G apital A Journal
s.
Section III Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, Wednesday, August 10, 1949
Smuts pens Me w Sl&re
Thursd&y So Serve Are
Thursday Big
Day for Salem
And Sears Firm
' Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s new
store in Salem will open for
business Thursday, August 11,
James Mosolf, manager, an
nounced today.
Everything is in readiness,
Mosolf said, to handle what . is
expected to be a record crowd
at the opening of the modern
new store.
The building is completely air
conditioned with powerful
blowers for the circulation of
both cool and warm air.
One of the outstanding fea
tures of the store's interior is the
ingenious manner in which the
various departments have been
planned and laid out so as to
achieve maximum efficiency
without sacrificing eye appeal,
Mosolf reported.
"This type of store layout rep
resents a new and original ap
proach to the art of displaying
merchandise," the manager said
"The cleverly planned display
fixtures, the attractive decora
tion and the effective use of
lighting in the modern structure
provides a harmonious and
highly pleasing effect. At the
time the merchandise is king
theme is predominant, and the
customer will find the new store
not only attractive but a con
venient place to shop."
175 Employed
At Sears Store
Approximately 175 persons
will be employed at the gigantic
new Sears, Roebuck & Co. store.
This new streamlined build
ing, according to James F.
Mosolf, manager, will provide
ideal working conditions in a
63-year-old company for the
many employees.
The store is scheduled for its'
formal opening Thursday morn
ing, August 11, and store offi
cials expect the event will be a
gala occasion, attracting thous
ands of visitors to Salem over
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
For the occasion, numerous
extra employees have been
added to the staff to aid in giv
ing the customers prompt, effi
cient, and courteous service.
Gene Nccly
Credit Manager
Personnel Manager Mrs.
Lois Brausch, who has been
a member of Salem Sears of
fice force for several years,
will serve as personnel man
ager at the new store. She
was switched from routine of
fice duties to personnel work
about a month ago.
K l
v
I
(' I
Jim
Heldman Happy
In Sears Job -
"Shoppers here can now get
the latest in fashions and the
best in modern appliances with
out the necessity of traveling to
larger cities for a greater selec
tion." So says James Heldman, as
sistant manager of the new
Sears Roebuck & Co. store.
Heldman's words are backed
by 18 successful years of mer
chandising experience in the
Sears organization.
Heldman's progress has come
through a series of promotions
from an early start. He has a
very talented wife, and two
charming children, a boy and
a girl. They are residing as the
proud owners of a new home not
far from the great new Sears
store, and Heldman is more
than happy to be associated in
Sears new store.
Heldman stated his aim would
be to provide pleasant air con
ditioned, courteous and com
plete shopping service to Sears'
many friends.
Most Employes
Hold Shares
Sears, , Roebuck & Co. em
ployes have a special interest in
the business prosperity of Sa
lem, according to James F. Mos
olf, manager of the new Sears
store which opens Thursday
here.
the employes are actually share
the employes are actually stare-
holders in the company through
the Sears famous profit sharing
and pension plan.
This plan which was initiated
in 1916 enables employer to in
vest a part of their salaries each
week in the company. This is
more than matched by the com
pany, and it has now developed
tc where Sears employes in
their profit sharing and pension
block of shares in the company.
At the present time they own
approximately 19 per cent of all
outstanding stock.
"Our people," said Mosolf,
"are all independent business
men and women. They want to
see balem grow and prosper and
they can be depended on to do
their utmost in that regard.
They wil translate that into top
flight service for their custom
ers and our store."
Most of the Salem employes
are home owners in the Salem
area.
500 Cars Can Park
The great new Sears store will
have facilities for their custom
ers to park without fear of over
time parking tickets or dreaded
long walks to and from the car.
Mosolf
Jim Heldman
Advanced Sound System
Installed in Big Store
An advanced type of indoor musical broadcasting will soon be
in operation at the new Sears store, it was announced today by
James Mosolf, store manager.
Constituting a radical departure from all previous types of
public address systems and piped music, the Sears sound sys
tem was designed by company
engineers to provide soothing
and pleasant music at a low
volume level.
Most unusual feature of the
system is the use of multiple
speakers evenly spaced through
out the store. Each one with a
newly designed dispersion baf
fle which sends the music out
evenly in all directions. Visi
tors will be able to see the baf
fles on the ceiling, but the mu
sic is at such low volume and
so evenly dispersed that is diffi
cult to tell where it is coming
from.
Unusual fidelity and tonal
qualities are obtained from a li
brary of 1,200 transcriptions. A
scientifically planned program
plays suitable music for differ
ent times of the day.
The system may also be used
for making announcements of
interest to shoppers in the store
as there are microphones in the
managers office and elsewhere.
The moment that anyone begins
Jim Mosolf,
Manager, Once
Played Pro Ball
Friends of James F. Mosolf,
nationally known big league ball
player, are congratulating him
on the opening of the new Sears,
Roebuck & Co. store here Thurs
day. "Mosolf played with the Los
Angeles Angels and in 1929 was
transferred to the Pittsburgh Pi
rates. Other big league berths
were Chicago Cubs in 1933, Bos
ton Braves in 1937, and in 1938
Mosolf started an equally suc
cessful career with the firm of
Sears, Roebuck & Co.-
Shortly after going to work in
the Tacoma store, he was pro
moted to the Seattle district of
fice as Pacific northwest reUil
district supervisor of furniture
and floor covering. From this
position he was . promoted to
manager of the Aberdeen,
Wash., store.
Mosolf has retained his keen
interest in baseball, and during
his stay in Aberdeen conducted
a baseball school under the
"Bench Warmers" organization.
Speaking of his new business
adventure, Mosolf said:
"I am very familiar with Sa
lem and the Willamette valley,
and I know that it is a city with
a great future promise.
to speak over one of the micro
phones, automatic relays take
over and the music fades to the
background. When the speaker
is finished the music comes on
again automatically.
Lost children are no longer a
problem, Johnny and Mary are
as close to mother as the sound
system.
More than 95 per cent of the
nickel produced from the Sud
bury mines in northern Ontar
io, Canada, is exported to the
United States, Great Britain,
and other industrial countries.
Vocation and Avocation Same
Genial Dick Remy, the display
manager chosen by James Mos
lof for the great new Sears store,
is not content with bringing the
most modern displays to Salem,
but in his spare time he con
structs miniature displays ' for
the edification of his four child-
ren.
'.. '-! ?T,j .
Sears Story
Interesting as
American Epic
The story of Sears, Roebuck &
Co., whose newest retail store
will open in Salem Thursday
August 11, is one of the most in
teresting in the annals of Ameri
can business.
Last year it took 116,552 full
time employes to run the com
pany plus 42,352 in part-time
service. Yet in 1886 the business
that became Sears, Roebuck &
Co., was a one-man mail order
house operated by the station
agent in the little village of
North Redwood, Minn. Because
the station agent happened to be
Richard W. Sears, there is a
real story in that one man mail
order house.
The jeweler in North Red
wood, afraid of becoming over
stocked, decided not to accept a
shipment of watches that had
been sent to him. The shipment
was returned to the railway of
fice. The station agent who was
full of ideas, obtained permis
sion to dispose of the watches.
He thought 'iV: .would .be f to ; his
credit If he was able to get the
railroad its express charges and
he was not averse to making a
little spare-time money for him
self, t . . ::.;(;
He Sold Them All
Young Sears went to work
with an idea that had been in
his mind for ' some time. He
sent hand-written letters to rail
road men he knew and told them
about the watches.' The watches
sold easily.
The shipment vanished and
left the young man with extra
money in his pocket and with a
merchandising idea whose pos
slbilities were already beginning
to excite him. Thus began his
one-man mail order house which
he operated in spare time dur
ing his regime as station agent
at North Redwood.
In a few months the spare
time job had outgrown in im
portance Sears' duties with the
railroad. The young man could
see that its potentialities were
without limit, so at the age of
20, Richard W. Sears moved to
Minneapolis and founded his
first mail order house.
The Minneapolis enterprise
was an instantaneous success,
Sears moved his business to
Chicago and it continued to
flourish until 1889 when he
sold out and made a contract
with the buyers not to enter
the mail order business in Chi
cago for a period of three years.
Might Have Been Banker
With what was in those days
a sizeable fortune Sears played
with the idea of becoming a
banker in an Iowa country town.
The fate of what was to become
Sears, Roebuck & Co. hinged on
his decision at this point.
At length, he decided to re
turn to the mail order busi
ness and started his second house
at Minneapolis. He took as part
ner, A. C. Roebuck, whom he
had employed as a watchmaker
in his first venture. This busi
ness followed its predecessor
and moved to Chicago where in
1893 the present name, Scars,
Roebuck & Co., was adopted.
, ' 'ISA
11 .
Ik j f- i s v'i
wd
Mrs. Average Shopper Acquires Her Chic Wardrobe Pre
sented by Scars Mrs. Roberta Heiserman, 380 Park avenue,
chosen by Sears as Mrs. Average Shopper, is supplied with a
fashionable and complete wardrobe from Sears' well stocked
shelves and racks. She stands stylishly arrayed in a formal
gown and carries her selected evening jacket of white wool
pile, shoes and a box of Royal Purple hose.
Typical American Woman
Average Sears
My husband and I were
as the 'Average Scars Shopper' because I m just an average Amer
ican woman."
That was the comment of Mrs. Harold H. (Roberta) Heiser
man after her selection as the average Scars shopper.
iiiui j!.. .!,'
loo, that Mrs. Heiserman, was
selected for the honor after
Sears representatives had spent
Friday and Saturday interview
ing persons entering their store.
Mrs. Heiserman, who shares
honors with Mayor Robert L.
Elfstrom and Store Manager
James Mosolf at the opening cer
emonies for the new Scars store
Thursday morning at 10 a.m.,
Sunday, with her husband, was
given a preview of the new store
and Monday was taken to the
store to select a complete out
fit for herself.
Like the average shopper that
she is Mrs. Heiserman, after
selecting her lingerie and three
pairs of hose, chose a black faille
one-piece afternoon dress and
to wear with it chose black
shoes, a black bag and a small
black hat.
Likes Trading al Sears
Purchasing at Sears is not a
novelty to the "Average Scars'
Shopper." In her home arc
many articles sold her by Sears,
including a Cold Spot refrigera
tor, an ironer, vacuum ceaner.
dinette set and her children'?
bedroom set.
In addition to being an aver
age American woman herself.
Mrs. Heiserman has an average
family. She and her husband,
who operates a service station al
420 Center street, and their two
daughters live at 2270 Park ave
nue. The girls arc Joan, 7 ana
Carmen 4.
The Heiserman s have an av
erage home, a house with five
r
laughing about my being chosen
.rooms on the first floor and an
extra room upstairs. And there
is a place for a garden on their
lot.
(Conlhiiicd nn Pago 2)
I). A. Epstein, Sours Manager Claude Walter (right), Sears
merchandise manager Tor the Pacific Nortnwcst retail zone,
greets D. A. Epstein, assistant vice president and Scars sales
and merchandise manager for the Pacific Coast upon his ar
rival at McNary field Monday afternoon.
Sears Business
nriches State,
Says Mosolf
Oregon industry last year was
enriched to the tune of nearly
$4,000,000, the amount Sears,
Roebuck & Co. spent for mer
chandise purchased from 70 dif
ferent manufacturers in the
stale, it was made known here
today by J. F. Mosolf, Sears
manager.
This evidence of the quantity
of Oregon-made products that
are distributed by Sears to the
nation's consumers was drawn
from a merchandise expendi
tures survey prepared in con
nection with the opening of the
company's new Salem store here
Thursday.
Helped Develop West
Mr. Mosolf commented that
the merchandise buying of his
company on the Pacific coast is
illustrative of one of the reasons
for the major development of
the west and the end of an era
which saw the coast serving only
as an industrial colony of the
east.
Many of the things Sears buys
on the Pacific coast, he said, are
purchased in sufficient quanti
ties to ship much of this mer
chandise for sale back east over
the mountains, thus reversing a
movement of manufactured
goods that previously flowed in
the opposite direction for years.
Little Idea Grew
Figures such as those repre
senting Sears purchases of western-made
goods would assume
even greater importance, it was
pointed out, if it were possible
lo interpret them accurately m
terms of the hundreds of per
sons who, in addition to those
employed directly by the com
pany, have had a hand in the
manufacture of merchandise for
Sears.
Sixty-three years ago Sears,
Roebuck & Co. was little more
than a flowering idea in the
head of a young station agent at
the tiny town of North Redwood,
Minn. Today it is a firm with
over 116,000 full-time employes
and 95,000 stockholders, with
employes themselves holding 19
percent of the company's stock
in a profit-sharing and pension
fund which is the company's
largest shareholder.
Coney Island Crowds Less
New York, Aug. UP) At
tendance at Coney Island beach
slumped more than 50 percent
yesterday despite 90 degree
plus temperatures. The reason
apparently was an outbreak of
polio which health authorities
have described as a mild epidem
ic