The Twilight Zone episodes The After Hours, and The Night of the Meek brings back fond memories of old-school Department Stores

Departmetn stores are not what they used to be

In the 1960, The Twilight Zone episode After Hours, there is a running theme that Baby Boomers can relate to. A department store is filled with customers and shoppers. Someone is working at every counter, a store manager and an assistant manager on hand to please customers.

Marsha White (Anne Francis) does not realize she is a department store mannequin and through her journey, viewers see a glimpse of the past, including the familiar sound of the bells ringing to alert managers of various issues. These bells were once very common and can trigger events from childhood coming to mind.

Marsha White is a blast from the past

Throughout this memorable episode the nostalgia of decades gone by is overwhelming. If you have lived long enough to remember when department stores were full of employees and customers you are blessed. When I began working for the Serar Roebuck Credit Department in 1977 every department in the retail store had two employees on hand at all times.

There would be a cashier to ring up your order and someone to assist customers who had questions. The paint department worker could tell you everything about paint and the men in the applaiance area knew their products well. Marsha White brings all of this to mind.

Retail stores today are not the same

Sears and other retail stores like JC Penny, Miller &Rhodes, Legget (now Belk) and Macys and Gimbles were filled with customers shopping and going up and down the elevators. Christmas was especially exciting but these sights are no more.

Watching Marsha White, and Mr. Armbrewster ( James Millhollin) and Mr. Sloane (Patrick Whyte) amid the custmers testing perfume and looking at clothing remind us of a time when pleasing customers was the goal.

Christmas just ain't Christmas

In the 1959 The Twilight Zone episode The Night of the Meek Art Carney portrays C0rwin a department store Santa who drinks to forget the poverty of the children in the neighborhood. The store is filled with parents and children for Christmas and brings back fond memories for boomers who stood in line to see Santa Claus.

This episode is filled with old school Christmas decorations and toys from the 1950s and 1960s and lets us know how special those times really were. Today many people shop online and if you enter a department store you may not find a knowledgeable employee who can answer questions.

The Temptations sang Christmas just ain't Christmas withotuthe one you love. The December holiday today is nothing like what many of us recall.One big change is that cash registers are now centralized and rarely in the department where you shop.

Personalized service is no more

For those of us who grew up in a time of personal service it's difficult to watch the world become more impersonal, automated, and AI taking jobs once held by humans.

Younger generations who did nto grow up in those glory days have n clue what they are missing. My husband and I went into a local sears store on Christma Eve 2014. I was shocked that there were no wall to wall customers and neither were there any employees.

We looked on both levels before taking oru purchase to a counter but no one came to wait on us. Another man threw his items on teh counter and walked off. Christmas used to be the biggest time for retail stores and no one was shopping. We also wondered why there were no employees to greet us.

We finally left our items at the counter and walked away. As were were going down the escalator we saw a woman come out of a door at the back of the upstairs but she was too late and had missed two sales. We knew the glory days were over and later in the following year the store clsoed for good.

The Twilight Zone keeps our memories alive

I am thankful for The Twilight Zone still being relevant the many fans who continue to watch. I apprecaite having the option to continue to enjoy The Night of the Meek, After Hours and other episodes that remind me of the way it used to be seven decades ago. These shows hloep keep fun meories alive in an ever changing world.