C 2009 Tom Fowler

Rosenfield’s Jewelers

A Childhood Remembrance

It was 1964 or ’65, cannot remember which now. Or, it may have been another year. Still, it was one of those things that stick in your mind and, for some reason, won’t go away. For Fowler family members, this is an extension of I Was a Kid When I was a Kid. (c 1997 Tom Fowler) For general readers, it will be interesting for other reasons which will soon become obvious.

This story is as much about The Penn Square Mall as it is Rosenfield’s. The Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City sits on the northeast corner of the Northwest Expressway and North Pennsylvania Avenue in north Oklahoma City. This mall has played an important part in my life and for members of my generation of hometown friends.

The mall opened as an outdoor mall in 1960 and was the first of its kind in Oklahoma City. People living in the suburbs loved the fact that you no longer had to go downtown to do department store shopping. When a teenager and wanting to get away from the world, I would go to the mall, walk around and think about whatever came into my 16 year old mind. There was a soda fountain in the far east end of the Montgomery Ward store, which itself sat on the east end of the mall where a Dillard’s store is today. The fountain was just off of the toy department. I would sit at one of the small customer tables, sip one of the overly syrupy and delicious fountain cokes, and watch young children beg their parents for everything from bicycles to baseballs.

But, I digress. This is not the point of the story. It serves only to set up what I really want to say.

It was Christmas Eve. My uncle, Jack Fowler, was the manager of the Rosenfield Jewelry Store. (Those familiar with the Penn Square Mall and its history know that this store is long gone, as are most others which supported the mall almost half a century ago). That year, whichever one it was, we did something we did not normally do on this night. Instead of heading directly to Grandmom Fowler’s house for our annual Christmas Eve party, first our branch of the family stopped at Uncle Jack’s store. He was having a small party for his employees and we were invited.

Again, I cannot tell you why this event, which lasted barely an hour, has stuck in my mind as it has. Perhaps it was because office parties in those days were not as inhibited or human resources driven as they are today and there was a sense of real celebration, not the guarded, watch-what-you-say and see-and-be-seen mentality you experience at such events today. You may say I was witnessing the end of an era which would soon pass. As I recall, there was a bit of alcohol served, although nobody imbibed too much and the party, such as it was, remained low key and subdued. Still – a sense of true Christmas cheer filled the store. Jack and his people had experienced a good year sales wise. Tonight was a night to be thankful and celebrate a little bit before the Holy Day began in a few hours.

This was the first time I had been to an adult gathering of this sort. It is interesting in retrospect to think of this time and place in the context of Christmas and the support of family, especially when you consider that many of Uncle Jack’s guests were people I neither knew nor wished to know. As it was, my mind was on the rest of the evening, not the store party. I wish now I had tuned my powers of observation in to greater detail. Had I done so, I would be offering you a better story.

But, such remembrances are more about mood than fact and data. The fact that a new experience combined with Christmas in a setting that is still there, only in a far different form, intrigues me. (Again, informed readers will know that the Penn Square Mall was converted to an indoor mall in 1980. Most of the shops and stores of the 1960s have been replaced by the contemporary shops and stores of today. It is a pity there are no drug store fountains at places like TG&Y and Wards, for TG&Y and Ward’s are long gone, but there is a large food court which is wonderful in its own way). Today, on trips home I make an effort to visit the mall and walk by where Rosenfield Jewelers used to be. The memory of that long ago store party warms my heart and psyche to this day.

I cannot remember for sure, but it seems we had our family Christmas Eve dinner at the Val-Gene cafeteria which was over on the other side of the mall in those days. After that, it was to Grandmom’s house for family fellowship and the opening of gifts.

Why do some things make a lasting impression on us and others not? That question is part of the mystery of life and my guess is, we remember the experiences we deem memorable and of value – good or bad. For those of you who are longtime Oklahoma City friends and family, I hope I have caused you to reflect upon a favorite memory of your own.