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Thanks, Sears!

 

Alvah Curtis Roebuck was a watchmaker who partnered with Richard Sears to start the mail-order business that eventually became Sears, Roebuck and Company.

My father worked for Sears for nearly forty years. Santa was always at Sears during Christmas. I was four years old here. I grew up with the Sears Catalog and I loved getting a first copy of the Christmas Wish Book each season.

 

Santa 1959

Sears was really a pretty big deal. The store and the catalogs.

 
The Sears catalog was a powerful business method, similar to Amazon today. The catalog's evolution included: 
 
  • Mobile movie theaters: In 1899, Sears sold kits for setting up mobile movie theaters that used limes to produce light.
  • Money-back guarantee: The famous money-back guarantee was first included in the 1903 catalog. 
  • Multimedia presentation: 1905 the catalog included wallpaper samples and fabric swatches. 
  • Christmas Wish Book: The first Christmas Wish Book was published in 1933. 
  • Big Book Catalog: Printed from 1888 through 1993. By the early 1930s, the catalog had grown to over 600 pages. 
  • Sears Homes: From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold 70,000 to 75,000 mail-order homes. The kits came in 447 different designs and were delivered precut and ready to assemble. 
  • Sears Tower: The Sears Tower in Chicago opened in 1973 and was the world's tallest building for 25 years. It was renamed the Willis Tower in 2009. 
  • Sears and quack cures: In the early 20th century, Sears sold quack remedies like Dr. Hammond's Nerve and Brain Pills, Dr. Barker's Blood Builder, and Dr. Rose's Arsenic Complexion Wafers.

 

Thanks, Sears! In 1955, a misprint in  Colorado Springs newspaper resulted in a call to Colonel Harry Shoup's secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, CONAD, now known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD. 

 

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The Santa Tracker started with a Sears ad that instructed children to call Santa on what turned out to be a secret military hotline. Today, kids can call 1-877-HI-NORAD ( 1-877-446-6723). Read more below.

 

Sears santa

 

Follow Santa here: NORAD Santa

 

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