tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post1372076335631548083..comments2022-11-05T08:07:16.101-04:00Comments on New England Travels: Forbes and Wallace - Springfield, Mass.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-32358997506200036852013-02-17T16:01:20.467-05:002013-02-17T16:01:20.467-05:00My sincere condolences on the loss of your uncle, ...My sincere condolences on the loss of your uncle, George Legos. I'm sure many have fond memories of the Nuttie Goodie Tearoom. Thank you for sharing this with us.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-19690205692039494242013-02-17T13:39:42.523-05:002013-02-17T13:39:42.523-05:00Thanks so much to all of you for keeping the '...Thanks so much to all of you for keeping the 'old downtown Springfield' alive. I am the niece of George Legos, the former owner and key cook of the Nuttie Goodie Tearoom. He just passed away this morning at the age of 80 from a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a wonderful uncle and a great man. So many people have fond memories of my family's downtown Springfield landmark, the Nuttie Goodie Tearoom. HeleneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00296174199289184851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-10611336391698404272011-02-22T17:49:31.780-05:002011-02-22T17:49:31.780-05:00That's a nice story, Jessica. I'm glad yo...That's a nice story, Jessica. I'm glad you and your father had, as you say, one landmark from the past to visit together.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-76515137821469542402011-02-22T17:29:10.064-05:002011-02-22T17:29:10.064-05:00Hi,
I just spent the day with my father and we ate...Hi,<br />I just spent the day with my father and we ate lunch together at Lido's on Worthington. Not knowing the area well (and questioning his choice) he told me all about how when he was young, every Saturday after Thanksgiving he and his grandmother would take the bus to Forbes & Wallace to visit Santa and do some Christmas shopping. They also visited Johnson's bookstore (which he says had an amazing model train set up), and would finish the day eating at Lido's. The would then walk home - the home no longer exists as it was in the path of 291 - but it was an interesting peek into the past, and happy that at least one landmark from his youth remains.<br />-JessicaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-41874132340199463832011-01-24T10:58:00.337-05:002011-01-24T10:58:00.337-05:00I wish I knew. If my dad was still alive he could ...I wish I knew. If my dad was still alive he could tell you. I swear, he knew every one of the 100s of employees by name and always greeted them when walking through the store. I wish I had his memory for names.<br /><br />-Stephen WallaceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-90630172109671169302011-01-24T00:34:57.922-05:002011-01-24T00:34:57.922-05:00Hello & Happy New Year to Everyone.
If someone...Hello & Happy New Year to Everyone.<br />If someone ever writes a book on Forbes & Wallace, i will be one of the first to purchase it! No kidding! Forbes was my retail mecca and i will always think highly of it. They had a fantastic toy department on the 5th floor back in the late 1960's. I also remember purchasing a Mattel Casey doll with no head (people had stolen the heads off the dolls,by poking their fingers through the plastic covering on the boxes, there were about 6 of these for 25 cents each! I got to purchase one (Casey's body matched Francie's) with the gold swimsuit and clear plastic stand, i was so excited!) They sold all kinds of dolls and toys. So please tell me descendants of Forbes & Wallace, who was the older english woman who worked in the toy department in the 1960's? She could be friendly and cold at the same time. She was slender with glasses and grey hair. There were so many adventures at Forbes and at Steiger's back in the day!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-46438681518981441342011-01-19T07:37:56.247-05:002011-01-19T07:37:56.247-05:00Welcome, Leah.Welcome, Leah.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-34180361414717896342011-01-18T21:28:29.206-05:002011-01-18T21:28:29.206-05:00Hello My name is Leah and Stephen is was uncle and...Hello My name is Leah and Stephen is was uncle and Laurence Robins Wallace was my grandfather... just wanted to put that out thereAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-9284370069525291162011-01-09T08:38:18.208-05:002011-01-09T08:38:18.208-05:00Very glad you're working on a book, Stephen. ...Very glad you're working on a book, Stephen. When it's time, you can count on publicity here.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-36416946708772279382011-01-08T21:23:01.037-05:002011-01-08T21:23:01.037-05:00Jacqueline:
Thank you. I am actually Stephen. Ste...Jacqueline:<br /><br />Thank you. I am actually Stephen. Stephen W Wallace. ElisabethPapa is my login name that the blog seems to want to use. I should have signed my post with my real name. Elisabeth is actually the next generation in the Wallace dynasty (ha, former-dynasty now), my daughter.<br />And there is a book in it, actually. Working on that.<br />Grat blog you have.<br /><br />-StephenElisabethPapahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02960790661125705128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-70958787098243510302011-01-08T21:06:29.985-05:002011-01-08T21:06:29.985-05:00Elisabeth, this is fantastic. Thank you so much f...Elisabeth, this is fantastic. Thank you so much for this detailed account of your memories of your family's store. There's a book in all of this. With each comment we get a better picture of a community institution from the shoppers, the workers, and the family in that traditional (and seldom seen anymore) family owned and operated department store. Thank you, again.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-44530680695317096512011-01-08T20:04:29.472-05:002011-01-08T20:04:29.472-05:00This might turn out to be a family reunion! My cou...This might turn out to be a family reunion! My cousin Robbins just posted. My father was Laurence R Wallace (aka "Larry"). I grew up in the store, taken there so many times by my mother Anne, to shop for this and that. We lived on Longhill Street in Springfield. It was not too far to get downtown and I have memories of my father walking to work some days. I still have a photo of me on Santa's lap when I was 5 years old. I don't look too happy, actually. I used to get into trouble going into all sorts of places in the store I was not supposed to. There was this great auditorium on the 8th floor where they did fashion shows. And my Dad's and Grandfather Norman's offices were on the 8th floor also. What a place. It was like a little city, that big building, with everything you needed. I absolutely loved riding the elevators as a kid. The operators, getting the elevator to stop correctly at the level of the next floor. As it happens, I have a few of the original art deco elevator doors, which I was able to retrieve before the building was demolished. I could go on and on. What a great place and so much a anchor of my early family identity as well as from my earlier years. I was 21 when the store closed. The closing is another, somewhat dark story, best left to another blog I suppose. But by that time the store was no longer in the family's hands.<br />A silly story my dad once told me. Back in the 1930s when my great uncles were in partnership with my great grandfather Andrew, who founded the store with Alexander Forbes (who left the business entirely in the late 1890's - there was never any "Forbes" when everyone was always referring to the place as just "Forbes"). My great uncles were quite respectful (afraid) of their father. Their father felt you needed to work a long, full, hard day (enterprising Scotsman), even in the summer when there was less business happening (in those days). There was a special coat/hat room for the executives and my great uncles always kept extra hats for themselves there, hanging on their hooks, so if they were not in the store when their father Andrew came looking for them he would see their hats and decide all was well, that his sons were hard at work somewhere in the store. Meanwhile, they were probably someplace else, enjoying the summer weather.ElisabethPapahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02960790661125705128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-58939066780552167612011-01-02T08:48:34.677-05:002011-01-02T08:48:34.677-05:00Thank you, Robbins, for joining our discussion of ...Thank you, Robbins, for joining our discussion of Forbes & Wallace, and your family tree that contributed so much to the city of Springfield. I'm glad you found us.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-88601369996959865382011-01-01T22:40:19.018-05:002011-01-01T22:40:19.018-05:00It was fun finding this blog tonight. I was lookin...It was fun finding this blog tonight. I was looking at a picture I had found today of my grandmother, Marjorie Robbins Wallace Wickman, and decided to Google Forbes and Wallace. My grandfather was Norman Wallace and about the only memeory I have of him is riding with him in his car with his driver into Springfield to his work at Forbes and Wallace. I am guessing that was about 1959.His son Laurence was my uncle.<br />Robbins HailAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-41206098728508195462010-12-23T08:34:24.663-05:002010-12-23T08:34:24.663-05:00Mr. Nelson, I'm so glad you stopped by with me...Mr. Nelson, I'm so glad you stopped by with memories of your grandfather who worked at Forbes. Fifty years, my gosh. Thank you.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-28875037783341005482010-12-22T23:38:21.534-05:002010-12-22T23:38:21.534-05:00Hi, there. Was just remembering my grandfather and...Hi, there. Was just remembering my grandfather and googled on F&W to discover your blog. He retired in 1955 after a 50-year career at the downtown store. Mr. Forbes gave him the biggest TV I'd ever seen [at age 9!] for his retirement. Among other responsibilities, he checked the cashier tills every night, and once gave me a silver dollar he'd fished out,dated 1797! His name was Herb Ames ... and my name is Ames Nelson. He was the finest person I've ever known. I only visited at holidays, but I have fond, if hazy, memories of the store. A shame it is gone.Ames Nelsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-58145609544130932962010-07-20T13:19:36.878-04:002010-07-20T13:19:36.878-04:00I'm so glad this discussion is still rolling a...I'm so glad this discussion is still rolling along. Thanks, Deeidub.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-7042303801394431592010-07-20T11:58:54.044-04:002010-07-20T11:58:54.044-04:00I remember being very sad when the Nutty Goodie Te...I remember being very sad when the Nutty Goodie Tea Room was no more and I never had gotten a chance to partake of a nutty goody. Friendly's certainly went on to smaller and not better things after Blake....but what I really wanted to reply on was Picot's Place. My folks moved to Hampden in '71, and I lived with them intermittently during that time because it was the college years. I remember that Picot's was one of the very few restaurants in the Springfield area that my friend Henry from NYC deemed worthy of his attention. (Bit of a food snob, Henry is, and he still speaks fondly of P's P.) I recently made one of my periodic visits back to Hampden and went by the former site of Picot's Place and could not for the life of me remember the name of it--thank you, Steve, for clearing out that particular brain block!deeidubnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-48206355015604023962010-07-19T21:16:31.760-04:002010-07-19T21:16:31.760-04:00Thank you, Steve, for stopping by and adding to ou...Thank you, Steve, for stopping by and adding to our collective memory of shopping in Springfield, Mass. Just terrific.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-55052387922676780582010-07-19T17:22:09.078-04:002010-07-19T17:22:09.078-04:00Living in Hawaii since the early eighties, I truly...Living in Hawaii since the early eighties, I truly miss the Springfield of old. Does anyone remember the Nutty Goodie Tea Room at the end of State st across from the Civic center? Or how Friendlies was never the same after Blake soldout? Or Picots Place restaurant in Hampden?stevehttp://culinaryporn.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-23962051667482015192010-03-01T07:59:03.743-05:002010-03-01T07:59:03.743-05:00Thanks for stopping by and continuing the discussi...Thanks for stopping by and continuing the discussion on this fun subject. As I've been told by a former employee, the little bell you would hear in Steiger's was a signal calling employees from different departments. A more genteel way of summoning a person than those blasting, gravely-voiced PA announcements.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-7611793793227805172010-02-28T21:10:49.584-05:002010-02-28T21:10:49.584-05:00I was just a small child and lived in the south en...I was just a small child and lived in the south end of spfld.My sisters and i,and my mom would walk downtown every saturday to visit steigers,Forbes and Wallace and the Baystate West mall with the big rotating silver cube on the ceiling.I remember everything about those places and have looked online for old photos but find very few.Downtown spfld was full of stores on the streets but not so anymore...i distinctly remember in Steigers the little bell that you would constantly hear up above and i also remember they had a bridal dress dept that was always fascinating to me..i wish for one day i could go back there just to see the way spfld used to be...does anyone remember the 2 huge sand hills across from the civic center..lol..me and my sisters used to run up and down those and always lose our flip flops haha..if anyone knows how to see old pics of downtown spfld please share the website..i would love to take a stroll down memory lane..driving through downtown spfld now is like a totally different place..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-30531639811434555942010-02-15T13:05:26.924-05:002010-02-15T13:05:26.924-05:00deeidub, thanks for contributing your memories of ...deeidub, thanks for contributing your memories of Forbes, especially since you where there the final day. I really appreciate your adding to the story.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-33923899600225429282010-02-15T11:51:37.265-05:002010-02-15T11:51:37.265-05:00Jacqueline, I happened upon your blog entries when...Jacqueline, I happened upon your blog entries when I wanted to learn more about Willimantic's Frog Bridge, which I passed twice this weekend going to and from Foxwoods. Then what do I come upon but your Forbes & Wallace entry. I was employed at the Eastfield Mall Forbes & Wallace in the 70s and of course was familiar with the downtown store as well. I was on the job the night we were told that that had been F&W's final day of business. The part that blows my mind to this day is that my next employer was Monarch Life, and I eventually ended up working on the same site where once had stood the home office of my former employer.<br /><br />Thank you so much for both the Frog Bridge info and the F&W nostalgia. I'll be back to visit you often.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00279876344215336766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-26008499461941516572009-11-28T13:48:09.712-05:002009-11-28T13:48:09.712-05:00Mariam, I can't thank you enough for all the d...Mariam, I can't thank you enough for all the detailed information you've given us about Forbes. This is amazing, and I really appreciate it. I know our readers will love strolling down memory lane (and taking the elevator up and down all those floors of merchdanse) with this great contribution. Thanks again.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.com