muffled tone. Traffic would have that whooshing sound as cars negotiated the snow.
When my mother got off work,
I got a ride home out to the "country" where we lived. Some nights I would take the Yellow line bus back up Douglas Ave. to
Augusta St. to stay with my grandparents. My grandmother would be cooking with her apron on. My grandfather would be feverishly
decorating the tree with a huge Christmas village he assembled using pieces of this and that, Santa
Claus, deer, lots of lights and plastic kits from model railroads. In those days there were no ceramic village collections.
I think he had the idea first. And always in the windows were the glowing candlelights.
We usually had Christmas Eve
there after church services - half the family went to the Lutheran Church and the other half to Catholic Mass a little later
in the evening. We ate cookies and prune stick and the older folks had a glass of Port wine. We often
sang "Silent Night" together. I always gave my grandfather those plastic tipped cigars in the five pack, I think they were
Tiparello or White Owls. The kids opened presents hastily and proceded to raise "cane". Yes, I even got a BB gun once and
did not shoot anyone's eye out! Often it got so loud that my grandfather offered a whole quarter to whoever could stay quiet
the longest. We'd all sit on the couch in the parlor, looking out at the snow gently falling, and stare at eachother
for what seemed to be hours before someone started to talk and you'd point and yell, "Tommy is talking!" Game over.
Precious memories.
Tim Molgaard
I grew up on Racine's north
side near Garbo Motors in the fifties. I remember standing in line at the Venetian or Rialto back around
the corner and on Lake Ave. to see Pinocchio, Bambi, or Elvis' first movie. Buying a large bag of
popcorn at Kresge's dime store because it was cheaper. Going to J.C. Penney's department
store downtown and shopping with my Mom, just to window shop. Going to Christmas children's parties from my Dad's work, Wis.
Natural Gas, at Lutheran High, standing in line to see Santa and then getting tongue tied and not able to tell Santa what
I wanted. I remember walking from the north side of Racine all the way to Goldblatt's
department store in the middle of winter, and then having to call my father to come and get me because I was too cold.
I remember walking the
streets with my friends to Shorecrest in zero temperatures just to hang out at Shorecrest's Brunswick Bowling Lanes.
I remember taking the bus
after school to shop at record stores. I remember buying my first "real" 35mm camera at the local camera shop downtown for
$50. (If anyone remembers the name, let me know).
I remember going to local "coffee houses" to hear local folk
singers. Going to the "big city" Milwaukee on Prospect St. to hear local folk singers. I remember skipping out of Horlick
at a school assembly with my friends to hang out downtown and not getting caught at homeroom check in. I remember hanging
out in biology class with Miss Hauge (I think this is correct) (Horlick) and listening to the Beatles' "Hard Day's Night".
Sitting in Mrs. Bonady's civics class (Horlick) with water pistols during Senior Skip Week. Sitting in French language lab once a week to listen to "Michelle" by the
Beatles.
I remember going to Racine Recreation Department
dances at Johnson's Park in the summer. I remember going to Shakey's pizza restaurant in 1966 on a Friday night and almost
half the Horlick senior graduating class was there. I remember waiting outside of Shakey's looking for a date to escort into
the place. (Because girls from Illinois had to have a date to get in. Once they got inside, they dumped us!) I remember the
Brat Stop in Bristol Township and buying 50 cent beers.
I remember having split shifts at Horlick; some shifts began
between 6:00 and 9:00 am, because of overcrowding hallways.
I remember sitting in Mr. Wiklund's industrial
arts machine shop during homeroom at Horlick, and getting dirty from machine cuttings and metal shavings each morning. Marching
band practice outside on the football field with Mr. Banazak's "Rebel Band".
These are some of my memories (some should have been forgotten)
during my high school years, 1964 to 1966. It is amazing what we experienced during the baby boom years. Thanks for the memories
Nick Bilello, Horlick Class of l966
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The Movie Palaces of Retro Racine
A discussion of Racine in the '50's and 60's would not be complete
without a mention of Belle City's theaters. This is where, as wide-eyed youngsters, we saw our first movies, and indeed saw
some of the finest movies ever made.
The three movie theaters I knew best were the Venetian, the
Rialto, and the Capitol Theater on the west side. Talk about friendly competition, the Venetian and Rialto were a stone's
throw from eachother downtown. My memories of the Venetian have more clarity than the Rialto; I think this is possibly because
the Venetian showed more kid-oriented movies - animated Disney classics like Cinderella and some of the outrageously
funny kid films like The Absent-Minded Professor and The Shaggy Dog. Sometimes we saw free matinees
hosted by the school safety patrol elephant (what was its name?) or similar events which consisted
mostly of cartoons. On those occasions, the balcony of the Venetian was filled with popcorn munching kids, who hopefully
would eat the popcorn instead of throwing it at eachother. When you looked up at the ceiling of the Venetian, it
appeared dark and vast with twinkling stars - I actually wondered if somehow I was looking at the night sky.
Of course it is nearly impossible to recall what was shown
where, but I do remember a few of the films that I saw at the Capitol - The Greatest Story Ever Told and the Beatle's
Help. There may have been other theaters in Racine at the time as well; I think there was a theater in uptown,
called the Uptown, and of course, there was the Westgate, an outdoor theater. I remember very little about it, only that I
was wearing my sleeper, and was probably asleep before the coming attractions. How fortunate we were,
though, to experience unforgettable movies on wide screens, in technicolor, in beautiful theaters! I am so glad that
I was able to see Gone With the Wind in a movie palace of Retro Racine.
I lived in Racine from 1956 to 1968.
When I return for a visit I head directly to Kewpee's. Maybe
Park-In on Douglas also. I cannot go home until I've had a Wells Bros. Pizza. I remember taking the white line downtown for
a dime...double feature at the Rialto or Venetian for 35 cents. Woolworth's and Kresge dime store for a Mad magazine. I remember
a cigar store called Rales (I think) where I would buy Famous Monster magazine. I remember the great summer job working at
Brandt's discount store on Monument Square. I remember swimming at the Quarry on Northwestern Ave(before they built a beach
and charged admission) I remember Gosieski's music store on 6th, storytime at the old library with Mrs. Showalter...plays
by the Racine Theater Guild featuring Packy the Elephant....the large, elephant shaped bank at the zoo which asked for donations
in hopes of buying an elephant. I remember the smell of the monkey house and ice skating at the zoo....having
a hot dog on toast at the Red Cross drug store....or eating at the Hub, Ted and Jerry's, Wigs and Ella's, the Spinning Wheel,
and of course, the Corner House. I remember my mother dragging me to stores like Zahn's, Eitel's, Wolf Bros, Jos Lawrence,
etc. I remember bowling in the basement of the Arcade building, having lunch in the coffee shop at the Hotel Racine. I remember
dancing at the Nitty Gritty Club or the CYO dances at the YMCA ... making the drive to uptown Racine for saxophone lessons
at Johnson's music. I never spent the summers in Racine because we had a cottage in Burlington, on Brown's Lake, but for the other 9 months of the year, Racine was a great place to grow up. After writing this... I really
need a Kringle!!
Jay Gordon
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