Stepping back in time to Scranton’s golden age of shopping, the Lackawanna Historical Society hosted a lecture and book signing with author Daniel J. Packer Jr.
In his new book, Scranton’s Bygone Department Stores: The Globe and the Dry, the pages take readers through the history of retail in the Electric City.
Guests who attended the event listened as Packer detailed the inspiration behind the book and what he wanted to capture within it.
Reminiscing on ‘The Globe Store,’ which was a historic regional department store in Scranton in 1883, before it was transformed into the Lackawanna County Government Center.
Packer detailed the Christmas magic the store brought to the community and how crowds drew far and near for its displays and more.
“If you remember The Globe as being very special at Christmas time, that was by design. Because they wanted you to have an image of The Globe, that it was very special. And if you bought something from The Globe, it meant more. You went to the best store in town to get it,” said Packer.
“The buyers would go all over the world, especially at Christmas time, to bring back the latest toys. They’d go to New York, and all the toy shows to figure out what was the most popular thing and bring it to Scranton and put it in the toy department. They actually expanded the toy department at Christmas time, they put it up on the fifth floor, where they had more space, and put all kinds of displays,” said Packer.
Copies of Packer’s book were also available to purchase at Sunday’s signing.