I'm back with another trip down memory lane.

A couple years ago, I got a random catalog in the mail. I'm thinking, "Great, another business catalog looking to offer me credit." I flipped the catalog over and the cover read "Montgomery Ward".

Michael Gibson / Townsquare Media
Michael Gibson / Townsquare Media
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Wait, what?

Didn't this place go out of business in the early 90's?

I remember the Montgomery Ward store in Tyler. There were some Friday nights we would head out as a family, eat dinner and go shopping. One stop was Montgomery Ward, located where Texas Spine and Joint Hospital is now.

It was like a lot of retail stores then, clothes, electronics, household items and more were available. I remember saving my money for Super Mario Bros. 3 and buying it there.

But, whatever happened to this store?

Searching for it on Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, I know) resulted in some good information. The company started in 1872 in Chicago as a mail order business. They didn't open their first store until 1926 in Plymouth, Indiana.

From there, the company grew but had its share of ups and downs. Rival Sears wanted to buy them in 1930 but they declined. Throughout the 1930's and into early 1940's, Montgomery Ward was the largest retailer in the United States.

After WWII, though, the decline began. The company was seized by the government in 1944 because they would not resolve a worker's strike. In the 1950's, they began to lose ground to retailers such as Sears, Macy's and Dillards. The decline continued from there through to the 90's.

In 1997, the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and the employee's pension was terminated in 1999. The company still had distribution centers, including one in Fort Worth that was later turned into Montgomery Plaza.

A group thought the name was still viable and bought the intellectual property rights and an online and catalog based company.

So there you go, Montgomery Ward still exists in a small form of it's former self. I remember it because it was a favorite store for my mom and dad, and if I recall, I liked playing on the escalator when we were there.

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