BoMur's Gift & Hobby. Began 1997, Closed 2003

No posts.

Home

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

We ended up at Quaker Square in downtown Akron. We thought it would be great, it wasn't.

Total Pageviews

Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 12-6-2022

Laste Updated: 12-11-2022

Greetings ~

In the spring of 1996, After having a year off from work due to an accident at the factory where I injured my hip, back and neck, and unable to return to the job that I had had for 16-years, I knew that I had to do something to bring in the cash. After the injury, there was not a lot I could do as far as working.

I had always wanted to have a hobby shop but didn't think I could do the work now. But I saw a TV commercial one night about starting your own business. It was a commercial for SMC Corporation. SMC, (Specialty Merchandise Corp.) was a company out of California that was a wholesaler for gift wares. They had some really nice items and they were a company that helps people start their own businesses. So, I thought, what the heck, I sure was not doing anything else at the time so I decided to jump in the water.

Money was tight then so I asked my one brother-in-law if he wanted to go halves with me and he jumped at the chance. He was working at the time and thought it may be a way to quit that job and do what he liked instead. So we were now both in the water and divided the expenses and ordered a list of merchandise from SMC. Hopefully, we wouldn't get into hot water.

Now, SMC isn't one of these jip joint companies or places that offer you millions and delivers squat. They were an actual company that actually helps people get started. They had a beautiful line of merchandise, not crap! You actual joined the company as a club type of deal. They would answer your questions and they really helped you get rolling. You bought their merchandise through a catalog and payed half price. Then you sold it for retail. That's your profit. So Chuck and I ordered $300 worth of items to get started.

The merchandise arrived in about six days...really fast for the times. This was before I got involved in the internet and all that. Everything then was through the mail. We then set out selling. But how?

At the time, my wife and I had a membership at a campground resort in southern Ohio, about 60-miles from home. While there on one of our weekends, I noticed that the campground had a small store. They sold food, drinks, snack items and also had a small area with camping supplies. I was selling camping supplies. I also sold animal figurines such as deer, bear, moose, fox, birds, etc. These were all high quality, not the cheap trinkets that so many of these shops sold.

I stopped by the store and talked to the manager. I showed her a catalog and she went wild. She ordered $100 worth to see how they sold and said she would order more if they sold well.

The very next weekend my wife and I delivered the order to the store at the campground and I got paid. Wow! My first paycheck for an order.

Over the next year I sold house to house, I sold by sending out flyers that I printed myself and I sold to a few other craft stores and gift shops around the area. Business was pretty fair. Chuck was not into the selling so he made me a deal. I would do all the selling and he would finance the orders. I said that was okay with me. I had no out-of-pocket expense now.

The merchandise actually did sell itself. I kept a few items as advertising pieces to show the quality. People loved that, when they got their stuff, it was the same quality as what I had shown them. I really wasn't aware that, at the time, many companies showed you one thing, but what you got was something cheaper in quality. My stuff wasn't.

After that first year, the wife and I tried a couple of flea markets on weekends. We did pretty well at all but one of them. And that one was bad only because they had the road outside torn up for repairs and it was hazardess trying to get to the building so very few people showed up. But at the other flea markets, we did really well. My wife was enjoying it also. We had fun on the weekends.

One day as we were driving home from a weekend sale, we passed a place in Barberton, Ohio called the 5th Ave. Flea Market. It was an old Kroger super market building that had been converted to a flea market business. Out of curiousity, we stopped and talked to the manager. Actually, there were two managers, Jim and his wife, Rose. Jim told me that the rate were $25 for a booth per week. They were only open on Saturdays and Sundays. But on Mondays and Fridays they were open only to the vendors so we could clean our booths, restock merchandise, etc. Wow! $25 a week, not bad at all. We decided to try it out so we rented a booth. The booths were small but a fair size. The whole place was full so we got in right before they filled up.

The 5th Ave. Flea Market. September 1998.

On the first weekend we had put in some shelving and a homemade showcase to display our wares. Looking at the booth, I didn't think we would do too well. However, we made a little money so it was cool.

Over the next few weeks, I had gotten a couple of actual store display cases and some nicer shelving plus I was able to get the booth next door to join with mine when that vendor decided to move to another spot in the building. I was up to $50 a week rent but it was a much larger booth.

Once we got three booths in a row, it was a much larger area.

Only a few weeks later, another vendor left to start selling his stuff on the road. So I managed to get his booth next to mine and now I had a massive three booth space. Rent was $75 a week now but I was selling like crazy.

I had several customers who began coming to my booth every weekend. One was a minister who was really into nautical items like model ships, lighthouses and everything like that. He loved to dicker so we had fun throwing prices at each other. But he would walk out every Saturday with, at least, $50 worth of things, sometimes more.

I also had a lady customer who came in every single Saturday. She collected elephant figurines and I had them. She was another one who spent a good amount of money at my booth. Of course I began ordering all sorts of elephant and nautical items for these customers. And it payed off very nicely. We were doing very well at the flea market. Jim and Rose, ran the place great. We had absolutely no problems at all while there. They were very nice people.

At one point, I decided to have a raffle. We had met the young couple in the booth next door who sold NASCAR merchandise. They were great and we became fast friends. His name was Bob. I had spent two months selling raffle tickets for a dollar each and I sold a lot of them. The prize? A 350th scale model kit of the Titanic ship. At that time, James Cameron's mega film, "Titanic" came out in theaters starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Everyone all of a sudden wanted Titanic stuff. They wanted to learn all about the ship. The 350th scale model was a large scale and the retail price then was $79.95. I sold them for $65. So I took one and put it back as the raffle prize.

For two months I had people coming in to buy their tickets. Many came in and bought two or three tickets a week. One of the customers who bought his tickets every week was a man around 35-years old. He would buy five to ten tickets a week. On the second weekend of the ticket sales, I got to talk to the man's wife while he went on to other booths. She told me that he was fighting cancer and had been out of work for over a year. She was working but not making very much money. She said she really hoped and prayed that he would win the raffle as he was really into the Titanic and building this kit would really give him something to do to pass the time. She said he was doing well but had a long road ahead of him in his recovery. I told her that I wished him luck in the raffle. She said there was no way that they could afford to buy the kit so he was hoping to win it instead. This put me in a bad scenario. Now I wanted him to have it too. I had seen the marks on his arm from all the injections from his shots. And I saw a hose and bag impression through his pant leg and knew what that was. So they were not lying. Plus, for a 35 year old, his hair was gone and he was weak and thin. I told Bob at the NASCAR booth that I was praying that the guy won the kit also.

The day of the raffle came. Out of all the customers who bought tickets, only one showed up. The cancer patient. I had put on the tickets that they did not need to attend the drawing to win and most didn't. I asked Bob to pick the winners. There would be three. Grand prize would be the Titanic model kit then second prize was $100 shopping spree at my booth, third prize - $50 spree and the fourth prize - $25 spree. I don't mind saying that the tension was high for me at that point. The guy there and his wife and two toddlers looked nervous but were excited. He had bought so many tickets, he had to win...didn't he?

We had a big cardboard box as the raffle drum. Bob shook it up and then put a hand in the box and pulled out the first ticket. This would be the grand prize. Bob looked at the ticket number then handed it to me. I read the number out loud and held my breath. All of a sudden, I heard, "Oh my God! That's me!" He had the winning ticket. I was so relieved and excited that I could have wet myself...but I didn't. I shook the guy's hand and got a hug from his wife and gave him the kit. But I told him that wasn't all. Included in his win was a free tube a model glue and all the paints needed for the kit...eight colors, plus two paint brushes and a bottle of paint thinner. I bagged it all up for him and he and his family left very happy people. Everyone at the booths were happy as well. Then Bob proceeded to select the other tickets and those folks were notified by telephone over the next day. Bob said he was not aware that the grand prize had included the glue, paints and things. I laughed and told him that they were included only after the guy had won. I didn't want his wife to have to buy anything for him to finish the kit. That was a good day. I hope the guy recovered from his cancer and may still be cancer free. His two kids would be grown now. And I hope he got that Titanic model done. I'd really like to see it.

My wife and I had a very good run at the flea market. Then I learned about an Akron landmark that was opening some new space for additional stores. It was the old Quaker Square in downtown Akron. It was the former Quaker Oats factory and buildings that was now a hotel, stores and restaurants. It was owned by a businessman who I won't name. Anyone who knows the history of the place will know him. He has since passed away. And he isn't missed. So that should tell ya. Anyway, At the time I didn't know the man and we checked out the store fronts. This would be a big move for us. The rent would be $1,100 a month but we would have a much larger place and it would be a regular store. There was also a $250 a month fee for advertising. Oh well, having a store right in downtown Akron at a place like Quaker Square would be worth it, right?

At the flea market our booth was called "Bogard's Collectibles". But at the store we needed another name. We took Chuck's last name and our last name and combined them and the store would be known as "BoMur's Gift and Hobby". The wife and I hated to leave the 5th Ave. Flea Market but we were looking at more money. At least that was what we thought. We made the move and opened on a Monday. We soon found out that Mondays and Tuesdays were very slow days as far as shoppers. So we decided to stay closed on those days and take that time off. As it turned out, I actually went to Cleveland for merchandise on Mondays. Then I restocked the store on Tuesdays. So, I was working those two days anyway.

This was our sign that hung on the flea market booth. I carved it myself. I still have it as a reminder of good times.

I had found a supplier in Cleveland called Cleveland Hobby. They were a huge warehouse that sold model kits, model trains and all supplies and accessories. I had wanted to get into the company when I was at the flea market but they only sold to those with actual stores. They were a wholesale outlet. Now that I had a store, I tried again and got in. I was spending two to three hundred dollars a week at Cleveland Hobby stocking up on model kits, model train items and other things. They sold model rockets and puzzles and everything "hobby". I came back every Monday with an SUV full of boxes and spent, at least, four hours pricing and stocking the store. I also had accounts at Akron Novelty Co. in Akron and at Ransom Imports in Columbus, Ohio. Plus I was still selling merchandise by SMC Corp. from California. Also, there were several wholesale vendors that would stop by my store to sell me things wholesale. A lot like I did back at the campground store when I started out.

Our store at Quaker Square in downtown Akron.

Quaker Square entrance.

I sold a lot of model kits.

The store was full of merchandise but not customers. Some of the people that bought from me at the flea market came to the store. But traffic, in general, was low. Saturday was the best day and we could get pretty crowded. However, Sunday was slow also. Wednesday, Thursday was almost nothing. Friday was fair but not great. As far as the advertising fee of $250, it was used to advertise the owner's restaurants, NOT the stores. So we were all paying for HIS advertising.

The owner and I did not get along...to say the least. He was an ass and I was not one to take crap from anyone. And he was really full of crap. Our first go-around came a few weeks after we moved in. He came by the store to tell me that he didn't like the way that my display window was set up. As it turned out, he had no idea how a "hobby shop" was run. He had never had one there before. I told him the window was fine and he said I had to change it. I told him it was MY store and the window stayed the way it was. He stormed out.

The owner had an assistant who followed behind him all over the place named Scott. I created a title for Scott calling him "Jay's pull toy" as he was always right behind him holding a clipboard. If Jay, (the owner) needed to write a note, he would simply reach behind him, never turning to look at Scott, and Scott would hand him the clipboard. What a bozo! Or a pair of them. After a few months, Scott finally grew a pair and quit. But Jay got another pull toy. There's never a shortage of people out there who are willing to grovel.

The next incident with Jay came a little while later when I asked him where all the customers were. He said I had to get the type of merchandise that they wanted. However, there was no one in the building at any of the shops. I asked him what sort of merchandise is that. But he had no answer. I told him that I didn't have any problem selling at the flea market and he replied, "Then why did you come here?" I told him that I was asking myself the same question lately. Finally, I told him I would not be paying the advertising fee any longer unless he began advertising the stores. He told me it was part of the lease. He did advertise the stores in the local newspaper one time. His restaurant was the header with a huge picture and then there was a list of the stores under it. Oh wow!

At this time I went into partnership with a friend who was selling model trains at conventions. By now Chuck had given me his share of the business and wanted out as he couldn't stand Jay any longer. So I rented the store next to mine that had been empty and had the maintenance department cut a huge doorway between them and started a train shop in the other room. We had a large HO train layout that ran all day and evening. The train shop end did pretty good.

I had a guy who worked for the railroad come in every Wednesday afternoon. He was an engineer and came to Akron every week on his train to deliver at a local warehouse. While they unloaded his boxcars, he came to my store as I sold trains and he had a layout at home. He would buy between $200 to $500 worth of items every Wednesday. Since Wednesdays sucked so bad, this was a welcomed change. He would select his pieces and then go to the restaurant for lunch while I packed it all and tallied it up. Then he would come back and get it all.

One evening, around 6:00 pm, a couple came into the store. They were around 50-years old and very well dressed. Once in the store, the man made a bee-line to the train area. As he looked around, his wife stood at the counter and told me that they had come for dinner at the restaurant and her husband got wind that there was a train shop here. He had to see it. She said he had had a train set when he was a kid and had told her several times that he really missed it. As we talked, her husband came out of the room carrying several train pieces. I sold antique Lionel and American Flyer trains that had been totally reworked and rebuilt. That's what this guy was into. One of the Lionel locomotives was priced at $120 and the American Flyer was $90. He actually asked his wife if it would be okay if he bought them. She gave a little smile and said that was fine. Then she surprised me and added, "Won't you need track and the power pack to run them?" He had planned to simply display the engines on a shelf but now he was able to actually operate them. To make a long story short, I closed the store that night at the regular time of 9:00 pm but was there just past 11:00 as we had the whole set scattered all over the floor while the man ran his trains. I boxed it all up and his wife said, "Write it up! We'll take it all." The price came to $562. He had bought four locomotives, tons of track, a transformer and several cars and cabooses. Plus I gave him $50 off. As they left at almost midnight, the wife looked at me and smiled and said, "Thank you! You've made a little boy very happy." I'll never forget that.

One day I was floored, to say the least, when Jay's pull toy came into the store and said that Jay wanted to know if I would start maintaining the large train layout down by the restaurant. Quaker Square was a railroad orientated complex and there was all sorts of railroad antiques and pieces all over the place. Even the restaurant was actually in an old Pullman car that had been parked inside the building. There was also a huge train layout. Jay didn't have anyone around the place that would keep the layout going. So he asked me. I thought that, possibly we would get along better if I did it. So I agreed. When I went down to checked it out, I found boxes of locomotives and other model train cars under the table that was not running and some were broken. These were old pieces. I suggested to Jay that we fix them and I had a guy that could do it. Jay said to get an estimate. I did and it was very fair. However, when I sent a note to Jay about the cost, the next thing I knew the layout had been torn down and scrapped. A maintenance worker came to my store a few days later and advised me that there was a bunch of the model trains out back in the dumpster. These were G-gauge trains and all were from the 1950s and '60s and in really good condition. I flipped out and ran out there and asked the guy to help me get them out. He refused saying Jay would fire him if he was seen. I said I would do it myself and I did. I couldn't be fired. I got some of the trains out of the dumpster and took them home and I still have them today. So many of the train table buildings and other pieces had been destroyed being tossed into the dumpster. It made me sick. I disliked this jerk now even more.

Some of the G-gauge train pieces that I retrieved from the dumpster and took home.

The Christmas holiday season was good at Quaker Square. Everyone was out looking for specialty gift items so we did very well. My wife, by now, owned the exotic bird shop in the building and she sold birds and supplies. It was during this time that I bought my 1930 Chevrolet sedan. I used it in my advertising for the store. But, as soon as the holidays were over, so was the crowds. The place went back to a ghost town. I had made friends with a guy who worked at the portrait studio down from my store. His name was Bob also. We got along very well and spent a lot of time sitting in the hallway between our stores talking. There was nothing else to do. We had even stolen a bench from another area of the building to have something to sit on. I had wished all of the time that I had stayed at the flea market.

Christmas at Quaker Square was also fun and festive. And a money maker as well.

In early 1999, I began selling items on eBay. I figured it would be a good second business where I may make a few dollars. As it turned out, it was gang-busters. After a very short time, I was making five to eight times what I made at the store. And with no expenses involved. At the store I was paying $1,100 a month for the main store, another $900 a month for the addition, I also had a monthly fee for my credit card machine and service, my store business phone, (No cell phone back then). I also had my insurance to pay. But at least I had stopped paying the advertising fee. Jay didn't like that but the hell with him. He had only advertised the stores in the building one time.

In March of 1999, the hotel hosted a sci-fi convention that featured actors and others from old movies and TV shows. Around 7:00 pm one Friday evening, A man and his wife came into the store. As it turned out, It was Bob May. Bob had played the part of the robot in the 1960s TV series, "Lost In Space". We talked for over an hour and he signed a model robot and the model box for me. As it turned out, I was selling all the old monster models in my store and the robot was one of them. He would be at the convention on Saturday and Sunday. He invited my wife and I to join him and his wife at their booth. I had to be open on Saturday because I expected a lot of business during the convention. But I told him we would come over on Sunday. It turned out we joined them at their booth all day and then went to dinner with them that evening. Bob said they had visited Hower House on Friday. It was an old Victorian mansion open to the public as a tourist attraction in Akron. His wife was really into the old homes. But they had not had a chance to see Stan Hywet Hall. Another huge gothic mansion in the city that was home to Goodyear Rubber Company co-founder, Franklin Seiberling. As it turned out, I was big on Stan Hywet and had visited the home well over 200-times. I had studied the Seiberlings and knew a lot about the family and the home. Bob asked if I would take them if they got another chance to come to Akron. I happily agreed and looked forward to it. However, sadly, Bob passed away a few years later. We had become fairly good friends in that short weekend.

Sci-Fi Convention. March 1999. Lost in Space Robots.

Me and Bob May at my store. He played the robot in Lost in Space.

We had met a few other actors at the convention. Mark Goddard had his picture taken with my wife. He also starred on the "Lost In Space" TV show plus some westerns from the late 1950s through the 1960s. Another actor that I met was Ben Chapman who was the monster in the 1954 film, "Creature From The Black lagoon". After the convention was over, I managed to meet several other celebrities who came to Akron for other events and stayed at the hotel. They didn't want to walk the streets in a strange city so they would stay in the building. Mostly they came to the stores. One such celebrity was Heather Kozar who was the Playboy centerfold for June 1999. She signed a copy of the magazine plus a picture for me.

Heather Kozar signed this cover to Playboy to me.

She also signed this photo for me.

I was only at Quaker Square for about a year and a half. As it turned out, sales through eBay were going nuts. The model kits I was selling at the store sold on eBay for three times the money. People would get into bidding wars. I had a young man who came to my store from Germany. He had bought a model kit from me on eBay and then had a business trip that would bring him to Akron, Ohio. He stopped by my store and bought eleven kits and I shipped them for him. As it was, he said that Revell had a factory in Germany but did not sell the kits there at that time. So he had to buy them from the UK or America and have them shipped to him. I don't know if they have changed that by now or not.

By August of 1999, I found myself working most days packing orders in the store that would ship out for my eBay sales. Jay and I were still not getting along, nothing new there, so I decided that, on new years day, 2000, I would start the new malinium by closing the store down and moving everything home to sell exclusively on eBay. Why have all this overhead when I could very easily sell from my home? My wife was also fed up with the slow sales at the bird shop and with dealing with Jay. She had problems with the clown herself, as did everyone at the place. I guess to be a successful businessman, you have to be void of feelings, emotions and temperament. And, God knows, Jay was a very successful businessman and had none of those qualities and was even missing a few more.

So, December 31, 1999 came and we went. On New Years day we moved out of both of our stores. We broke our leases and were threatened with lawsuits. I told Jay that would be fine, go for it! I told him that he had lied to all of us when we signed those leases so go ahead. "Sue us!" As it turned out, he never did. I kind of figured that.

So, we moved home and the wife began selling her craft items and doing pretty good at that. I took one of the kid's bedrooms and put in the shelving and used it as my warehouse. Both our kids had married and moved out long before then. The other bedroom I used as my office. I packed everything at home and shipped it out and made tons more money that I ever did at Quaker Square. But in the next several years, the internet had grown and went through a lot of changes. Plus more and more had begun selling on the site and, even though I was still doing well there, I decided I did not want to keep up with the changes on eBay. So I slowly stopped selling. A few days before closing the store I had gone to Cleveland Hobby and stocked up as I knew that, without the store, they would not sell to me any longer. I also placed a lot of orders with my other suppliers. So I finished selling off most all of the merchandise that I had on hand and then quit eBay. I had a really good run.

I went back to the working world as it is, after I stopped selling. I only had 13-more years until I planned to retire so I worked them doing security. And wouldn't you know it, one of the places that I was sent was to Quaker Square. I told the route manager that it would not be pleasant if Jay and I met again but she didn't have anyone else to send. So I went. And as luck would have it, I found myself in a basement room when Jay and his new pull toy came in. He asked me what I was doing there. I pointed to my uniform and said simply, "Duh". He said I couldn't be there. I told him, "that's great! I'll see ya later." As I walked toward the stairs to leave, he had to say something. He said, "And I think I bought some Akron memorabilia from you on the internet." Knowing that he was probably not satisfied and was going to tell me, I beat him to the punch and responded, "I don't think so. I don't sell Akron memorabilia, I keep it. Besides, I would never sell something to a jerk like you." Then I left. Afterward, on the way home I kind of felt bad for saying that. But happily, that feeling passed quickly and I was okay with it. When I said it, Jay just stood there and looked lost. I guess he wasn't used to being told that sort of thing. Probably no one ever said something like that to him before. They should have.

I worked the security job for the next 13-years and then in 2015, without fanfare, I quietly retired. Today I've been retired for around seven years and am enjoying the heck out of it. I do really miss the 5th Ave. Flea Market and wish I had never left. If run better, Quaker Square could have been cool also. Bu it wasn't. It was a big loss.

Today, the University of Akron owns the old Quaker Square complex. I have no idea what they use it for nor do I care. My 13-years with the security company was enjoyable. The pay sucked but the people were great. My eBay days were fun and I really liked selling over the web. SMC Corp. has sold twice to my knowledge but is still run the same way I am told. My brother-in-law, Chuck passed away a year ago at this writing at age 61. He was a great guy. Today I work around the house, watch YouTube videos, build scale models, do woodworking projects, pittle with my 1930 Chevy, (yes! I still have it), and make my wife's life hard. Not really. But I do like being retired. I have medical issues but, at 71 years old, I guess I'm supposed to. So I go along. But I really miss the days at the flea market. It's gone now too. What a shame. We had some great customers there. Too bad we didn't have customers at Quaker Square. But eBay made up for it. I've given away much of the stock that didn't sell but still have a few boxes of things in the shed. It was a good run but, like a wise old Indian once said, "Only the rocks live forever."

My 1930 Chevy sedan. That's my old 1984 Renault behind it. I love old cars.

So, if you are thinking about starting your own business. Maybe you've always wanted to run a hobby shop, or an ice cream parlor, or a small store of some sort, my advice is, "Go for it!" But start out slow and easy. And start small. That way, if it fails quickly, your not out very much. Don't worry, if the business goes well, it will grow. The one thing that I did from the very beginning was to pay cash for everything. All of my stock was paid for right up front. If I couldn't afford it, I didn't buy it. Try not to get any big business loans and, if you do, get small ones. At Quaker Square, the novelty shop across the hall was closing down. I decided to buy them out and so I bought their stock of movie and TV memorabilia. I had the money at the time so I paid cash for it all. Most of it sold at the store but some pieces didn't. Happily, they sold later on eBay. But if they had not, I would have been stuck with it. However, with no loan involved, I really wouldn't have been out very much money. So it didn't really matter.

My wife and I had a great time with our stores. We met a lot of really nice people. We met some real bozos. We made friends and we made one or two enemies. And we met some celebrities both good and bad. But we had a good run of it and, with a few bumps and hurtles along the way, it was a successful venture. So all was not lost. If you do it, the best of luck to you. But if nothing else, by all means, have fun. That's really what it's all about, isn't it?

And one more thing before I go. If you get a location that you really like and enjoy, and another place opens up and it appears like more money, STAY WHERE YOU ARE! One thing that I learned was, just because it "looks" good, does not mean it will be. The flea market was a money maker...the store was a money loser. Just keep that in mind.

NOTE:

If you'd like to check out the website for the former SMC Corp., I have put the link at the end of this blog.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Of all the places that I was at, the flea market was the most fun. And I made some really good money there for only two days a week.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At Quaker Square in downtown Akron, I lost money. The overhead was too high plus the owner charged customers $1.00 for parking, $5.00 at the holidays.

This was the addition to the store. Hey! At least I had my own fire extinguisher.

My wife mans...or womans the counter while I snap the pictures.

The store was packed. Everything from animal figures, model kits, trains, ships, puzzles, games, Star Trek and Star Wars, you name it, we had it.

I sold paperback books, sunglasses and reading glasses and even Akron banners and keychains. We even had some NASCAR items.

I sold jewelry and even collector's knives, swords and daggers.

Sports cards were a big seller also.

Die cast metal cars and trucks were a good seller as well. Back then you could get them for $24.00. I sold them for $15.00. Today on the internet, they sell for $75 to $120. Crazy!

Since Quaker Square was a specialty gift cpmplex, the other stores sold their merchandise at high prices. I didn't. My items sold for under discount. Also, customers loved that there was no sales tax. I included it in the price.

If an item sold retail for $20 everywhere else, I sold the same items at $14. Since I had payed wholesale price of $8 for the piece, I mad my money. And if I added 30c for tax, it worked out great for everyone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They had brought in robots from the TV show, Lost In Space. They were for sale at $3,100 each. More if you wanted them animated with the original voice. These were cool.

Bob May and I became friends. Here we are at my store during the convention.

Here's Bob back during the filming of the show getting into the robot suit. He was a Hollywood stuntman when he was asked to play the robot. He was the only person the studio could find that fit into the outfit.

Bob May signed this model kit box.

He also signed the robot model that I built.

Bob also gave me some other things such as this talking robot.

A windup robot.

A Lost In Space lunchbox.

Plus he gave me a life size robot. That's princess Lia standing with him.

We also met Ben Chapman. He played the part of the creature in the Creature From the Black Lagoon back in 1954. At this time he was a real estate agent in Hawaii and attended the conventions all over the country. He got the creature gig because he could hold his breath under water for long periods of time. I asked him what it was like in the creature costume. He replied, "Hot!"

Ben Chapman as the Creature.

Ben Chapman signed a model kit box for me also.

My wife got to meet Mark Goddard and have this picture taken with him. Mark was also on the show, Lost in Space. He also signed a picture to her.

Mark did a ton of television back in the late 1950s and through the '60s. I remember him on the Rifleman and scores of other shows. The ladies all thought he was a dream boat. Frankly, I didn't see it. Well...okay.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I had an HO-gauge train table layout in the store in the model train section. This set ran all day and evening.

Sorry about the fuzzy pictures. I took these with an old Polaroid 10-second camera and these cameras weren't good at close-ups. No digital cameras back then. And no camera phones.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Quaker Square began as Quaker Oats back at the time of the Civil War. The complex then was the Quaker Oats factory building.

The huge silos were used to store the oats.

The Akron rail station was right behind the Quaker Oats building.

Quaker Oats can be seen at the left in this picture.

When Jay took over Quaker Oats from Mack Lowery's estate, he turned the old oats silos into hotel rooms. A novel idea that no one thought would work...but it did.

An old postcard showing the complex.

Mack Lowery had started his huge model train layout in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and had even had actual trains brought in for display around the place.

Mack Lowery's huge train layout in his Cuyahoga Falls building back in the 1960s.

Mack was acclaimed for having the "Largest Train Layout in the World" at the time.

When Mack bought Quaker Oats, he brought his real trains with him and parked them around the parking lot.

All Mack wanted to do was run his trains. Quaker Oats was the only building large enough for him to put his layout in.

Mack loved watching the kid's reactions to the trains.

The old Akron Union Train Station was right behind Quaker Oats. So the train theme worked there.

When Mack died of cancer, his business partner, Jay, took over the place and the stores began to come in and the old silos were changed to hotel rooms. Jay was a businessman and the trains were only a money maker, nothing else.

The hotel rooms were all round. Actually a really cool idea that people liked.

The hotel lobby.

The Quaker Square building is enormous.

And by the way, that small scale kid's train was bought by Mack from an old amusment park. Jay had it sitting outside when I had the store there rusting away.

I'm happy to report that when Akron U bought the complex, they restored the little train and brought it indoors to display.

The building has a couple of huge convention rooms. This is where the Sci-Fi Convention was held in 1999.

The Trackside Restaurant was in an old Pullman car inside the building.

There were three restaurants in the building.

When the University of Akron took over the place, one of the first things they did was hold a sale of all of the old model trains. They cleaned out the huge collection of things in the basement storage rooms and sold it all to the public.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Quaker Square Oatmeal Cookies ~

Anyone who ever visited Quaker Square has to remember the oatmeal cookies at the shop downstairs. Here's two recipes for them.

A short story:

When Playboy Playmate Heather Kozar came to the book signing, She stopped by the cookie shop. It seems that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner had asked her to stop there while in Akron and get him a large tin of the cookies. He had been here years before and gotten some and loved them.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO GO TO THE FORMER SMC WEBSITE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS ~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR A FEW OF MY OTHER AKRON AREA BLOGS ~

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Report Abuse

Watermark theme. Powered by Blogger.