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Sears & Roebuck

207 S Third

1940 - 1981

1981

Watertown Daily Times, 01 02 1981

Sears, Roebuck and Company has announced it will close its retail store in Watertown Jan. 31. Robert J. Walstad, general manager of Sears retail operation in Wisconsin, said the decision to close the store was made because of its failure to produce satisfactory sales and profits for the past several years. The local store opened in 1939 and was relocated to its present location at 207 South Third Street in 1940. Sears in Watertown employs nine fulltime workers and 16 part-time people. According to Walstad and Francis R. McNutt, local manager, all fulltime employees will be offered positions at other Sears stores in the area.

1981

Watertown Daily Times, 01 16 1981

Sears Roebuck and Company announced it will continue to operate a catalog merchandise sales facility at its 207 South Third Street location here. The firm announced a week ago that the retail store would be closing on Jan. 31 because the operation had not been profitable. A Sears spokesman said that customers can continue to order and pick up catalog merchandise at the present location until a new location for that portion of the business is found.

1981

Watertown Daily Times, 03 07 1981

Sears Roebuck and Company has announced Jerry Frank has signed a contract to operate a Sears Catalog Merchant Store in Watertown. After operating in the city for several years, Sears announced it was closing the doors of the downtown store, located at 207 South Third Street. Although the retail store was closed Jan. 31, the catalog department has remained open for business and a new location for the facility will be announced. The new catalog store will include 2,400 square feet of space and will feature off-street parking. An appliance display will be part of the store's offerings and all service for Sears products will be continued. Customers may order repair parts and make Sears charge payments at the store.

1981

Watertown Daily Times, 09 27 1981

Sears Catalog Center, located at 111 North Second Street, will conduct grand opening festivities Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The new center contains 2,550 square feet of space, of which 1,050 is used for display purposes. The store features plenty of parking to the south of the building and across the street, with parking at the rear of the store for easy pick up.

Employees at the local Sears center represents 87 years of retail service. Employees include Georgene Schramm, teletype and sales; LaVerne Jine, Dorothy Rein and Donna Nimm, sales; and Irene Neitzel, service and sales. The building is owned by Jerry and Sue Frank, who also manage the facility.

1988

LaVerne J. Jine (Bergdoll) [1928-2009] was a sales clerk for Sears Watertown for 25 years, retiring in 1988 WDT