Anyone remember WT Grants?

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I kind of pride myself on this one. I remember the W.T. Grants department store chain, more specifically, the one in Northern Lights Plaza north of Syracuse, N.Y. Grants went out of business in 1975 (when I was around seven years old), but I remember shopping there with my mom and my grandmother. I remember my mother playing her Christmas albums with the “Grants” logo on the label on the GE Wildcat record player that was able to hold up to six albums at once. The retail space gave way to several department stores afterwards, including Two Guys, Zayre and Ames. Today it’s a Staples.

Apparently the family that owns the Grants Vegetable Farm near Oneida Lake (and not too far from Northern Lights) was able to snag the old Grants department store sign for their barn. I’ve seen this sign up on the barn for years, today I finally snapped a picture of it.

What’s even a little scarier is that the founder of Grants, William Thomas Grant, was originally from the city of Bradford, Pa. I drove through Bradford, Pa. on my way home today, just so I could get some pictures of some old road signs. Perhaps I brought his ghost along for a ride.