Ronald J. Rollins > Season's Greetings

SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM GEORGIA from Ron Rollins and Family

The guest writer for this story is my son Will Rollins. Will is a teacher at Carver High School in Columbus,Ga. Will degree is in Social Science and Psychology. I know you will enjoy this factual and historic story from our area----Ron

Small Store in Talbotton,Georgia is Key to Our American Holiday Traditions

Our story begins with Lazarus Straus who was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1809 to a wealthy Jewish family. His father made their fortune selling oats and clover to Napoleon’s Army. Over the next few decades the Straus family made several political mistakes and Lazarus decided to leave Germany for America in 1848.

Upon arriving in America, Lazarus moved to Georgia to work for Kaufman Brothers in Oglethorpe. During the early 1850’s he drove a peddler’s wagon in the areas around Columbus and Talbotton, Georgia. In 1854, he opened a small dry goods store in Talbotton. That same year he sent for wife and four children (sons Isidor, Nathan, and Oscar and daughter Hermoine) in Germany to join him in the (at that time) large Georgia town.

Life in Talbotton wasn't easy at first for the German Jewish family. Trying to fit in, Lazarus sent two of his children to Methodist Sunday school and two to the Baptist Sunday school. It must have worked because the family was well liked and business was good going into the Civil War.

During the Civil War his oldest son Isidor went to London to try to run cotton around the Yankee Blockade. He was not too successful in this venture and later sold Confederate Bonds while traveling around Europe. Also, during the War Lazarus was cut off from his suppliers in New York City and could not pay his debts he charged before the war.

After the Civil War Isidor moved to New York City and bought the family a house using the money he collected selling Confederate Bonds in Europe. His father, Lazarus, joined him in New York City so he could pay his debts he owed to his suppliers. Many of his suppliers had already written off his debt and never expected him to pay them. Lazarus valued his word and he planned on paying off ALL his debts. Lazarus paid all his debts with interest (more $25,000) and the Straus promise became as good as gold in New York City.

In 1866 the family moved from Talbotton to New York City and started a china and glassware wholesaling store called L. Straus & Sons with the money they made in Georgia. Sons Isidor and Nathan took the store in a different direction by selling directly to the “new department stores”. Some of the stores they sold to were: Wanamaker’s of Philadelphia, Woodward and Lothrop’s of Washington, and R. H. Macy’s of New York. Business was good especially with the R. H. Macy.

On March 29, 1877, Rowland Hussey Macy, Sr., died and his company under his family started going downhill. Seeing a perfect opportunity to purchase part of the company, Lazarus Straus’s sons, Isidor and Nathan, bought 45% of the Macy’s store in 1887. By 1896 the brothers bought the rest of the company and decided to keep the name R. H. Macy’s Department Store.

In 1898, Lazarus Straus died before he could see his sons and grandsons build Macy’s into the largest department store of its time. By 1902, Isidor and Nathan earned the once failing store a profit for more than $11 million. One of the most successful decision the Straus brothers made early in their ownership was to expand the Christmas season by highlighting the Santa Clause area for children. Macy’s was the first store to use Santa in their stores in 1870, but until the Strauses took over it was a very minor affair. Keeping Santa was strange since the Strauses were Jewish but maybe the time in Methodist and Baptist Sunday school in Talbotton helped in this decision. In 1902, Macy’s new flagship store was built on Herald Square on the corner of Broadway and 34th Street. This store became known as the largest department store in the world.

Life at the turn of the century was great for the Straus family until the tragic death of Isidor and his wife, Ida, in 1912. Isidor and Ida were vacationing aboard a luxury ship when the ship began taking on water. Isidor gave up his seat on a life boat to an older man. He and Ida held hands as the ship sank into the sea. The ship was the Titanic. Andrew Carnegie read the eulogy at their memorial with 40,000 in attendance.

With the death of Isidor and Nathan getting up in age, it became time to pass control of the company to the next generation of Straus. Isidor’s sons, Jesse and Percy, took control of Macy’s and in 1924 added the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (originally the Christmas Parade the first year).

So during this Holiday Season when you sit down to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. Tune in and watch the new or classic movie Miracle on 34th Street or take your kids to see Santa at your local mall, remember it was started by a German family who started their American Experience in the small Georgia town of Talbotton.

By Will Rollins

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