“Pay this present just before Christmas or the day after. Our object is to secure the services of our clerks at a time of the year when competitors are tempting them with higher wages.”
Perhaps realizing that his empire was running nicely without him, he decided to spend the holiday with his wife, Jennie and his three children. Although his family was probably thrilled, Frank had a different take on the matter.
“For the first time in twenty years I spent the night before Christmas at home. It’s the last time I’ll do so. I’d probably be of little service to any store, yet it is pleasanter to be in the fight at the last moment than to wait at home in suspense.”
The Grinches that Tried to Steal Christmas
Despite all the successful years, F. W. Woolworth Co. executives were sometimes called upon to muster up every ounce of inventiveness to salvage seasonal profits. Between 1879 and 1930, America suffered at least nine economic depressions that caused the demise of many retailers across America. F. W. Woolworth Co. was never one of the depression casualties, but the company had to work double-time during these periods. Buyers would be sent out to scour the countryside looking for holiday items they could sell to a financially strained public, yet still make a small profit. One of the most marked challenges occurred in the summer of 1914, with the onset of World War I. Frank and Jennie Woolworth were in France when the war broke out and were consequently marooned in Geneva for weeks before sailing home. This caused a fair amount of apprehension and inconvenience, but that was the least of the merchant prince’s problems. By then, Frank had begun to rely on European imports for some of his most popular lines of merchandise. He had bustling German warehouses in Bavaria, Sonneberg, and Thuringia, and French offices in Paris and Calais. All were closed for the duration of the war and suddenly the harbors were closed. With the Christmas season just months away, Frank Woolworth knew he had to act fast.
D.M.C.-brand imported British crochet cotton and knitting wool were among his fastest-selling commodities, and because of cheap labor costs, they were also high-profit items. Sales of all manner of sewing materials would routinely increase before the holidays as people across the country made seasonal scarves, coverlets, and quilts for their family members. By 1915, the supply of D.M.C. products were dwindling down to nothing, so Frank Woolworth wisely induced an American mill to try to duplicate these goods. Thus was launched the famous Woolco cotton line, which soon attained immense popularity. After the War, British sewing supplies, such as needles and snaps, were once again available for import, but this time around they were released under the Woolco brand name. The Woolco name itself eventually became a familiar brand name in Woolworth’s stores worldwide, and fifty years later, it became the name of the company’s Woolco store division.
Through fast-thinking and definitive action, Frank Woolworth had turned lemons into lemonade.
A similar strategy was used to replace the suddenly scarce German celluloid dolls and Christmas tree ornaments. Woolworth backed a domestic manufacturer to create a copy of both, and just in the nick of time, millions of American-made tree ornaments and dolls were available to holiday shoppers. World War II was even more devastating for Woolworth’s holdings overseas and stateside. Many of Woolworth’s largest suppliers and manufacturers stopped creating their standard retail products in order to manufacture war-related products. Tariffs, import problems, escalating prices, and government restrictions on the sale of certain goods all combined to make the Christmas seasons between 1941 and 1944 potential financial disasters. Ironically, the hardship of being forced to do without certain key items worked to spawn many entirely new industries. For example, the very Lauscha German Christmas ornaments that had once been responsible for millions in Woolworth’s seasonal profits were virtually replaced by the American-made counterparts. However, these original Lauscha trimmings have not been forgotten, and these days, they are extremely collectible, some of the rarest bringing hundreds of dollars apiece. Many of the old molds and original techniques have been resurrected by German glassblowers to meet the demand for traditional (and historically accurate) Christmas ornaments.
F. W. Woolworth’s saw a moderate decline in net profits during the war years and the various depressions, but the company soon bounced back, even stronger and richer in the purse than before. The Grinches that tried to steal its Christmas profits were no match for the inventive F. W. Woolworth Company, which somehow always seemed to overcome adversity.
A World of Bunnies, Shamrocks, and Candy Hearts
“For every day is a holiday at Woolworth’s! Fun-loving Americans … six or sixty years young … crowd the counters … thrilled with the delightful finds—the favors and the foolishness—full of the spirit that makes you want to blow whistles and ring bells and make noise. Woolworth’s is here to meet your needs, for every holiday and every special event!”
That’s the way the F. W. Woolworth Company described itself back in 1939, and they weren’t exaggerating. Christmas was just one slice of the mercantile pie. New Year’s Day was the official close of the Yuletide season, the signal for the busy bees at Woolworth’s to put away the Santas and noisemakers and bring out the Valentine hearts.
One of the company’s slogans was, “Woolworth’s calendar—like yours—is dotted with dates for good times!” And they did their best to make certain the customer’s good times translated into healthy profits. In rapid succession, one holiday after another was featured from coast to coast: St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July—all within the first six months of the year.
F. W. Woolworth’s was always in seasonal transition, which was a boon to patrons but a challenge to the managers, stockboys, and display artists who had to transform the stores’ themes, often in record time. It seemed as though they’d just dragged out the large boxes of shamrocks when it was time to the drag out the Easter baskets. If it was any consolation to those hard-working men and women, the steady flow of patrons appreciated their efforts. Children and adults alike thought it was a just plain fun to stroll down Woolworth’s aisles during the company’s heyday, and choose a special gift for a loved one, or a set of thematic paper plates and matching cups for the family’s annual Fourth of July picnic.
There was never any doubt as to which holiday one was dealing with, because each was marked by its own personal brand of colors and seasonal items. After New Year’s Eve, the Valentine’s Day ritual burst forth with a flurry of red, pink, and silver. This was the time for Woolworth’s customers to choose the perfect romantic greeting card for their sweethearts, to purchase boxed Whitman candies, to select an inexpensive but colorful corsage or piece of costume jewelry. And everyone remembers those tiny candy hearts with messages such as “I love you” and “Please be mine.”
EASTER EXCITEMENT … Easter baskets, jelly beans, greeting cards, gifts, candies, favors, typical of the seasonal specialties you’ll find at Woolworth’s.
ST. VALENTINE’S DAY … Woolworth is well stocked with Cupid’s aids—hearts, favors, place-cards, paper napkins, souvenirs—cards, amusing or sentimental.
When the winter snow started to melt it was time to transform Woolworth’s Wonderland from Valentine’s red to St. Patrick’s Day green. The counters suddenly brimmed over with shamrocks, leprechauns, and “I’m Proud To Be Irish” tee-shirts and ties. There were even special “lucky” green collars for the family cat and dog.
Next on the agenda was Easter, a fantasyland of pink, pale yellows, and white. During the Lenten season, customers could choose from tasteful religious cards to bright Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and wrapped in colorful cellophane. Everywhere you looked, there were piles and piles of jelly beans, and the perennial favorite: yellow marshmallow “peeps” chick candy.
For many Americans, Easter was also the time of year to get dressed up for church, enjoy the local parade, and then return home for an elaborate family feast. In response, the larger Woolworth’s stores added exp
ansive clothing sections where one could purchase Buster Brown shoes, black patent leather Mary Janes, a boy’s first suit and tie, or a girl’s frilly pink-and-white dress. The sewing department was stocked with the makings of Easter bon-nets; offering special sales on silk, flowers, and ribbons, netting, feathers, and bows. Just inside the front door, the Easter Bunny was ready to take a photograph with the toddlers.
F. W. Woolworth was there to meet its patron’s needs on Halloween and every holiday.
Behind the scenes, the Easter season offered its own set of labor challenges. Most people do not realize that until the early 1960s, the Woolworth’s “filled” Easter baskets were personally assembled, one by one, and all large novelty candies and chocolate eggs were decorated by hand by Woolworth employees. To accomplish this Easter magic in a timely fashion, managers often used an assembly line approach, which started as early as mid-January when the first jelly beans arrived at the stores. The employees also made up other novelty items. Remember the old toy wooden paddles with the attached rubber ball on an elasticized string? These paddles were decorated with candies and small toys, then wrapped in cellophane for sale during Easter, Christmas, and other holidays. Come summertime, plastic sand buckets were filled with beach toys, coloring books, and crayons, then tied with ribbons. Again, every bucket was assembled individually by a Woolworth’s employee.
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“Easter-time in Massachusetts”
Every Easter, my mom would take me to our local Woolworth’s in Boston and buy me a new hat and white cotton socks trimmed with dainty laces to go with my home-made Easter dress. The socks and the hats didn’t cost very much (under a dollar) but I felt like a million!
—Nancy Miller
After Easter, people would head to their local Red-Front on Main Street for that special gift for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Greeting cards flew out of the store by the millions, as did bottles of Blue Waltz perfume and Old Spice aftershave. Of course, sales of Blue Waltz were not restricted to Mother’s Day; this popular, inexpensive scent (along with Evening in Paris) was often purchased as the “first perfume” for young girls, and remained their favorite scent for years to come.
Both Memorial Day and Fourth of July offered color schemes of red, white, and blue. Not surprisingly, flags were the best-sellers, along with thematic paper plates, cups, and napkins to spruce up Independence Day picnics.
As the hazy days of summer gave way to falling leaves, Woolworth’s customers, and employees, turned their thoughts to autumn.
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“The Holidays at Woolworth’s”
Kids loved F. W. Woolworth’s, especially during the holiday seasons, like Valentines Day, Easter, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Christmas was extra special because of all the toys. Halloween was special too. Woolworth’s always catered to the holidays with delicious candies and an abundance of merchandise. My friend once sold three small papier maché lanterns in a yard auction that were purchased at Woolworth’s back in the early forties. They still had the Woolworth’s price tags on them: fifteen cents apiece. They sold for $50 each! A thin cardboard witch riding her broom, originally twenty-five cents, brought in $45 and a fifteen-cent cardboard cat went for $35!
—Donn Hornung
Autumn Specials: Back to School, Halloween, and Thanksgiving
The parents usually started making out the “school lists” in late August, while the children were outside trying to get in one last kickball game before their precious summer vacation ended. September meant “back to school” for millions of children, and for F. W. Woolworth’s, it meant a bonanza of special sales. Back in the 1870s, Frank Woolworth only offered the basics, such as small chalkboards and pencils, but by 1930, the stationery section of the stores offered a profusion of items to help the younger set learn their ABCs. There were marble composition books, pencil tablets and boxes, Waterman’s ink, pen points, mucilage, and looseleaf paper. Soon, colored pencils and mega-packs of crayons were added to the mix, along with jars of that creamy white school paste which one applied with a stick that was attached to the lid. To school children across America, the white paste looked good enough to eat, and it often was!
The fabulous fifties heralded an explosion of new school products. World War II was over, the import business was back to normal, and television was introducing children to all manner of exciting products. Suddenly, plain old brown wrap lunch bags were a thing of the past, and thematic lunch boxes with matching Thermoses were all the rage. Every boy wanted a “Hopalong Cassidy” or “Davy Crocket” lunch box to hold their peanut butter sandwich, and every girl wanted a clear plastic pencil case that closed with a nifty zipper and was decorated in dainty flowers. And, many people recall the first time they saw that wonder of wonders, the “three-in-one” retractable pen, that could dispense different ink colors: red, blue and green. For decades, Woolworth’s also sold heavy leather book satchels with buckles and straps. However, children growing up in the late-1970s and beyond enjoyed the advantage of more lightweight book gear. The contemporary youth of America headed down Golden Rule Lane carrying modern versions of knapsacks. These practical carry-alls were first introduced in simple, solid colors, but soon Woolworth’s offered knapsacks decorated with characters such as Power Rangers, X-Men, Barbie, and Rainbow Brite. The thought of leaving the glorious days of summer for the toils of the schoolroom was not always the most pleasant for children, but the trek to Woolworth’s to purchase yearly supplies was fun for one and all. Many families made this trip a special event, allowing the children to select their school supplies, then treating them to an end-of-vacation ice cream. Before you knew it, the kids were on the school bus, the parents were reveling in blissful silence, and the Woolworth’s employees were at it again, setting up for Halloween.
Woolworth Trivia
During 1929, 4000 miles of pencils and 300 miles of pen points were sold during the Back-to-School season at F. W. Woolworth’s
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“The Old Easter Jelly-Bean Flares”
Back in the early days, before everything came to stores pre-packaged, it was our job as Woolworth’s employees to make-up hundreds and hundreds of Easter baskets. We were also given the task of decorating and “painting” the candy novelties. We used a small brush to coat every single chocolate Easter novelty with a special non-toxic edible lacquer. (The lacquer helped protect the chocolate from heat and allowed the decorative icing to stick better. It would also make you as high as a kite if there wasn’t ventilation where you did it!) I have vivid memories of this particular holiday job, dating back to the time when I started working for the company in the late 1940s. All of the larger Easter Chocolates (like tall bunnies and larger egg treats) would come in to us individually boxed. We would then set up an Easter assembly line. We would open up each carton, pull out each bunny or egg box, paint it with the lacquer, and let it dry. One of the more talented female associates would then do the actual decorating, using the type of sweet candied icing that people use to decorate birthday cakes. She had a lot of materials to work with, including several boxes of pre-made sugar based flowers, leaves etc., that she would stick on each novelty. Some of the candies really came out beautiful. We used a similar assembly line approach with making up the Easter baskets. The Easter Basket job would start as soon as the first shipments of jelly beans arrived in January or February. The first task was to make up what the employees called “jelly bean flares.” These were created by taking a small colorful cellophane square and wrapping it around an ounce or so of jelly beans, which was then tied with a ribbon. At the same time, hundreds of ribbons and bows were also being pre-made (at first by hand and later by a simple machine). These were all used to help decorate the Easter baskets. This practice continued through the 1950s and 1960s until it was decided it was too labor intensive. It’s too bad, in a way, that the tradition of custom-made baskets and chocolate novelties was stopped, because they were really a lot nicer than mo
st of the pre-packaged holiday merchandise we get in stores today.
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“Blue Waltz”
Wheaton, Illinois, used to have a thriving downtown filled with wonderful stores, but F. W. Woolworth was my favorite. As you entered, the lunch counter was on the west wall. (My special after-school treat was a Green River soda.) I also remember buying Blue Waltz perfume. The scent was heavy and gave me dreams of the future. I used to dab it behind my ears (my mom did the same thing with her Tabu perfume) and on each wrist. It was daring in those days to put perfume behind your knees! Sometimes, I would use my allowance to buy false fingernails at Woolworth, and I would paint them with my mother’s dusty rose nail polish and pretend to be really grown up. I would also put on some perfume. Here I was, a young girl all dressed up with no place to go. Gratefully, my mom used to laugh and then hug me while sharing my dreams. To this day, I find it difficult to smell Tabu or Blue Waltz without thinking of the early days at the five-and-dime.
—Judy Ellen Gale
Aside from Christmas and Easter, Halloween was the largest holiday in terms of sheer net sales and the variety of specialty merchandise available to consumers. The Halloween season at F. W. Woolworth’s had its own special brand of magic, a magic characterized, of course, by orange and black. In the candy arena, customers would buy tons of sweet orange pumpkin candies, candy corn, black licorice sticks, striped Juicy Fruit gum, and bite-sized, foil-wrapped chocolates—all destined for the bags of trick-or-treaters who would soon be arriving on neighborhood doorsteps.
Remembering Woolworth’s Page 23