Federals, Wards, Hughs Hatcher Suffrin

[9606 Prest]

Did anyone remember shopping at the Greenfield & Grand River stores?

[gazhekwe]

I used to work at Federal's. Shopped there and at Wards. Winkelman's and Crowley's too.

[Ray1936]

The Kresge store next to Wards had the best popcorn in America.

[Meddle]

Previous thread about the area.

http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=1889

[jjaba]

In 1961, jjaba was a checker at Wrigley's, just South of Grand River on Greenfield.
The kid next to jjaba was Wong, a "Chinese Checker."
We lunched at the Big Boys up Grand River in the next block. Big Boy Combination lunch was 79 cents.

In 1966, jjaba was in the shoe dept. of Crowleys, a store front with its own outside door to Grand River, just East of the main store. Mr. Manko was a rough boss but jjaba tried to keep up with him, as a primo stocker. He kept all the cash in a rotating shoe box on the long wall of boxes. He never got robbed.

jjaba, Westside Memories.

[DetroitPlanner]

Grandma lived behind the A & P, not too far from the Crowley's and Penny's... heck by today's standards all those stores mentioned were real close. Others closeby were Shifrin Willens and Cunningham's. Shoe stores too, mom would drag us into all of them. When we would go to hockey games dad would park there and we would jump on the bus down to McGraw, no transfers!

[the rock]

As long as we are getting nostalgic in posting about Wards, Federals, Crowley's and Sufferin' Harrys, lets not forget that wonderful hardware store, Fromm's, located at 13975 Woodward, where I got my first Lionel train. I still have one of their later Lionel catalogues, when an "O27" 2-4-2 Pennsy steam engine could be bought for $25 in the late '50's.

[jjaba]

DetroitPlanner, and when you left the hockey games at the Olympia, you got onto a waiting Grand River electric, load and go. They would park a fleet of them in front of Olympia, wires down. Load, attach wires, motor up, lights on, go. Damn, that was slick. They did the same routine for us at 3:30pm at Cass Tech. Starters with white gloves managed the line to perfection.
Each Grand River Electric has a destination so you had to choose right.
"Grand River-Lahser, Grand River-Through, Grand River-Middlebelt, Grand River-Southfield Rd., etc." jjaba only rode to Oakman Blvd. and all buses went that far atleast.

[SMRJim]

Hung out there a lot as a kid, since we lived on Prevost near Eaton. Did all my Christmas shopping there until older sisters or friends could drive somewhere else. Bought all my 45s and albums at Wards through about 1974 or so. Discovered frozen cokes at Kresges. Used to hang out in the cafeteria there sometimes, smoking cigarettes whem we had them. When Flagg Brothers opened I started buying zip-up boots [[somewhat Beatles-like) there when I was 11 or so, trying to emulate my older brother. Went to that Big Boys quite a bit - they had the little jukeboxes at each table. I was coming home from a baseball game at O'Shea with a buddy of mine one time, we stopped at Big Boy to get a chocolate milk. I still had my uniform on. We sat at the counter, right in fornt of where all the desserts were, and were drooling over the strawberry pie slices. A cop was sitting next to us, chatted with us for a minute or two, asking about the ballgame, and then bought us both a slice of strawberry pie! Man were we excited.

[Ray1936]

As long as we are getting nostalgic in posting about Wards, Federals, Crowley's and Sufferin' Harrys, lets not forget that wonderful hardware store, Fromm's, located at 13975 Woodward, where I got my first Lionel train. I still have one of their later Lionel catalogues, when an "O27" 2-4-2 Pennsy steam engine could be bought for $25 in the late '50's.

Fromm's on Woodward in Highland Park was the main store, but they had seven satellite stores. I worked at the one at 8670 Grand River, near Joy Road, from 1952 to 1955. It was an education working with hardware, paint, and precision tools. I've been a do-it-yourselfer all my life thanks to that VERY practical education I received at Fromm's.

[jjaba]

A lot of folks here don't remember that Hughes and Hatchers, and Harry Suffern were two different stores. Then, they merged later.
jjaba.

[SMRJim]

A lot of folks here don't remember that Hughes and Hatchers, and Harry Suffern were two different stores. Then, they merged later.
jjaba.

I remember the Grand River/Greenfield store adding the Sufferins to the Hughes Hatcher name, I believe it was in the early 70s.

[douglasm]

jjaba....
....we used the shoe box trick for the cash box where I worked up until the company went out of business in '83. Never got robbed, either.....

[jjaba]

jjaba knows at McDonalds they hide the cash under the pickles. Thanks Douglasm.

jjaba, on the Westside.

[Mackenzie68]

Speaking of mergers, who can remember the other name once attached to Crowleys?

[jjaba]

Crowley Milner. jjaba and mother jjaba worked for them. What's jjaba's prize?

jjaba on the Westside.

[Corn.Bot]

One of my first "real" jobs was at Federal's on Gratiot and 7 Mile, working in the cash office. I know I shopped there and at the Federal's on Gratiot and Frazho... I bought an area rug at that store the day it burned to the ground and I remember wishing I had charged the purchase because then it would've been "free." [This was back in the early/mid '70s when charge receipts were run through embossers, not even called in for approval by the cashier if the charge was under a certain level, and certainly there was no online anything. No one would've known I added to my charge balance! Instead, my cash got incinerated with the store.]

I remember - faintly - some controversy about the guy who owned Federal's. It's hazier than I want to admit. I can't even remember his name, LOL.

[DetroitPlanner]

Sorry Jabba no Electric buses for this guy. I wan't born until 1966!

[Mackenzie68]

jjaba, We can split a #1 Special at Brothers. A Boston Cooler would be good, too. Or a double-chocolate soda at Mistles or Sanders.

I shopped at several Crowley Milner locations but I haven't ever known anything about the Milner side. Do you remember?

[the rock]

Let's not forget the old wooden escalator at the downtown Crowley store. You could hear that baby creekin' as you walked in the front door. But, somehow, it got you upstairs.
And thanks for the info/ recollections of Fromm's, '36. We had Fromm's in HP, and T.B. Rayls downtown--We didn't need Walmart's back then.

[Meddle]

I remember - faintly - some controversy about the guy who owned Federal's. It's hazier than I want to admit..

Hazy also, but the only one I remember had to do with Joshua Door [["You've got an uncle in the furniture business"). Seemed the uncle was a bit more 'family' than anybody realized.

We didn't need Walmart's back then.

Don't need 'em now either.

[dtowncitylover]

jjaba, We can split a #1 Special at Brothers. A Boston Cooler would be good, too. Or a double-chocolate soda at Mistles or Sanders.

I shopped at several Crowley Milner locations but I haven't ever known anything about the Milner side. Do you remember?

I'm going to answer. Even though the company was always officially called "Crowley-Milner Co.", the "Milner" part was never really used because Mr. Milner died in the 1920s and the name just lost usage.

[jjaba]

Order me a #4, the Shecky Green at Boesky's on 12th Street.
Pastrami and chopped liver on rye with a slice of swiss on a Kaiser Roll or triple-baked rye. Extra pickles, and a side of creamy cold slaw. Wash is down mit Vernor's. Piece of apple strudel for dessert.
Now that's fressin'.

jjaba, Westside Bar Mitzvah Bukkor.

[jjaba]

Joseph, William, and Daniel Crowley invited William L. Milner to form Crowley-Milner and Company in 1909. Their downtown Detroit store specialized in fine clothing, gifts, a wonderful restaurant, and the best grocery store in Detroit. By 1919, it was the largest dept. store in Michigan. Millner was the President of W. L. Millner Dept. Store in Toledo and a master merchandiser. The downtown Detroit store was demolished in 1977. By that tme, Crowley's had a string of suburban shopping center stores and some in regional Detroit corners.

In 1923, Mr, Millner was killed in an automobile accident enroute to Toledo. His family sold his 42% share in the company and thereafter many people called the store "Crowley's" although his named continued to be officially in the company.

The New Center Crowley's lasted until 1999.

jjaba's mother worked in Crowley's Downtown Store in the 1930s. Jewish clerks could only work in the basement stores. She worked in the Second Basement in notions, bath, and beauty goods. jjaba worked at the Crowley's Shoe Store at the Grand River and Greenfield Store in the mid-1960s. It had its own Grand River frontage with a pass-thru to the main store. Montgomery Ward's was next door, and other fine stores and non-so-fine stores lined Grand River at Greenfield. jjaba also clerked at Wrigley's, around the corner on Greenfield, South of Grand River Ave. in the 1960s.

jjaba on the Westside.

[9606 Prest]

Federal’s was owned by Steven West in the 1970s. Steven West’s résumé spans a range of endeavors, from writing five self-help books to committing some major tax evasion. He’s perhaps best-known in the Detroit area for taking over Federal’s department store in the late ’70s. In 1980, Federal’s dissolved.