Why this was, I don't know, but my father favored Zayre while my mother favored Kmart. (My father's absolute favorite store was a place called Stark's, which I'll write about in another post.) Between Zayre and Kmart, I always preferred going to Kmart with my mother because she let me wander off to the record department, where, at the end of one aisle, all the Top 40 45s were on display. My father, on the other hand, made me stay with him, and so I spent a lot of time in Zayre in departments that held no interest to me: automotive, mostly; or the place where they kept their insulated coveralls and gloves. (My father was a roofer, so I spent a good deal of my childhood hanging out with my father while he examined insulated work clothes.)
My favorite part of Zayre was the photo booth at the front of the store. My father would use this photo booth whenever he needed a black-and-white photo for an I.D. As much as I begged, I was rarely allowed to use the photo booth myself. Photo booth photos were too expensive, a luxury, but on at least two occasions, I was given enough money for photos. Here's one of me and my father, probably taken around 1970 when I was five. (It's unfathomable to me that I'm now five years older than my father was in this photo. Take a close look: even my father's hat was insulated.)
One time, when both of my parents took me to Zayre, my mother let me wander off to Zayre's record department, probably against my father's wishes. I had to go to the bathroom, so I took a detour; but I was gone so long that my mother and father both thought that I had been kidnapped. Apparently, they looked everywhere but couldn't find me, so they had me paged, but I didn't hear it. I eventually resurfaced, of course, and they were relieved, but I'm certain this was the last time I was allowed to wander off in Zayre alone. Years later, when I was in high school or away at college, there was in fact a kidnapping in this very Zayre, so my parents' fear wasn't entirely ungrounded. Ironically, Kmart remained unrestricted territory for me, and I was still able to go wherever I pleased.
One last note: I almost always went to Zayre in the dead of night, an hour or so before closing time, probably because I went with my father, who didn't get home from work until fairly late; and I remember, more than once, staring at the illuminated Zayre sign and thinking, What IS Zayre? What does it mean? I never thought this about Dominick's or Jewel or Kmart, even. Maybe because it sounded exotic. And maybe it sounded exotic because it began with a Z. Who knows.
Zayre was a nationwide chain that finally went belly-up in 1990. RIP.
19 comments:
Did you go to Venture as well?
For some reason, Zayre looked more exciting and had better merchandise then Kmart. I used to collect the best 45's back then and still kick myself today for not being able to afford a few U2 bootleg albums :(...
That Zayre pic is from Eddy K and here's his blog:
http://burbankillinois.blogspot.com/
A bunch of us s/w siders all met for pizza and beers not long ago
Zayre, now that's a name that brings back memories, both good and bad!! I remember going there with my mom and grandmother a lot. Even getting Easter clothes there, when I was little. The little white hat, and white shoes...gosh, that was so long ago! My most vivid memory, falling out of a shopping cart and cracking my head open in the store! Blood everywhere, my mom freaking out and the store manager scared to death! I don't remember how old I was, but I was too old to be in a cart! lol
You mentioned Dominick's also...we always did our grocery shopping at Dominick's. Grocery shopping was on Thursdays, I'd head to the magazine aisle to read the latest Tiger Beat and wait till mom was done! Those were the days!
BTW John, that is one cute picture of you and your dad!!! ;)
I was reminiscing about the Venture out on Harlem recently. That was THE place to get all your family needs.
There was also a guy that worked there charged with a couple of felonies for driving his car over a parking lot full of seagulls. It was all over the local news for a few nights.
My mom used to work at Zayer. We were there a lot. I remember my mom yelling at my dad because he took me and my sister there to see her at the snack bar and our clothes didn't match.
My younger sister and I used to have our picture taken with Santa there, and we bought all our easter clothes there.
My older sister met her husband there. They dated, broke up, and got back together thirty years later.
My only memory of Zayre's was in their final days....I got to pick out some cool shades...still have them! For Dominick's I have to say I remember a coin machine near the exit that had a hen that would lay an egg...clucking the whole time and then the egg would have your prize in it...It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Ah, the days of a ring that would turn your finger green!
Unfortunately, my only vivd memory of Zayre was when it turned into Ames. I remember shopping at Zarye but was a bit older when the name changed.
john, you're due to come back. WERTELKAS in Clearing opened back up and it's dying to have us jam the jukebox and taste test the booze ;)
My fondest memory of Zayre is of the chicken gumball machine....you put the quarter in and it clucked and then layed an "egg". It was great!
I'm a little too young to fully remember Zayre, but I sort of recall being brought there as a kid, both the location you're referring to, and another one that was on Harlem Avenue near Pershing Road in Lyons.
I do remember, however, quite vividly, the Venture that was in that same strip mall.
I love the picture- thanks for posting.
John, that pic of you and your Dad is PRICELESS. It actually made me tear up, even though I never knew either of you. Time goes too fast.
I remember Venture, Zayre, and Kmart. We went to Kmart with our Dad, and he would LOVE the blue light specials, and the fresh popped popcorn. I always wanted an ICEE, but it didn't happen. Guess that was too messy.
Venture...in Ford City...lots of memories. My sister and I would walk there for something to do. We had very small allowances, and lived in a house with no A/C, so when we would feel the need to cool off, we would walk to Venture to spend our lil money. We lived by Queen of Peace, so we would walk out by State Road...( our Mom always told us to walk down to Cicero on State Road, and then take Cicero down to Ford City) so, needless to say, we would walk down State Road, cross over the streeet to what is now Kohls and the condos, and walk thru the 'prairie'. We would sometime have to stomp thru weeds as tall as we were! We had heard the stories of creepy guys hiding out to kidnap kids, and teenagers hanging out and smoking...and just being obnoxious and teasing kids...but we were brave, and forged on.
We had hours of fun just wandering around and imagining buying new outfits, and shoes...sometimes we tried them on! I am sure the employees hated that!
ZAYRE < never spelt lower case...was built in the south field shopping center .. south field was named after the south landing field of the old Oak lawn Airport that occupied that land (relay i don't make this stuff up) The Plaza also had a "High- Low foods" High quality and low prices and an octopus store (okay i made that one up) My family shopped at Community family center it used to be a terry's then out of shame terry took his name off the store. They had off brand of color and off the wall cloths at Community that where cheaper. So you had to learn to fight to wear there cloths cause people made fun of the way your mama dressed you. Add that to a home hair cut .. yeah they where even worse in pre flo-bee days, And you had one ugly kid that could throw one heck of a punch. Community was adjoined by A&P there was also a go -- cart track and the star light drive in there. then the big trucks tore it all down and built the chicao ridge mall. Now all that funny looking cloths is sought after as vintage geek wear...so in retrospect. I was ahead of my time and my mother was a visionary
I remember that machine with the chicken! Didn't Zayre have those cartoon machines by the check-out lanes? I could be confusing this with K-Mart. My Mom would take us to both. I totally forgot about the chicken coin machine until reading this. That was so many years ago!
Mr. Murhpy, (or anyone)
I read a landmarker/sign in robbins that talked about the o.l. airport, any idea where I can get some info/ pics of the o.l. a.p.??? I'm an airplane buff & have lived in o.l. fer 40 yrs,& just recently found out b'out the a.p.!! I remember just abut everything mentioned here. (God I'm old!!!) anyone remember the guy sellin pony rides on 87 & harlem??
THanks,
Mike
zayre, venture, service merchandise, childs world, & mcdades. lets all bow our heads in a moment of silence... damn u walmart.. cant beleive kmart is still there on harlem, i barely remember going to zayre with my mom but i know they sold toys because i clearly remember holding up a mego conan figure and begging. never got it, not sure why.
I lived on Olympic Drive, the street behind the shopping center. Our house was directly behind the Dominick's. I went to Zayre almost everyday in the 70's to buy 45's. 99 cents for the current hits, and $1.29 for the 'oldies' and I bought my Kiss dolls there for $5.77 each. I also ate at their "snack stop" diner at the back of the store almost everyday even though the food would frequently give me stomach aches. As a kid, whenever bad storms were coming and I was home alone, I would go to Zayre which made me feel safer since I'd be around people in case a tornado or something came.
I remember zayre and venture very well as a kid. my mom would drag us out to either venture, zayre or kmart at least three times a week somewhere in the burbank/oak lawn area. i remember always getting bored and wandering off and checking out the ashtrays throughout the store. my husband who grew up in another country does not believe that people used to actually smoke in the stores. i also remember the cartoon machines and there was a machine that looked like a robot. you pulled the handle like you would on the old cigarette vending machines, and it would say some kind of poem or rhyme, then it would give you some kind of cheap jewlry. my favorites were the "gold" necklaces with the hearts on them that were so cheap that they would break around the third time you wore them.
my mother is such a pack rat that she still has boxes of stuff she bought from venture and zayre (and eventually ames) with the tags still on them after all these years.
Post a Comment