RACKET STORE RECALLS MEMORIES
December 30, 1983
PIX #1 - Interior of Kieffer's store. Frank Kieffer
is on left and his son Kenneth (Fat) is on right.
PIX #2 - FRANK KIEFFER Photo taken in 1945 after retirement
PIX #3 - Kieffer's Racket Store, originally named New
York Bargain Store (note awning) at 310 S. Main St. Carrie Aldrich,
a clerk, is pictured in front of store.
PIX #4 - The rear of Kieffer's store, showing 42 animal
pelts which resulted from hunting trips in area. Pictured are (left
to right): Dan Kieffer, Frank Kieffer and Arthur Slosser. Note two-tiered
billboard on South Street.
PIX #5 - Tom Bricker's Mobil Station at corner of Main
and South Streets.
(Author's Note: On Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 1981, the "Potluck"
columns carried articles about the west side of South Main Street
from South to Crocker. I intended to continue the history of the opposite
side of the street. However, historical photos of that area were not
available, and it was only recently that Mrs. Carl (Doris) Clark,
229 E. Lytle St., came to the rescue with some from her family collection.
Some from other sources also became available then. The story follows.)
In earlier articles about South Main, I believe I said
that area was where the village of Rome was established, and it was
there that some of the first business establishments were which continued
as Fostoria.
The Fosters and Crockers were two of the pioneer families
to settle Rome and develop the business district which continued to
thrive when Fostoria was born and on into the early part of this century.
RECALL THIS CORNER VIEW?
One of the accompanying photos with today's article
is not an "oldie" in the true sense of the word, having been taken
in about 1962 when Tom Bricker's Mobil Station was at the corner of
Main and South streets.
That corner has been a favorite location for service
stations since the early 1920s. The land where the many different
filling stations were located and the row of frame building facing
Main Street, extending southward, were owned by Fred Crocker, a descendent
of John Crocker, one of Rome's early settlers. In fact, Fred Crocker
had a filling station on that corner lot, No. 132, in 1927.
As far as I can determine, K & W Oil Co. was the first
filling station to lo- cate at that corner in 1924. Pearl Oil Co.
had a station there starting in 1934, followed by Burkhart & Son in
1936. The "son" was Cecil who started The Black Cat. Then came Friendly
Service Station at that spot in 1938, Wilson's Auto Service Station
in 1947, Tom's Mobile in 1962, Bob's Mobile in 1964 and South Main
Street Sohio in 1970.
When Sohio quit business there, Tip-Top Thrift Bakery
had a retail store in the building for a year or more. After Tip-Top
quit and the building stood vacant for awhile, the city purchased
the site and the building was demolish- ed.
The city parking lot was then expanded to occupy that
whole area where the filling station was and where the buildings faced
Main Street in earlier days.
KIEFFER'S STORE OPEN 38 YEARS It was in that area where
Kieffer's Racket Store, featured in today's article, was located many
years.
I am indebted to Doris Clark, mentioned earlier, for
the historical photos which illustrated the store. She is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kieffer who operated the store for 38 years.
The store was originally started by John Kieffer, the
father of Frank, and it was called the New York Bargain Store. Although
the store started in the 200 block, perhaps next to Commercial Bank,
it later moved to 310 S. Main St. where it remained until the building
was demolished. It then moved to 326 S. Main and continued there until
Frank retired in 1943.
John Kieffer came to Fostoria from Tiffin and established
the store in the early 1890s. When he sold out to his son Frank in
1905, he returned to Tiffin. Altogether, the store served Fostoria
buyers for nearly 50 years.
Merchandising must have been a favorite profession to
the Kieffer family. John, the founder of the store, also operated
a fish and poultry market on South Washington Street in Tiffin. After
retirement and return to Tiffin, he operated a watermelon stand at
the Seneca County Fair each year. In his younger years, he was a member
of the Tiffin police and fire departments.
The one photo shows an exterior view of the store building,
which was owned by Fred Crocker. When that photo was taken, the awning
labelled it "New York Bargain Store." The other photo of the interior
will remind older readers who will recall the store and the large
variety of merchandise Kieffer carried.
DORIS CLARK RECALLS IT ALL
Doris Clark spent some time around the store when she
was a girl and remem- bers much of the merchandise, so she made a
list for this article.
Those things included: men's and women's hosiery, men's
and women's hankies, ribbon, lace, hat netting, razors and blades,
toys, fishing equipment, hunt- ing and fishing licenses, lanterns,
nails, nuts, bolts, kerosene, turpentine, paint, varnish, screen wire,
oil cloth, tools, jewelry.
Boots, galoshes, gloves, ladies' hats, men's straw hats,
candy, gum, peanuts, combs, dishes, pots, pans, twine, thread, needles,
tablets and pencils, gar- den tools, seeds, watches, alarm clocks,
pails, flower pots, shoe laces, stove pipe, hair nets, hat pins, cuff
links.
Mrs. Clark recalls that when he sold a screen door he
would also hang it for the customer. She also recalls how her father
bought fresh roasted peanuts by the barrel and would lay the open
container on its side in the window with the nuts spilling out to
attract attention and create desire.
Fireworks was an important item for the kids for the
Fourth of July. I re- call that he stocked everything--sparklers,
snakes, pinwheels, roman candles, torpedoes, all sizes of firecrackers,
skyrockets. Kieffer's place was the headquarters for fireworks for
kids from all over town.
Kieffer also bought and sold animal pelts. The one accompanying
photo shows the rear of the store and some of the pelts he and his
friends placed on the wall to cure. There were pelts from 19 coons,
13 skunk, nine opposum and one mink.
STORE MEMORABILIA STILL EXISTS
One of the first checks Frank Kieffer wrote to pay for
merchandise for stock- ing his store when he took over in 1905 was
to L.S. Baumgardner & Co., Toledo. It was for $25 and was drawn against
his account at The Mechanics Banking Co., Fostoria. The canceled check
is among Doris Clark's memorabilia of her father and the business.