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Monday, March 14, 2011

Gee Bee Department Store

This picture -  courtesy of JAHA - is worth its weight in gold as far as I am concerned.  A rare shot of the old Gee Bee Department Store in Richland Township. Sometimes its the little things that stick in your memory. For me, it's the Gee Bee sign itself - you could see it blinking away from Westwood Plaza and somehow you knew all was right with the world.
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Reader RyanL want sto know:
Where would this have been located in Johnstown?
(Lisa - This is where the Giant Eagle in Richland Township is now and in my opinion there will never be another store that will ever match Gee Bee )

10 comments:

RyanL said...

Where would this have been located in Johnstown?

Anonymous said...

I used to love to watch the groceries come out on that rolling conveyor belt and the boys would put them right into your car. I miss Gee Bees. We also used to buy clothes at Gee Bee Jr in Westmont.....

AL said...

Gee Bee was where Giant Eagle is now.

Anonymous said...

This photo was taken before the store's grand opening which I believe was in the Spring/Summer of 1965. The store was gigantic in proportion to any other store
in the Johnstown region. Combined with the Gee Bee
Auto Center (with Channel 6's Bill Wilson doing live
remote broadcast - Seiberling Tires and winter snow
tires with studs!) The largest Fourth of July fireworks display for several counties.Gee Bee set the stage for the 1960's
suburban expansion. Soon to follow was Sears from downtown to University Plaza, followed by W.T. Grant to the new Grant City Plaza, just a
hop across Eisenhower Blvd. The GB store was well lit,
airconditioned and with the southwest facing windows,
quite bright in the summertime. I actually worked
the grocery conveyor as a bagger.Now remember, always
place the eggs on the bottom(of the paper bag) followed by lots of canned goods and top it off with
sweet smelling soap! LOL. I remember pushing those shopping carts from the Sears Auto Center uphill to Gee Bee. Those were the days! I remember my father
buying a new 22" side discharge- windup/crank start Briggs and Stratton 3.5HP
lawnmower for a whopping $39.00! Again, thanks for the memories, a great place to work!

@Introspeculations said...

I am trying to locate information about an attempted abduction at this store in the late 1970s-early 1980s. I remember the story well, but can't find any information about it via Google. There was a girl who had to go to the bathroom, so her mother gave her the dime(?) needed at the time to open the door. She took awhile, so the mother went to see what was going on. There was a strange woman there wrestling the little girl to the ground, and she claimed it was -her- daughter. I think there was a man waiting in a vehicle outside the store, but that detail I'm not sure about. The rest of it, I am. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask, here. If nobody knows, thanks anyway. :-)

Lisa Cacicia said...

I've never heard that before. I'll have to find out more for you if I can.

Anonymous said...

Richland. Giant eagle now

Anonymous said...

I was climbing the glass shelving until they had to hold their wigs. The glass broke. How can I read about this traumatic event in my life?

Don G said...

Hey Anonymous, I was one of those boys putting your groceries in the car! Worked there in high school maybe 69-71. Packed groceries, and going out for your shift on the pickup line was fun, unless it was winter.

Anonymous said...

I remember going to gee bees when I was young. I remember eating a brownie and losing my loose tooth in it not because it was hard though.. My mom went every week and we all got our school clothes and shoes there as well as our groceries. It was the first place you could get everything in one place. I loved going there with my mom. It brings back a lot very fond memories. I wish it was still around.