•Part 1
"The department store was a product of the 19th century and became a very important institution as America went into the 20th century. It provided show places in developing towns like Terre Haute, Sacramento, and Dallas." Stanley Marcus
And also in Bogalusa. It took Mr. Bingle to jog my memory. We gifted the iconic mascot of Maison Blanche, and now Dillards, to our one-year-old grandson for Christmas, conjuring up my most fond memories of Canal Street in New Orleans. From Maison Blanche to D. H. Holmes and Godchaux's, it was a shopping mecca in its heyday. In the 1960s, I regularly accompanied my parents on shopping excursions on Canal, especially at Christmas time. My, how shopping on Canal has changed. In early December of last year, I found myself wandering through what was left of Adler's downtown, before their closing. Remnants of what once was, and the end of an era. And now Saks Fifth Avenue follows. A sad situation, if you ask me.
But closer to my hometown of Franklinton, there was Columbia Street - once our own version of Canal - in Bogalusa. It had its own heyday, when great establishments like Berenson's, Goldman's, Rosenblum's, and Marx's did a booming business. While I have vivid memories of three of the four establishments, for the history of and specifics on each I turn to my good friend, the late John Gallaspy. As I have previously relayed, he was a veritable authority on Bogalusa. The foregoing stores were what Mr. John referred to as "The Big Four" in his terrific book "'The City That Refused To Die' Bogalusa's First Hundred Years."
Rosenblum's was the youngest, and accordingly, the one I remember best. Considered a very stylish store that stocked fancy fabrics and catered to the whole family, it opened its doors in 1954, just ten years before I was born, in Bogalusa. My grandmother could not be considered a consumer of many store-bought goods, but she did enjoy outings to Rosenblum's. All it took was an appointment with Dr. Feinberg in Bogalusa for Ga-ga, Momma, and me to land at Rosenblum's afterwards.
Alvin and Sally Rae Rosenblum were the owners and proprietors, coming to Washington Parish from Tangipahoa. Born in 1931, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rosenblum of Hammond and Mrs. Max Muroff, and Sally Rae was the beloved only daughter of Isaac and Sylvia Walder of Alexandria where she was born in 1931. According to Mr. John, both families had roots in Russia.
Interestingly, when Marx's (which will be featured in a future column) downsized, moving to Superior Avenue, Rosenblum's expanded into what had been Marx's space, giving them what Mr. John called "by far the largest haberdashery in town." Sadly, Mr. Alvin died early and unexpectedly, at the age of forty-two in 1974, of a heart attack, and Ms. Sally passed away in 2017. I would be remiss if I didn't recognize their generous contributions over the years to Bogalusa, both civically and culturally. Mr. Alvin served on the board of the Washington Parish Library and the First State Bank and Trust Company. Outstanding citizens and successful merchants, Alvin and Sally Rosenblum had two offspring, Judy Ann Rosenblum (John Broude) and Walter "Wally" Rosenblum (Candy Sutton) of Mandeville.
And continuing in the clothing tradition which is in his genes, Wally owned and operated H. W. Rosenblum, an exceptionally fine men's store not far from where I live. To his credit, Wally who served as manager of Rosenblum's in the 1980s made a valiant attempt at restoring the declining downtown of Bogalusa, particularly Columbia Street, but through no fault of his own, the plan was a hard sell. I assume the situation, and economics, ultimately led him to Mandeville.
Long before Rosenblum's came Goldman's, another one of the Big Four. With my father, the late Cecil C. Ellzey at the helm of the Bogalusa Community Medical Center, he encouraged my mother to patronize Bogalusa merchants. As a result, I well remember shopping excursions to Goldman's with her when I was a little girl. Momma's voice echoes, "Let's go over to Goldman's."
A. M. Goldman had first come to Columbia Street, setting up shop, in 1913. His brother Jacob "Jake" Goldman (1887-1960), who hailed from Poland/Russia, followed in 1915. He opened on Columbia Street what became a premier women's and children's specialty store, first J. Goldman's and then J. Goldman & Son, Inc., but better known as Goldman's. In 1920 Jake married Sadie Silverman (1890-1984), the daughter of Abraham and Henrietta Berger Silverman of New Iberia. Much of the foregoing historical information was taken from Bob Landry's informative, interesting column "Bob Tales" in the "Bogalusa Daily News," reproduced in Mr. John's book. Jake and Sadie Goldman's children - daughter Ruth Goldman Asher (1922-2016), who married Adolph Asher (1916-2013), and son Bernard Alvin "Bernie" Goldman (1928-2011), who married Shirley Bersadsky Bronston (1929-2025) in 1977 - were involved with and instrumental in running the family dry goods business.
While I knew neither, Mr. John spoke fondly of them and the family - prominent people in Bogalusa. While he described Bernard as "gently humorous and loveable," he remembered Ruth as "always beautiful and talented." And stylish, she brought fashion from the Big Apple to Bogalusa. Mr. John should know; he emceed many a style show in the Magic City. Adolph and Ruth Goldman Asher had children Marilyn Asher (Joe Kline), Harold Asher (Carol), and Eilene Asher (Barry Spizer). Shirley Bronston Goldman was the mother and spouse Bernie Goldman was the stepfather of Robin, Eddie, and Ben Bronston (Micki).
Notably, Shirley Bronston Goldman, with a history degree from Newcomb College and a masters in retailing from New York University, rose to the top in retailing for some of the finest stores in New Orleans. She transitioned from stock girl to the senior buyer of ladies clothing and department manager at Maison Blanche, where coincidentally Mr. Bingle also made a name for himself. And Ms. Shirley even came out of retirement to work at Adler's Jewelers where she could be found in china and giftware for more than ten years. I remember her there.
•Stay tuned for the next installment in this series on Bogalusa merchants.
