114-116 West Washington Blvd was the former Montgomery Ward.
The West Washington location is now Mid-Town Crossing. Like Sears, Montgomery Ward also sold kit houses from their Book of Homes and Wardway Homes catalogs from 1910 to 1931. Several are found on Internet Archive as shown in the photo and discussed under Kit house on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
We are often asked about a cutoff year for us accepting photos. History doesn't have an end date, and neither do we. We...
We are often asked about a cutoff year for us accepting photos. History doesn't have an end date, and neither do we. We copy even recent snapshots, up to the present, especially of buildings, businesses, and events.
For those of us who lived it, the 1970s don't seem that far distant, but this image was taken 50 years ago. This ca. 1972 snapshot captured David Castator in a fair ride at Fort Wayne's Northcrest Shopping Center. The center opened in 1957, part of a trend of suburban malls that prompted the removal of many downtown stores. In the background are Wards and Thom McAn stores.
Visiting malls and shopping centers (where 33% of retail sales occurred) was more of a social event and form of entertainment back then. Online shopping, recessions, and, more recently, Covid-19 slowed foot traffic to these shopping destinations and today many malls sit empty or under occupied throughout the state.
David's mom didn't realize that her picture of his toy train ride could help illustrate economic history! What stories do your photos tell? Set up an appointment to let us view and scan your family photos for our community digital archive (https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com). Contact info@indianaalbum.com.
Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The current Montgomery Ward Inc. is a national online shopping and mail-order catalog retailer that started several years after the original Montgomery Ward shut down.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the other reindeer are celebrated with the 1940s Wolf & Dessauer Santa Claus display starting with the lighting ceremony the night before Thanksgiving lasting through the Christmas season.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer—A First Edition Reading December 22, 2016 Dartmouth on YouTube. The heroic little red-nosed reindeer was created by Robert L. May ’26 in 1939. Dartmouth holds the original illustrated text, created by Robert May ’26 in 1939. Read along with Professor Nathaniel Dominy, our resident Rudolph expert.
December 23, 2022 post by The Library of Congress on Facebook:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was originally created as a promotion for Montgomery Ward. He first appeared in a 1939 book and later in this 8-minute 1948 film, which predates the stop motion version by 16 years. As far as we know, the Library has the only complete version of the original 1948 release. See
The full video Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s First Starring Film Role December 16, 2014 by Mike Mashon at the The Library of Congress blog.
As the blog points out: notice that it [Internet Archive video below] begins and ends with the Johnny Marks song. But if the film was released in 1948 and the song wasn’t published until a year later, how can that be? The version with the song is a 1951 re-release of the cartoon that retains the body of the story, but includes a new opening and end credit. As far as we can tell, we have the only complete version of the original 1948 release.
December 24, 2022 post by the U.S. Census Bureau on Facebook:
The story of #Rudolph the Red-Nosed #Reindeer debuted 83 years ago!
The flying reindeer’s story was written as part of a holiday promotion sponsored by the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939. It was later turned into an animated short film.
Preview the animated promotion and learn more about Rudolph using #CensusData and records: U.S. Census Bureau History: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Shining a Light on the Largely Untold Story of the Origins of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer By Nate Bloom, December 20, 2011 on InterfaithFamily.com. Author’s note: This article was put together with the help of persons related to the late Johnny Marks, the composer of “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and the late Robert May, the brother-in-law of Marks. May wrote the poem on which the Rudolph song was largely based. I have also consulted many other sources, including census records and old newspaper articles. Both Marks and May put out some contradictory or incomplete stories about the Rudolph song/poem and about their respective personal biographies. Therefore, it is hard to tell “the whole story” at this time. There are some family members I would like to talk to that I have not been able reach; I am sure they could fill in some gaps in the story. Now on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Montgomery Ward Department Store “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Book, 1939
Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to create a Christmas story the store could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick.
The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year; and it was decided that creating its own book would save money. In the first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph’s story were distributed by Montgomery Ward.
May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into song. Marks’ musical version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949.
This object is one of 137 million artifacts, works of art and specimens in the Smithsonian’s collection. This object is not on display.
In 1939 Robert May wrote the tale of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as a promotional booklet for the Montgomery Ward department store chain. His brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, turned it into a song and sent a demo to several pop singers including Gene Autry.
According to the Autry Archives, "Gene gave it a listen, but was not impressed. He played it for his wife, Ina, who loved it and suggested that it would be a big hit. Carl Cotner, Gene’s long-time arranger, also encouraged the Singing Cowboy to do it. On June 27, 1949 Gene went in the studio and laid down the track. And, if you can believe this, Autry writes in his autobiography Back in the Saddle Again, that it was done in one take!"
The Gene Autry Personal Papers and Business Archives (1930 – 1998) are part of the Braun Library at the Autry National Center, a museum dedicated to exploring and sharing the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past to the present to inspire our shared future. Autry was not only a popular entertainer but a very successful businessman as well. The Autry archives contain music correspondence, business records, scripts, photos, and ephemera.
A grant from the NHPRC helped the Archives process the Autry papers and over 1,800 feet from various archival collections that broaden the story of the American West. You read more about Gene Autry at the Online Archives of California at Finding Aid to the Gene Autry Personal Papers and Business Archives T.MSA.28
