Nostalgia packed the corners of Saul's department store like the boxes of old children's shoes, as shoppers browsed during the first of a 3-day sale.
"It almost brings tears to my eyes," said Jill Momper, a Gainesville native who recalled having her feet fitted for shoes at Saul's as a child. "They had the only shoes that would fit me because I had a narrow foot."
For the next three days, the store at the corner of Main and Washington streets will be open for business, selling remaining items from when Saul's closed in 2018.
Staff from Our Neighbor, Inc., a Gainesville-based nonprofit that provides housing and employment for disabled young adults, is overseeing the event. Staff said Lorry Schrage, owner of Saul's, is generously allowing them to keep all profits from the sale of merchandise.
"[Lorry is] the kindest human on the planet, he told me everything we get is donated to our cause," said Tammy Yawn, who manages the Next Chapter Bookstore owned by Our Neighbor, Inc.
Yawn said customers packed into the store when doors opened at 9 a.m. this morning.
Many of the items synonymous with Saul's, such as old signage, had already been sold by noon today. However, there were still plenty of boxes of children's shoes, which is what many shoppers recalled purchasing when the store was still in business.
"They had this machine that all the children used to love to get their feet inside and they would sort of x-ray them," said Momper. "We thought that was just fascinating, that we could look through this viewfinder and see our foot."
At the height of its popularity, Saul's was also known for carrying high-end brands of women's clothing. Momper, who moved away for a few years and then returned to Gainesville in 2000, also remembered shopping for clothes.
"They did carry a line of ladies clothes that were for more mature women," she said, chuckling.
Still some of the shoppers this afternoon remembered the kindness Schrage and his wife Sherrie showed to their customers during the store's nearly 80 years in business. Schrage's father Bill first opened the store in 1939.
Anne Chenault, who also grew up in Gainesville, said the Schrages looked out for her elderly mother when Chenault moved away.
"Lorry and Sherrie Schrage were so gracious to my mother and helped her with special shoes, and my mother still always had beautiful Pendleton wool suits when she was 90 years old," said Chenault. "I know too that when I was growing up, if any child needed a corrective shoe, they came to Mr. Schrage and he would make sure they had the corrective shoes they needed."
Staff working inside the store said it will be open each day 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday. More information about Our Neighbor, Inc. is on their website. Staff are currently looking for a new male resident inside the nonprofit's Men's House.
