KinSource - Tale of the Week - In Holiday Attire

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The Minneapolis Tribune, December 6, 1893, p. 4

IN HOLIDAY ATTIRE

ANNUAL OPENING AND CONCERT AT S. E. OLSON & CO.'S.

It Proved a Magnet Which Drew Thousands of Citizens to the Large and Beautiful Emporium - A View of Fairyland Presented in the Interior - Danz's Orchestra Enhances the Delights of the Evening - Popularity of the Establishment and Proprietors Attested Santa Claus Present in His Glory.

A holiday opening and concert last evening were the magnets to draw an immense throng of people to the great establishment of S. E. Olson & Co., on the corner of First avenue south and Fifth street. Precisely at 7:30, the hour announced for the unlocking of the doors, the crowd was in readiness to cross the threshhold, and on the signal rushed in with an eagerness that carried them into the very heart of the bewildering display spread for their entertainment; then they paused for a moment at loss in fairyland. It was only for a moment, however, for another crowd pressed on their rear, and new arrivals at every moment swelled the hundreds into thousands and well up the numeral scale.

As the visitors pushed forward they scattered right and left, and surged up the staircase to the galleries and second floor, or descended to the basement, there to be entranced by unbroken visions of laden counters and tables. Stationed at every turn were polite attendants to direct the confused stranger, until presently the maze had cleared itself, and the beauties of the scene received due recognition. The people were there with the intent of being pleased, and they met with entertainment even beyond their anticipation, despite the gallant reputation of the proprietor of this wealth of things useful and beautiful.

It is doubtful if so large a number of people could be contained without discomfort under a single storehouse roof elsewhere in the community, and the effect of this closely wedged mass of humanity gathered under the light well where they could hear the music was not unlike that of some great exposition night. This effect was enhanced by the brilliant displays of fabrics and furnishings arranged with care and skill on every side. Acting as genial host, Mr. Olson mingled among the people exchanging greetings with this one and that. He was ably assisted by his right hand man, Mr. Dunn, and a competent core of clerks. The building was arrayed in its fairest colors and wore holiday aspect to the remotest corner. The entire space was radiant with light, and there was not a shadow of any description, either cast on the walls or depicted in the faces of those there to see, that could mar the completeness of the occasion. High above the murmur of voices and the laughter of young people rose and fell strains of music borne from the upper story over the heads of the people around and below. Throughout the evening Danz's orchestra made music for the assembled crowd, and number succeeded number to popular approval.

A POPULAR ESTABLISHMENT.

It is not quite three months since Mr. Olson first opened his new store, and his corner has become one of the most populous. His bargains have been conceded rare ones, and his goods have spoken for themselves. His departments are continually stocked with all that the market affords, careful selection has gone hand in hand with generous expenditures and the result is apparent at a glance. The night of an opening is always an event, and is attended with numerous features that mark it an an epoch in the routine of business life. It betokens the approach of some day of rejoicing and heralds the advance of the seasons. The approach of Christmas affords opportunity for exercise of ingenious wits, and every contrivance appeals to the eye of the child or the taste of maturity.

Santa Claus and all the delightful suggestiveness of his mysterious movements is not an inconsequent part of the holiday carnival of Mr. Olson's. The light from his broad windows streams far across the street and rests kindly on the multitude of eager bright faced watchers who stand without the glass to view the panorama within. Granted large window space for the setting of attractive pictures, every advantage has been made the most of, and a series of window studies has been arranged on the Fifth street side of his great emporium which holds the gaze of passers-by. A towering Christmas tree, laden with all that the heart of child could wish, occupies a corner. The space adjoining is devoted to a panoramic view of a snow crowned village, and back and forth Santa Claus, with his white beard and red coat, drives a tiny pony from the village to his workshop where his associates are engaged in the manufacture of articles dear to youthful imagination.

In the two windows beyond are contrasted pictures of the homes of a rich family and a poor mother, both happy on the eventful day, although one is provided with all that luxurious taste can devise for ornament or amusement, while the other is scant of furniture and bare of ornament, with two small children to claim the Christmas cheer. The window displays on the avenue side are no less suggestive of comfort and cheer, for they are filled with an assortment of useful apparel and furnishings that merely hint at the extensive array just inside the hospitable doors. The echo to all this brilliant display is a gorgeously mounted procession that daily winds through the business streets, attracting by the novelty and splendor. The procession consists of a large float drawn by eight coal black horses caparisoned in glowing scarlet, and attended by outriders in glittering mail. The float is the throne of a Santa Claus, whose kindly face beams invitation to his domain.

Nor is this all of the jolly old fellow, for he holds daily court in the basement of the emporium and has his own cheerfully furnished apartment where he receives his young friends and admirers. He adroitly questions his visitors, and when they name their wishes for Christmas, down they go in a book conveniently at hand, and there is no danger of forgetfulness or omission. The store itself is a mine of treasures from which he may draw to suit the taste of every applicant. Made prominent by the throng of children who surrounded it last evening, was the confectionery counter on the first floor, where a white capped cook rolled and cut freshly made taffy while a pretty young girl apportioned samples among the crowd. Not far away was a second attractive booth, where three Highland lassies in kilt and bonnet served an appetizing breakfast dish for all comers.

A BEAUTIFUL SCENE.

The galleries, hung as they were with ropes, wreaths and knots of pine and evergreen, were the theater for an ever changing throng of spectators, who looked on the beautiful scene below, as if both to let it fade from sight or memory. A retiring room furnished with a large punch bowl filled with lemonade, and in the care of a smiling attendant, was one more popular feature where already so much had been done to please. The crache, with its half [illegible] cribs and rocking chairs, with a motherly nurse to look after the little strangers left in her charge while the parent is attending to her errands, a charmingly appointed writing room and reception corner, are features of this gallery that make it a very popular place in which to spend a half hour or so. It is the pleasant half-way place between the first and second floors.

A hasty view of this establishment gives only a partial idea of the contents of the full departments, but it is safe to assume that the realization of any wish is possible with the resources at command.