McCook in the early 1900s

While I hate dragging the boxes up from the basement, I truly love my Christmas decorations so it’s worth the trouble. When I was placing each ornament on the tree, I kept thinking: “Wow, this is really old!” Whoa there, Susan, that ornament isn’t as old as you are! I’m not sure how it happened but I moved from “Classic” to “Vintage” to plain old “Antique” in the blink of an eye. Not complaining, just saying! By the way, I’m darn happy to be around to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, which we celebrate in our home, or a Blessed Holiday to those that don’t!

J. C. Penny closing its’ store in McCook led to a lot of memories being shared on Facebook concerning the old building that they occupied on the corner of Norris and C. I knew I had read somewhere that H. C. Clapp had owned the first building and I finally found the reference in the 1957 McCook Diamond Jubilee Souvenir Program (available at the SWNGS Library) in a story of his life in McCook by H. C. Clapp written when he stilled lived in the beautiful home he built at 705 East 1st. “Coming from Michigan, I naturally arrived on an early train wearing an overcoat, rubbers and carrying an umbrella. But I soon learned that the rubbers and umbrella would not be necessary out here in warm, dry Nebraska, for I well remember that in the summer of 1902 we played baseball on the river bed of the Republican which was plenty dry and wide enough for a ball diamond and we were able to run bases over the hot sands of the river bed.”

“This high altitude proved to be so beneficial to my health that after working in the Grannis store for three years, I decided to make McCook my home and was offered the opportunity to open an exclusive dry goods store in the 25 by 50 foot store room in a building being erected by Mr. Pat Walsh on the corner of Main (Norris) and C street in the year 1905.”

“My store was the south half of this new fifty-foot building and on the lot just south there was an old wooden building where Dave Magner had a small grocery and meat market. In 1907 Mr. Walsh replaced this old structure with the present attractive McCook National Bank building which he owned and operated until his death.”

“The J. C. Penny Co. leased this building (the 50-foot store of H. C.’s) in November of 1926, for I owned the building at that time and I sold my entire stock as per my agreement with them. Then I took my employees to the present location of the Store for Women where we operated under the name of the F. Johnson Co., a Corporation which I took over in 1929, operating under individual ownership for the next twenty-two years and reestablishing the H. C. Clapp Store for Women, which name still exists, although I released ownership in 1951 to W. W. Lyons.”

That location, 220 Norris Ave., is the J. C. Penny Store of my childhood. In the 60’s, Myatt Volentine of Volentine Auto ( Anderson Motors then Wagner Ford) built the J. C. Penny location on the corner of C and West 1st Street which J. C. Penny leased until it’s closing ending 90 years of business in McCook. I am certain that I read somewhere that J. C. Penny first opened its doors in McCook in a store front south of B Street, but that will be research for another day!

All the members of SWNGS extend their wishes for a Merry Christmas to the wonderful residents in our corner of the world and hope you remember the words: “If you can’t be with the ones you love, love the ones you’re with!”