I worked for Jamesway in the mid 90s. This video hit it right when they said the employees where the ones who grieved the most. To this day I am still heart broken and still remember my old coworkers. We where family. I still have my name tag in my lockbox.
Thank you SO MUCH for creating this wonderful documentary! I grew up with Jamesway in Latrobe Pennsylvania. It was a cornerstone in my childhood. I bought my first Star Wars figure there in 1977 and my first Stomper truck. I would agree that the atmosphere was like a big family. We knew all the employees and they knew my entire family. The Jamesway diner was my favorite restaurant in town. Millie and Teresa would serve us breakfast...2 eggs, hash browns, and toast for 99 cents. Endless awesome memories from Jamesway.
Thank you for doing Jamesway finally. It was my favorite retail store growing up in Jersey during the 80s. Helped that they had a better toy section then the local Kmart did. I vividly remember getting Star Wars GI Joe and transformers there. It was the anchor store at the smaller indoor mall here. When it went out in 95 sat empty for a year or so then Walmart moved in.
Wow that was excellent. I was child when my mom and I shopped at the Souderton, PA store off route 113. It was a nice store and I remember liking it quite a bit. The competition up the street was Woolco (which was formerly a Grants).
I remember shopping at the Jamesway in Valley Forge Mall in Phoenixville. It was a nice store that got replaced by Ames and then Redners grocery. Back then the mall was all indoors. Now it's the Shoppes at Valley Forge.
I worked there. The day we had our grand reopening after a remodel....they told our manager we were closing. He waited until after the weekend to tell us. I was sad to see it go.
The M O'Neil Co. It was the most profitable division of the May Department Stores Co. O'Neil's was based in Akron Ohio and had a 600000 SQ foot store and many mall stores and other free standing stores. O'Neil's closed in 1989 after a 100 year run. There was also another fabulous downtown Akron major department store called Polskys that was owned by Allied Department Stores and also had a fairytale story along with Yeagers Federmans Kreskies. Akron was the former rubber capital of the world and had hundreds of thousands high paying factory jobs and many higher end retailers. There would definitely be a good story for you about the Akron Ohio retail history particularly of O'Neil's and Polskys
There were no Jamesway stores near me in southwest Virginia but I really appreciate your videos and taking a look back at least to the 1980s when I was a kid. Around me, well an hour away in the place my family used to go shopping it was Hills that I loved. Also at one time before they all closed there were 4 Kmart stores within an hour drive of my home and at one of them I got a bowling ball as they actually used to carry stuff like that in their sporting goods.
@@joevonloser00I miss the broasted chicken stand that was right to the left when you walked in the main entrance. That and the Korean restaurant all the way in the back. That place kicked ass.
When I was a kid I met Shawn Michaels at a Jamesway with my mom. He signed a WWF t-shirt that I was wearing, of which I stupidly threw away several years later in middle school because it “wasn’t cool anymore” to like wrestling. 😂
@@trentpettit6336 From what I remember it was either Peekskill or Yorktown, NY. Around that area, which is a part of Westchester County. There were several popular WWF wrestlers of the time there for the signing, but I only gave a crap about Jake the Snake and Shawn Michaels as a kid.
Fun fact… that was the Jamesway in Thorndale, Pennsylvania (next to Coatesville, which is about halfway between Philadelphia and Lancaster) which later was an Ames, and now is a Kohl's store. The original Jamesway/Ames building was completely demolished, but Kohl's today uses the Jamesway roadside sign structure for their roadside sign!
Whatever happened to the brick and mortar Bill Knapps? I know they are online store now. Did they see a trend and get ahead of it or, we’re they forced into that life?
Thanks for watching! If you’d like to watch more Post-Mortar, check out the playlist: Post-Mortar
ruclips.net/p/PL7ildPkTTtPa64stif5DBkCVSs7hcyTwm
I worked for Jamesway in the mid 90s. This video hit it right when they said the employees where the ones who grieved the most. To this day I am still heart broken and still remember my old coworkers. We where family. I still have my name tag in my lockbox.
I understand that. Jamesway was one of those unique companies that are hard to find nowadays.
Thank you SO MUCH for creating this wonderful documentary! I grew up with Jamesway in Latrobe Pennsylvania. It was a cornerstone in my childhood. I bought my first Star Wars figure there in 1977 and my first Stomper truck. I would agree that the atmosphere was like a big family. We knew all the employees and they knew my entire family. The Jamesway diner was my favorite restaurant in town. Millie and Teresa would serve us breakfast...2 eggs, hash browns, and toast for 99 cents. Endless awesome memories from Jamesway.
Thank you for doing Jamesway finally. It was my favorite retail store growing up in Jersey during the 80s. Helped that they had a better toy section then the local Kmart did. I vividly remember getting Star Wars GI Joe and transformers there. It was the anchor store at the smaller indoor mall here. When it went out in 95 sat empty for a year or so then Walmart moved in.
This must have been at Ledgewood Mall, am I right?
@@trentpettit6336 you're right
Wow that was excellent. I was child when my mom and I shopped at the Souderton, PA store off route 113. It was a nice store and I remember liking it quite a bit. The competition up the street was Woolco (which was formerly a Grants).
I remember shopping at the Jamesway in Valley Forge Mall in Phoenixville. It was a nice store that got replaced by Ames and then Redners grocery. Back then the mall was all indoors. Now it's the Shoppes at Valley Forge.
I worked there. The day we had our grand reopening after a remodel....they told our manager we were closing. He waited until after the weekend to tell us. I was sad to see it go.
The M O'Neil Co. It was the most profitable division of the May Department Stores Co. O'Neil's was based in Akron Ohio and had a 600000 SQ foot store and many mall stores and other free standing stores. O'Neil's closed in 1989 after a 100 year run. There was also another fabulous downtown Akron major department store called Polskys that was owned by Allied Department Stores and also had a fairytale story along with Yeagers Federmans Kreskies. Akron was the former rubber capital of the world and had hundreds of thousands high paying factory jobs and many higher end retailers. There would definitely be a good story for you about the Akron Ohio retail history particularly of O'Neil's and Polskys
There were no Jamesway stores near me in southwest Virginia but I really appreciate your videos and taking a look back at least to the 1980s when I was a kid. Around me, well an hour away in the place my family used to go shopping it was Hills that I loved. Also at one time before they all closed there were 4 Kmart stores within an hour drive of my home and at one of them I got a bowling ball as they actually used to carry stuff like that in their sporting goods.
You need to do a show on G.C. Murphy, another 5 & 10 store that was based in the Northeast.
Great video! My mom worked for Jamesway in the 80s, an as a kid in the 90s, we used to go there all the time. Kinda still miss it, honestly
Which location did she work at?
@@trentpettit6336 The one on Rt 9 in Freehold NJ, which is now a Burlington
Excellent job. My hometown (Middletown Pa) had a Jamesway. Best store I can remember growing up. Loved that store.
Thank you! Jamesway was great back in the day.
R.I.P. Jamesway & Saturday's Market. 😭😭😭
@@UMAMIMAMU I'll never find pumpkin roll as good as the ones at Saturday's Market 💯
@@joevonloser00I miss the broasted chicken stand that was right to the left when you walked in the main entrance. That and the Korean restaurant all the way in the back. That place kicked ass.
@UMAMIMAMU I don't even know who you are but if you were a fan of that place like me, then you're ok in my book 💯
We had one near where I lived in Wantage, NJ. It became an Ames after Jamesway's 1995 bankruptcy.
I’m new to this channel. Keep it up you earned a subscriber!
Another absolute banger of a video, keep it up man!!!
When I was a kid I met Shawn Michaels at a Jamesway with my mom. He signed a WWF t-shirt that I was wearing, of which I stupidly threw away several years later in middle school because it “wasn’t cool anymore” to like wrestling. 😂
Which location was this?
@@trentpettit6336 From what I remember it was either Peekskill or Yorktown, NY. Around that area, which is a part of Westchester County.
There were several popular WWF wrestlers of the time there for the signing, but I only gave a crap about Jake the Snake and Shawn Michaels as a kid.
Bethlehem pa loved it... rented Nintendo games there
Outdated-ness is in the top 5 killers for these discount stores it seems.
Great Video!!! 🔥 We can all say Walmart killed a lot of companies… Walmart and now Amazon & Target are all juggernauts.
Great great great video. I used to work for jamesway
Which location did you work at?
At jamesway we care about you
Ha! That Ross Perot sticker!
Fun fact… that was the Jamesway in Thorndale, Pennsylvania (next to Coatesville, which is about halfway between Philadelphia and Lancaster) which later was an Ames, and now is a Kohl's store. The original Jamesway/Ames building was completely demolished, but Kohl's today uses the Jamesway roadside sign structure for their roadside sign!
Whatever happened to the brick and mortar Bill Knapps? I know they are online store now. Did they see a trend and get ahead of it or, we’re they forced into that life?
I'd like to see Showbiz Pizza, Otasco or TG&Y.