Ohio

A tender and meticulously compiled exploration of the Sandusky shopping experience as it once was

The Sandusky Mall was the iconic shopping hub for locals who grew up in the 1970s and '80s. Kids visited the Circus World toy store, shopped for local amusement park souvenirs at Cedar Point Gifts, and fawned over the kittens and puppies at Petland. Teens scarfed Scotto's Pizza or a tasty treat at Baskin Robbins before taking in the latest feature at the Mall Cinema. Many others pumped quarters into the games at Goldmine or browsed the collection at Musicland.

Gathering more than 200 images, the original floor map, and the history of every store at every location, author Chris Bores delivers a trip down memory lane as well as never-before-told stories of the scandals and struggles--and the triumphs--that made the Sandusky Mall the place to be.

Shopping has always been big business. Learn all about the golden age of Cleveland's department stores by retail historian Christopher Faircloth.

Originating as simple storefront operations, Cleveland's department stores grew as population and industry in the region boomed throughout the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. They moved into ever larger and elaborate structures in an attempt to woo the shopping dollars of blue-collar and genteel Clevelanders alike. Stores such as Halle's, Higbee's, May Company, Bailey Company, Sterling-Lindner-Davis, and others both competed with and complemented one another, all the while leaving an indelible mark on the culture of northeast Ohio and beyond. From the humble origins of Halle's horse-drawn delivery wagons to Christmas favorites like Mr. Jingeling and the massive Christmas tree at Sterling-Lindner-Davis - it is all here in crisp, black-and-white images, many of which have not been seen in print for decades.

Reminisce with author Bruce Allen Kopytek about a time when these three great department stores dominated Toledo's retail scene and offered their customers anything they could want.

Remember the days when shopping meant white gloves, suits for men and leisurely lunches in tearooms? Toledo, an industrial powerhouse and Ohio's third-largest city, once had it all, and Lamson's, the Lion Store and Lasalle's were where it all happened. Revisit their downtown competitors like Tiedtke's, B.R. Baker, Milner's and Stein's, which also added their own touch to Toledo's life. Through written history, photographs and personal recollections a lost era comes to light--an era when business was personal and local and shopping was more of a cherished event rather than a chore.

Department stores were a midwest institution, none more prominent in downtown Columbus Ohio than F&R Laazarus & Company.

For more than 150 years, F&R Lazarus & Company was the heart of downtown Columbus. Headed by the first family of American retailing with an eye for flair and a devotion to the customer, this uniquely midwestern institution won the hearts and minds of a community. Look to Lazarus draws on the memories of those who worked and shopped in this grand emporium to tell the unlikely story of a love affair between a city and a store. It was a love affair born of the solemn promise You can always take it back to Lazarus, no questions asked.

Fleischmann is a brand name that everyone recognizes, even if they have never baked bread from scratch, drunk a Fleischmann's gin and tonic, or used their vinegar and margarine. Charles Fleischmann, in fact, pretty much invented the brand name and this continued recognition is testimonial to his genius. At one time, teenagers around the country ate fresh yeast cakes by the millions to improve their skin, and corporate success was measured in pound of live yeast consumed per capita. And the great Fleischmann distilleries kept America jolly from 1870 to Prohibition and afterward. Charles Fleischmann and his brothers, sons, daughter, and grandsons amassed a fortune that would be easily equivalent to the billionaires of today--and it all started through the scientific husbandry of a tiny one-celled fungus known as yeast. Add sugar and water, and you get alcohol and more yeast--simply alter it slightly and you get vinegar. Multiply it times a million and you have the beginnings of the modern industrial food industry in America. This book is a snapshot of a unique family from Central Europe that changed the way America cooked. A family business from the Civil War until the start of the Depression, Fleischmann's created the giant food conglomerate Standard Brands, which was in-turn gobbled up by Nabisco in the 1980s. In its long history, it literally invented the coupon premium, the give-away recipe book, and state fair bake-offs. This is a story of a talented, generous, outrageously successful family, and of a brand name that still conjures up delicious memories of freshly baked bread and a most happy well being. The Fleischmann story is America at its finest.