My grampa was a jeweler in our small town. His dad had an alcohol problem and left the family (or they left him) about the time my grandfather finished 8th grade. He apprenticed to the town's jeweler, Mr. Mayle.
My grampa is on the right. This should be late teens or early 1920's.
Our city built a large building with several stories called The Glass Block. Retailers, such as jewelers, could rent floors or spaces. The jewelry store, which I think might have changed to Mayle O'Dell Jewelers moved in.
Here is the Glass Block with the Dinky going down the street. The Dinky ran from one edge of town to the other along Main Street. The town is in the midst of digging up Main Street to the center of the earth and removing the tracks. They removed the tracks at the end of my street last year, dashing my hopes of a Dinky revival.
And here is the Glass Block in August 1923 after a huge explosion. The top floors of the building were removed and the current building is one and a half stories. This was a Sunday and the only two men in the building were killed. A woman waiting on the street car was tossed into the building and died a day later.
Mr. Mayle decided to retire and my grandfather moved about 3 buildings down on the right of the Glass Block. Most of the furnishings were moved to the new building.
These are family snapshots from the Christmas season in the 40's or 50's.
At some point my grandfather scaled back into more jewelry repair and the music store next door cut an opening and expanded into this space. He was still working part-time doing repair work in this area in the back when 1972 he suffered a heart attack and died. My mom and I, along with one the ladies pictured above, inventoried and closed the store.
The beauty of a small town is that whenever the town historian is contacted by someone wanting to sell memorabilia, he calls me. I have quite a collection.
I also have some of the store window display pieces. These are in the best condition.
And I have a ridiculous amount of jewelry. And I am a person who does not wear jewelry. I have a codicil leaving it all to my daughters.
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