Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Wordless Wednesday 062707



This man represents a significant 'first' and also has a
Georgia connection.

(The WW originally slated for this week, has become a Museum Monday)

4 comments:

EHT said...

Hmmmmmmm....give me some time.

BYW...I'ved tagged you for somethings over at my place. Come see!

EHT said...

Ok, I was giving others a chance, but since they haven't.....

The man in the picture is Oscar Solomon Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt.

There are two connections to Georgia that I know of. The first has to do with the Straus family. Isidor Straus, Oscar's brother, owned Macy's Department Store in New York along with another brother, Nathan. When I was much younger the parent company of Macys---American, I think, bought out a local department store here in Atlanta called Davison's. Go forward a few more years and the Macy's conglomerate bought out my favorite Atlanta gem----Rich's, and first changed the name to Macys-Richs and now they are simply Macy's, however, I staunchly refuse to refer to them as such. They will always be Rich's to me.:) The clerks just smile when I do this because I'm not alone in this.

Incidentally Isidor Straus perished on the Titantic along with his wife. She chose to stay with him even though she had a seat on a life boat.

The second connection I know of involves Theodore Roosevelt. His mother, Mittie, married Theodore's father at her childhoood home, Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia.

Celeste said...

I am clueless.

The Tour Marm said...

Congratulations Elementary School Teacher for correctly identifying Oscar Strauss! You will receive s mention in my explanation, which will appear Sunday.(I have last minute buisness

Frankly, I didn't know about the Roosevelt connection you cited. However, there is another Georgia and Theodore Roosevelt connection.
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While I spent many hours shopping at the flagship Macy's in New York, I have been watching Macy's emergence from bankruptcy in the 1970's, to an 'engulf and devour' conglomerate.

Hardly any of the venerable department stores of my youth have survived bankruptcy and/or corporate machinations.

Best & Co., Sterns, Abraham & Straus, Arnold Constable, Gimbles, B. Altman, and Orbachs are just pleasant memories. Their respective merchandise and service were unique and unlike one another.

Many venerable stores, including Marshall Fields in Chicago, have fallen to the Macy's name and merchandise. (But that had also occurred with Woodward and Lothrops, Wanamakers etc. a decade or so earlier.)

While I understand, I wish I was an investor!