Shop at Home, Advice from 1906

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

March 9, 2010

Advice from 1906 is Still Sound

It is important to support local businesses and institutions. That is true today, but it was also true in the early days of the territory.

Siboney was an early community that was located a few miles north of present-day Manitou. The following item ran in the Siboney, Oklahoma Territory, newsletter on July 27, 1906:

“Who sympathized with you when your little girl was sick? Was it Sears and Roebuck?

“Who carried you when last winter you were out of a job and had no money? Was it Montgomery Ward and Company? Or was it your home merchant?

“When you want to raise money for the church or for some needy person in town, do you write to The Fair Store in Chicago, or do you go to your home merchant?

“How much does Siegel Cooper and Company give toward keeping up sidewalks or paying the minister’s salary?

“When you were sick, how many nights did Hibbard Spencer, Bartlett and Company sit up with you? When your loved one was buried, was it your home town merchant who dropped a tear of sympathy and uttered a comforting word, or was it Marshall Field and Company?

“Patronize home merchants.”