Christmas shopping today entails going to a big box store, like Walmart, or simply staying at home and surfing the net, purchasing products from online retail giants such as Amazon.
Back in the Dark Ages, when I was a young lad, you never had to leave town to buy gifts for the Yule season. All you had to do was go to downtown Sapulpa and you could shop to your heart’s content.
My father’s store sold new and used “everything.” When I was in elementary school, Dad sold new musical instruments, guns, tools, electronics, and my favorite, Tasco telescopes.
At the beginning of the Christmas season Dad would order merchandise he thought would be big sellers. As soon as he decorated the display windows, I knew the “official” holiday shopping season had started.
Practically every downtown business went “all-out” for Christmas. Besides elaborate decorations, Christmas trees, and Christmas music, some merchants handed out candy. And American National Bank (now American Heritage) would hand out gifts to its account holders. One year they gave out ceramic Santa Claus banks. My father obtained one for me and one for my little brother. Nearly six decades later, I still have that Santa Claus bank.
Tasty Bakery on South Main Street would bake a delicious assortment of Christmas confectionaries. The drug stores would sell small gift items for the holidays and City Drug at the corner of Main Street and Dewey Avenue was no exception.
Even the auto dealers like Standard Chevrolet and Marcus Horn Chrysler would put bows and ribbons on the cars in the showroom, hoping to spur sales during the season of giving.
Christmas was avidly anticipated by the downtown jewelry stores such as Rainwater’s and Miller’s Jewelry, who ran newspaper ads for Bulova and Hamilton watches, fine Bavarian China, and a plethora of rings and necklaces.
If you wanted to buy sporting goods, then Sapulpa Sporting Goods was your go-to store. They had a large assortment of hunting, fishing, and camping gear, and provided friendly service.
Santa Claus made appearances in the downtown retail establishments on Dewey Ave, like J.J Newberry’s. Santa Claus would also show up at the Criterion Theater before the Saturday Christmas Parade.
If you wanted to give a camera or photo accessories as a gift, then Jack Doudican’s Camera Shop was where you headed. Even Cook’s Paint participated in the holiday season by selling Christmas cards.
If you were looking to give the “little lady” a Sunbeam kitchen appliance, then look no further than Gilliam and Harris Furniture.
Speaking of furniture, Tyler’s Furniture, Sheffel’s Furniture, and Rule-Reel Furniture offered a wide range of home furnishings.
If your holiday wish list included a television, you would go to OTASCO, Bullock’s Furniture, and of course, my father’s store, Betzler’s New & Used.
If you wanted to give a gift of clothes, then you had many stores to choose from, including Morton’s, Frank’s, JCPenney, C.R. Anthony’s, Katz, and Bayouth’s. If you were looking to give someone a pair of shoes, then Harrison’s was the number one choice for a number of Sapulpans.
As far as a one-stop Christmas shopping destination, OTASCO was the place. You could buy TVs, stereos, appliances, tires for your car, sporting goods, homeware, bicycles, and during the Christmas shopping season, the largest selection of toys in town. I always looked forward to OTASCO putting away shelves of housewares and replacing the merchandise with toys of all descriptions.
Walking around downtown Sapulpa during Christmas was a festival of lights and sounds. When it snowed, and all the holiday shoppers were crowding the sidewalks, it was a scene right out of the iconic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The Sapulpa Saturday Christmas parade of years gone by followed much of the same route that it does today. The type of entries was also much the same, with the exception of bicycles. Every child in Sapulpa was welcome to decorate his or her bicycle and participate in the parade.
Since I was already downtown, American National Bank was the location from which my friends and I would watch the parade. We would sit in the large window sills of the bank that faced Dewey Avenue and eagerly awaited Santa in his sled.
One very cold Christmas, I was part of the parade, and not an onlooker. I was on a float with my Cub Scout pack. I never liked the cold as a child and as an old geezer, I dislike it even more.
Christmas in downtown Sapulpa holds many fond memories for me, and I am saddened by the decline of downtowns throughout small-town America.
