Montgomery Wards
- Thread starter trainguy
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Very cool dryer, just because we haven't see one like it yet!
golittlesport
Well-known member
very nice....love that rounded top on the front of the cabinet
jcpenny
"JC Penney had a different problem...strong small-town cash-based dry-goods business, not mall-based, credit based or catalogue. Bought a catalogue business in ca 1962 (it was the first computerized catalog business as compared to Sears/Wards)"
Wow. I'm surprised. I recently had an experience where Penney's wouldn't take an item on a return without a reciept for full price, even though I had purchased it on my Penney's card. Wouldn't one be able to see it was bought for the full price if their own credit card statement said so? N ot sure if it was a line of BS, or if their computer systems just can't do it.
Penney's wasn't in the Staten Island Mall until the mid 90's, until the third wing was added. Before that, it was in a strip mall on the north shore in what was the dumpiest building. When I was a kid, I used to think Penney's was a dusty, pathetic relic until I saw other locations. Nothing but soft goods there, and a basement level with no escalators.
Perhaps they are still using the same 1960's era computing systems? With the amount of screw-ups they've subjected mom to through her catalog orders, I wouldn't be surprised.
"JC Penney had a different problem...strong small-town cash-based dry-goods business, not mall-based, credit based or catalogue. Bought a catalogue business in ca 1962 (it was the first computerized catalog business as compared to Sears/Wards)"
Wow. I'm surprised. I recently had an experience where Penney's wouldn't take an item on a return without a reciept for full price, even though I had purchased it on my Penney's card. Wouldn't one be able to see it was bought for the full price if their own credit card statement said so? N ot sure if it was a line of BS, or if their computer systems just can't do it.
Penney's wasn't in the Staten Island Mall until the mid 90's, until the third wing was added. Before that, it was in a strip mall on the north shore in what was the dumpiest building. When I was a kid, I used to think Penney's was a dusty, pathetic relic until I saw other locations. Nothing but soft goods there, and a basement level with no escalators.
Perhaps they are still using the same 1960's era computing systems? With the amount of screw-ups they've subjected mom to through her catalog orders, I wouldn't be surprised.
Montgomery Wards
I can vouch for Wards not having retail stores in St. Louis...we got the Wards catalog regularly when I was growing up, and there was one (or possibly two) Wards catalog stores in St. Louis. You could order the items you wanted over the phone, but the only Wards appliance I recall seeing as a kid was a 1949-ish Signature refrigerator. No washers, no dryers, nothing else.
I recall once reading that the head of Montgomery Ward right around World War II was extremely pessimistic--he felt the world was going to end right after the war and figured there was no sense expanding Wards into suburbia...as it turned out, that was the biggest mistake Wards ever made, because Sears cleaned their clock big-time after WWII.
I seem to recall that Westinghouse made Wards appliances through the mid-60's, but didn't Frigidaire also make some Wards items after that, when Westinghouse briefly quit making front-loaders?
I can vouch for Wards not having retail stores in St. Louis...we got the Wards catalog regularly when I was growing up, and there was one (or possibly two) Wards catalog stores in St. Louis. You could order the items you wanted over the phone, but the only Wards appliance I recall seeing as a kid was a 1949-ish Signature refrigerator. No washers, no dryers, nothing else.
I recall once reading that the head of Montgomery Ward right around World War II was extremely pessimistic--he felt the world was going to end right after the war and figured there was no sense expanding Wards into suburbia...as it turned out, that was the biggest mistake Wards ever made, because Sears cleaned their clock big-time after WWII.
I seem to recall that Westinghouse made Wards appliances through the mid-60's, but didn't Frigidaire also make some Wards items after that, when Westinghouse briefly quit making front-loaders?
scott55405
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2004
- Messages
- 1,831
In the 60s and 70s, Frigidaire made refrigerators and dishwashers for them (maybe a/cs, but I'm not sure). Also not sure about freezers, but that would seem logical. At that time of course, the laundry appliances were Norge. Then later on, there were both Norge and Westinghouse laundry appliances again, that would have been after White took over I think.
The gas ranges I'm pretty sure were Hardwick, not sure about the electric. I say the gas because my great aunt had a Wards version of that Hardwick gas range with the warming tray above the cooktop.
The gas ranges I'm pretty sure were Hardwick, not sure about the electric. I say the gas because my great aunt had a Wards version of that Hardwick gas range with the warming tray above the cooktop.
Problem with looking up credit cards now is that Penneys (along with Sears and Wards in 1988) outsourced their credit (Penneys to GE Capital, Sears to Citicorp, Wards to GE Capital) and the direct connection is severed. Essentially, GE Capital writes a biiiiiiiig check every night to Penneys for all the credit sales done during the day (probably less a percentage).
Wards Catalogue stores in St. Louis....there was one at Chippewa/Hampton (actually across from the 1st shopping-center based Penneys in Hampton Village which opened in around 1949 and is still open) and there was one in Kirkwood (suburb). Think there might have been one in Florissant or somewhere far north, and probably one in Belleville/Metro East.
I worked for Wards credit (GE Capital) from 1989-1992...that was after Wards catalog had closed (apparently they induced a lot of entrepreneurs to set up new/remodeled catalog stores in the 1985/6 timeframe then shut down catalog in 1987/8 so there were lots of lawsuits.
When I was at GE Capital, Wards had 3 tiers of stores....metro stores in multiple store markets...this was like Los Angeles/San Francisco/Denver/Kansas City/Minneapolis/Chicago/Dallas/Houston/Tampa/Washington where they had multiple stores (generally but not always in second-tier malls in those cities, though there were exceptions like in Overland Park Kansas where they (and Penneys) were in the premier mall and Sears was relegated to an also-ran mall), metro stores in single store markets (big stores in the one-and-only mall in town, like Albuquerque/Lansing/Columbus, GA/Greenville, SC/Laredo TX), then small stores which had hard goods, auto and limited soft goods--these stores were rather oddly clustered and situated, like Lockport NY/Carlisle PA/Bedford PA--but had very limited competition so were very profitable (remember this was before WalMart in much of the country).
Strangely, the only line of business in which Wards was not an also-ran was mattresses...they did very well with them as a whole nationwide. They also were, as I recall, the biggest La-Z-Boy seller in the US. During that period, as I recall, they sold Norge and White-Westinghouse privatelabel laundry, Norge private label refrigeration, White Westinghouse privatelabel dishwashers, ?? (probably @@) ranges
Wards Catalogue stores in St. Louis....there was one at Chippewa/Hampton (actually across from the 1st shopping-center based Penneys in Hampton Village which opened in around 1949 and is still open) and there was one in Kirkwood (suburb). Think there might have been one in Florissant or somewhere far north, and probably one in Belleville/Metro East.
I worked for Wards credit (GE Capital) from 1989-1992...that was after Wards catalog had closed (apparently they induced a lot of entrepreneurs to set up new/remodeled catalog stores in the 1985/6 timeframe then shut down catalog in 1987/8 so there were lots of lawsuits.
When I was at GE Capital, Wards had 3 tiers of stores....metro stores in multiple store markets...this was like Los Angeles/San Francisco/Denver/Kansas City/Minneapolis/Chicago/Dallas/Houston/Tampa/Washington where they had multiple stores (generally but not always in second-tier malls in those cities, though there were exceptions like in Overland Park Kansas where they (and Penneys) were in the premier mall and Sears was relegated to an also-ran mall), metro stores in single store markets (big stores in the one-and-only mall in town, like Albuquerque/Lansing/Columbus, GA/Greenville, SC/Laredo TX), then small stores which had hard goods, auto and limited soft goods--these stores were rather oddly clustered and situated, like Lockport NY/Carlisle PA/Bedford PA--but had very limited competition so were very profitable (remember this was before WalMart in much of the country).
Strangely, the only line of business in which Wards was not an also-ran was mattresses...they did very well with them as a whole nationwide. They also were, as I recall, the biggest La-Z-Boy seller in the US. During that period, as I recall, they sold Norge and White-Westinghouse privatelabel laundry, Norge private label refrigeration, White Westinghouse privatelabel dishwashers, ?? (probably @@) ranges
Jamie, Thanks for the Wards story. Mom told me that after the war when they lived in Chicago, she and daddy would go to Sears on the bus to buy the stuff she needed to make fruit cakes. She said that even then, Wards was second to Sears.
In Atlanta, you could place a phone order out of any Sears catalog and save shipping costs by picking up the stuff at the main store on Ponce de Leon because the regional warehouse was next to it. Unfortunately, in the 70s, Sears management made a LOT of very poor decisions. One big thing: they could not reach any kind of agreement with Black employees for getting them into manager-trainee positions and programs. Rather than work on the problem, Sears moved all of the SE warehouse operations to Jacksonville, FL, thinking that they could settle the problem with the Black employees by moving to a city that then had a smaller Black population than Atlanta. That was another of those solutions from the wicker bottom boat company. They also started firing long time employees who were up for retirement and lost their butts in the court decisions.
I never cared much for Penny's, but in the late 60s they had a chain of K-Mart like stores called Treasure Island that were pretty neat. They had a big grocery store at the rear of the store and the bags were stapled shut because you paid for groceries at the grocery check out and they tried to cut down on shoplifting as customers wheeled their groceries through the store. After the economy went to hell with the gasoline prices and other things, the whole TI chain closed by the late 70s or early 80s.
When I bought my first place in 1981, it had a Ward's Menu Magic electric range that was made by Tappan, probably in the 70s. It was brown and from the scratch and dent department.
In Atlanta, you could place a phone order out of any Sears catalog and save shipping costs by picking up the stuff at the main store on Ponce de Leon because the regional warehouse was next to it. Unfortunately, in the 70s, Sears management made a LOT of very poor decisions. One big thing: they could not reach any kind of agreement with Black employees for getting them into manager-trainee positions and programs. Rather than work on the problem, Sears moved all of the SE warehouse operations to Jacksonville, FL, thinking that they could settle the problem with the Black employees by moving to a city that then had a smaller Black population than Atlanta. That was another of those solutions from the wicker bottom boat company. They also started firing long time employees who were up for retirement and lost their butts in the court decisions.
I never cared much for Penny's, but in the late 60s they had a chain of K-Mart like stores called Treasure Island that were pretty neat. They had a big grocery store at the rear of the store and the bags were stapled shut because you paid for groceries at the grocery check out and they tried to cut down on shoplifting as customers wheeled their groceries through the store. After the economy went to hell with the gasoline prices and other things, the whole TI chain closed by the late 70s or early 80s.
When I bought my first place in 1981, it had a Ward's Menu Magic electric range that was made by Tappan, probably in the 70s. It was brown and from the scratch and dent department.
Wards Locations
Jamie, my parents were Wards people through and through. I think it has to do with my mom having worked at Sears in Chicago in the 30's & 40's, and I guess it ended up with her not liking Sears.
Here in San Jose the only Wards was an ancient 2-story dumpy rickety small store in the nearly dead downtown business district. No parking, limited selection, and my dad often ended up disgusted and driving to Oakland to the huge multi-story flagship store/distribution center for areas west of the Rockies. It wasn't until the early 70's that Wards built a modern department store at a mall here in town and then built a couple more over the following years.
I've pretty much always hated Wards. We had appliances from there and across the board they were all inferior to their Sears counterparts. My mom had a Wards (Norge) laundry pair from 1968. My dad had the washer apart to replace the tranny right away--must have had a very short warranty. 7 years later that machine made such a racket with something failing, I convinced my mom it was time for a new machine and we went to Sears. She bought a nearly TOL model and it lasted 25 years. The nearly BOL side-by-side fridge I also insisted come from Sears was bought around that same time. It's still running as the main fridge at my mom's, almost 32 years later. For me it's no contest. Wards generally sold junk, Sears didn't.
Jamie, my parents were Wards people through and through. I think it has to do with my mom having worked at Sears in Chicago in the 30's & 40's, and I guess it ended up with her not liking Sears.
Here in San Jose the only Wards was an ancient 2-story dumpy rickety small store in the nearly dead downtown business district. No parking, limited selection, and my dad often ended up disgusted and driving to Oakland to the huge multi-story flagship store/distribution center for areas west of the Rockies. It wasn't until the early 70's that Wards built a modern department store at a mall here in town and then built a couple more over the following years.
I've pretty much always hated Wards. We had appliances from there and across the board they were all inferior to their Sears counterparts. My mom had a Wards (Norge) laundry pair from 1968. My dad had the washer apart to replace the tranny right away--must have had a very short warranty. 7 years later that machine made such a racket with something failing, I convinced my mom it was time for a new machine and we went to Sears. She bought a nearly TOL model and it lasted 25 years. The nearly BOL side-by-side fridge I also insisted come from Sears was bought around that same time. It's still running as the main fridge at my mom's, almost 32 years later. For me it's no contest. Wards generally sold junk, Sears didn't.
I'm not defending Wards at all...just giving more background. I was always fascinated by Wards because they had stores near my grandparents in Chicago but didn't have any in St. Louis, and my grandparents had a furnace humidifier from Wards which my grandfather and I had to go to Randhurst to buy replacement pads for. It was like Sears....but not quite!
Manoravenue
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2004
- Messages
- 75
Wards
How well I remember the M-W logo forming the dual diamonds; used to see it on the newer Ward's stores in Southern California and in the SF Bay Area when we lived in both areas. The original store here in downtown Fresno was a step back into the 1930's, until, in typical Fresno fashion, they bulldozed it down in favor of a 1970's concrete bunker. Ward's was still one of the last true department stores that sold everything from "soup to nuts" under one roof. Then, slowly, they began phasing out all the departments until they weren't much more than a clothing and bedding place. I would imagine these Wards appliances have got to be rarer than hen's teeth as they used to say; I remember the Ward's Signature brand, but the Windsor logo is a new one on me. Good looking styling!
How well I remember the M-W logo forming the dual diamonds; used to see it on the newer Ward's stores in Southern California and in the SF Bay Area when we lived in both areas. The original store here in downtown Fresno was a step back into the 1930's, until, in typical Fresno fashion, they bulldozed it down in favor of a 1970's concrete bunker. Ward's was still one of the last true department stores that sold everything from "soup to nuts" under one roof. Then, slowly, they began phasing out all the departments until they weren't much more than a clothing and bedding place. I would imagine these Wards appliances have got to be rarer than hen's teeth as they used to say; I remember the Ward's Signature brand, but the Windsor logo is a new one on me. Good looking styling!
Not very familiar with Wards
No Montgomery Wards in New Orleans except for a catalog store in a shopping center recently demolished. It later was moved in the mid 70s to an upper floor suite in a building that housed one of New Orleans old-line department stores(that was later bought out by Dillards)in downtown New Orleans. And yet,smaller cities in Louisiana had retail stores. The only Wards appliances I'm familiar with are the Signature applances from the 70s. We visited San Antonio regularly and visited their stores there. Never knew vintage Signature,Windsor or Airline appliances. Sears was the big store here.
No Montgomery Wards in New Orleans except for a catalog store in a shopping center recently demolished. It later was moved in the mid 70s to an upper floor suite in a building that housed one of New Orleans old-line department stores(that was later bought out by Dillards)in downtown New Orleans. And yet,smaller cities in Louisiana had retail stores. The only Wards appliances I'm familiar with are the Signature applances from the 70s. We visited San Antonio regularly and visited their stores there. Never knew vintage Signature,Windsor or Airline appliances. Sears was the big store here.
steved
Well-known member
like this Tom?
Westinghouse from May 1955
Westinghouse from May 1955
steved
Well-known member
Sorry
guess i didnt load the pic right :-(
guess i didnt load the pic right :-(
Re: Montgomery Wards
Hi guys it's me I'm back. Some of you have said that you didn
't have a Montgomery Wards in the South some of the stores were Jefferson Wards which I remember being talked about in our store meetings. I worked for Montgomery Wards from 1980-1983. So some of the stores down south were Jefferson Wards.
Why I have know Idea. Probaly a chain that Mont. took over. The Jefferson Wards were mainly in the South East. Montgomery Wards and Jefferson Wards were the same company, and quite possably this was a model that was sold in the south,(don't know for sure but perhaps).
Hi guys it's me I'm back. Some of you have said that you didn
't have a Montgomery Wards in the South some of the stores were Jefferson Wards which I remember being talked about in our store meetings. I worked for Montgomery Wards from 1980-1983. So some of the stores down south were Jefferson Wards.
Why I have know Idea. Probaly a chain that Mont. took over. The Jefferson Wards were mainly in the South East. Montgomery Wards and Jefferson Wards were the same company, and quite possably this was a model that was sold in the south,(don't know for sure but perhaps).
