Dinky Mall

 When Ian was a tiny boy, he called our local mall the "dinky Mall".  Compared to the Eastwood and Southern Park Malls, the Shenango Valley Mall was dinky in size.

It opened when I was a little child myself.  My earliest memories of the brand new mall are mostly vague.  I was 4-5 years old at that time, and my parents didn't take us there often. W.T. Grants was a discount department store, located where Macy's was before it closed down a few years ago.  Grants had a restaurant attached called The Bradford House, which we ate at on a fairly regular basis.  Children received plastic hand puppets with their meals.  We thought that was great.  Food platters came with a sprig of green (parsley?) And burgers were held together with fancy cellophane topped toothpicks.

The mall of my early childhood was full of retail shops, some very large, and a mix of small to medium stores.  I remember getting school shoes at the little shoe store (I think it was called Miller's Shoes).  The lady measured my foot and Mom picked out two styles that were on sale.  I disliked them both, but knew better than to gripe.  At least they were better than shoes from Giant Shoe Mart.  (Save that nugget for another time!)

Another back to school shoe story was when I picked out a pair that I liked, and Mom said that I could get them.  This was at Penney's.  The shoes were camel colored tan Mary Janes.  The soles were made of a thick rubber.  I would have been happy.  Except.  The employee decided I needed narrow shoes, and because she was the "expert", that's what I got.  I do not have narrow feet.  Every day of that school year, my poor toes were crammed tightly into their Mary Jane prisons for six painful hours.

When I was a big second grader, my Brownie Troop took a field trip to the mall to see a large doll display.  It was one of the first times I had gone somewhere like that without my parents.  I felt like I was on a trip to another planet.  I remember walking down the main concourse, as well as the side halls, looking at all these dolls.  It seems to me that we did some other things that day, but I can't quite reach far enough back to find those memories.

As I grew, I spent more time at the mall.  Most of the clothes I owned were hand me downs from all my older cousins.  But, once in a blue moon, I remember shopping for specific clothes items.  One such time was when Mom took me to the mall and Grants had girls shorts outfits on sale.  We were preparing to travel to California, and she let me get two sets of those.  I felt like such a big kid that day.  The shirts were striped tank tops with solid colored matching shorts.

When I reached the age where I began to hang out with my friends, I was occasionally allowed to go to the mall with them.  One of my favorite stores was Ormond, which might be comparable to Forever 21 or H&N.  I never really had my own money, so I "window shopped".  When I was about 12, Earth Shoes appeared on the scene.  I desperately wanted a pair, and I received just enough cash at Christmas to head to Thom McCann's and buy myself a pair.  They were actually very ugly shoes, but not to ME!!!  (Also, not to the majority of teens around the country)

When I got into high school, the mall was a big part of my life.  I hung out with friends, and once bought some clogs with  wooden platform soles.  If I still had those, I'd probably wear them even now.  A boy I liked invited me to prom by asking me to go the mall.  When we got there, we went to the tuxedo shop, and he said I should help him pick out a tux.  I was so naive, I didn't catch on to what was happening!  Finally, I put 2 and 2 together and the lightbulb "went off" in my head.  

Walking around the mall was an enjoyable activity.  We actually went there to do that, with little or no money.  We would always see or meet people we knew, too.  

When I began to date John, he would take me to the mall a few times a week.  There was a video game arcade that we went to, and at that time, I had not tried my hand at many games.  John was into Pac-Man, BIG TIME.  He was so skilled that he could play on one quarter for a very long time.  Eventually, I began to ask him for some quarters and I started to play my own games.  I got to be super good at Ms. Pac-Man.  In fact, I usually held the high score.  

JCPenney had a restaurant at that time.  My parents liked to eat there, and I went with them on a regular basis.  It was a peaceful family style eatery.  It was still open after John and I were married, and we ate there sometimes.  I missed it when it closed down.

As a high schooler, I used to fill out credit card applications by the dozens.  I didn't want a credit card, I wanted the freebies that the mall stores were giving out.  During that era, each store would set up a table at the store entrance and an employee would ask if people wanted to fill out an application.  It was very much like going to the carnival, and being assaulted by the carnies as you walked past their games.

I got a set of steak knives, some pens, things like that.  I inadvertently received a JCPenney credit card as a senior in high school, and John was miffed.  He wanted a card, was employed full time, and they rejected him.  Go figure.

In the late 70's and early 80's, Levi Jeans we're the 'in' style.  In the mall there was a store called Rivet, that sold Levi's.  I bought my jeans there.  Mom and Dad didn't think I needed name brand jeans, so I had to save my money and buy my own.  They did not understand how mortifying it was to wear jeans to school that lacked the little red tag on the back pocket.  The only time they bought me some was when I specifically asked for Levi's on my Christmas list.

When I was fresh out of high school, I was hired by Strouss (which replaced Grants) as Christmas help.  I was laid off after the holidays, but because I had a foot in the door, when an opening on the Estee Lauder Counter was advertised, I jumped on that!  

I was interviewed and hired immediately. Now, this was my type of job!  I got to dress up every day, stand behind a fancy glass counter, and sell the most prestigious cosmetics money could buy.  I loved my job and coworkers.  

I enjoyed doing makeup on customers, and demonstrating techniques on them. The company was very generous to their beauty advisors, too.  We earned gratis, so each quarter we were allowed to pick out what items we wanted at no cost to us.  Each Christmas, we received our own Blockbuster, which is the huge Holiday kit, full of lipsticks, mascaras, eyeshadow palettes, and much more. Because our counter was at the front entrance, we often greeted people with a bottle of White Linen or Cinnabar in hand, ready to spritz a willing wrist.  

One year, Estee Lauder gifted us girls with any handbag we wanted from the accessories department...up to $150 value!  This was in the early 80's, so you can imagine what our choices were!  I got a beautiful buttery soft full grain leather Stone Mountain bag.  It was the nicest purse I've ever owned.  

During slow times, I would stand on the mall side of the counter and watch people walking through the mall.  There was a Hickory Farms store next door, and their workers would stand at the entrance, handing out samples of brats and cheeses.  They used to call me over to try a little hors d'vours.  We forged little friendships, and chatted back and forth sometimes.

When Cabbage Patch Kids we're the "it" toy, I would get inside info from the toy store nearby.  I was 19, but I wanted my own Cabbage Patch doll.  One day, shortly before Christmas, a toy store employee whispered to me (pssst) that the store just got a couple dolls in.  On my break, I ran to the pay phone and excitedly told John about my secret knowledge!  Little did I know, but John raced to the mall and purchased the homely little baby doll for me.  John made Christmas extra special for me that year.

One week before our wedding, I was scheduled to work until 6:00 pm.  I didn't own a car, so my mom was due to pick me up.  It was a very hot, humid May 31, but I had been in air conditioning all day.  As I exited the store, I was hit with an invisible wall of oppressive humidity.  The sun was shining, but the air was hazy. The high dewpoint made the Atmosphere smell like sea air.

I jumped into the passenger seat of the car and Mom informed me that we needed to get home fast -- a violent storm front was headed our way.

That was the evening that our valley was hit by an F-5 tornado. Mom and I arrived home and as we all sat down to dinner, the hail and high winds arrived.  Dad and Shaun ran to the front porch and said they heard the proverbial "freight train".  Hailstones the size of golf balls slammed into everything.  Lightning flashed and thunder boomed.  I remember feeling too frightened to eat my dinner. After the horrific storm passed, we learned of the enormity of the devastation.  But, again, that's another story for another day.

Our little mall was where we shopped for books, and toys, clothes, and housewares. There was a well rounded assortment of stores there -- Radio Shack, shoes stores, clothing stores, a dollar store, really something for everyone. One of my go to stores was Fashion Bug.  I bought a lot of my clothes and accessories from there.

When our children were young, we went to the mall regularly.  When the fountains were still there, we gave them coins to toss in the water.  They visited Santa Claus every year, and played games in the North Mall's arcade.  

In more recent years, my kids liked to go to Claire's, GameStop, and Aeropostale.  There was still a lot offered for people of all ages.  Towards the end, we even had a very hip coffee shop (where my writers group met weekly), and a huge antique store.

Gosh.  I am sad about the mall closing.  Its been in it's death throes for the past decade...as Sears went down, then Macy's pulled out.  Then all the smaller stores followed suit, save for a handful.  

Today, we visited for the last time.  The wrecking ball will have it's day soon.  So long, Dinky Mall. Thanks for all the memories.