WINDOW WONDERLANDS!

  SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD., 2017
     WINDOW WONDERLANDS!

   The holiday lighting display set up by
Lackawanna County at the former Globe
Store in Scranton brings back a lot of
memories from the days when most
every downtown had at least one
Department store with windows filled
with merchandise surrounded by
Christmas lights and animated figures.
      It's straight out of the movie "A
Christmas Story" as little Ralphie
stares past the electric trains and toy
tank in sight of the Red Ryder BB Gun
he so desperately wants.
      We had a couple stores like that in
the downtown Hazleton I once knew.
The Leader and Deisroth's were the
big ones but there were others as well.
      I usually headed to either the
American Auto Store or Jerry Woodring's
Hardware store as soon as I knew the
annual Lionel Train Catalog was available.
That was my equivalent of Ralphie's Red
Rider prize. And I put several under the
tree over a number of Christmas days!
      Santa may be everywhere but I best
remember him hanging out at the Leader
store. You got a bonus when you went to
see him there. The Leader was the first
store in which I remember seeing an
escalator! I think some kids went into the
place just to ride those moving stairs.
        The stores and area home owners
used to compete with each other for the
most elaborate Christmas displays.
        For the stores it helped get customers
in the doors. And back in the day many
communities held contests which offered
prizes, sometimes cash, to the best
decorated homes.
        Of course over the years the
downtown Department stores began to
vanish. In the 70's, during the energy
crisis, most communities dropped the
lighting contests.
        Scranton's Globe Store is long gone
and the lighting display that's set up this
year will be gone in 2018 as the County
converts the old store into government
offices.
         Fortunately, contests or not, a lot
of home owners are going all out to
brighten the Christmas season with some
spectacular lighting displays.
          Right now I'm remembering those
window wonderlands and treasuring the
memories.
          Hope you've got some good ones
too and that all your NEWS is good!