This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Salick’s Jewelry Store
For over 140 years
1853 - 1995
Watertown
Daily Times,
06 01 1928
The
Salick Jewelry Co. of this city will observe its seventy-fifth anniversary the
week of June 3-10 (1928). The history of
this business is closely woven with that of the city.
1853, Founded
Joseph Salick
The
present Salick Jewelry Co. was founded in 1853 by Joseph Salick who came to
Watertown from Cincinnati at a time when Watertown expansion was at its
height. On
Figures
for the population of Watertown in 1853 vary from three to four thousand. There were many business houses here at the
time, however, including six dry goods stores, eleven grocery stores, two drug
stores, fifteen taverns, two bakeries, three meat markets, two book stores, six
cabinet shops, four tinshops, few factories, two printing offices, six school
houses, two select schools, and many churches and one bank. The census of 1855 shows the population to
have been 8,512, an increase of 7,000 in ten years. In point of population Watertown was the
second city in Wisconsin.
First Store Opened
At
this time Mr. Salick established his first store in Watertown. It was located on the site of the present New
York meat market (
Store image 1:
Salick Jewelry Store,
1 and
Far right, Joseph
Salick, c 1890. Others not identified
Note Salick-built
timepiece (now at Octagon House) in window behind Joseph
August Salick, Rev.
Charles Salick
John Salick
Upon
the elder Salick’s retirement his son, Charles J. Salick, assumed control and
has since formed a partnership with his son, John E. Salick, and the firm is
now known as Salick Jewelry Co.
Joseph
Salick has sold his two store buildings at the east end of
It
would be impossible to describe the hardships and handicaps in the early
history of the Watertown store. One
change that has taken place in the business conditions since that time and the
present day is plainly indicated by the fact that working hours were from 7
a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Oil lamps supplied
light by which the watchmaker busied himself.
Store image 3
.
Salick store, right, c1910 postcard
Early Days Recalled
Mr.
Salick, in recalling earlier watch-making days, recalls them with the
statement: “In those days the work was
no cinch. We had to make almost every
part that was needed for repair and oftentimes the tools.”
There
are several clocks in the store which were made by the founder of the store and
every part was made out of material obtained in Watertown and which have given
accurate service all these years.
[ Ode “To
Salick’s Clock” ]
The
anniversary about to be observed may well be regarded as most important because
it finds the Salick Jewelry Co. thoroughly seasoned and tempered by the past
traditions of achievement and ambition and with much to cause one to believe
that the coming years will continue to be happy and prosperous.
The
company plans “open house” for the week of June 3, and during this time they
have arranged for many interesting displays of the jeweler’s art and
craftsmanship. One of the items of
interest on display is a watch over 200 years old of the English verge type
which still keeps accurate time. The
firm will be pleased to have the people of Watertown and vicinity call and see
these displays.
Old Art
Unlike
a person, a jewelry business upon entering its seventy-fifth year cannot be
called old. From time immemorial the
jeweler has supplied to every home those gifts which outlive the generation in
which they are purchased. Once these
things have become the possession of the buyer they assume that priceless
consideration known as sentimental value.
The
heirloom of today seems but the purchase of yesterday. Precious stones, gold and sterling silver
have been a standard of value for centuries.
They have always gone hand in hand with confidence, confidence in the
merchants who sponsor it.
Today,
in spite of changed methods of merchandising, the same confidence marks every
sale of jewelry. And so, after
seventy-five years, Salick’s store marks the time during which the public has
expressed its confidence in them to correctly interpret their continuous demand
for the artistic.
_____________________________________________________
A
bicycle to be ridden by Archie Wurtzler, who claims the title of champion of
Watertown, may be seen in the show window of Joseph Salick & Son [ Watertown Daily Times, 03 03 1897 ]
_____________________________________________________
Joseph Salick was the first to
commend electrical lights and signed a contract for a substantial number of
lights. Most of the business men were
indifferent but became convinced of its feasibility as soon as a few were put
in use.
Joseph Salick
St. Henry’s, First Trustee
The
Joseph Salick was one of the three first church council or trustee members of
St. Henry’s Parish of Watertown, assisting Father Conrad Beck, the first
residing priest.
Born
in Westphalia, Germany in 1824, Joseph Salick served in the German army during
the revolutionary period of 1848. In the
year 1853 Salick moved to Watertown. One
of his ten children, August, became a priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Salick
was a prominent resident, devoted member of the parish and was a pioneer
jeweler and senior member of the firm of Joseph Salick & Son.
Salick
opened the first jewelry store in the community in 1853 and always lived in the
vicinity of the church; for a time his home was at 802
N. Fourth Street, one of the most beautiful homes in the city, originally
built by John W. Cole.
He
worked at the jeweler’s bench up to his retirement at age 85, being at the time
the oldest jeweler in Wisconsin.
Salick
died in 1910. “One can truly say of him
he lived as near as possible to the golden rule. As in private and business affairs he had the
respect of all who came in contact with him.” (Watertown Daily Times, 10 17 1910)
At
4:30 o'clock last Friday afternoon, while blasting ice at Main street with
dynamite, a piece of gravel covering the dynamite was driven through a side
window of the Salick jewelry store and struck Jos. Salick over one of his eyes
and inflicted a severe wound. Though not
of a serious nature, Mr. Salick was considerably scared at the time.
Watertown Daily Times,
March 30, 1904
Watertown Daily Times, 10 29 1953
The
Salick Jewelry Company,
Store closes after 142 years
Watertown Daily Times, 10 07 1995
A
downtown business with a colorful history will end with the closing of Salick
Jewelers, a Watertown landmark for over 140 years. Rowland and Terry Straka,
who have owned and operated the jewelry business on the corner of East Main and
South Third streets for the past seven years, are in the process of liquidating
the inventory in celebration of Rowland's retirement at age 65. Salick Jewelers
is believed to be the oldest jewelry store in Wisconsin. The business was
founded in 1853 by Joseph Salick, who had been a clock maker in Westphalia,
Germany. It was one of Watertown's earliest retail businesses, starting just 17
years after the city's first white settler, Timothy Johnson, arrived here. Over
the years the business has sold a countless number of diamond and wedding ring
sets to generations of customers, and also played a part in the evolution of
the men's pocket watch to the now traditional wristwatches for both men and
women.
Cross-References:
No 1: When he retired at age 85 he was the oldest
active jeweler in the state; Forty-Eighters leave their mark on Watertown
No 2:
Joseph Salick used to row his boat down the Rock River every morning to
near his Main Street store.
No 3: Construction of Salick Jewelry
Store, 1-3 E Main, photo: Faces & Places - Watertown Area,
Heritage House Publishing (Marceline, MO), 1999, p 40.
No 4: Joseph Salick is buried in St.
Henry’s Cemetery; son John in St.
Bernard’s
No 5: Charles Salick and John Salick had compiled
early weather reports on the city.
