If you listened to Dakota Datebook on Christmas Eve, you may recall that in 1914, a push was sweeping through the Eastern portion of the state to close stores early, for the sake of the employees, allowing them to celebrate the holiday at home with family and friends, rather than working with harried customers who are scrambling over picked-over stock.
A year before, in Fargo, a committee appointed by the Housewive's League had tried to get stores to close by 6pm on Christmas Eve. They failed – only achieving a compromise agreement of 9pm. So, it was a change of attitude a year later when it was announced in Fargo that the stores unanimously decided to close early, at 6pm, on Christmas Eve.
This change came about in part due to the work of Father Egan of St. Mary's Cathedral. He was the first and most prominent advocate for the idea, and pushed for the change.
As a result of being delivered "from the usual horror of Christmas shoppers," retail workers grouped together to buy him a gift. The clerks of the A. L. Moody department store bought him a box of cigars. Sales clerks at O.J. deLandrecie’s, Herbst, the Francis, Shotwell's, Black's, Olson's, and Ricker's went in together and bought him flowers.
Yet Father Egan was not the only one to reap some extra rewards. On top of the reduced hours, several stores gave their clerks special treats. The firm of Joseph & Hoenck, furriers gave their employees each a gold piece for Christmas. The Herbst Store employees also received gold pieces, with the size of the piece depending on the length of time they’d been employed.
Many other happy reports were recounted in newspapers on this date – stories of Christmas programs, Christmas trees, events for kids, and, of course, the litany of reports concerning people who had traveled in and out of Fargo for the holidays.
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
Grand Forks Daily Herald, November 21, 1914, p12
Grand Forks Daily Herald, November 24, 1914, p10
Grand Forks Daily Herald, December 10, 1914, p8
Grand Forks Daily Herald, December 22, 1914, p10
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, December 12, 1913, p6
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, December 16, 1914, p8
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, December 24, 1914, p8
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, December 26, 1914, p5
Jamestown Weekly Alert, December 31, 1914, p2
