West Bend, Wi – Grandparents around West Bend and Washington County, WI, can remember an era when they did all their shopping downtown. Shoe stores, drug stores, grocery stores and meat lockers were all part of the Main Street.
It was an era before Mayfair Mall and the Bay Shore Town Center. It was even before the Westfair Mall and the West Bend Outlet Mall which included stores like The Cookie Jar, Knit Pikker Factory Outlet, Uncle Wonderful’s Ice Cream Parlor, and Rainbow Fashions.
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“We shopped downtown because there wasn’t anything on Paradise,” said Jerry Wolf. “The city ended by Badger, which was the high school at the time.”
Wolf was about 10 years old in 1945; he recalled there were three grocery stores downtown including a Red Owl, 138 N. Main St.
“Jeklin’s Shoes was on the corner of Main and Cedar Streets and just south of that was a hardware store called Gambles and I bought my first bicycle there, I think it was a Hiawatha,” said Wolf.
Cherrie Ziegler Catlin remembered the F.W. Woolworths downtown. “It was a haven for all sorts of trinkets that kept kids busy spending their allowance each week,” she said.
Bonnie Brown Rock remembered Carbon’s IGA grocery on Main Street as well as Naab’s Food & Locker Service. “My parents bought sides of beef which were kept in a freezer at Naab’s store,” said Brown. The business was at 432 S. Main St.; the current location of Lori’s Costume Shop.
“Dad also went there to get ice cream cake roll on Sundays as our refrigerator didn’t have a freezer,” she said.
Former Washington County Board Chairman Ken Miller remembered Saturday nights were for shopping in West Bend.
“That was in the late 1930s and early 1940s,” said Miller. “J.C. Penny’s was one of the stops for dry goods and the unique thing about the early Penny’s was the cashier was upstairs in a loft. The clerk would put money in a kind of cup, attach it to a ‘trolley’ affair and pull the handle sending the trolley, cup and money to the cashier who in turn would put the change in the apparatus and send it back.”
Parking, recalled Miller, was a problem. Main Street was originally Highway 45 and shoppers parked parallel to the curb, not at an angle as it is today.
“Tight quarters meant shoppers would double park, that meant side by side,” said Miller. “This caused some problems but was later accepted. I believe there was a time limit as to how long one could double park.”
Other unique downtown shopping standards, according to Miller, were grocery stores did not have aisles and display racks, because the grocer got the items from behind the counter. Almost all transactions were in cash as credit cards were nonexistent and checks were few.
“On rare occasions after shopping we would pick up my grandpa and go to Sam Moser’s tavern (currently Muggles) for chili, maybe a hamburger and a small glass of beer,” said Miller. “Yes, beer was OK for kids as soda was not good for you.”
During high school, Miller said Dewey’s Drug Store was the popular hangout. “It was known for its cherry Coke and the Colonial Restaurant for hamburgers,” he said.
Brown Rock also remembered Dewey’s. “They had booths and Mr. Dewey didn’t like the kids to get too loud,” she said. “I don’t remember spending much time there however I had many after school hot-fudge sundaes at the Parkette.”
Todd Tennies, of Tennies Ace Hardware, said the impact the memories people have of shopping 50 years ago in downtown West Bend is still a big part of the community today.
“Locally owned businesses employ people that live in our community and the staff is well trained in product knowledge and customer service,” said Tennies.
Today’s circa 1960 photo, courtesy the Washington County Historical Society, is the downtown West Bend shopping district. The photo looks to the northeast from the intersection of Hickory and Main Streets. On the left is the local Standard Oil Station. On the right is the old Hotel Schlegel which later became Schultz Brothers variety store. To the right is the Walker Shoe Store and to the left are the West Bend Pharmacy, West Bend Theater and Wisconsin Electric Power Co.
Kathleen Limbach
I remember Plishonigs (sp)which had the nicest things. Just fun to shop there!
Wes MacFarlane
I remember Jerry’s Super Service I believe it was on the corner where the savings and loan is right now
Cathy Weinreich
Wes MacFarlane is that the same one Eddie Junk ran?
Wes MacFarlane
Cathy Weinreich I was quite young back then but was he a bigger bigger rounder fella?
Cathy Weinreich
Maybe a little on the stocky side when he was younger.
Debbie Watzlawick
Cathy Weinreich yes this was Eddie Junk and Larry Hellpap’s station
Diane Schwartz-Mayer
Wes MacFarlane from the looks of the theatre location..I believe this corner became the Alice Flower Shop
Wes MacFarlane
Diane Schwartz you are correct that was where the flower shop was where I am talking about right when you pass bits and pieces going north where you would turn the corner left by the West Bend savings loan right there on the southwest corner of the intersection of the stoplight across the street was Mehrings Fishery
Linda Jacobs
Wes MacFarlane everyone went to meetings for fish on fridays
Laura Red
In the summer I would often stay with grandma in Jackson, and it was a big thing for us to go to West Bend for shopping. Goodness they had it all, now not worth it nothing special at all
Tammy Lynn
Laura Red I recall, on the drive from WB to Milwaukee, going down the old hwy 45 thru Jackson and where Heidels used to be, it always smelled ‘funky’ bc of the cabbage fields!
Sue Mansmith
I remember!
Janet Zautner Meisenheimer
Definitely true,,,,,,I do remember,,,,,very nice,peaceful,happy times,,,,,,
Audrey McGarvie
Many of us long to have that return. Shopping in general has so changed and not for the better in my opinion. Mayfair and Bay Shore included.
Lori Lynn-Radloff
Who Remembers Eddy’s Meat Market on the North end of downtown. It was a long narrow store. And Plishonigs (spelling?) clothing store same side of the street.
Cathy Weinreich
Lori Lynn-Radloff Eddie & Mary Czaja ran the meat market. Rosco was next to them. I think he sold windows/doors?
Roger Strack
I worked at that STANDARD Station.
Janet Zautner Meisenheimer
Roger Strack what a nice memory!!,,I do remember that station ,,,right in the heart of Main Street!!!,,,,,,
Janet Zautner Meisenheimer
Roger Strack do you have a sister ,Carol??,,,she was in the WBHS Band ,,when I met her and so very nice to me ,just a .freshman at the time!!??,just wondered?
Jeanne Knoeck
And there was Jeanne’s Country Casuals!!!
Sue Mansmith
Jeanne Knoeck yes I remember that store as well.
Margaret Cannon
They should of left the street the way it was back then
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Sue Mansmith
Margaret Cannon I agree. Once they screwed up Main Street all the good stores left.
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Donna Krueger
The stores were just perfect back then. I wish some of them were back.
Tammy Lynn
Mehring’s! I loved going in when I was little and ogling all the taxidermied ‘specimens’! And what was our mall back in the day…visiting the flower shop and seeing George the mynah bird, new shoes at Kinneys, Ben Franklin…was it Woolworths before that?, Kohl’s Food Store with the ‘swoop’ and the alternating STOP/SHOP sign…15 ft high maybe?, shaped like a stop sign, painted school bus yellow and the words lit up alternately…it’d say “STOP”…then flash to “SHOP”…corner of Decorah and Main? And then there was our A & W, our original McDonald’s, the ‘old’ hospital, the restaurant….Im totally blanking the name rn! Pizza Joe’s ?, across from Fleet/Farm…RIP to all of the above! Oh and the Hotel that ‘updated’ with Fantasy Suites?
Not quite as far back as my late grandparents recollections went (my late Grandpa Engeleiter frequented the farm Co-op that used to be near the train crossing on Decorah between the cemetery and Indiana. Many cherished memories of a simpler time…
The Coachmen House? Grand Larceny? Skate Country! I spent endless hours at the old library, too! The first renovation was astounding to me back then…
