The photo above shows several Baldwynians in 1941 visiting the Memphis office of the J. R. Watkins company. Do you recognize any of your relatives or friends? There are so many familiar faces in the photo, but putting a name to most is tough. Mr. McCary is at the top and some of the ladies near the front are from Baldwyn.
These were sales people who came by your home and showed the 400 item catalog and took orders for the medicines, baking goods, and other household items. These were your neighbors, and you were eager to buy the products they had to offer.
Door-to-door sales people you knew were welcomed into your home then. There were many different companies that had local representatives that came by. Along with the Watkins group, there was the Stanley and several vacuum cleaner companies that would come to call. Some were welcome and some were not.
I had a girlfriend near Wheeler once (name withheld) that vowed to wait for me for however long I was away in the Army. She married while I was gone and later left her husband and ran off to parts unknown with the Standard Coffee salesman (a door-to-door routeman). Good riddance!
_______________________________
Photo courtesy of Tootsie McVay.
20 comments:
First line front going left, Tootsie, ? then Mrs Hendrix (Stanleys mom)
John M
Hey, after Stanley's mom is Faye McCary (Williams wife)
John M
Also Monette Bedford behind Mrs Hendrix--and I made a mistake on the first post, I said left, that should be "to the right" :o)
John M
Second row, far right on the end, with the black and white horizontal stripes on the dress, this I believe to be Mildred Cole, Jackie Cole's mom
John M
Great job so far, JM! I got only 3 of the girls.... The faces are as fresh in my mind as they were 50 years ago, but the names do not respond!
Carl, you must not have sent your girlfriend any of that $78 every month! She should have gotten 1/2 of it and that's the reason she didn't wait!
Tony
Carl, Gloria says the lady on the far right, third row looks like Minnie Bell Mink, Guy Mink's wife.
Also, the heavier lady just above her looks like the lady who used to drive the Book Mobile.
I think the second lady on the front row going left is Angie Rutherford, Jimmy & Dean's mom.
The one you said was Mildred cole could be her sister Annie Frances Magers.
Milton,
I had decided the same thing about the bookmobile lady, her name is Birdie Patton, her husband was Sam and they had a son named Jerry. (I think)
John M
Yes, that could be Annie Frances, weren't she and Mildred sisters? Mildred was taller than Annie Frances so I,m not sure.
John M
John, thanks for jogging my memory. They did have a son Jerry Patton and I believe a daughter Jo Ann.
Milton
This is too coincidental. On Saturday I was looking at one of my mother's picture albums and came across a high school picture of Tootsie.
I think the lady on the back row left if Mrs. Ethel Heflin.
The "young man" on the back row 4th from left is William McCary.
There are two ladies on the back row standing taller than all the others. I think the one on the right is B. L. Outlaw's mother.
JMD & Carl, you are good
Name from past: B.L. Outlaw. He was very artistic. Anyone know about him?
I think B. L. worked for years at the local garment factories, possibly as sewing machine repairman. He lived in Tupelo last I heard. Wish he would find us and "Check in".
He was artistic, don't know if he ever utilized that talent.
My recollection of the "bookmobile" was that a man drove it from Tupelo library to Baldwyn, and then left Mrs. Patton in charge while he went to the poolroom and stayed until time to leave. He couldn't come into Prentiss county, so he parked the vehicle on the tabernacle back lot or on the street in Lee county.
Ozelle Mullinax on front row, right.
Post a Comment