There used to be a saying in the Recorder newsroom that, once the next day’s pages had gone down to the printing press, you didn’t yell “Stop the press!” unless there was a train derailment or Wilson’s was burning. That’s how important Wilson’s Department Store was: It could literally “stop the presses.”
For readers with long memories, the announcement of its demise a year ago this week, after 137 years, could only be compared to the Mansion House hotel fire the night of Jan. 8, 1959. For the benefit of newcomers, the Mansion House sat on the corner of Main and Federal streets, where the Greenfield Savings Bank (a former tenant!) is today. The building dated back to 1828 and in its heyday, an electric train ran between the hotel and the train station at the base of Miles Street. There were retail shops at street level and businesses and hotel rooms on the upper floors. Old-timers remember throwing streamers off its second-floor balconies to celebrate the end of World War II. Former Recorder Columnist Irmarie Jones remembers doing a live radio program Saturday mornings from the Mansion House, where WHAI radio had its studios on the second floor.
Just as there are countless memories connected with the Mansion House, so too are there countless memories connected with Wilson’s. Any gift that came in a Wilson’s gift box was automatically special. You couldn’t go wrong giving your husband or father a Pendleton wool shirt at Christmastime. Getting a new hair-do (remember the flip?) at Wilson’s Beauty Salon was a rite of passage for many a teenage girl. Abbott’s Gallery, the lingerie department, the kitchen shop, the make-up counter, and so many other departments that waxed and waned over the decades (remember the fabric department?) charted the course of customers’ lives.
Many readers can stand in any one spot in their homes and spin around, pointing to furnishings, lighting fixtures and décor that came from Wilson’s. Generations of moms took their children to shop at Wilson’s. Losing it has been like losing a family album — each department, like a snapshot, carrying an image of ourselves from an earlier age. Just entering through the front doors was to inhale an essence of perfumery and new wares that was as familiar and evocative to shoppers as the aroma of madeleines was to Marcel Proust.
However, all good things must come to an end. The loss of the Mansion House block opened up an important part of downtown for urban renewal, though it took years for its footprint to be filled. Similarly, the departure of Wilson’s Department Store could one day be supplanted by something new and exciting. That, too, will take time.
Meanwhile, we can all share our memories of Wilson’s Department Store in a special edition of “In Business Since,” the Recorder’s annual supplement celebrating local businesses young and old. This year, the theme will be “Remembering Wilson’s” and we’re seeking your memories, old and new. Please email them to charris@recorder.com or call Supplements Editor Chris Harris at 413-772-0261, ext. 265.