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<p>With the holiday season on the horizon, all of us good Wyoming Valleyites will soon be hitting the stores far and wide &#8211; to say nothing of those in cyberspace &#8211; in search of gifts at (hopefully) bargain prices.</p><p>Sure, you know your way around today. But let&#8217;s see how well you can find your way around the shopping world of your grandparents. I&#8217;ll describe a store or other establishment they&#8217;d have visited on a typical trip to Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s downtown and you see if you can name the place.</p><p>Ready?</p><p>1. This regional chain, with a branch on South Main Street, sounded like a place you&#8217;d go for tires or cans of oil. Well, you could buy those items there, but the shop had a whole lot more in the way of nice things for the home.</p><p>2. Occupying a curved building at North Main Street and Public Square, this emporium could sell you a dining room table for your holiday feast and comfy chairs for the guests to relax in after the big meal.</p><p>3. If you had to pick up some groceries during your downtown excursion, this store that stood where the Bicentennial Building now stands was just grand.</p><p>4. Directly across the square was a haberdashery (place where gents&#8217; furnishings were sold) that would surely hit the spot with the guys on your list.</p><p>5. This department store that once had a truly ornate front offered five floors of neat stuff plus a bargain basement (a long-gone concept). I&#8217;d like to say &#8220;extra credit if you can list its various names over the years,&#8221; but I have only 10 points to give.</p><p>6. For good, lower-priced toys and household goods it was hard to beat this odd-shaped store on the square that was founded by a local guy and was the ancestor of a popular modern chain.</p><p>7. Know anyone who doesn&#8217;t like candy and pastries? The square and its environs at one time had at least four shops offering mouth-watering treats that would probably mean a very Merry Christmas for your friends and a Happy New Year for your dentist. Can you tell us two or three?</p><p>8. Its name evoking the image of a big city, this department store (still there but under new ownership) was a true flagship of the first block of South Main. Hint: its escalators were a sensation in the 1950s.</p><p>9. Family clothing was the specialty of this South Main Street store whose name suggested it should be the center of everyone&#8217;s shopping trip downtown.</p><p>10. This store using the slogan &#8220;the square deal jeweler&#8221; was renowned for rings, necklaces and fine watches and clocks, perfect holiday gifts. A long show-window area led into the store. The site, South Main at West Northampton, is now an empty lot.</p><p>Time&#8217;s up, folks! See how you did.</p><p>1. American Auto</p><p>2. United Furniture</p><p>3. Grand Union market</p><p>4. Mal&#8217;s Men&#8217;s Shop</p><p>5. Pomeroy&#8217;s (formerly Jonas Long&#8217;s Sons and MacWilliam&#8217;s)</p><p>6. Kresge&#8217;s (founded by Sebastian S. Kresge of Northeastern Pennsylvania and ancestor of Kmart)</p><p>7. Boston Candy Kitchen, J.D. Williams, Betsy Ross, the Spa, Fannie Farmer (maybe more)</p><p>8. The Boston Store</p><p>9. The Hub</p><p>10. Morris Jewelers</p><p>So how&#8217;d you do? Are you all set to hop on the streetcar and head downtown with your gift list to show off your shopping skills to your grandparents?</p><p>If not, well, there&#8217;s always next century.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TOM_MOONEY3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: How well do you remember the local shopping district from long ago? Take our test and find out.