Treating elected officials like royalty
The Kiwanis Club of Forest Park hosted an “Officials Night” in September 1931. All the village officials were “royally entertained” at the restaurant located at the Harlem Golf Club (present day Forest Park Plaza on Roosevelt).
The Kiwanis, many of whom were local business owners, had arranged for a special presentation by profit engineers, A.J. Luther & Co. on “Modern Merchandising.” The experts informed the audience that 31% of local buyers patronize stores that are not their “home merchants.” They shared that patrons value trained, courteous sales people, fair prices, merchandise selection, balanced stock, and clean attractive stores. He urged merchants to have a united front and see competition from surrounding centers rather than from one local merchant to another.
Jill Wagner
Photo: Harlem Golf Club was in operation from 1912 to 1938 on Roosevelt Road. The land was purchased by the Federal Government to produce materials for National Defense, and would become the U.S. Naval Ordnance Plant, Ameritorp Corp.
