Way Back Wednesday in Calhoun County---June 28-July 4
This week we go shopping for hats, auto parts, dry goods, and some books then we take in a ball game to celebrate the 4th of July in this edition of Way Back Wednesday in Calhoun County blog. Remember to click on the links in the blog to view many of the photos seen in Images of America series books: Anniston Revisited, Anniston, or Calhoun County.
Thanks to the Anniston Main Street and the Historic Kress Building for hosting the June Makers Market Anniston Revisited Book Signing.
June 28, 1944: Anniston, AL. The U.S. Employment Service of the War Manpower Commission advertised applications were being accepted for male workers to work as millwrights and machinists. These positions were listed as vital to the war effort and open to those who were not already engaged in essential work. The employment service was located at 20 East 12th Street, the small building directly behind the U.S. Federal Courthouse and Post Office.
June 29, 1939: Anniston, AL. The Bonnet Box hat store offered a special sale on hats for $1. The millinery was located next door to the Palace Drug Store. Women’s hats were a staple in fashion through the 1960s and the Bonnet Box was one of the specialty stores that catered to women. The store closed when hats were no longer fashionable.
June 30, 1938: Anniston, AL. East Alabama Auto Parts, located on West 10th Street, advertised they were the headquarters for quality auto parts. Claude Hearn had opened the parts store in the mid-1930s. In the mid-1970s the business moved to Quintard Avenue where it continued to be a part of the Anniston business community until it closed in 2000.
July 1, 1928: Anniston, AL. Nixon Transfer and Coal Company offered a bonded warehouse to store goods. The company packed, shipped, and stored household goods. The company warehouse was located on 20-30 West 10th Street and the office was in the lobby of the Alabama Hotel.
July 2, 1901: Anniston, AL. Robinson’s Book Store, at 1110 Noble Street, offered quality goods at a reasonable price. The store carried not only books but also tablets, stationary, pencils, notebooks, and envelopes. Robinson’s was also the location of the first library in town and was the basis for the collection at the Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County.
July 3, 1903: Anniston, AL. R. C. Johnston and Sons announced their summer clearance sale. The company was a dry good store located at 1106 Noble Street. Mr. Reuben Cecil Johnston lived in Polkville, currently part of Pelham Range, in the 1880s and opened his dry goods store in Anniston after the city opened to the public. Mr. Johnston retired later in 1903. A few of his sons, of which he had seven, took over the company and renamed the business Johnston Brothers.
July 4, 1933: Jacksonville, AL. The Northeast Alabama League planned to end the first half of the baseball season on the Fourth of July. The local Calhoun County teams of Anniston, Jacksonville, Blue Mountain, and Piedmont were scheduled to play a double header at Jacksonville. The celebration also included barbecue meat served all day while the entertainment included the releasing of a greased pig, races, and stunts.
