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"I WAS A TEEN-AGE MEN'S CLOTHING SALESMAN!"
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"JACK HOLT THE CLOTHIER" was a very nice men's clothing
and furnishings store in
60's. It sold the best brands available in men's and boys' clothes.
It was located a couple of doors north of the
corner of Grand and
there was once a grocery store, right between the two businesses. Out
front of Citizens Bank was the biggest "DIP" in all of
a hot summer's day, when a big rain came, that dip flowed like a river
and cars stalled.
The store's frontage was indented and one walked in between two nice
display windows on each side of a tiled walkway. These "show windows"
were filled with dressed-up mannequins, shirts, ties, socks, handkerchiefs,
pajamas---anything a man would need. (One of my biggest jobs was to
change these windows every three weeks or so; climbing in and out the
windows was tough work.)
Mr. Holt was a nice man to work for---certainly not loquacious---more on
the quiet side, I'd say. In all my years of working there, I never heard him
say a harsh word to me or anyone else. His office and desk were upstairs in a
kind of see-it-all balcony; while doing his paperwork, he saw everything that
went on.
windows was tough work.)
Mr. Holt was a nice man to work for---certainly not loquacious---more on
the quiet side, I'd say. In all my years of working there, I never heard him
say a harsh word to me or anyone else. His office and desk were upstairs in a
kind of see-it-all balcony; while doing his paperwork, he saw everything that
went on.
If you perchance made a good sale, i.e. measured a guy for a suit, or piled
up all manner of goods at the check-out counter, this tended to excite Mr.
Holt, and when the customer had left with his pile of merchandise, Mr. Holt
would mosey downstairs, come up by the register, lean there on the sock
counter, in a mellow, talkative mood, and insert a smoke into his cigarette
holder, and things would be ....nice, and he would be chatty!
holder, and things would be ....nice, and he would be chatty!
He was a supporter of the community, and I have often seen people and
organization reps come into the store, wanting hand-outs. Mr. Holt was a fan
of the Clovis Pioneers and had a box seat right behind home plate. When a
home plate collecting rolled up dollar bills from the loyal businessmen there
in the box seats. (Heavy chicken wire protected these fans and the bills were
stuck through the wire!)
Now about the just-mentioned office and balcony being upstairs and
overlooking the store----thereby hangs a tale. Mr. Smith, my co-worker
and full-time employee, and I were---you might guess---in sight of
management 12/7; either Mr. or Mrs. Holt, or both, were upstairs. It was
expected that we "stay busy" all the time. Exacerbating this problem,
was the fact that coffee breaks were not a store policy.
We straightened the socks a hundred times, re-arranged the B.V.D.'s over and
over, and wore out those Stetsons there in the wall glass display cases, by
brushing, brushing, brushing them. Every day. We stayed busy! We wore out
the merchandise, and ourselves.
But Mr.Smith was over 70, and I was 17, and our legs got tired. Accordingly,
we would each slip back to the shoe department, from time to time, and sit
down---out of sight--- not in the customer chairs (that would be a terrible
faux pas if caught)---we would sit on those marvelous shoe stools--- the ones
where you sit, (rest), measure, chit-chat, and sell shoes! They weren't very
tall and were unobtrusive.
I always loved those tough little shoe stools, made in USA--- to last forever,
and with that professional-looking green leather upholstery! Those little five
minute breaks to rest my legs. AHH-hhh! Unforgettable! And we were
out-of-sight there in the shoe department!!!
Those early WWII years in
ever working at Holt's, were interesting years. We ran the Magic Steam
Laundry and gas rationing was in effect. On Monday mornings, Mrs. Holt
would walk from their store, down West Grand to our laundry, carrying her
bundle of clothes; people tried everything to save their gasoline coupons
for a highway trip or vacation.
In turn, my mother, a brand-oriented farm girl, kept us boys outfitted
in the best clothes available---Tom Sawyer brand, purchased at Holt's.
The store was noted for its other good name-brands, such as Curlee,
Hart, Shaffner, and Marx, and Hickey-Freeman suits. There were Arrow
and Van Heusen dress shirts, MacGregor sportswear,
shorts, and there were B.V.D.'s for the old-timers. We carried Stetson
and Resistol hats.
Whereas today's men's dress shirts can run up to $80.00 apiece, our
Arrow shirts were 3.95, 4.95, and 6.00 each. Where neckties today
can run up to the unbelievable price of $120.00 each, our neckties
were 1.50, 2.50, 3.50, 5.00, and 7.50. The 7.50 ones were kept under
glass.
Nowadays, a pair of
then the highest quality sold at 50.00---are likely $400.00 now. (I think
Resistol may be a tougher hat anyway!)
Some of you younger folks may be wondering: "What the heck are
B.V.D's ?" Well, I could start by saying---they are probably the least-
sexy men's underwear ever devised. They likely grew out of the early
part of the 20th century. When spring came, and it was time to dump
the long handles, someone must've come up with this plan: sew a loose
white broadcloth "undershirt" onto a big baggy pair of white boxer-type
shorts, making a one-piece deal that you stepped into and buttoned in
front. We sold a few, and some personnel in the store wore them.
I abhored them, hated them---and always figured if any kid in CHS
wore them, it had better not be to football practice, or where anyone
could have any public knowledge. You'd be sunk with the girls!
You might be wondering what my most-hated responsibility was.
(At 75 cents an hour, I was a bargain!) Have you ever tried to twist a
36 inch fluorescent bulb into two of those ¥#!~€^¥!!! receptacle ends,
more or less simultaneously? To twist them in and lock them? Hard, isn't
it? Now, get on a fifteen foot ladder and reach as high as you can, ladder
is swaying, and you are swaying, and try to lock that unwieldy sucker in
place....both ends---and find out the starter switch all this time---needed
replacing. Holt's had a high ceiling and that was my job. I thought about
hiring an electrician out of my own pocket!
Jack Holt The Clothier closed his store sometime in the sixties, I think.
The
a nice little complex of stores. I went my way into my own paths of life.
When in Clovis, I would drive by where rhe store used to be, and
get an ache when I remembered old times---Christmas seasons selling for
Jack was always festive!
In fact, many times over the years, I have had a recurring dream, and
this is true: I am back in Holt's and Mrs. Holt is having a closeout sale,
and I am helping her. In my dream, she is thinking of re-opening the store.
And what about those two marvelous, favorite, comfortable, restful little
shoe stools back there in the shoe department, where we sat and sold
and got off our feet when we could...Wherever they went, I'll never forget
them!
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EPILOGUE: One day in 2010,
years, was in
the driveway, bearing a most-precious gift for me----it was one of my
OLD SHOE STOOLS FROM JACK HOLT THE CLOTHIER'S shoe
department! Bob, who enjoys fooling with "Junque" as a hobby, had found
this stool at a sale. The nice green leather was gone, and someone had
fashioned a terry cloth cover, and the chrome was blemished some---but it
was MY STOOL.
I could still sell shoes on it today---except it is so low, I couldn't get up.
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For many years in the 70's and 80's, my dad and Mr. Holt would sit together
and visit daily at the New York Stock Exchange brokerage office in
they watched their investments.
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BY MIL
7-10-13
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