March 13, 1945 (Tuesday)

EDNA AND HENRY GO TO GRAND RAPIDS. EDNA GETS HER HAIR DONE AND DOES SOME SHOPPING.

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A beautiful spring day.

I went to Grand Rapids

with Henry.

Had a hair cut, shampoo,

[?] wave at Wurzburgs.

$2.50.

Also purchased a black spring

coat at Siegels. Left it

to be be shortened. 1.50,

Coat 2.50. Also purchased

a spring hat (black) at Sylmas (?)

shop $5.00.

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Edna went to town with Henry and did some things for herself.

Wurzburg's was one of several large retailers in downtown Grand Rapids. In 1945, the day Edna got her hair done, Wurzburg's was located at 220 Monroe. They would relocate to 101 Monroe 1949, when Herpolsheimer's, who had been located in that building, opened a new location at 1 Monroe Center.

According to the book 20th Century Retailing in Downtown Grand Rapids (Arcadia Press), Wurzburg's was founded in 1872 and occupied several buildings Monroe before building the six-story location at 220 Monroe in 1913. By the mid-twenties, Wurzburg's "encompassed 19,246 square feet, featured 109 departments, and employed 600 associates."

Wurzburg's at 220 Monroe circa 1920

Edna purchased a spring coat at Siegel's. Founded in late 1890's, 20th Century Retailing in Downtown Grand Rapids, states that the women's retailer also occupied several locations on Monroe before moving to 97-99 Monroe in 1940, the location where Edna shopped on this day in 1945.

In the image below you can see Siegel's. The building just to its north is Herpolsheimer's, which would later become home to Wurzburg's. This is probably pretty close to what the street looked like in 1945.

I think Edna purchased her hat at a shop named Sylma's but I am not sure and am not having any luck finding records of a store by that name. I hope someone reading this post might know. My mom suggested that perhaps it says Sylvia's. She doesn't recall a shop by that name and I couldn't find a shop by that name in any of my research but she did recall that there was a hat shop around the corner from Monroe Ave. that had a woman's name.

I do know that Edna must have purchased a fine hat. She paid twice as much for the hat ($5.00) as she did for her coat. I also found a couple of pages from the 1945 spring Sears catalog featuring a variety of fairly fancy hats, most of which were $3 or less. I don't imagine Edna was purchasing a hat with as many flourishes as the ones featured in the Sears catalog.

But it must have been a fine hat none the less.

I hope she enjoyed her day and was satisfied with all of her purchases.

After I posted this blog entry, my mom found a picture of Edna in her coat and hat from 1938. It's not the coat and hat she purchased on this day in 1945 but I wanted to share it anyway as it does give you a sense of her style. I think she looks quite lovely in a hat. Henry looks pretty dapper in hat, too.