MONTGOMERY WARDS STILL ALIVE

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Washingtoniana

MONTGOMERY WARDS STILL ALIVE

Post by Washingtoniana »

WARDS IS ALIVE AND WELL ---READ ON

Does anyone have fond memories of Monkey Wards, late 1960s and in the 1970s???? I recall the one we had in the DC area at the Capital Plaza over in Hyattsville / Landover, Maryland. This was the pre-Landover Mall era, so Wards was an anchor store with Kresges, a CO-OP food store, Lerner's, Musicland, Citizen's Bank, Peoples Drugs, Garrison's Toys and other specialty shops, ....not to mention a theater and a Hot Shoppes Restaurant, separate from the center. The Hot Shoppes once even had a car hop with those classic uniformed waitresses that came out with your order after placing it through the intercom system.

Anyway, I recall shopping at Wards all the time. It was always a part of our visits to Capital Plaza. Christmas was always special because all the stores used to set up toy tables to demonstrate the latest items, ....and Wards was no exception. Electric trains were my favorite and Wards sold both HO and Lionel, plus maybe some N scale at times. They had such neat Racing Sets, G.I. Joes and accessories, plus Model Kits and etc. The battery operated and pressed steel toys back then were awesome. I really feel sad for the kids of today, as toys just don't have the same flare as before. Everyone also misses out on all the window and store displays, like back in the day. I miss the era of window mannequins and color coordinated layouts. I also recall the electronics dept --- as old Movie Cameras, Projectors, Transistor Radios, 8 tracks and Turntable Stereos were once the trend.

In short, I will always cherish those days at Montgomery Wards, ....and even still have a few model train items in the box with the old Wards price tags. How prices have changed since the 1970s, lol???? I was feeling it such a shame that Wards was gone and started doing a Google search to see what I could find. To my surprise,.... I discovered Montgomery Ward & Co is alive and well with an Internet based operation. I just received the latest catalog and it brings back memories of the old ones we used to get. I'm so glad Wards is still hanging on just a bit.
Take a nostalgic trip to an old retail friend now : http://www.wards.com
trainman
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Re: MONTGOMERY WARDS STILL ALIVE

Post by trainman »

Washingtoniana wrote:To my surprise,.... I discovered Montgomery Ward & Co is alive and well with an Internet based operation.
Well...the Montgomery Ward name is alive and well. The current wards.com operation has no relation to Montgomery Ward & Co.
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tesg
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Re: MONTGOMERY WARDS STILL ALIVE

Post by tesg »

Our friends at Pleasant Family Shopping have some incredible material on the chain many liked to call Monkey Ward's.

http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot. ... ery%20Ward

The Swiss Colony catalog people hold the Ward's brand currently.
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