Auerbach's: The Store that Performs What It Promises

by Eileen Hallet Stone

Overview

After an arduous journey to Utah's Mormon frontier, three Jewish immigrant brothers built a flagship institution that lasted more than a century in downtown Salt Lake City. The F. Auerbach & Bros. story is one of personal challenges, Prussian folktales, perilous sea voyages, Wild West tenacity and those elegant and sophisticated fashions found on the second floor. Built along railroad tracks and dressing boomtown "Ladies of Aristocracy" in finery, Auerbach's tent stores evolved into one of the finest retailers in state history, providing something for everyone under one roof. Award-winning author and former Salt Lake Tribune columnist Eileen Hallet Stone brings to life the magical moments of the shopping dynasty that lasted until 1979.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439665077
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	09/17/2018
Series:	Landmarks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Award-winning author and former Salt Lake Tribune columnist Eileen Hallet Stone's projects include Historic Tales of Utah, Hidden History of Utah, A Homeland in the West: Utah Jews Remember and Missing Stories: An Oral History of Ethnic and Minority Groups in Utah, co-authored with Leslie Kelen. Her commentary is featured in the 2015 documentary film Carvalho's Journey.

Table of Contents

Foreword. Looking Forward: "Subtly Different; Taller, Maybe Michael Hallet 11

Acknowledgements 13

Introduction 15

Part I Wherever Business Could Be Had 21

1 Driven to Opportunity 21

2 Before There Was F. Auerbach & Bros., There Was Fordon, Prussia 24

Part II A Beckoning for Frederick

3 Appealing to a Protective Angel 33

4 Master of His Fate 36

5 Too Good to Be True 38

6 New York, New York: A Martial Town 41

7 Intoxicating Colors and Scents 45

Part III Gleaning Opportunities

8 The Middle Son 53

9 Golden Dreams 54

10 A Prototype for the Future 57

Part IV "This Is the Place"

11 A Wilderness for Safety 67

Part V The People's Store: F Auerbach & Bros.

Looking Back: Ted Wilson, "The Golden Age of Downtown Salt Lake City" 70

12 A Mountain Schooner and a Main Street Welcome 71

Looking Back: Jill Abrams, "Gold Chains and White Sandals" 75

Part VI Seventy Yards of English Twill

13 "Fannie, Let Us Take Our Few Dollars and Go West" 83

Looking Back: Samuel Auerbach, "Julius Brooks and High-Priced Nails" 87

Part VII Matters of Cash, Supply and Demand

14 Just Ask for It 91

15 Commission Houses, Railroads and Bullets 98

16 The Traveling Salesman 102

Part VIII A Slathering of Oil

17 Illnesses, Rubs and Fresh Air Cures 107

Looking Back: Arthur C. King, "Fifth Floor, Sporting Goods; Fourth Floor, Records" 109

Part IX Finding Community

18 Where Jews Were Considered Gentiles 113

19 Theodore's Marriage Strains Relationships 115

Part X Once Again Strangers in a Strange Land

20 Upheavals and Concerns for life and Limb 119

21 Waiting It Out 122

22 Corinne: living Up to Its Reputation 127

Looking Back: Alene McCrimmon, "I Ran Full Blast" 131

Part XI Courtship

23 "I Was an Ardent Suitor" 135

Looking Back: Patty Greenwood, "New Clothes and a Wedding Story" 140

24 Wedding Bliss and Spring Stock Bills 144

Looking Back: Pam March, Auerbach's Smelled Like Paris" 148

25 Utah Joins the Union 151

Looking Back: Sally Shawn, "The Misadventures of Sally" 152

Part XII It's a Hard Business, That Mercantile

26 Frederick Stood in the Doorway 157

Part XIII Spatial Qualities and Changing Fashion

27 Growing Pains 165

Looking Back: Joan Smith, "lessons" 168

28 Going Up?: Auerbach's Salt Lake Store Directory 169

Looking Back: Daniel G. T., "It Was More Than I Had Ever Seen Before" 171

29 The Meat Market at Auerbach's 177

Looking Back: Gail Bernstein Ciacci, "On Thursdays, There Was Meatloaf" 178

30 Fashion Plate 101 180

Looking Back: Tanny Stayner, "She Was the Head of the Flock" 188

Part XIV Taking It to the Next Level

31 George S. Auerbach, Entrepreneur and Wordsmith 193

Looking Back: Liz Keller, "From Go-Fers to Models" 200

32 From "Silent Service" to Second-Generation 'Mr Fred" 206

33 Herbert S. Auerbach, Utah's Beloved Son 213

34 "To Every Heart Must Gome Sorrow" 220

Looking Back: Beverly Frank, "Beautiful Expensive Classic Auerbach's" 223

35 Over the Years 226

Looking Back: Becky McDermott and Liz Davis; "How Can You Forget?" 228

Notes 231

About the Author 237