By Gale Stoddard
I am one of thousands of Buena Park residents and Sears customers who are at a loss because one of our favorite stores is closing.
It was scheduled to close February 15, but they moved it up to February 2. This Sears location was the most consistent sales-breaker in the 1960s and 70s. We all remember how we used to rush to Sears in August to take advantage of all of the good deals for school clothes for our youngsters who are now adults and on their own.
The sales people were so helpful and courteous, which seems lacking in many of today’s establishments. At one large store in Buena Park recently, we were walking all over the aisles looking for someone to help us. The Sears we remember was never like that; there were employees asking if we needed help or we needed to go to the dressing room to try on the outfits.
Maybe I’m expecting too much in this day and age, but it seems the cheerfulness of employees offering help and asking if we were finding everything we came for, is gone.
The prices at Sears were always great. The “points” that were introduced a few years ago encouraged us diehard customers to buy, buy, buy. Every appliance in my home was purchased at Sears, from my Maytag washer and my Kenmore dryer my son Greg bought me ten years ago, to my two-door refrigerator and I must not forget the dishwasher that has endured a family of seven and now a family of four.
My patio furniture all came from Sears. All of the garden oils, right down to the swinging chair we all relax on, especially in the summer months, in the backyard at dusk is divine. How about that big table with six massive chairs around it. The bar with four barstools is the centerpiece of most of our get-togethers. Hundreds of guests have gathered around the bar to raise a toast or two for a guest of honor, a political candidate perhaps, or a priest going on a mission to Africa.
Looking around the inside of my home, you see the wooden bookcase and that gorgeous curio cabinet that came from Sears.
A cheese of drawers and night tables adorn the bedrooms where most of the furnishings came from my favorite store. Sears.
The furniture has lasted for decades with no problems and still looks beautiful, such as the white chest of drawers matching the expensive REM Sleep Solutions queen-sized bed set. The bedspreads, comforters, beddings, the multi-colored lit candles, all came from Sears. It has been an institution where thousands of parents, myself included, would journey to the American landmark store and get all of their children’s clothing needs. It has all been there in this one gigantic store.
The other day, my daughter Lesliann told me, “You’re the only person who can wear their discounted dress outfits and still look like a million dollars.”
I literally have devoured their clothes, from Jaclyn Smith to the Simply Styled Collection. Both labels feature soft fabrics magnificently styled to wear to any social function, from a pricey political event or a night out on the town.
This is the end of an era of patriotic Americans waving the flag after the war while they welcomed their heroic loved ones home from World War II, wives, children, aunts and uncles and grandparents welcoming the American heroes, while wearing their Sunday best from Sears.
The last trip I made to Sears was a week before their closing. I just wanted to walk around the empty aisles reliving the days when I was a young wife and mother with barely enough money for my children’s school needs. It’s funny though, that God knows all of our needs and He has met them all of my life.
That day, the crowd had diminished, unlike weeks before when you could hardly find a parking space because of the voluminous crowd of people fighting to get in for the 70% off sales discount.
I got misty-eyed as I tried to go downstairs but it was blocked off. The escalators were no longer working. In the two escalators were ropes preventing customers from venturing downstairs. The small turquoise refrigerator I wanted so much to purchase since it was now a real steal, had already gone to a lucky someone else.
The emptiness of the store where the men’s and children’s clothing used to be was eerie, conjuring up memories when I used to walk around buying gifts for my husband Bill, a simple man who never cared much for expensive shirts and jackets. I almost burst into tears when I thought of my late eldest daughter, Marianne, who decades ago was just a pretty little girl, pointing at the dresses she wanted to take home and me explaining to her that she could only have one for now as I was waiting for my paycheck to arrive. She would be very hurt. Now, I think of her in her heavenly home happily enjoying her dad and my mom, Connie, as they reminisce about their good shopping times at the Buena Park Sears.
Though our loved ones, who used to be loyal Sears customers, have gone before us, I’m sure they are feeling a little sad at the demise of this wonderful American institution that countless American families have enjoyed for decades.
Sears will always be a part of our lives. I have grandchildren now and have shopped at Sears for their many Christmas gifts. All of our Christmas decor came from Sears. Every time Christmas comes around and I’m putting the beautiful velvet Christmas tree blanket under the tree, and holding the ornaments purchased at Sears, I will feel very nostalgic, coupled with a smile knowing that even if Sears in our hometown is gone, thousands of families have Sears products in their homes that they will treasure forever. Everywhere they turn, they will see a glimpse of what they got from this wonderful, memorable store, which is part of our American tradition.
