Harry and David’s first retail store in Medford, Ore., opened on May 5, 1928, as a “five-and-dime” store that also sold fruit.
The Rosenberg brothers, who later changed their surname to Holmes, were always looking for innovative ways to market their fruit. This was several years before they launched the fancy fruit packs that brought them national fame.
Harry and David carried not only apples and pears, but also clothing for men, women and children, novelties and household necessities, phonograph records, and office and garden supplies. The Medford newspaper said it would be easier to list what the store did not carry.
Shoppers and the curious mobbed the store on opening day. A very courteous staff greeted everyone. The store was to be managed by Richard Wilson, an experienced Woolworth’s man from the East.
Though Harry and David never operated the store, they were on hand for the opening and thanked the Medford merchants and residents for making it “such a great and encouraging success.”
That first Harry and David store had the motto, “biggest store for little things.”
Source: "Rosenberg Store Opening Magnet for Large Crowd." Medford Mail Tribune 6 May 1928: 8. Print.
