Last week, my friend Paul phoned to ask if I was interested in going to a store outside the Wyoming Valley Mall. I wasn’t really doing anything, so I went for the ride.
Once there, we decided to take a stroll inside the mall and man, was I shocked!
My memories of the mall didn’t match up to what I witnessed.
I knew the Bon Ton was gone as was Sears, but I had no idea the food court is a ghost town and so many stores in the main hallway are empty.
Back in the 70s, it was pretty common to hear, “Let’s go to the mall,” “Do you want to go to the mall?” It was the thing to do. I never had money to buy anything, but it was a place to go and gather, meet friends or grab a pizza at the Orange Bowl.
Long gone are The Merry Go Round and the Chess King. I had classmates who worked at both places so, naturally, I’d stop in to visit. Even the Verizon cell phone store pulled out.
Surprisingly, Spencer’s is still open. Spencer’s is a novelty store that definitely attracts a younger crowd. To think that retail giants like Sears and Bon Ton are gone and Spencer’s is still hanging in there is mind-boggling.
The crazy thing is, walking through Spencer’s was like walking through a time machine. The store never changes. The walls are still lined with t-shirts and the costume jewelry is still in displays in the center of the store.
If you need an off the wall t-shirt or hat, you go to Spencer’s.
Retail is always looking to find ways to change floor plans or displays to attract customers, but not Spencer’s. Maybe there are lessons to be learned — like don’t tamper with success or change is not always the way. I find that true in life, as well.
My favorite memory of the Wyoming Valley Mall is from Christmas time.
The center of the mall was always decked to the nines and Santa would listen to children’s Christmas wishes.
One December, I was “up the mall” walking past the Christmas wonderland display where animated deer were equipped with a speaker and microphone.
As I walked by, one of the deer called out my name. I freaked out. To this day, I don’t know who was behind the voice of that deer but imagine yourself talking to an animated animal in the middle of the mall.
Shopping malls all over the country are suffering. Even in our area, the Steamtown Mall went under and was sold for pennies on the dollar.
The Schuylkill Mall off Route 81 at Frackville, once owned by Crown American, one of the biggest developers of malls, was a giant, housing Sears, Kmart, Hess’s and Bon Ton. That mall went bankrupt and was completely demolished in September 2018. Two industrial warehouses now stand in its place.
Crown American developed both the Wyoming Valley Mall (1971) and the Viewmont Mall (1968), developing 31 malls total.
Late last year, mall owners turned over ownership to their lenders after owing $72 million on their loan.
Interesting fact about the Wyoming Valley Mall – it sits on land where the Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster occurred in 1919 when 92 miners were killed in an explosion. Only seven miners escaped uninjured.
Many would say the culprit is Amazon and online shopping. This is probably true so the big question is, what can be done to get malls back in action? If I had that answer, I’d be a wealthy man. I do know current owners are actively seeking retailers for empty spaces.
With online shopping becoming more popular, it may be only a matter of time before we say good-bye to shopping malls, as we knew them.
Groundhog Day
Thank goodness we turned the calendar from January to February and escaped relatively unharmed. I suppose it wasn’t that terrible and, now that the shortest month of the year is here, plus one extra day, I can only hope the trend continues.
Even though we may be behind in snowfall, temps have been cold enough for local ski resorts to continue making snow, making it profitable for them. Everyone wins.
With the string of nice days we’ve had and the moderate temperatures coming up this week, I feel we’ve turned another corner on winter.
Today is Groundhog Day and, by the time you read this, the rodent in Punxsutawney will have made his prediction. Of course, we know groundhogs cannot predict anything and it always seems when they yank the poor thing out of his home, he’s sleepy and irritated.
The first celebration of our most famous groundhog (Gus from the PA lottery is the second most famous groundhog) in predicting the weather took place in 1886.
It’s all in fun and, apparently, is big business with groundhog chapters all over the world. Who knew?
As a child, we all thought Phil’s prediction was the truth – again, great fun. Whatever he predicts, I hope winter ends quickly and quietly.
Quote of the week
“Without wearing any mask we are conscious of, we have a special face for each friend.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Thought of the week
“A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them fortune.” – Richard Wately
Bumper sticker
“Don’t think, just do.” – Horace
