While not a part of Menasha, everyone still knew Prange's in Appleton. And notice how this ad was taken from the Neenah-Menasha City Directory's classified business section; they counted on the Twin Cities' business.
Prange's was probably most kids' first experience of a large, multi-story department store, usually reserved for the "big" cities like Milwaukee and Chicago. Except for the occasional trip to Milwaukee, the more frequent excursions to Prange's were, to me, quite special. I think my first elevator ride was in Prange's and, call me naive, but to a little kid, that was so cool.
Outside of that, my consciousness of large department stores was due to the mentions of Macy's every year during the Thanksgiving parade or the references to Macy's and Gimbel's in movies like Miracle On 34th Street and other TV shows. Shows like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners were set in New York and Lucy liked to shop in Macy's. Didn't she even disguise herself as Santa there in one of the episodes? And speaking of Christmas, who can forget those magical Christmas displays in their front windows each season, with the moving animatronic figures? Whenever I think of Christmas, memories like these are always some of the first that come to mind.
You can find those Christmas displays at the Neville Museum in Green Bay. Such fond memories.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Lucy got dressed as Santa and they all hid in the kitchen trying to decide who would visit little Rricky in the living room. Thanks for the reminder. Great description of Prange's.
ReplyDeleteAnd remember that warm air as you walked in the front doors!
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